Rivers and Gold Coast are proving winter hot-spots
CRESSBROOK DAM
CRESSBROOK has continued to produce some good fishing this week with lure anglers tagging some quality fish on both the edges and out in the deeper water.
In the mornings, the fish are up in the shallows and tight to the edges.
Casting spinnerbaits and suspending lures to the edges and slowly working them out to the deep has worked well for a few good fish while after 10am most of the fish are caught out in the middle of the lake suspended in around 20ft of water.
Trolling small profile hard bodies around out in the middle of the lake has also produced some good fish.
For the bait angler, the smaller fish are quick to eat your bait while live shrimp and live worms are the best bet.
Trying to catch larger fish on bait has been tricky.
LAKE DYER
THE fish are biting well at Dyer for both land based and kayak fisherman.
The key is live shrimp. Almost each live shrimp will convert to a fish and for the lure angler ZX Blades jigged or hopped along the bottom in the deeper hole has produced some nice bass and yellowbelly throughout the day.
COOBY AND LESLIE DAMS
BOTH lakes have been doing it a bit tough lately.
With the quality catches thinning out live shrimp and saltwater yabbies are your best bet.
For the lure angler I would recommend casting tight to the edges.
Most quality fish will be up in the shallows at this time of year.
Casting Jackal TN60’s and spinner baits could see you land something nice.
RIVER FISHING
RIGHT now on the freshwater fishing scene the rivers are the places to go.
The Condamine, Dumaresq, Macintyre and Balonne rivers are all producing some great fishing for land-based and kayak anglers.
Some with small boats are finding a nice reserve or private hole.
Working a range of different baits and lures from spinnerbaits, swimbaits and topwater lures to live shrimp, yabbies and worms the cod and yellowbelly reports have been coming in hot.
For the local guys, fishing the Condamine River areas around Allora and the back of Leslie Dam have been producing some nice fish as well as Kings Creek.
If you’re looking to travel a little further, the stretch of river between Texas and Goondiwindi on the Dumaresq River has plenty of reserves that have easy access for the public with some quality fishing.
Some recent reports have shown that parts of the Balonne around Surat are clear and fishing quiet well areas that are sandy will have clear water while some of the parts of the Balonne will be too dirty.
SALTWATER FISHING
BESIDES the excellent river fishing going on right now the other top fishing has been the saltwater fishing inshore and offshore have been really exciting lately.
Inshore, we are seeing good numbers of tailor getting around all through the broadwater.
Anglers casting metal slugs have been having good success or drifting weightless baits into them.
Finding them is key. Look for birds working or tailor chopping the surface.
There have been some good bream fishing in the deep channels at Jumpinpin and some quality flathead fishing around Crab Island and the main broadwater.
Offshore is at its absolute best close in there has been plenty of big jewfish and cobia around the headlands while the close reefs have been producing esky loads of snapper, spangled emperor, pearl perch along with loads of other reef species.
The further out the fish keep coming with big kingfish caught jigging out a bit wider and more reef fish to be caught.
It’s a hot time to be fishing the Gold Coast.