text: tags: Fishing report. Bribie Island. Fishing spots. Tide Times.
  Well what a beautiful month of weather we have just had. Nice steady stable weather patterns, have meant calm conditions throughout most of May, hopefully this weather continues into June and July.
  The whales have just shown up off the Cape, as we speak, which usually means water temperature will be dropping very soon. The current out offshore has been slowly pushing up the East Coast, making it a great time to target those inshore reefs and wrecks. At the moment there has been good numbers and species holding on all the local systems. The list of species you can encounter off Bribie is endless.
  Featured Image(above): A nice pair of bay snapper
  There are so many areas and spots to target, Smiths, Roberts, Brennan’s, Hutchies, Tempest, Wide Caloundra, 12 mile, and Square Patch are a few systems in close proximity to Bribie. Most of these areas are quite large structures with plenty of bombies and pinnacles spread throughout. Sounding around all contour lines and reef pressure points will certainly find you some nice spots.
  A pinnacle or rock patch the size of a car, can potentially hold up to 20-30 fish. Spending time sounding up these spots is essential. As once you have found them, you can then drop in and have a quick drift or anchor up and set up a nice Berkeley trail. It’s amazing how much a difference, having a good berley trail can improve your catch rates. Depending on the depth and current will depend on which berley technique you use.
  Up to 30m and slight current, throw out a few handfuls of cut up fish, prawns, crab shells, oyster shells, sand, bread and tuna oil mix. If over 30m to 100m, drop down berley bombs, on your anchor chain top d-shackle. I use the same mix in a mesh cylinder style berley bomb, attached to the shackle. Then every 20mins or so, give your anchor rope a jiggle, this technique works great in deep water. Grass/spangles/Redthroat , Sweetlip, snapper, Pearlies, Moses Perch, Goldspot Wrasse, Husser, Large and small mouth Nannagi, Red Emperor, Coronation Trout, Coral Trout, Venus Tuskfish, Green Jobfish, plus about four or five different species of Cod are all species encountered on these grounds.
  Beautiful eating brown Maori cod caught inside the bay(left) and Gold-spot wrasse, yummo!(right)
  Living in this part of the world means we get a good mix of Northern and Southern species. These are some of the best eating species. Kingfish, Trevally, Mowong, Tuna, Amberjack and various Sharks also caught around these reefs. The Bay too has been fishing well, with plenty of nice Snapper, Sweetlip, Cobia, Cod, Tuna, Kingies, and Trevally being caught throughout. The ledges, wrecks and rock formations in the Bay, holding the bait, therefore holding the fish. Using lighter rigs and fluorocarbon lines will ensure you will outsmart these finneky fish. But, it’s that happy medium!
  Going too light could cost you that trophy fish. The Mackeral and Tuna have still been smashing the bait schools in the Bay and the Caloundra shallows. Sharks still following closely, especially as the annual mullet schools run up the East beach around this time of year. The Passage has been fishing really good, with Whiting, Bream and Flatties making up the bulk of the catches.
  There’s also been some nice Snapper and Jewies being caught. Cooks, The Bridge, 112’s the ripples and along the Buckleys Ledge is a good place to start looking for Jew and Snaps. Live baits, cuttlefish, Pillies and flesh baits are the best baits. Whiting love bloodworms and yabbies. Bream generally not that fussy, mullet gut, prawns, chook gut and most flesh baits working well.
  Night time seems to be better for the bream and whiting. Flatties taking plastics, Hardbodies and Pillies. Sand crabs have been thick as and really never have an offseason. We target and catch good numbers of Sandcrabs all year. Still muddies about, try any of the passage creeks or drains. So yet again another great month to head out and enjoy what this wonderful area has to offer! Tight lines and don’t destroy what you came to enjoy.