▲TopLake Awoonga Fishing Report - December 7 2007

▲TopHervey Bay=

Weather Forecast

Well it's shaping up to be a nice weekend with 10-15 NE predicted in the mornings with it picking up a bit in the afternoon. There's a chance of a few showers this afternoon and tomorrow morning however this should clear before Saturday. The morning tides are quite large at the moment so if you can get out in the in the lighter winds you should have a chance of catching a feed. In the almanac the peak fishing time for Saturday is 9.30am and Sunday 10am so this should couple up with the winds and tides to make a great weekend out on the water. Fishing Report

Over the last week the fisho's that got out of bed early were the ones being rewarded. On the Arty, small snapper and grass sweetlip have been caught in the early hours on both pilchard and hardihead baits. The best method for catching these fish is feeding lightly weighted baits down either a berley trail or drifting over the reef. Fish as light as possible as this keeps the presentation of the bait natural. Spotty and school mackerel are still biting there heads off around the Wathumba area with fish up to 7kg being landed. Blue Lasers and Mack Specials have been the standout lures. Let your lure sink for a few seconds as the bigger fish are usually at the bottom of the school. School mackerel have a minimum size of 50cm and a bag limit of 30 and the spotties have a minimum size of 60cm and bag limit of 5. Good sized summer whiting have been caught along the foreshore with live yabbies and sandworms being the best bait. Wathumba Creek has also been fishing well for whiting with some elbow slappers being caught on live yabbies and small surface poppers. If using poppers try and impart the action of a fleeing prawn or small baitfish. At the moment there is a fair bit of bait around the Bay which has attracted the pelagic species. The pier has fished well for golden trevally as well as queenfish. The majority of these fish have been caught on live herring and Flasha's. Remember to continually change the water in your bait bucket to ensure your herring stay alive longer. Around river heads there have been plenty of cod being caught on both soft plastics and Gulp. Lures between the 4 and 7 inch size have been producing the goods with the Gulps being the pick of the bunch. If you slow twitch these lures over the rocky bottoms and drop offs they look like an injured baitfish which the cod can't resist. Fraser Island Fishing report courtesy of Sailfish Apartments, Happy Valley : Ph (07) 4127 9494

The fishing over at Fraser has been very slow over the last week. There is still a fair amount of weed from Hook Point to Eurong. There have been no reports of whiting or dart however there are still a few tailor being caught around Indian Head on both whole ganged pilchards, and 50gm Flasha Spoons.

▲TopFreshwater Report

▲TopLake Lenthalls Report

The bass are still on the feed behind weed beds with steady reports all week of fish being caught. The most successful lures have been deep diving minnows in a yellow colour. There have not been any reports of any barra but with this warm weather there could possibly be some captured soon.

▲TopLake Monduran Report

Over the last week the fishing has been patchy. A number of anglers who fished last weeks competition found the going very tough, as during the comp, water temperatures dropped and the fish shut down. A few days before the comp there were some good catches reported. There has still been the odd fish caught with one reported and photos seen of a 115cm (32kg) caught in the main bay by a regular customer. With the good weather forecast it is still worth making the effort, and investigating the most likely areas to fish from the locals at the dam.

▲TopLake Awoonga Report

We spoke to the van park owners at the lake and they report that the lake is fishing well at the moment and Rod Harrison (Harro) is getting fish daily. He is one of the charter operators there and a famous aussie fishing personality. The best methods to try are working soft plastics/ hard body lures behind the weed beds and changing your methods of retrieval. Trolling in the bays is also a reliable method. Persistence is possibly the key, when you find fish on your sounder, work the area thoroughly to entice a strike and then hold on. If you are into your night fishing, many anglers troll the main bay with hard body lures and catch fish in front of the wall and main boat ramp.

▲TopFishing Report from Local Guide, Mark “Bargy” Bargenquast

On location – Look out for the report next week. If you would like to book a trip with Bargy just give him a ring on 0427 230 261 or visit www.fraserguidedfishing.com.au This fishing report is available to you as a weekly mailout. Not only do you get detailed information as to whats going on around the bay and surrounding fishing areas, but you get exclusive specials available to email customers only. If you would like to join our mailing list please email : news@tackleworldhb.com