It is not all doom and gloom as temperatures plummet
COOBY DAM
A LOT of reports this past week have mentioned plenty of yellowbelly being on the bite, with the odd smaller cod being caught as well.
The ZX blades and Jackall Mask Vibes are still the most popular lure.
For the bait anglers, salt water yabbies and worms will be your best bet.
BOONDOOMA DAM
THE last few months have seen this dam fishing at this spot quite tough, with the water clarity being not so good.
But some good reports have finally started to come in.
Most of the fish have been quite spread out through the dam.
With this cold weather, it should see the fish come in close to the banks around the weed edges.
Up close at Pelican Point and the Boyne Arm seem to be the pick of the places.
Fishing lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits and blades have been getting most of the bites.
LAKE PINDARI
THIS past week at Pindari, there has been a few more people getting out and into quite a few fish.
The cod have been fairly active in the shallower parts of the main basin.
Fishing wake baits or Bassman Mumblers have been the pick of the lures.
For the bait angler, the yellowbelly have been on the bite with live shrimp being the best option.
SOMERSET DAM
SOMERSET is renowned for big bass and we are starting to see some good fish.
Most of the fish are schooling in around 20-35ft of water.
The active ones have been mostly on the bottom. Targeting these fish with ice jigs and blades have been the most productive lures.
LESLIE DAM
THE cooler temperatures have slowed the fish down a bit, although there have been some good catches of yellowbelly this week.
You really need to find the fish and drop the bait on top of them.
They are not moving around as much, so using your fish finder is key.
Using frozen salt water yabbies has worked really well. They have a great scent and can draw fish in.
Even try running a berley trail if you aren’t having success in your spot.
GOLD COAST
WINTER time is the best for the salt water fishing.
The big bream and jew move through the inshore region, while huge numbers of snapper, sweetlip and many other great reef fish are available on the close-in reefs when the weather permits.
Inshore, Jumpinpin has some great fast-running channels that produce good bream, flathead and jew.
Either drifting baits along the bottom or anchoring and using lightly weighted baits or plastics works well.
Keeping your drifting along the bottom is key.
Offshore, depending on the size of boat, there have been plenty of nice snapper on the 24 Fathom Reef up to Jumpinpin.
Anglers mostly bottom-bashing with squid
and pillies while having a berley bomb out can help keep the bite on for longer.
MORETON BAY
LIKE the Gold Coast, winter is the best time to fish the bay.
There are massive numbers of snapper all through the bay, on the artificial reefs and around the islands.
Slow rolling plastics around the edges of the islands has produced some nice fish and a mix of snapper, whiting and bream, while bottom-bashing on the artificial reefs at dawn and dusk have produced the better quality fish.
Use whole or fresh squid and run a berley bomb to keep the bite going.