maroochy river exposure (2023)

Report by Mal McKinlay

May 10, 2023

I have been surfing and skiing every day for the last month from the Mooloolah River to the mouth of the Maroochy River, around Point Cartwright and Old Woman Island, I was in awe of the huge schools of pelagics that I encountered every day while surfing and skiing. I'm talking thousands of yellowfin, bluefin and bluefin tuna in schools covering acres of water at any given time. On one particular paddle, a mate and I were sitting in the middle of a female yellowfin that was gobbling up a giant ball of bait. These fish are over three feet long and weigh over 20 pounds each, in such a feeding frenzy that they are completely oblivious to the fact that we are there, thrashing around and dropping into the water so you can reach out and you catch their tail. as they fly. Another time a 2m Spanish mackerel rose 8ft 200m right in front of us, hung in the air for a second like a silver sentinel glistening in the morning sun, then fell back down. Take a huge plunge. This was followed by two more half spaniels rolling in the air while also breaking the bait...absolutely thrilling and absolutely nowhere to dangle your feet over the boat.

The good news is that the frenzy for this fish activity has shifted to the mighty Maroochy River. Although the species I am talking about are much smaller than those mentioned above, they are plentiful and provide tasty food for the fish that hunt them. Of course I'm referring to the influx of oriental puffins, which are also in good shape. I've driven it a few times since my last report, each time to the limit if I chose to. My last attempt was just after the full moon in May and only 3 hours of fishing produced a 2 liter ice cream container full of beautiful boneless fish fillets.

So if you want to try Garfish, where do you start? Almost anywhere on the river when the tide is rolling. My favorite spots are around the Goat Islands/Channel Island near the mouth of the river. In fact, this is the area I fish all summer or winter. Look for water about 2 meters deep where the tide is over the sand and in deep water. Gars like to congregate here and can be carried to the stern with the berley barrel on the side. For my burley I use pellets that you can get at any fishing tackle store. However, these particles dissolve very quickly in Burley cages, and you have to keep filling the cages to keep the girl going. The last time I went to clean the fish, I paid close attention to the stomach contents of the fish when cleaning, they had burley smoke in their stomach cavity. A better brand is the 2kg wilson standard berley pellet bin which is reasonably priced at Big W. Generally Gar don't really like fresh water in the river, they like to be pushed around in the clean water. river. That's why they bite better at low tide.

Some of my legs are 14" from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail and fillet as well as 12" cod. In girlie mixes, you'll almost always find snapper playing a part in burley as well. My last trip caught 3 26cm hops and several juveniles (all released). If the colder weather persists as it is now, there will be an influx of big snappers as we head up the rivers for their annual spawning migration that occurs every June. Another winter species that is going to start showing up is the Luderick, which is also fun to fish with buoys and light tackle, and is also great to eat on the dinner plate if done right.

April 25, 2023

Another cod season has come and gone. Personally, this was probably the worst cod summer I've had since I started fishing the river 16 years ago. One reason is that I don't fish the river as much as I used to, as I now spend a lot of time in the ocean, catching swells and wind waves on my ocean surf skis. However, when I try to satisfy my criteria for optimal times to fish for cod in the river, i.e. moon phases, tides, etc., I come home empty handed more times than I care to remember. As I mentioned in my previous report, I have no doubt that the increase in human traffic on the river in recent years (especially jet skis) has contributed greatly to this... so much so that the cod in the river are "very shy". next summer, I will have to rethink my strategy and change the way I fish for cod, eg switch to night fishing with worms as bait instead of day fishing with soldier crabs if I want to bring food home.

Anyway, enough doom and gloom...if you're ready to try something different, there are some good things happening on the river right now. I am referring to the East Australian sea herons that are in the river every year. As always, they don't arrive in large numbers until the April full moon at Easter. My mate Maggoo and I went out early on Easter Monday morning before the crowds got up and ended up with 50 quality herons, fishing on the low tide, using yabbies as bait. 9 a.m. We are surrounded by a thousand jet skis, dinghies, dinghies, paddle boats, kayaks and anything else a human can float. We finished 2 ice cream tubs full of beautiful, delicious boneless chuck steaks. Next Wednesday I return alone and arrive early to find a park at the Picnic Point boat ramp. I was pleasantly surprised to find 25 big, fat herons on the last run, which was unusual as most like to forage on the tide.

If you like fresh fillets straight from the river, I couldn't be happier with the humble marlin that are plentiful in the river between now and September. For those who haven't tried bass fishing, they are great fun with light tackle and will keep the kids (and big kids) entertained for hours. The best rig I have found to use is a luderick float with adjustable hook and sinker cables. Silveries will sometimes change the depth they are feeding at, so you need to be able to adjust your bait accordingly. The absolute key to bass fishing is to have a burley bucket full of homegrown or commercial burley on the side to attract them to your boat. Burley trails always attract other species such as snapper and tar, which mix well.

The Mustad Blood Worm Long Shank No 10 is the perfect size hook for a small piece of shrimp, squid or catfish. The trick is to steer the buoy from the stern of the boat upstream in Burley Creek. Your float should be perfectly balanced so that once the fish start swimming with the bait in their mouths, the float will slowly sink below the surface. Here's a tip to pick up the rod, set the hook and enjoy the fight as the fish will try every trick in the book to drop the hook. Each person is limited to 50 fish, with no size limit. I had good snapper up to 11 while working the Burley trail and it will only get better as we head into winter. There are some big trevally working the bait schools near downstream and I have several of them on the sand under a light moored next to the boat ramp at Picnic Point.

February 23, 2023

It's been 3 months since my last report and it's basically because I'm having problems with the report. I didn't put the boat in during the holidays because the traffic on the river was so heavy it was a complete waste of time. I have been on 3 cod fishing trips to Maroochy since the holiday and you can count the number of fish I have caught on one hand. It can be very frustrating when you struggle to get the freshest bait, fish all your old favorites, try every trick in the book and still come up empty handed. Many times in the past I've heard people say, "There's no fish in that bloody Maroochy River." Well, I have to admit, after the last month, I'm ready to join the "Nay Sayers" club.

I have told you my theory before, how I believe that when the river becomes clear after months without rain, the fish disperse throughout the river system. We haven't had heavy rain in over 4 months, so that's definitely one reason they're so hard to find during the day these days. Also, heavy traffic on the river during holidays and weekends is sure to spook schools of cod, affecting how they feed and graze on the sand and riverbeds. I think they have become "super shy", especially during the day. I ran into an "old friend" who has been fishing the river a lot longer than I have, and he told me he had also had a feeding problem last month.

So how do we overcome this problem? I've been thinking about trying for an overnighter for a while now. Out of the blue I got a text from one of my readers who hadn't fished in almost a year telling me he had just caught a very reasonable 20 out of 12 at Maroochy during February's new moon of inch long cod. I know he fishes mostly in the lower part of the river where he fishes for his fish, and he fishes at night...could that be the answer? I hate setting up the boat at night, mostly because I'm a wide-eyed old fart with eyes on string hooks in daylight, let alone a flashlight, but it looks like I'm going to do it. We have news to inform you.

Catching beach worms has been impossible at Kawana Beach due to the wave erosion from Cyclone Gabriel so I will have to try other beaches like Mudjimba or Currimundi. For those of you who don't live locally and are coming here with a boat in tow, the Bradman Street Boat Ramp or "Cod Hole" is closed for a few months for renovations, so you will need to find an alternate ramp to launch your boat . The slopes off Fishermans Road are a good option, with reasonable trailer parking and a double slope down to the creek and then a short walk down to the river.

On my last trip, I caught a few small black flatheads in dogfish, so maybe the flatheads were luckier than me. Although I had a great summer with cod, I have attached a photo of my mate Magoo with a 42cm specimen caught in January on beach worms and a few more Good fish on crab I caught on a previous trip. I think persistence is the key, all I can do is keep working hard and hope my luck improves sooner.

December 1, 2022

In my last report I discussed the excitement of successful wave worm fishing in the Maroochy River after years of frustration. I'm still not sure if this was just the biggest waste of my Maroochy fishing career, so I armed myself with some skinny worms from Kawana Beach and tried again a week later before the November new moon. I fish on the low tide because I know I can catch soldier crabs in case the worms don't work. On the low tide I caught 2 cod and a soldier crab about 27cm, and a couple of young cod on worms. An hour before low tide, I park the boat on the edge of the north shore and walk to Pillow Rocks or the surf beach next to the island, as sometimes happens depending on the mood of the ocean. I took the bug repellent kit and was pleasantly surprised to find that the bugs here were much better than the ones at Kawana Beach and I got a dozen of them out in no time. By the time I returned to my boat, the tide had turned and I was literally in a flood of youth. I went to one of my favorite tide spots and anchored in 2 feet of water where the current created lots of ripples and melon holes and pulled 3 lines... 2 fresh beach worms in less than an hour As bait, another with soldier crabs H left bar goes up and when the right bar goes up once or twice and then goes up as well I start hitting a big white tooth in the pot. Damn...sometimes you can sit there all day without catching and suddenly you have a double hook...on a big fish. However, I was lucky enough to catch two fish, which were 36 cm and 38 cm. In the next half hour I threw 2 more fish of the same size over the side of the boat. Interestingly, the two fish I landed were worms and the two I cast were crabs.

On my next trip, I am loaded with beach worms convinced of their value. I decided to fish the tide and fish the shoals in the area from the picnic spot through Goat Island and the Channel Islands to the Cotton Trees. The main problem with fishing the river at this time of year is that after about a month without rain, the water becomes crystal clear. The last part of the ride is not bad, but once the tide reaches the middle of the ride, even in the deepest part of the river, you can see every grain of sand on the bottom. Great cod are very shy and startled easily, especially with the influx we are experiencing at the moment from all the holidaymakers. I've tried every shoal and high tide ditch over the years, but in the calm water at the top of the tide, I haven't lost a single bait. I attribute this to my theory that the cod are already widespread in the river system and I just have to wait until we have a big flood and they are washed back upstream.

For those of you who have no choice but to fish the next 2 months of human encroachment, unless you are prepared to fish outside of tourist hours, you will struggle to get a meal on the table. That is, in the evenings and early mornings, of course, if we are lucky enough to encounter bad weather. There were reports of baited trevally of comparable size and straight trevally around the road bridge and there was a TV picture of the happy little fish and the beautiful queen also filmed in the area.

Let's hope for some heavy rain soon to brighten things up...good luck!

November 14, 2022

I have fished the river a few times in the last couple of months with terrific results. The weather and wind were so bad that it was almost impossible to plan a cod attack. Three days after the November full moon, I decided I had to "fix" the cod anyway.

Those of you who have followed my adventures over the past few years will know that I have repeatedly reported trying beach worms in the river without success. Well I've been looking at a few cod blogs on YouTube lately and there are several episodes of Fishos catching good cod on beach worms in rivers and estuarine systems on the east coast of OZ. So I thought... fuck it! Time to give beach worms another chance. The day before I went fishing I drove to Kawana Beach and managed to catch about a dozen bugs. Worms here have been plentiful, but since the heavy rains and seas in February and May, they have shrunk dramatically, looking disgustingly skinny, about 9 inches...each can pull probably 2 lures. .To keep your worms alive, simply place them in cool dry sand and skyrocket them with ice packs and they will easily survive for 24 hours.

I also noticed on YouTube that a lot of fish use huge sinkers to hold the bait and catch cod. I almost doubled the size of my 20g sinker to 36g, which is completely against me as I always try to fish as light as possible so the lure looks more natural and moves in the current. From the swivel to the hitch, I used a 4lb length (one meter per bite) of fluorocarbon drag chain. So with my new sinker and "Gob Stopper" beach worms, I filled a bucket with wallabies (because deep down I was sure worms wouldn't work) and headed down river to fish the cottonwood area. Incoming tide. The area has many bold shoals and shallow channels that are ideal for cod fishing as they meander around the shoals looking for wallabies, soldier crabs and worms on the sandy bottom.

You have to be careful in this area as the waves come right in from the bar entrance and hit those bold shores that act as shock absorbers, especially at high tide. Although they may only be a few feet tall, they can easily roll over a small butt. At the first stop I caught 4 cod around the 27cm mark and dropped my bait straight into the water broken by the small waves. Believe it or not, there were 2 fish swimming in this dune, both using reel cast line. Same as the one I wore as a kid...so amazing in this day and age. I followed the tide and covered the sandbars I worked in shallow ditches and melon holes that formed on the tide. I always drop the anchor away from my target fishing area so as not to alert nearby fish. I stopped at a point just before high tide and dropped the bait into a small trough about 2 feet deep on the exposed sand bar. At low tide, the area can be high and dry. I quickly found myself hooked on a giant cod up to 15 inches tall, then several more about 12 inches into the sky. In the end I ran into one of the best fish I've played all year and it put up a big fight in shallow water. It took me 10 minutes of back and forth before I pushed a huge cod into the 41cm landing net.

Now comes the amazing part! I caught all my fish on BEACH WORMS and BIG SINKERS...my jaw dropped! Just when you think you know it all... you find out you really know nothing. I can't wait to get back on the river and try out my new secret weapon. Good luck!

September 14, 2022

Following on from my last report, here are some tips that have helped me improve my success rate when chasing cod on the Maroochy River.

Get ready... I use the weather, tide and moon forecasts online when planning my next outing. In particular, the Willy Weather, Maroochy River – Picnic Point forecasts have proven to be the most accurate. I like to plan my trip so that I can fish for crappies or soldier crab from the shallows at low tide, get to the bottom and fish within the first 2 hours of casting. Alternatively, I'll grab my bait the day before and leave it live overnight to catch the top on the tide. Willy Weather is my bible and I have found him invaluable to my success rate.

I always try to plan my fishing trips around a full or new moon. These are the times when the tides are highest at low tide and lowest at low tide. This means that more water moves in and out of the river during high tide. Over the years I have found that the faster the water is flowing, the more active cod are biting.

What tide? ...inflow or outflow...which is better? When I first started fishing the Maroochy I only fished for cod on the tide. I quickly realized that there were just as many opportunities, if not more, for prominence. At low tide, the walleye will break out of the deeper channels and walk the sandbars as the water begins to flood them, looking for baby white sharks and soldier crabs. At low tide they do just the opposite, leaving the shore and retreating into deeper gutters and channels, waiting to ambush current-drifted treats.

WHERE ARE YOU FISHING?... The place to look for whiting is the same place to look for bait. The river is at its widest as you travel downstream from the road bridge. If you look to the left, you can see the mangroves on the north shore. There are many shoals and ripples in the river here, which is suitable for fishing. The area I fished came quickly. On the right is Chambers Island, surrounded by canals and sandbars. On the same side of the river you can find the Picnic Point Esplanade Beach, which stretches for a kilometer and is ideal for shore fishing. Continuing down, we reached the confluence of the English Channel and the Goat Islands. The islands act as a natural barrier against waves entering from the Cotton Tree estuary. The whole area of ​​the river is home to many different species of fish depending on the season you are fishing, but it is where I catch all the cod.

Stop pushing! ...they're coming back. Just before the September full moon, I launched my first cod attempt of the season. Since it was still early in the season, I was pleasantly surprised with 3 cod 28-35cm (see photo). He fishes at low tide, using soldier crabs as bait. My task became more difficult as I fished 20km south east and needed a stern anchor to keep me in the breeze. I had at least half a dozen strong searches for cod, but couldn't make contact in stormy conditions. I also got 6 females nursing so it ended up being a very active session. Let the fun begin... cod season is here!

September 2, 2022

I have been fishing the Maroochy for 14 years and in that time I have seen first hand the dramatic improvement in the river's ecosystem. I'm not saying I've seen a breakthrough in the number of fish that live here, but I've seen a huge recovery in the river's bait resources. I attribute this to the disappearance of the sugarcane farms (runoff from pesticides and fertilizers) that once lined the banks of the Maroochy River but have now been replaced by urban development. Yabby schools have tripled during this time, and soldier crabs are plentiful and thriving. These are the required and preferred foods for all species of estuarine and most inshore marine fish.

I divide the time I fish the river into two seasons, summer and winter, with crossover between the two seasons. The last 2 years have been the best seasons I've experienced for winter and summer species, which I attribute to the improving river ecosystem. For me, the most exciting time to fish the Maroochy is in the summer when the whiting (also known as yellowfin or summer whiting) return to the rivers after being in the ocean for the winter. You will always catch rare cod, even in the middle of winter, but I specifically target the "elbows" from the full moon in September to the full moon in March or April.

So, I'm talking about "elbow" cod... what would I do as an elbow? I regularly catch 35 to 40cm fish in the Maroochy River. When you hold a fish this size in the palm of your hand, its tail is bound to hit you near your elbow. Of course, you will catch smaller fish up to a legal size of 23cm and you will always mix them up, but with the right gear, bait and approach your chances of catching a bigger fish are greatly increased.

My Team... 7' Fine Line Graphite Rod Rigged with 2500 to 3000 spools wound with 6lb braided wire. There are many good brands of braid in the market today that can meet your requirements. I prefer the newer 8 strand braid, which is strong and sleek. For my 6lb braided main line, I spliced ​​about 3 meters of 6lb fluorocarbon lead, then slipped a #3 sinker onto the cable and attached it to the swivel. I placed about 1m of 4lb fluorocarbon on the spinner, attached 2-3cm of red tube as a fish attractor and finished with a FINEWORM BAIT HOLDER Mustad #4 hook (black). In faster water, increase the sinker size to accommodate, keeping the bait in the cod feeding area.

My bait... To catch big cod you have to use live bait. The number one bait for blue cod in all Australian estuaries and rivers are bloodworms, unfortunately they are hard to come by on the Sunshine Coast without spending a fortune. Mother Nature has provided us with a plethora of alternative baits for fishing the Maroochy River. Yabbies can pump up sand or mud banks that are exposed at low tide in the river (just look for their burrows). In Maroochy, my favorite bait for elbows is the Little Soldier Crab, which can be picked 3 hours before low tide in most Maroochy shallows, especially around Goat and Chambers Islands.

In my next report, I will cover more to help me improve my success and what water to look for when targeting "elbows" on the Maroochy River. Good luck!

August 8, 2022

Even though it's been a few weeks since our last heavy rain, the river is still dirty from high tide to the bottom. On my last trip during the high tide in early August, I fished my usual spot. Right at the end of the tide, I fished the run, but there was little activity for two hours before the clear water began to flow from the ocean into the river. The current was slow at first because of the tide, but once the water started to clear and the tide was pushing faster, snappers and damselfish started showing interest in my Burley trail. I have been busy with 12" snappers (all released) and several breeder size marlin. There are a lot of small whitebait in my released catch. I was surprised at the condition of the snappers as most were in good condition unlike the ones I caught before a few weeks.

While I was fishing there was a large school of mullet on the banks on the Twin Waters side of the river. The people walking on the banks remind me of shoals of thousands of fish, but these fish are not baited, and I know from experience that as soon as you try to throw a net over them, they disappear. shine. The river is clear and schools of catfish are fishing everywhere. A fish he was carrying in the canal was hooked by one of the fish and it took a long time to pull him back to the boat. There are half a dozen boats moored at various points on the nearby river for fishing, which is rather unusual for a midweek as I usually have the river to myself. There should still be plenty of activity for the snapper, damselfly, tailor and saffron over the next few weeks. One day I noticed a large catfish in the dune under the bridge I was riding my bike on... so I thought they were moving too. Another thing I saw recently while surfing the Mooloolah River was a large school of shrimp trying to escape a predator in the shallows (something to consider)?

At the end of August the winter species will finish their seasonal cycle and we will enter the transition period between winter and summer. September can be a frustrating time for river fishing but the main thing for me is when those beautiful long sandy beaches or the summer cod come back from winter break. I had early success with cod last year, catching good fish around the full moon in September, but in previous years I didn't stop getting lucky until October. This will depend on various factors such as the phase of the moon, weather and water clarity, and how the month progresses. In my next report, I'll cover tackle, bait and places in the river where you might want to catch a cod or two.

July 20, 2022

Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water, the weather gods decided to drench us again. It looks like we only have a week or two of perfectly sunny winter days with another La Nina shower headed for the coast. La Niña appears to occur when warm water floating along the equator in the upper Pacific Ocean is driven off the coast of Australia by prevailing winds and meets cold water below that rises from the east coast of Australia to the east coast of Australia. Australia originates from the Southern Ocean. The resulting warm, moist air forms large clouds, and therefore lots of rain. So there you have it... I can apply for a weather report job with Livio Regano on Channel 7.

My last trip was on a full moon in July, and even though I volunteered, I went home without catching a single fish. My goal was to feed the ga in perfect conditions with high tides, very clear water and calm sunny mornings, but I didn't lure them into the boat. You are out of touch with your target genre these days. However, I caught 10 smaller buttons (all released) near the 34cm mark on the gar float. Snappers are absolute burley lovers and will swim up to your stern for a snack. The fish I caught were all hooked on the bony mouth corners and released easily. I choose to release most of my snapper simply because "it's not my tank". It was obvious that the snappers were out of shape as they had spawned and were much thinner than they had been a month ago. However, they are still plentiful and quite fun on light tackle. Bream fishing is out of the main channel of Goat Island, from the mouth of the dune to the north coast of Maroochydore. The main Cotton Tree channel beyond the skyscrapers also has many structures in the form of piers and floats, suitable places for the concentration of walleyes. The highway pillar is easily accessible from the Bradman Avenue boat ramp, home to snapper, trevally, trevally and excellent tailor. For best results, use live bait such as wallabies, soldier crabs, herring or steelhead. Fresh meat baits such as herring fillets or fillets and mullet also work well. For inshore anglers looking for a place to wet their line for snapper or catfish, there are several jetties in the wonderful deep water just outside Cotton Tree or the RV park, accessible from the pool parking area. Beautiful sandy beaches are also accessible from Picnic Point Esplanade and Chambers Island, which are great for shore fishing, especially if you want to keep the kids busy (just do a Google search).

I had a brief chat with the Luderick guy at the boat ramp and he told me the snappers have been slow on the river this year and he hopes they pick up again soon. With La Niña giving us a break from the weather, flathead catfish should start biting on live bait and crankbaits next month. We had another 6 weeks of winter species before we started to see a gradual decline, giving way to my favorite summer species... blue cod. Regardless, remember...the worst day on the water is better than the best day at work...ever! Until next time...good luck!

June 22, 2022

Finally, the rain stopped and the river was clear, presenting a perfect winter scene. After more rain than we've seen in living memory, every overwintering species in the river was thick, wild and on fire.

The quantity and quality of Maroochy's snapper has to be experienced to be believed. I have been on quite a few trips over the past few weeks and have been amazed at the condition of the bream, from juveniles to 30cm fish. I don't specifically target snapper, but when I do target pinnacles, they are abundant on my Burley trail and they are fast. Snapper is a slow growing fish. A legal 25 cm fish is about 3 years old, a 30 cm fish is about 5 years old, and a 40 cm snapper is about 15 to 18 years old. I have caught quite a few fish in the 12+ range and it makes me feel a little guilty when I decide to bring some in to eat. I spoke to my "old mate" who recently caught a 41cm 1.2kg fish. Red snapper of this size are mainly caught in the cooler waters off the Gold Coast in southern New South Wales. This is a big snapper from the Maroochy River.

This winter is also the best time for me to inject. I have caught many fish over 14 inches long and they were in great condition. I wouldn't say they've worked hard, but in 2 hours of practice, I've caught enough of these lively mini marlins to be excellent food. They hold best on the low tide and if you want to secure them to the stern you will need a burley barrel on the side. Of course bream love burley too so you can expect them to have a lot of fun with very light tackle. I use commercial burley from the thrift store. Experiment until you find the right brand, as some of these products are better than others. You can fish for marlin and snapper with this method anywhere in the river, but I prefer clear, fast-flowing water as the tide pushes the banks deeper into the channel. There are many of them on the river, away from high traffic areas. If you want to take your kids fishing these coming school holidays, you'll have a better chance of success. For more information on rigging and rigging for this style of fishing, check out some of my previous reports.

When I stopped to smoke some yabbies on a previous trip, a school of shrimp jumped out of the shallows. They are already half ripe and take about 6-8 weeks to ripen so keep that in mind towards late August/early September. I also noticed on my last trip that two fish were back fishing at the luderick point where they usually fish with the buoy. They are there every winter and I can only imagine them playing with the black snapper as well. During my ocean skiing, I saw a tailor caught off Cape Cartwright on bait, mostly fine silver and gold slugs caught off the rocky walls of the Moolooura River.

The Highway bridge is known to produce evenings of typical school jews, great mulloway and large size tailors and live bait. Tailorfish should find some activity in the estuaries from dusk to dusk when the tide comes in. Overall the Maroochy River is the best fishing at the moment... that's why.

May 16, 2022

As I write this report, it looks like we're headed for another week of heavy rain. The river seemed to calm down as we were hit by another severe weather event. However, there is still plenty of fishing. I have taken several river trips to the Gar over the last few weeks and each time I have had particularly good results. They are numerous and some of them are 35 cm high from the beak to the fork of the tail. Mixed in with the minnows are some good snappers in the 10 to 11 inch range. This heralds the start of the winter walleye season, when fish of 30cm and over usually start arriving in June.

If you like fresh fillets straight from the river, I couldn't be happier with the humble marlin that are plentiful in the river between now and September. For those who haven't tried bass fishing, they are great fun with light tackle and will keep the kids (and big kids) entertained for hours. The best rig I have found to use is a luderick float with adjustable hook and sinker cables. Silveries will sometimes change the depth they are feeding at, so you need to be able to adjust your bait accordingly. The absolute key to bass fishing is to have a burley bucket full of homegrown or commercial burley on the side to attract them to your boat. Burley trails almost always attract other species such as snapper and tar vende which can make a good combination on the day.

The Mustad Blood Worm Long Shank No 10 is the perfect size hook for a small piece of shrimp, squid or catfish. The trick is to steer the buoy from the stern of the boat upstream in Burley Creek. Your float should be perfectly balanced so that once the fish start swimming with the bait in their mouths, the float will slowly sink below the surface. Here's a tip to pick up the rod, set the hook and enjoy the fight as the fish will try every trick in the book to drop the hook. All my friends love one of my marlin cookers and on a recent trip I caught enough fish for 18 people in 2 hours. Each person is limited to 50 fish, with no size limit. They are finicky bugs that need to be cleaned, so I always let the bugs loose and only bring enough good bugs to feed them.

Picnic Point Boat Ramp is currently a launch nightmare. A new block of high-rise units is being built next to the hillside and the already narrow turning area has been encroached into the middle of the road by the building complex, turning it into a cramped mess. Good slopes to avoid for the next 2 years. Speaking of boat ramps... this is one place where you're bound to see strange things happen. The slope at Picnic Point is very steep compared to all the other slopes on the Maroochy River. On my last trip, an old man was entering the water but had not tied the mooring line properly. The boat was blown off the trailer, plunged into the water, and headed into mid-stream at breakneck speed...without a crew. He stared at it in disbelief for about a minute, then took off his shirt, swam over to it, grabbed the rope and kicked the boat back onto the beach 200 feet away. for sure! We all know who that old fool is, right? So what to expect if you plan to venture to Maroochy in the coming weeks. These signs are already favorable to premium snappers. There were some good flathead caught on the bait and I noticed schools of pelagics working various parts of the river. There are also a large number of shrimp jumping out of the water in the sandy shallows. They should be ready to cast nets at the end of winter. See you next time and good luck!

March 29, 2022

I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Maroochy River system recovers after the devastating storms that hit us in the third week of February with over 1000cc recorded on my rain gauge.

During the new moon tide in March, I went to a conference with my associates Magoo and Queen Whiting. We were hoping to catch cod but I told him to get a rod for extra fish. He knew it was probably 4 weeks too soon for Gar because he never caught them before the April full moon. We smoke enough yabbies to keep us busy until the soldier crabs come out and go hunting for cod action. Although it has been over 3 weeks since the flood, the river still has many colors (like very weak tea). I'm sure there won't be any damsels as they usually prefer extra clean water to survive. 15 minutes later, only the investigation of a very young snapper on the rod got me very excited when I came ashore. Will this be my first cod in 2 months?

You can imagine my surprise when a fat bass started jumping out of the water and jumping all over the place (like a mini marlin) trying to throw my hook. I just fished in shallow water (less than a meter) and immediately threw a barrel of berley overboard. I reel in another cod line, drop a line on my Gar rod and bring it back on the low tide. The buoy slipped only three meters before slowly descending below the surface of the water. I lifted the rod tip and another mini marlin started trying to drop the hook. "Hey Magoo", I called to my friend who was anchored in deeper water, 20 meters away (see photo), "get your barrel, I think there are some small fish here".

Within hours we had 70 premium Gars and no one was more surprised than me. They were diving until the last half hour of low tide. This is a rare occurrence as they are usually most active on the incoming tide. They also generally dislike dirty water and are more active in clean water. At the end of filming, Whiting Queen added another title to his resume... Gar Queen. When we cleared the latches on the ramps, they were absolutely full of Magoo barrel gunk. This is my first start to the Gar season; the good news is that it will be here until the end of August.

The channels and shoals in the river have been reorganized quite significantly as the flood waters have receded. Many new trees and barriers have been deposited at various points along the estuary, providing unexpected habitat for the annual yellowfin a few months later this winter. I met the 'old mate' who told me he had some particularly good cod strikes during the flood, catching up to 20 big cod at various times. However, not a single fish was caught on this particular trip. For several days during the flood, the water was strong, with low tide lasting 10 hours and high tide lasting only two hours, he said.

We are now doing cross species on the river from summer to winter and until we start to experience the cooler weather you will probably find very few options. As the river gets clearer (as the rain stops), there should be some hungry broadhead traversing the river waiting for bait or bait. Cod are about to leave the rivers for their annual holiday, but their main replacement (at least on the plate) marlin is already plentiful and in good condition. I will introduce the gar platform in my next report. See you next time and good luck!

January 18, 2022

A lot has happened in the Maroochy catchment since my last report in early December. During the last week of December, the upper reaches of the river received more than a year's worth of rain in 48 hours. The surrounding area has been saturated with 3 weeks of rain and this massive flood has flowed directly from the land into the river. While the Maroochy and Noosa rivers prevented major flooding, the northern Mary River system flooded the land with devastating effects on life and property.

The real bonus for those of us who fish the Maroochy is that the river absorbs a lot of water. The weather has been so cool for two weeks that all those cod that normally fill your waters have had to swim down for a few weeks to survive. Another good thing is that the weather is so fickle that most tourists in the Maroochydore area stay indoors. This leads to an absolute peak of Atlantic fishing in the middle of the holiday season, for those brave enough.

One of the problems with fishing the river during this time is that there is a lot of flotsam and debris mixed in with the cod. From time to time there are entire trees and floating cow pastures, all mixed up in the vortex. Under these conditions, it is impossible to distinguish the origin of channels and herds. I once thought I was stranded in the middle of a canal. You have to move to find a place that is free from all these factors. With any luck, you'll eventually find a school for elbow strikers. Hanging out at the school is their usual habit and we rarely see young cod. My partner Magoo, his wife The Whiting Queen (pictured) and I fished for several days before and after the crescent tide, catching up to 10 fish each time. All fish were in the average size from 30cm to 42cm (see photo of my couple @ 42cm). The main bait we use is minion crab however I spoke to my old mate (he fishes the river all the time) and he has had about the same results as us this time but some days he does better with yapi good. I also caught and released a couple of good quality bream up to 32cm and some dark flats up to 65cm. In one day, Magoo caught as many (released) snappers as cod, and they were all soldier crabs.

For those lucky enough to share this bountiful catch, you can now sit back and wait for the next flood as the elbows have thinned out and the water returns to its normal color as it returns upstream.

With the school holidays coming to an end and the tourists leaving, it's nice to have some sanity on the river. The river jet ski situation is fast approaching the absurd and it is only a matter of time before someone is involved in a fatal accident as these speeding machines are completely out of control. I had a detailed chat with a young marine and water safety officer the other day while checking my safety gear and he told me that since covid started jet skis are now outnumbered 7 to 1 on the newly registered ship in Queensland. The worst thing he told me was that there was no top speed limit to keep them under control. Now is the time for the Queensland Traffic and Water Police to carry out a full review of the existing speed limits and operating zones for these hydraulic testosterone rockets. You still have 2 months to grab an elbow bump or two before they go into winter...so get out there and get into them.

December 6, 2021

Well, last week's weather showed how quickly a few days of heavy rain can change the overall complexity of a river. Get on the river early on December 1st for low tide fishing. The water was brown, not as cool as I had hoped, but still nice. As I climbed the slope and it started to rain, no, it started to rain, I thought again. On the slopes, the weather changed and even though the sky looked dull and warm, I decided to give it a shot.

My buddy Magoo was also on the slopes and gave me about 50 soldier crabs he's been breeding from the day before. He has some frozen crabs from a previous trip that he plans to mix with live crabs until he can gather some fresh soldiers when they come out to feed. Magoo's little grandson Sam Eadie (future fisherman) accompanies me as my sailor. We stopped at a solid spot and caught a good fish on the first cast. I handed the rod to Sam who brought it back to the boat and soon a 12 inch cod was juggling in his arms. We landed another one of the same size and then moved to the Y to find some soldier crabs.

Soon the heavens will open! It's raining so hard you can barely breathe. They flooded...every bucket, container, gearbox, side bag, anything that could hold water flooded. Suddenly, the right bar consulted. I made the point and set the hook and thought it was a good fish, but before I could gain an inch the port side rod appeared. I grabbed him and handed Sam the loaded rod.

"Just keep the tip up, Sam, and keep the pressure on the rope," I told him. Meanwhile I put my fish back in the boat and soon had a 14" beauty on the bottom of the boat. Sam always does a great job with his fish. I had him turn it overboard and using the landing nets (I've dropped 2 giant cod lifting them out of the water) I put a 41cm elbow strike on the boat. It could easily have been the fish of the day and I think Sam still has a triumphant and satisfied smile on his face. The rain let up for a while and we caught another 4 cod over 30cm. We are in a school of fish but thunder, lightning and the threat of more rain means we have to pack up and leave the bay. It overflowed all the way down the ramp and when I opened the tail plug drained over 300 liters of water in 30 minutes. The bottom pit fills the floor. From 7am to 1pm the rain gauge at my house showed 105cc of rain. No wonder I can barely get it out trailer.

I returned to the river the next day, but the river had turned into a torrent, with at least a meter of clear rainwater still covering most of the sand at low tide. I tried all the usual places but the current was too strong and the fish had nowhere to hide. I gave it an hour and a half later and was about to head back to the ramp when I noticed a fish at point Z dragging what looked like a good cod out to sea. I dropped anchor 100 meters upstream from him and watched 2 more cod land. He's in the right place, but he can't miss the bait where it is...that's fishing. Once the river calms down a bit, there should be plenty of elbow strikes to deal with over the next week or so.

To all the fish following my adventures, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas this silly season and a wonderful New Year. See you next time and good luck!

November 5, 2021

As most cod anglers know, cod fishing on the Maroochy River can be very unpredictable at times. I've done 4 trips in the last month with mixed results. Around the new moon in early October, I caught 8 and 6 fish twice, but they were all 15 inches in quality. I was out on the water for a full moon day in November and the fishing conditions were perfect, but I came home with my tail between my legs...and not a bite for my troubles. The main problem with the day was that the water was clear to the bottom at low tide and I was never sure I got it right, so I wasn't disappointed.

Thunderstorms in the week before the new moon in early November brought enough rain to the watershed to give the river the color of runoff. I put my boat into the rising tooth of the east wind at Picnic Point, and when the soldier crab came out, I estimated gusts of 22 mph. I can tell you that fishing in such a strong wind is no easy task. The wind was almost stronger than the ebb and so I had to use the stern anchor all the time to keep the stern out of the breeze. I normally cast as far away from the boat as possible, but this time, due to the strong wind, I only managed to cast half as far as needed. I'm fishing with 2 rods and I'm already asking about tackle. It's easy to miss a cod survey in windy conditions as timid soldier crabs bite. One of the benefits of using short graphite rods in these conditions is that the tip of the rod is less affected by gusts of wind. I use one of the rods all the time like I'm fishing with a soft plastic lure, ie shake, shake, stop...wind, swing, push, stop...wind. Many fish do not know that cod is a predatory fish and this behavior often encourages them to attack the bait presented to them. On this particular day I caught 5 good 14" fish...all with this method and every fish hung in the mouth. Considering the tough fishing conditions that day, I went home satisfied.

The only fish stupid enough to be in the water with me the other day was the "old mate" who has been fishing for cod with soldier crab in the river for years. He puts in a lot more time than I do and says he catches 6 to 8 fish every time he goes out. He worked on the river from Bli Bli to the mouth and had to work hard to support himself. We can all agree we need a heavy rain to drive the elbows back to the river. I mentioned in my previous report that I had changed the hook style from the red size 4 Mustad BLOODWORM EX LONG SHANK to the thinner black size 4 Mustad FINE WARM BAITHOLDER. I am so happy with how quickly this hook connects that I changed it permanently (see picture).

You know, it doesn't take much effort to be a little considerate of others. The recent situation of the Picnic Point boat ramp cleaning station is a prime example of fisho or fishos be damned in other fishing communities. They got lucky a few times with good results on large reef fish (probably the size of a shadfish) and came out of the clean school full of blood, guts, stones, scales and slime. It takes them 5 minutes to clear their mess from this wonderful facility that the council has provided for everyone to use. Sometimes you have to wonder what moves people.

See you next time and good luck!

October 6, 2021

It's hard to find a day at this time of year when the sea breeze from the north isn't blowing 30 or 40 kilometers an hour on the Maroochy River. Winds usually pick up mid-morning and peak around 2-3pm, making cod fishing almost impossible during the day. At 19.00 the wind stopped, as if it had never existed. My last trip was on the new moon of October 6th, with winds forecast at 15 km east, I was optimistic.

At the ramp, I met my partner Magoo who was driving the boat. He gave me some live beach worms he had fished this morning and we went and got some wallabies as the tide was too early to collect soldier crabs. I cross the river and see Z and Magoo disappear near Goat Island and go down the river. The water in the river was crystal clear and I knew I wasn't going to do any cod fishing until it started to get a little cloudy on the way back. I spent over an hour with surf worms and yabbies as a pair of young fish. Once the crabs were out I headed to Point Z where I had caught some good cod on a previous trip. I tried all the ripples and channels for an hour, not a single creek. Frustrated, I called Magoo and he wasn't getting any better... Time to move down to discover X.

Here the donkey beats the class every time. I stopped at the spot where Magoo had moved half an hour ago because he never had any contact. Immediately I got a nice cod about 30cm in the pan, more to come. When I caught my fourth fish I called Magu who was on the other side of the river and told him he was in a good school. The vehicle he was driving broke down about 200 meters downstream. I ended up with 8 cod from that spot, and while none of them were elbow, they were all big, mostly around 12". Magoo and his wife caught 3 good quality cod on the anchor, ranging in size from 33cm to 36cm (see photo). Just because you don't catch any fish at a certain time and place, there is a chance they will show up later at a different point on the tide. Always keep that in mind.

I tried different types of hooks on this trip and was very pleased with the results. In my last report I mentioned the type of hook I was using... a size 4 Red Mustad Bloodworm Ex Long Shank because it was the right size to hold 4 soldier crabs. I bought a pack of #4 Mustad Fine Worm Baitholder hooks. They are black with a shorter stem of about 11mm and a thinner hook. The hook curve does not shift like red. Both hooks are carbon steel, chemically ground. The soldier crabs I used that day were small so I could easily fit 4 crabs on the smallest hook. I have a set of 3 rods with new hooks on 2 of the rods. I caught all my cod with the new hooks and didn't lose a fish in the harvest. Only 2 fish are gut hooks, the others are mouth hooks. Impressed with its performance, I will be buying more at the first opportunity.

For other species, this is the best time of year for catfish and I saw schools of pelagic silver in various parts of the river. I even caught a 32cm snapper last time but they won't be caught until almost next season. What we need most are the downpours that encourage fishing in the rivers.

Feel free to contact memalcolmmckinlay0@gmail.com.See you next time and good luck!

September 23, 2021

There's nothing like September's north-easterly breeze to herald the arrival of 'cod season'. I have made many trips this month, and although I have had to work hard to support myself, I have caught some excellent cod. One of the main problems now is that the river is very clear down to low tide. This gives the larger cod nowhere to hide during the day and remains alert to the slightest movement around it, even when running. To add insult to injury, we were on school holidays and the human activity on the river was ten times worse than usual.

I have reports and photos from reliable sources of cod in great numbers and sizes, night fishing bloodworms. They were more likely to forage in places they frequented at night when the river was calm than during the day. So it all boils down to the fact that you need to start thinking like a cod if you want to catch some decent cod during the day when the river is so busy. Look for boating activities on the river, especially where jet skis are less active. When I was on the river the other day I was fishing away from the main river because of the constant traffic. If you are lucky enough to find some good fish, keep trying the area, even where you started, because the fish are always on the move. Until we get a decent amount of rain and all the tourists go home, it will be a chore to organize the day's food. I know I'm probably preaching to converts, but here are some tips to help me be more consistent with my cod efforts.

First, I like to plan my trips around the full moon and new moon phases...a few days before and after each monthly event. The tides are always higher at these times, affecting how all the fish eat. Of course, it doesn't always work that way, as Mother Nature always has a hand in the works with severe weather patterns. I prefer to fish on the low tide so I can pick up my crab (my main bait for big cod) on the low tide and get to the bottom. Fish have nowhere to go when the tide is out so it's easier to find them... look for fast moving water with ripples or washes where they can hide in the current.

Of course I was fishing light gear and using a 6lb braid with a 4lb fluorocarbon trace on the spinner. You still need enough lead to counteract the fast water flow as the cod eat more on the bottom than the top. The best places to look are one meter deep water or channels running along bold sandbars. The hooks need to be big enough to accommodate their smaller jaws...I use a Mustad Bloodworm Ex Long shank No4. It is good to hold 4 soldier crabs without breaking them when you hang them on the hook. Anchor away from where you will be fishing and drop bait on the spot. There is nothing scarier than the white or silver glow of your hull underwater. From the highest point of your run, follow the current downstream until you encounter a school of fish. Once they move on...you move on.

The big blue cod have just returned to the river after spending the winter at sea, but soon they will be wandering around looking for food and shelter in the clear water. We desperately need a heavy rain to soak up the water and keep it hanging down the river. Regardless, it's great to be chasing them again and I wish you the best of luck this season.

August 2, 2021

Short winter update on the Maroochy River. I decided to hit the water the first week of July, start the engine and replenish my stock of steak. With over 100ml of rain in the first 2 weeks the river is running very cool but I don't care because I know the fresh water makes all the species in the river very hungry. I was hoping for some damsel but I'm sure there will be snappers as it's their prime winter run. I usually don't target snappers as they are small, pointy creatures that are difficult to handle and you can only see a small portion of their frame relative to their size due to their large chest. I also don't think the meat is as sweet as cod or gar.

At this time of year, tides, especially high or new moon tides, move less than a meter between high and low tide due to the angle of the Earth to the sun and moon. This means that the incoming and outgoing tides are very slow and more often than not this is reflected in the feeding patterns of the fish living in the river. So I don't like fishing at low tide, but there are always exceptions to this rule.

I reached low tide at 11:30 am. Fish for the afternoon run on the new moon tide. I have my burley barrels installed on both sides of the boat so that I have a constant flow of burley from the boat to the inlet. drift. Depending on the type of burley you're using, it's a good idea to check the burley buckets after about an hour to make sure they haven't dried out. Once I have the movement of the tide, I have the movement of the fish. When fishing I hang a small bait about a meter below the float. For bait I use a piece of peeled shrimp or a catfish on a No. 10 Bloodworm Mustad Ex Long Shank. As the float recedes in the current, the fish swims towards it, grabs the bait and drops the float.

My first fish was a nice bass around 35cm which made me hope to catch more later. I then fought a good fish which turned out to be an 18" dark flathead that I released (see photo), you never know what you'll find when fishing the Gal. Then there's an endless array of nice, fat snapper, ranging in size from small fish about 30cm to huge fish. Every time a float hits the surface, one of these scavengers drags out of sight. After about an hour, I've only eaten half a dozen damsels, but my shoulders ache from one bloody after another. damn! I moved 200 yards hoping to catch more bream and caught another bream after another. Tired of the longest catch and release season of my fishing career, I swam down the river where I finally caught more, mostly a mullet 34 cm, also released (see photo). Surprisingly, the fish I caught all day were hooked in the mouth, not the guts or gills. At the end of the day I brought home some tasty bait and had a great day's fishing, catch and release more fish in one day than I remember from Maroochy, all at low tide.. ...! incredible!

While I was smoking, a boy on break came up to me and told me he had his rod cut by a three foot flathead...just that morning, he was swinging the plastic. A great fish story about the "fish that got away". If you are planning a trip to the river soon, she will be there waiting for you in all her charm.

feel free to email memalcolmmckinlay0@gmail.com.Good luck!

June 6, 2021

Echoing this time last year, when the Covid 19 virus threw Australia into chaos, even poor old fishermen were allowed to go on the water if they provided a meal for the family table. Queensland has escaped the bullet so far they say and hopefully when everyone is vaccinated the whole country will be back to normal.

From January 1st to June 9th this year, according to my rain gauge, we averaged nearly 1,000 milliliters of rain, except for two heavy showers in early April and late April, totaling over 300 milliliters per month. Last week I noticed the water temperature dropped a few degrees while I was surfing. The good news from these statistics is that Maroochydore is now progressing with all wintering species in abundance.

On a recent fishing trip the size and quality of snapper the Burley Trail attracted was very significant, most notably I caught a PB snapper that was just over 16 inches (see photo). This fish took a small piece of yabby under my float and took about 10 minutes to land on a 6lb braid with a 4lb fluorocarbon leader. Luckily her lips were hooked and I let her go, as I could tell by her plump belly she was a large breeding female. On the same day I caught another 6 bream over 25 cm in excellent condition. There's Tarwhine in the mix, also about 10 inches, and plenty of Happy Moments to keep me playing. Some happy moments are huge, the size of a frying pan. They fight so hard during recovery that they almost knock you over. You want to make sure you handle them with care as a bite from their dorsal fin will make you wish you were never born.

If you want to try snapper, I suggest you buy a small burley cage to hang on the side of your boat and use a commercial burley from your favorite tackle shop. This will bring snapper from a wide area to your boat. Look for good structures like power towers, jetties, floats, bold benches, sunken trees, etc. The anchor points far enough away from the structure that the current will carry your berley toward it, encouraging the fish to leave their safe harbor and attack your bait. The lighter you can grab, the better. Just use enough weight to let your bait twirl for a more natural and attractive look. If you take the time to do your research, there are hundreds of places on this river that produce big snapper.

At this time of year it can be found in the usual deep water spots, on bold banks, using flotsam and seaweed as bait. For shore fishing, some of the best snapper and flathead are being caught off the jetty near Cotton Tree Pool with fresh cut baits, live yabbies and herring. My friend Gilligan had a nice flathead @ 52cm on a recent attack on one of these structures.

For bait, I have seen large schools of pelagic baits on every trip up the river. While I don't personally fish tailors, the cold weather is upon us and it's a good time to get close to the schools of fish near the mouth of the bar on the tide. I'm sure Maroochyriver will be the place to be for the next 6 weeks or so, whatever your favorite genre.

See you soon on the river! Feel free to contact memalcolmmckinlay0@gmail.com.Good luck!

May 18, 2021

As June approaches, the transition from summer to winter items is almost complete. In early May, over 200mm of rain fell in the river basin and the river water turned into a muddy quagmire again. The river has taken the last 3 weeks to return to its usual clear winter pattern, although it is still dirty after being low for the last 2 hours.

I've done 2 trips with Gar in the past few weeks and both had great results. There are plenty of small fish to carry, some measuring 35cm from beak to fork. Also mixed in with the damselfish are some nice snappers and snappers in the 10- to 11-inch range. I attribute this to the cold caused by the early start in the southwest last week. This heralds the start of the winter walleye season, when fish of 30cm and over usually start arriving in June.

If you're looking for fresh fillets straight from the river, look no further than the humble marlin that abound in the river between now and September. For those who haven't tried fishing, they are great fun with a light mat and will keep kids (and big kids) entertained for hours. The best rig I have found to use is a luderick float with adjustable hook and sinker cables. Garron sometimes feed at different depths so you need to be able to adjust your bait to suit. For tarpon fishing, it is absolutely essential to have a burley bucket full of homegrown or commercial burley on the side to haul them to your boat. The Burley Trail almost always attracts other species such as snapper and whitefish which make for a good combination on the day.

The Mustad Blood Worm Long Shank No 10 is the perfect size hook for a small piece of shrimp, squid or catfish. The trick is to steer the buoy from the stern of the boat upstream in Burley Creek. Your float should be perfectly balanced so that once the fish start swimming with the bait in their mouths, the float will slowly sink below the surface. Here's a tip to get the tip up, set the hook, and enjoy the fight as you master all the tricks in the book to drop your hook.

Gars love clean, clear water and channel the tides moving over weed and sand at high tide. When the water is clear you can pretty much pick and choose the fish you want to catch as they roam the burley trail behind the boat. They are best caught at low tide, but you can let them escape with the burley for about an hour before returning to the mouth of the bar to wait for the tide to return. Although they are very picky about their fillets due to their size, with a good sharp knife and a little practice, you will be handsomely rewarded with sweet meat that rivals any other species.

On my last trip my good friend and I were fishing in their small tanks when a large school of pelagics (probably trevally) started nibbling on the bait on the surface. They even made a cut for the feeder fish on the back of my boat and you can imagine my surprise when a 4 foot bull shark joined the feeding frenzy and jumped completely out of the water in a spiral arc. With the cold weather pointing towards early winter, I expect a good winter harvest for the Fishos rivers and beaches due to the abundant rainfall this year on the Sunshine Coast. See you soon on the river!

April 13, 2021

April is the first month this species transitions from summer to winter in Maroochy. I usually notice the whiting starting to thin out now, just before they leave the river to go to sea for the winter. Coastal troughs and rain troughs that formed off the southeast Queensland coast in early April brought over 200ml of rain into the Maroochy Basin, giving me hope for one last elbow-deep push before they head out to sea for a holiday. As I have pointed out on many occasions, when rivers have significant flood discharge, cod that are dispersed upstream are forced to concentrate in estuaries in cleaner brackish water. It's cod ambush time... the dirtier the runoff water, the hungrier they are.
The water was a nice cappuccino coffee at 3:00pm. two days before new moon and low tide. My long time mate Magoo has just moved to the Sunshine Coast and is sick of hearing about these elbow bumps I have in Maroochy and is dying to experience it for himself. While we waited for the crab soldier to come out we smoked some yabbies and tried a few different places. We could only deal with small cod and bream, there seemed no opportunity to add large cod to the menu. 3 hours after low tide the crabs came out and we set up at the Y spot but as it was school holidays we were surrounded by motor boats and boats with various people... it didn't look good. As the tide recedes, the water becomes very murky and cloudy mud can be seen floating in large clouds.
Some recent research, even if we don't connect with the fish, there is hope. Then I bit, lifted the rod tip and locked in a decent fish. A flick of the head and tail indicated it was a big cod and I quickly threw a good 15 inch specimen into the boat. Magoo's eyes light up and before you can tell Jack Robinson he's caught a fish himself, which turns out to be Maroochy River's first ever elbow at 15 inches (see photo). Although they didn't bite, we landed eight cod to 14 inches over the next hour. What a great way to say goodbye to the 20/21 summer cod season.
As long as there are no heavier rains than now and the winter and the rivers are calm, I think it will be a good winter for all species. For those looking for food, it's too early for the annual snapper run, but once the river starts to clear, eastern garrot should be swarming. They will sit here for about 4 months and are delicious fried in beer batter or breadcrumbs. They frequent the river in winter by the thousands and are great fun for the whole family with light gear and floats. I will summarize rig and bait etc. in my next report.
For the next month or so, until the cooler winter currents take effect, the target species will be bream, some stray cod and flathead, which will also help restore normal river conditions. Look out for pelagic fish like silver bream and golden bream which are usually plentiful in the lower reaches of the river this time of year...look out for birds working the bait schools. From now on, when you start to feel the odd westerly wind blowing over the Glass House Mountains, the snapper will also improve in size and quality.
Feel free to contact me at malcolmmckinlay0@gmail.com Good luck!

March 3, 2021

There are 3 things I need to consider before I even consider setting up my boat to wet a line. The first thing I think of is the full moon or cat aspect each month. In my opinion, this is the time when all fish in an estuary or ocean are most active and their chances of a successful interaction increase dramatically. The second thing I look at is the tide times. This will affect when I can pick up the bait and whether I am fishing on an ebb or ebb tide. The third determining factor for me is the weather, or more precisely, the wind. The lower reaches of the Maroochy River are open and strong winds from both the north and south can make life in a small boat extremely uncomfortable, if not impossible. Many times 2 of the 3 parts of my equation fit, but the third part refuses to play. Surprisingly, the weather almost always turns bad during the full moon and new moon phases.
My favorite time for cod fishing in Maroochy has taken a 180 degree turn since I started fishing 13 years ago. I've always loved the tide...fishing about 6 hours of low tide from the lowest point until the banks dip to the highest point. I follow the cod from the ebb tide troughs as they spread out on the sandbars, looking for wallabies, prawns, worms and soldier crabs on the tide. These days, I'm happy to pick up my favorite bait (soldier crab) 3-4 hours after low tide and continue fishing until the tide slows when the tide is absolutely low. Around this part of the tide, the cod have retreated from the banks into the deeper channels, waiting with eddies and ripples to ambush unsuspecting prey (my bait). This gives me at least 2-3 hours of productive time to prepare a reasonable meal without having to get sunburned or blown by incessant winds all day.
In February I fished a half moon in the middle of the month and found some good cod but they were very spread out, just catching one here and one there. It was good quality though and I ended up with 6 15 inch fish with some snapper and a nice flathead. One of my readers, Troy, fished the night after my bloodworm trip and caught a bag of cod that was over 16 inches (see photo). On the full moon at the end of the month, I caught the last low tide at 5pm. Conditions were perfect except for the water clarity which was crystal clear...not good for cod hunting. I tried my usual soldier crab but could only muster 1 cod 14 inches long. However, the grunts are almost plague proportions. I landed a dozen, some well over the legal 12 inch limit. I also caught a decent sized flathead at 50cm but it was released on the grunt. I really feel like the summer season for whiting is coming to an end, which is probably fitting since we're just entering fall and the crossover season between our summer and winter species. However, if there is heavy rain over the next few days as Tropical Cyclone Niland covers the Coral Sea, the cod may be forced to concentrate in the estuaries, giving us another blow before we disperse for the winter.
There is usually a small harvest in the river for the next 2 months before the annual peak of winter species begins. If you're looking for a treat, use bream, soldier crab or meat bait sticks to hunt copious amounts of bream. Also, if you're specifically targeting live bait or bait, I'm sure you'll do just fine.

See you soon on the river! If you want to share your fishing experience, feel free to do soSend me an email.

February 2, 2021

In this report, I want to share some things that have helped improve my success rate and chances of success when fishing on the river. I have been fishing the river for 13 years and have seen firsthand the dramatic improvement in the river's ecosystem, even though foot traffic has almost doubled during that time. I'm not saying I've seen a breakthrough in the number of fish that live here, but I've seen a huge recovery in the river's bait resources. I attribute this to the disappearance of the sugarcane farms (runoff from pesticides and fertilizers) that once lined the banks of the Maroochy River but have now been replaced by urban development. Yabby schools have tripled during this time, and soldier crabs are plentiful and thriving. These are the required and preferred foods for all species of estuarine and most inshore marine fish.

One of the best fishing tools I use when planning my next outing is online weather, tide and moon forecasts. In particular, WillyWeather's Maroochy River – Picnic Point forecast has proven to be the most accurate. Willy Weather is my bible and I have found him invaluable to my success rate. All my fishing is during the day and being retired I rarely fish on weekends (too many people on the water). I have had my best results fishing rivers around the full moon or new moon tide. I like to plan my trip so that I can pick up a jack or soldier crab from the sand at low tide, hit the bottom of the tide, and be fishing within the first 2 hours of the shot. Alternatively, I'll pick up my bait the day before and leave it live overnight to catch the current at the top.

For most of my fishing career, I used a 12-inch fiberglass one-piece rod that rests on the back of the boat with an Alvey side reel and a 6 lb. single rod. Since moving to the Sunshine Coast I have changed my gear to shorter boat rods as they are easier to store on board and easier to manage larger fish around the boat when ashore. After trial and error, the rods I now use exclusively for fishing are 7 foot graphite rods. Their advantage makes them allergic to cod detectors when using soldier crabs. Graphite rods are very strong and can transfer a lot of force from the root of the rod through the rails to the fish. This power helps you control the fish from the moment you hook it until you lift your nose out of the water next to the boat.

I use a spool of thread or a spinning reel with 6kg braid. My favorite brand of braid is J-BRAID X 8 in Chartreuse. For my main braid, I joined about 3 meters of 6lb fluorocarbon lead, then slipped a #3 sinker into the lead and attached it to the swivel. Fit at least one meter of 4lb fluorocarbon to the spinning disc which I place 2-3cm of red tube as a fish attractor and finish with a size 4 EX Mustad Red Worm Hook - LONG SHANK. In faster water, I increased the sinker size to accommodate, keeping the bait in the cod feeding area.

I fished the moon tide at the end of January and although the conditions were good I only caught 3 cod around 30cm. The river has lost most of its fresh runoff since early January and the cod are there but they are very picky at the moment. I must have dropped at least 6 good fish because they were only hooked on the rim so on the retrieve they spit the hook out. With the hurricanes circling the Pacific and quite a bit of rain moving up the east coast, we might get lucky and get another good rain soon to turn things around again on the river...hopefully.

See you soon on the river! If you want to share your fishing experience, feel free to do soSend me an email.

January 14, 2021

The holidays are almost over and until Maroochy River recovers, he doesn't belong here. The good news is that a recent rain system in early January has pushed some cod back upstream. January tides are always the highest of the year, so there is a big difference between high and low tide. Combine that with fresh water runoff from recent rains and you have just the right cod recipe.

After a 6 week break I decided to tackle the rest of the river traffic and fish when the new moon returned on January 13th. High tide at 4:45 p.m. and fell into the water at 1:00 p.m. M., I take out a couple of yabbies and set up at the Y spot, waiting for the soldier crab to surface in the rapidly draining shallows. I picked a spot where I could re-fish some ripples that went well in the fast receding current and quickly found myself catching nice 12 inch cod. Within minutes, two more people of the same size were on board his boat. Most fish these days will be as happy as a 12" cod but I know from experience that once I can get some soldier crabs to work the elbows will line up.

There was a lot of floating grass in the water which made it a bit difficult for me to control the line. I quickly noticed that the shallows were starting to change color...a sure sign that soldier crabs were starting to appear. When they emerge from the ground, they stir up sand or dirt in the process and the entire sand bar becomes a darker shade. I grabbed a bucket of crabs and went straight back to the line, because I knew it was a good spot for cod in that area. When I had trouble with two rods in the water, I used a third rod when I was using 2. With a quick tip, I hung the hook on one rod and lifted the other hook to hang it. I caught a nice cod in the boat about 14 inches and started hauling in another fish of the same size. The fish was so hungry that it swallowed 4 soldier crabs on each hook in one gulp. This is not normal fishing as they usually bite one crab at a time until they steal the hook. It is only after heavy rains that they forage for a few days in the cool environment that they attack the bait with such gusto. For the next hour I baited and caught big cod up to 40cm long. In the mix, I caught and released 4 12" bream (just kidding, they don't scrape on the light wire), a 12" tarwhine and 2 skates. The water got dirtier as the tide went out, but they kept rising until it finally slowed to a trickle and then there was nothing. I moved upstream and caught some more cod on the edge of the main channel as it moved into deeper water.

So you took it from the horse's mouth. Surrounded by jet skis, rental boats, houseboats, kayaks and paddle boards, he forgot the world as he threw 16 Maroochy River daukies into my sky... one after the other. The fact that I was able to achieve such great results in extreme fishing conditions showed me how rich the Maroochy River is, even under extreme human pressure. Of course, a little local knowledge goes a long way.

The river is quickly returning to normal clarity, so those considering a trip should do so soon rather than put it off. If you can find a spot away from traffic, you should be able to target cod and flatheads with shoals of silver trevally from the causeway bridge to Goat Island.

See you soon on the river! If you want to share your fishing experience, feel free to do soSend me an email.

December 7, 2020

What an amazing piece of water the Maroochy is... one month you might be hooking cod, the next month you might as well be fishing in the Gibson Desert. It sure has a way of snapping you back to reality! After one of the best Octobers in years, I made 4 trips in November and landed a total of 6 cod. Yes, they are all good 14- to 16-inch fish, but there are very few of them. I'm not saying there aren't cod downstream right now, but there are a number of factors that keep them flowing.

First of all cod is a shy fish and is very easily startled until the last 2 hours of low tide when the river is crystal clear. They are alert to any movement, shadow or noise that occurs because they are so clear, they have no natural cover or camouflage and will take off at the first sign of a threat. They are very suspicious of prey and will not touch the bait unless the bait is good, and even then their behavior can range from aggressive to extremely wary. In November I lost a dozen cod fighting back to the boat because they were only hooked on the lip and were good at sending the hook when it was in the mouth.

Another factor to consider at this time of year is of course the human element. On my last trip in late November, I was picked off by Zombie Dickhead JetSkiers, who turned my river into a rainy, noisy highway, not good for people or fish. Unfortunately, the situation will only get worse as the holiday population increases tenfold over the next 2 months during the Christmas holidays.

Okay... so if you're looking to fish while on vacation, there are a few things you need to do. Currently, most of the big cod have spread throughout the river in search of food and trying to avoid the human chaos that is currently flooding the river. We are expecting a flood! We need a significant wet weather event to dump at least 300ml of rain on the Maroochy Basin. This will bring all those elbows hitting back into the stream near the clubface. Fish of the night! After all the ZombieJet skiers have retired to their caves for the night, your only chance to get a badge is to go outside. Work the section of the river where the speed limit is 6 knots...from Cotton Tree Trailer Park to Picnic Point. There are plenty of good cod and flat water in and out of the tide in this area. You can farm plenty of rabies and collect soldier crabs around the sandy plains of Goat Island and the Channel Islands. If you are on land, you can find parrots around Picnic PointEsplanade and Chambers Island.

For platypus, millions of herring congregate deeper on the western side of the Channel Islands. If you can cast a net, you'll have all the live bait you can use to catch a nice tuatara. There are some deep channels around Chambers Island where a broadhead or two will no doubt be hiding.

To all the readers who follow my adventures, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. contact me anytimemalcolmmckinlay0@gmail.com.Good luck!

October 27, 2020

Every now and then the weather, moon, tides and local knowledge combine to deliver a 10 out of 10 fishing trip on the Mighty Maroochy River.

When I fell into the water at 11:30 A.M. On the day of the new moon, October 16, I could almost smell cod in the breeze blowing from 5 kilometers north. Low tide is predicted for 15.20. rice. I could see that the water was beginning to overflow onto the sand. The banks add some color to the otherwise clear river. I estimate it will be an hour before the soldier crabs start coming out and heading straight to the Y with some chatter to pass the time. The river is still unfishable here due to the floating algae recently deposited in the sea. Around noon, I caught enough small soldier crabs to photograph and headed across the river to spot Z (my new favorite spot).

Now I won't tell you exactly where I fish the river, but that's the kind of country you're looking for. Fast-moving water about a meter or more deep ripples and clears and narrows from bold sandbars to the main channel. There are plenty of them in the river, and if you stick around long enough, you'll start to see where the big cod come from.

Ok... we're getting close to 1:00pm. rice. I placed 2 rods on the left at point Z to bring the water back to the sand and 1 rod to cover the other side further into the channel. A post was called for on the left, I picked it up and drilled but I was too slow. I started to recover when something very happily grabbed the other end of the line and left. What a big fish, maybe a flatfish took the bait? I could feel the head and tail hit the braided line as I went over the line. Not a flathead...I can see his body in the murky water now...adrenaline pumping, this is a great cod! More dodging, diving and tossing the head, and it's hit. I carefully lift it from the side and it's 40cm...one of the biggest cod I've had this year. Investigate another rod before he can get it off the hook and re-enter the fray. This looks less like a cod...more like a rook. I don't move my head much, but I feel a long tail, blouses, fins, under the braid. Soon I saw a large silver flash behind the boat in the murky water. Not Cod, maybe Gowler? I didn't realize it was a large yellowfin (40cm) in good condition until I was about to load it onto the boat. Unfortunately, he had a hook in his gut, so I put him on the ice, then grabbed another big artist's third rod, bent, braided and closed the tip up and down, trying to hook. I landed a slightly smaller elbow than the first at 15 inches.

As the tide went out the hot fish slowed but by 2pm I had 9 fish in my school (all cod except snapper) and none of them were under 30cm.

I returned to the same spot two days later and caught 6 beautiful big 40cm blue cod and another trip with soldier crabs for the last time. All of my trusted fishing sources have big catches of large mixed cod and snapper, bloodworm fishing at night and soldier crab during the day. Unfortunately at this time of year we are plagued by constant northerly winds of up to 40km/h making day fishing trips almost impossible. I will watch and wish you good morning until the next full moon on November 1st.

10 out of 10 out of 10 of your fishing trips could be waiting for you, so don't delay and join Mighty Maroochy as soon as possible. If you don't, you're crazy!

See you soon on the river! If you want to share your fishing experience, feel free to do soSend me an email.

October 16, 2020

Downstream from the highway bridge, the Maroochy I fishing area quickly comes into view. On the right is Chambers Island, surrounded by canals and sandbars. On the same side of the river is the beach at Picnic Point Esplanade, which stretches for a kilometer and is ideal for shore fishing. Continuing down, we reached the confluence of the English Channel and the Goat Islands. Islands divide the river into 2 inlets... the north arm hugs the twin waters through the channel and shallows, the south arm forms a deeper narrow channel past skyscrapers and red cottonwoods. The two parts join just 500 meters from the mouth of the bar. The whole area of ​​the river is home to many different species of fish depending on the season you are fishing, but it is where I catch all the cod.

Just before the new moon in October, the tides are right for a trip, but of course the weather gods predict high winds and storms within 30km. It's been 6 months since I caught a cod so I'm not going to let the weather affect my decision to hit the river. I have to show point X, the wind is so strong it will blow the dog off the chain. I moved to the Y which was not a better place. The only consolation is that my favorite cod baits (soldier crabs) have just emerged from their underground homes. I caught quite a few crabs once and set my stern anchor to keep me on the stiff east to south. I could see countless eddies of grass from my boat during the fast ebb (big swell a few days ago) and within minutes they were piling up on the hooks and sinkers. uncle! ! ! I will have to try other places.

Across the river, I could see that the grass on the Twin Waters side wasn't bad. The spot I chose to fish was strong current, three feet deep, deep ripples, 1,000 feet across the main channel...the perfect spot to ambush a big cod! I fish with 2 rods at a time, supported by a padded crossbar at the back of my boat. When looking for a school of fish, I start with 3 rods and then go back to 2 after I find a school of fish. You should check your bait regularly in strong winds as you will often miss a light cod bite because the gust keeps moving the rod tip.

I retrieved 2 lines and both baits were stolen without my knowledge. There is no grass on the line at all...which gives me hope. The rightmost tip quickly made that undeniable click I'd been waiting 6 months to see. I grabbed the rod, quickly raised it and snapped... contact! I was immediately caught by a big cod. I slowly dictated the terms as he cleared my other 2 rows and nearly took out the stern anchor. I turned it over to the side of my boat and lifted it slightly over the side with the 2 ropes. I opened my summer cod account with a 15 inch elbow...how good is that? I landed 3 more cod 12 to 14 inches over the next half hour but missed a few more times due to poor wind conditions. I waited about an hour for the tide to turn fish, but a big cloud to the south told me it was time to go home.

Two of my readers sent me pictures of nice cod they caught on worm nights over the past couple of weeks. Another guy stopped by me while I was fishing and said he was catching flathead on plastic and bait. Well, there you have it... if you're prepared to battle the elements, the rewards are coming your way.

See you soon on the river! If you want to share your fishing experience, feel free to do soSend me an email.

September 30, 2020

We are now moving into my favorite time of year on the Maroochy River...bleach time! With the full moon on October 1st, it's time to start fishing for summer cod. I always try to plan my fishing trips around a full or new moon. These are the times when the tides are highest at low tide and lowest at low tide. This means that more water moves in and out of the river during high tide. Over the years I have found that the faster the water flows, the more active cod get bit. I have fished the tide between full moon and new moon, the current is slow in comparison and the cod don't bother biting. My simple fishing rules are...slow water, slow bite...fast water, be patient!

When planning my next outing, I use the internet for weather, tide and moon forecasts. In particular, Willy Weather, Maroochy River – Picnic Point have proven to be the most accurate forecasts. All my fishing is during the day. Since I'm retired, I rarely fish on the weekends (very busy). I like to plan my trip so that I can pick up a jack or soldier crab from the sand at low tide, hit the bottom of the tide, and be fishing within the first 2 hours of the shot. Alternatively, I'll grab my bait the day before and leave it live overnight to catch the top on the tide. Willy Weather is my bible and I have found him invaluable to my success rate.

Let's talk about the right bait...to catch blue cod you need to use live bait. The number one bait for sandfish or summer cod in almost all Australian estuaries and rivers is bloodworms. Beach worms play a role in rivers near estuaries, but they can't match the effect that bloodworms have on cod. There are many different types of bloodworms depending on where you live, unfortunately they can be hard to find on the Sunshine Coast. Some fishing tackle shops sell it here, but it's expensive.

Mother Nature has provided us with a plethora of alternative baits in Maroochy. As I mentioned earlier, yabbies (or nibbles, as they are called south of the border) can pump water over almost any bar of sand or mud that is exposed when the river is low. The best way to find them is to go to the shore at high tide and look for the burrows they live in. Upstream, you'll find them around Chambers Island and on the beaches of Picnic Point Esplanade. Channel Island and Goat Island are connected mid-river by tidal mangrove flats, and the sands of these islands are home to some of the healthiest schools of catfish in Queensland. While I catch good cod on yabbies, they tend to attract a lot of small pickers and pest fish, which brings me to my favorite elbow sausage bait on Maroochy...unmatched soldier crab.

Soldier crabs thrive in almost any river with mud or sandbars. At low and medium tides, they emerge from the surface and collectively jump ashore, stirring up the sandy surface while feeding on the millions of microbes and bacteria that live there. On a sunny day, they'll stay out until the tide goes out, then disappear like someone waving a magic wand. The cod is an ultimate challenge for the crab minion. Okay...enough baiting. In my next report, I will describe some of the places where whiting is common. The river is still very clear, but with northerly winds blowing, the water can get a bit murky at low tide, providing some cover for the cod.

See you soon on the river! If you want to share your fishing experience, feel free to do soSend me an email.

September 10, 2020

After doing some much needed repairs on my 20 year old 40HP Mariner, I hit the water at low tide just after the August full moon. I know it's too early to expect any big cod or significant numbers this season, but I'm hoping to catch some anglers still circling during the transition from winter to summer. Once the tide starts coming out of the sand, it's a good time to check how the river has changed over the past 4 winter months. By altered I mean how the channel has changed, new shallows have formed and deeper channels have silted up and become shallow trenches. Rivers are forever changing, all of which affect the big cod habitat each summer.

As the tide approaches the halfway mark, I can quickly see several additional washes or swells forming around Chambers Island and the Channel/Goat Islands. That's where the bigger cod are, bursting out of the water at low tide, waiting for a tasty meal (catfish or soldier crab) to come ashore. With so many new locations to try, my mouth is watering just thinking about having a big bump on my elbow.

While the soldier crab was playing in the shallows, I took enough time for a short workout and some fishing in hopes of catching some early season cod. Unfortunately I never got a bite on the cod, but I did eat a couple of small nibbles around 25cm. During the river I came across a large sunken tree that stopped near my favorite cod spot Y. I figured it had been there all winter and I thought if I would catch snapper anywhere it had to be somewhere, I anchored 20 meters upstream from the log, cast 2 lines full of soldier crabs over the log and left my cellar. I'm ready 3^roadThe hook was thrown when one of the rods bent in half like a fish and went over the log, tangled my line around it, and I never saw it again. Another rod came off and in no time I had a nice big 12" goldhead. I just released this fish when I was 3^roadThe rod was upright and after the ding dong fight I lightly lifted another 30cm snapper in good condition. Half an hour later I caught 4 good quality 30cm lampreys, then went back to the dam and broke twice. All the fish were released and I realized that if I got this hook in the winter I could get a boat full of snapper.

A few rare greentail, grouper and flathead were said to be caught on live bait and lures at the road bridge. The deeper water and bollards here offer more shelter than the rest of the river, allowing baits to gather in abundance... thus providing a regular feed for the bigmouth. If you can find a good structure to fish there are some nice snapper around 30cm left over from the winter.

One of the problems that comes up in the summer is that the river is so clean that all the species are pretty shy until it rains enough to make the river a little dirty. When that happens, it could prove to be a great cod season. October is traditionally one of the best months for Maroochy flathead, but again, the rivers are clear enough to spook big flathead unless it's raining or you try live baiting at night. Well I will! As I write this report we have had 60ml of rain in the last 24 hours. The gods of time answered my call to battle. If this continues, there will likely be early cod dividends. If you would like to share some information from your fishing experience, please contact me atmalcolmmckinlay0@gmail.com.

August 27, 2020

Hello! It's been a while since my last report... 3 months actually. There are several reasons for this. First of all, my real passion for fishing is cod fishing. By cod I mean big cod... 30cm over. Most serious anglers know that in the colder months from May to late August the cod take their winter break from Maroochy to a place known only to them. I normally still fish for snapper, walleye and other local cold weather species during the winter, but I have a new hobby that is very time consuming. I bought myself an Epic V8Ocean surf ski so now I enjoy the health benefits of paddling miles out in clear ocean conditions or chasing waves and waves when the wind picks up to 30km.

So let's get back to fishing. I have now been reporting on the MaroochyRiver for 3 years for Qld Fishing Monthly Magazine and this report is actually my 63rd. One of the best things I have gotten from the report is that I now have a completely accurate report of all my Maroochy fishing activity over the past 3 years that I can refer to at any time. Fish have very cyclical patterns that repeat each season, each moon phase and year after year. They are greatly affected by natural phenomena such as rainy and dry seasons, water temperature and wind. Looking back on my previous trips to Maroochy I have a very useful guide to the best times to fish the river for the various species I am targeting.

For example, in 2017, cod had a long time to return from the winter break. The river is really clean and you need 100ml of rain in late October to catch a mean 30+cm cod. The cod was only caught in mid October 2018 and 300ml rained in a few days and the fish was caught at 38cm. A good cod was caught at 35cm around the full moon in 2019. It was a pleasant surprise in September. So when the last of the cold westerly winds hit in late August, I knew cod season was just around the corner.

He preferred to catch flounder at high tide, fishing when the shoals flooded. The cod rise with the tide and feed on the sand, looking for wallabies, crabs and prawns. They become very aggressive and will happily attack the bait when they are hungry. However, over the years I have come to appreciate the low tide and enjoy fishing channels and washouts as the water recedes from the sand. My reasoning is that they have extra areas to spread out when the tide is high, so you'll have to look harder to find where they're learning. As the tide receded, they had no choice but to retreat into the channel formed by the overflowing banks of water. As cod season approaches I will cover some of my favorite places to fish for cod on the river.

The best bait for cod fishing in Maroochy is a so called mud worm or blood worm but these are hard to come by and expensive on the Sunshine Coast. There are many places on the river where you can smoke your own live burgers and harvest the crabs that are an important part of the cod's diet. I will also let you know where live bait can be collected in my next report. So there you have it... I can feel the anticipation building as September approaches. It's almost time to shake off the winter cobwebs and get ready to hunt big cod. If you would like to share some information from your fishing experience, please contact me atmalcolmmckinlay0@gmail.com.Good luck!

June 18, 2020

My best friend Gilligan came down from BrisVegas and spent a few days with me on the river chasing Marlin. 5 days before the new moon in June, we released 100 minnows and headed to one of my favorite places by the sea on Goat Island. We still had an hour before high tide set in so we headed over to the mouth of the bar to see the progress they were making with giant sandbags to build the retaining wall of the south entrance. Cotton River. Tree. They dug the foundations, filled these huge hard sandbags that weighed tons, and the cranes stacked them on top of each other to form a wall. Aesthetically they look very neat and I think time will tell if they can withstand the fury the ocean will throw at them.

Anyway... back to fishing. On the tide our burley floated behind the boat and our float quickly came into play as the 36cm Qualitygar began to swallow half the yabbies we were using as bait. Although they didn't quite bite the bullet, within a few hours we caught 40 premium marlin for the session. We returned to the same spot the next day and sat there for 30 minutes without being asked anything, so we moved 150 meters upstream but closer to the beach. Another 20 minutes passed with no action and we were ready to go again when the burley came in. Soon we had a flock of mixed quality chickpeas working on the burley and our first snack of the winter was added to feed it. We ended up with 30 29cm and 30cm snappers and 2 snappers and released 3 or 4 small legal size snappers. The annual winter snapper migration in the Maroochy River system has finally begun. All the snapper we caught were in excellent condition.

As we headed to our gar we passed a small tub the size of a tub with 4 young men standing around throwing bait and bait. One of them was tossing a nice flathead aside as we passed. I can't figure out how they keep their balance on that little boat. Two old men hunt redfish every year in their favorite spot (I won't say where) and they were playing with a few fish as we passed by... so I can only assume the redfish will be back for the winter.

Back at the Picnic Point boat ramp, a reader stopped me and showed me some recent photos of a large yellowfin from his favorite Caught on a hook. He also showed me a video on his phone showing a giant 40cm long lamp scale and said he had dropped a larger lamp over the side of the boat. It uses fishing bait and live shrimp caught with a cast net. As we cleaned the fish, a large school of mullet lay downstream on the fillet table in front of us. I'm talking about thousands of giant silver mullets, rippling through the clear waters like invisible sea breezes... what a sight! If you are taking off at the Picnic Pointboat ramp, there are a few things to keep in mind. It is very clogged with sand and anywhere near low tide you will struggle to get down the slope.

Tailors usually follow the mullet up the river, so it is best for the fish to stay close to it.

The annual run for all winter species has officially begun and will only improve as water temperatures cool. If you would like to share something about your fishing experience, please contact me atmalcolmmckinlay0@gmail.com.Good luck!

June 3, 2020

It's great to see the winter weather finally upon us. South-east and south-westerly winds are expected to be followed by mild, calm days over the next 3 months as the massive high pressure system sweeps across Australia. Without a doubt, this is one of the best times of the year to fish the Maroochy River.

I mentioned in my last report that the winter sea buckthorn migration to eastern Australia has started and I have made quite a few trips (50) over the last few weeks. The quality of these little beauties has always been excellent, and many tail forks have reached 36cm. The size of the steaks is so huge that every trip I take home 2 x 2 liter ice cream containers filled with sweet boneless garrote steaks. Most people think the Gal is very difficult to work with because of its size, but once you get the hang of it, the hard work will pay off.

The continuous annual yellowfin fishery has not really started yet. A sure sign of their presence was when I was fishing they took over the burley. So far this winter I haven't caught any snapper from the stern on the Burley trail. I think this is because the water is still warm and usually doesn't come out in abundance until the cold winter currents come ashore. That could all change soon as some cold fronts move into Queensland. As a general rule of thumb, the full moon in June usually heralds the start of their winter run, so they should increase in size and numbers over the next couple of weeks. While I don't personally target snappers, they are still fun on light tackle. Hanging a burley barrel with slow release burley over the side of your boat will increase your chances of catching good fish. Once the redfish smell the Burley smoke floating on the tide, they make the long journey to your boat. Fish as lightly as possible, drifting from the boat in the current. They are natural scavengers, cleaning rivers as they feed. Live bait is best and wallabies or crabs are good choices. They will also accept any other fish bait you want to throw at them, especially herring chunks or WA stakes. I once fished with a New Zealand colleague and she threw a piece of Saveloy (a 'red sausage' as she called it) on her hook and she caught a 34cm snapper which I couldn't believe. So trust me, when they are hungry, they want everything.

The best places to fish are around structure such as floating trees that ran aground during the rain, jetties and floats high up in the river and the bold riverbanks around Goat Island. They like to congregate in deeper channels to avoid prying eyes, as the water is always clearer in winter. Of course, the cod holes and piers around highway bridges are a favorite spot for big hoods with bait and live bait. Flathead should still be in good supply on bait and live bait over the next 2 months.

For those who prefer to fish the beach, there are some very good drainages along the Kawana Waters section that can now accommodate a reasonable sized dart. I was chatting with a fish while walking the dog the other day and he showed me a picture of a big jew mullet he had pulled overnight with a jig from a culvert near shore. There are lots of beach worms in the same area (if you can catch them), making excellent bait for all species.

Regardless, after spending the last 3 months holed up in a cave to avoid a dreaded virus, everyone should be willing to get out and try. If you would like to share some information from your fishing experience, please contact me atmalcolmmckinlay0@gmail.com.Good luck!

April 24, 2020

It's been 2 months since my last report and a lot of water has flown under the bridge in that time. The deadly coronavirus has intensified and is upending the world, forever changing the world as we know it. As far as I'm concerned, the only good thing to come out of this turmoil is that Maroochydore hasn't changed at all. The tide still comes in, the tide still goes out, and the people here prosper as best they can.

As we enter the turn of the seasons, the summer cod run is almost over. February was more to me than any other month of the summer because of the amount of rain we recorded at that time. The muddy conditions and cool water forced them down to the dune mouth and produced some of the best cod I've ever had on the river. Now the river is so clear that you can see the bottom even at the deepest point downstream. It's early for the annual bream, but the marlin winter cycle has officially begun, with these tasty silver specimens congregating here and there downstream. Recently, on the New Moon of April, I caught (50) Ongar in a few hours of fishing. I keep many of these smaller fish (no size limit) because they make great bait for surf and outdoor fishing if properly packaged and frozen immediately after being caught.

For those who haven't tried bass fishing, they are great fun with light tackle and will keep the kids (and big kids) entertained for hours. The best rig I have found to use is a Luderick style float with adjustable hook and sinker cables. Silversides sometimes feed at different depths, so you need to be able to adjust the bait to suit your needs. The absolute key to bass fishing is to have a burley bucket full of homegrown or commercial burley on the side to attract them to your boat. The Mustad BloodWorm Long Shank No 10 is the perfect size hook for baiting a small piece of shrimp, squid or catfish. The trick is to steer the buoy from the stern of the boat upstream in Burley Creek. Your float should be perfectly balanced so that once the fish start swimming with the bait in their mouths, the float will slowly sink below the surface. Here's a tip to pick up the rod, set the hook and enjoy the fight as the fish will try every trick in the book to drop the hook.

Gar love clean, clear water and will work with the tides moving over the scrub and sandbanks when they are covered by rising water. When they were working the Burley trail behind the boat the other day, the water was so clear he could almost choose what fish he wanted to catch. They are best caught at low tide, but you can let them escape with the burley for about an hour before returning to the mouth of the bar to wait for the tide to return. Although they are very picky about their fillets due to their size, with a good sharp knife and a little practice, you will be handsomely rewarded with sweet meat that rivals any other species.

Over the next month, yellowfin will begin to increase in number and size as the cold winter waters fill the river. On my last return to the Picnic Point slopes I was surprised to see some very good quality cod still hanging around the 30cm mark around the shallows. in the coming weeks.

If you would like to share some information from your fishing experience, please contact me atmalcolmmckinlay0@gmail.com.Good luck!

March 6, 2020

Just as the river started to clear after the downpour in early February, another 150ml of rain fell on 24 and 25 February, the skies cleared again and the river turned a chocolate color overnight. I knew immediately that the cod would be forced back upstream as the water was too cold for them to survive anywhere else.

On February 26, the low tide is expected at 17:45. M, I jumped off the Picnic Point ramp at 2 p.m. My last trip was full of hope. The tide was high so I moved closer to the next size sinker (#4) trying to keep the bait in the strike zone. It is important that your bait does not float too high if the current is strong.

I caught a nice 34cm cod in no time and used a soldier crab bait, dropping it into the middle of the series of washes or dimples I mentioned in my previous report. I immediately noticed a 37cm cod joining its mate in my sky. I didn't have another bite in 20 minutes so I went to the Y spot where I collected some more soldier crabs and moved to a position where the water ran over a sand bar about 2 feet deep and then into the main course of the river. With only an hour and a half until low tide, I knew I was running out of time to find a good school of cod in the murky water. Little did he know he was about to have some of the best fishing times he's ever had on the Maroochy River.

When I first set it up, I usually use 3 ribs spread across the back of the boat, covering the 180 degree line. If I'm more interested in one bar than others, I'll specialize in that area. In this case the right rod was challenged first and I caught a quality fish in no time. Next is the central rail and at the same time the port rail. I dropped a 35cm cod on the floor of my boat and started playing with the middle rod, which was another 35cm cod, and when I grabbed the other rod it worked with Together on the floor, another 35cm cod fell cm (all hooked to the guts ). You know you are in fishing heaven when you have 3 blue cod jumping on the bottom of your boat before you can get a hook. I turned to catch crabs as fast as I could and before I could throw the second bait I was back on the first rod. Another 12+ inch cod quickly appeared in my boat and when I cast the next bait, boom! I came back with another big fish. Wait... an hour. I caught 19 cod in an hour and only 5 were under 12 inches. I know now that I will be cleaning the fish by 8pm. Wow! What a meeting (see esky photo). One of my contacts, Troy, took advantage of the cool river conditions to catch some excellent cod during the February low tide (see tank photo).

The water is starting to clear and the walleye will be loose in the river again soon, but if you work the full moon high tide on March 10th you will be handsomely rewarded. There are also some nice sized snappers working the cod schools. How quickly your luck can change on the Maroochy River. You just have to keep doing what works best for you and the rewards will follow.

If you would like to share some information from your fishing experience, please contact me atmalcolmmckinlay0@gmail.com.Good luck!

February 19, 2020

The lower reaches of the Maroochy River are stocked with cod of much larger than average size. This is all due to a year's worth of rain falling in the catchment over the past two weeks. The upper layers of the river are so fresh that it is impossible for most saltwater species to survive, so they keep their heads down. Estuaries seek clean, salty water from the ocean. Cod are congregating in channels around Goat, Chambers Island and Cotton Tree right now, working the tides as clean water pushes dirty water back upstream. Trust me, they are very hungry and looking for shrimp, soldier crabs, shrimp and whatever else the cod will eat.

Troy, a reader of mine with whom I text often, was fishing the river with bloodworms on Saturday nights in the middle of the period between the last full moon in February and the new moon on February 24th. He fished all night and caught a good quality cod 37cm long. Like me, he rarely sleeps, but when the river floods like it is now, the exception is the rule. Knowing what he had accomplished, I set out on Tuesday, February 18th, still in the lunar kidney cycle, and what I thought would be an excellent meeting. With 40 hares pumping quickly below the 6-section mark on the west side of Goat Island, I moved to point X, where I made my final trip. In very dirty water, I soon found myself snared by a mystery fish that had been a mystery since my boat broke when I leaned too far to tow it. A few minutes later I caught a 35cm cod which I later found out was the only fish I had at site X for the next 45 minutes so I continued to site Y and picked up some soldier crabs enjoying their freshly washed mud. . flood. I fished point Y for about 30 minutes and didn't catch anything so I went back to point X where I caught the biggest cod I've had in years at 42cm. It was so big and in the murky water I almost thought it was a big flathead. However, it was in the middle of nowhere, so I returned to Site Y and fished the last section, where the water was the color and consistency of thick molasses.

Just half an hour before the declared low tide, I moved on to see a school of cod you've always dreamed of. .As soon as they ran, the water was full of mud, and they bit their heads... Unbelievable! I'm really kicking myself, is this a dream? Is he fishing in Twilight?

Even more amazing, the first cod I caught was gut hooked as they had just swallowed the bait like there was no tomorrow, but all the last fish were either hook in the mouth or hook in the mouth. . Incredible. I waited for the tide to turn and got 2 more elbow strikes at about 35cm and 2 more lost in the boat. Apart from 1 cod I caught, everyone else was caught on soldier crabs.

Just to add something else, 50% of the fish I catch at Y point are pure silver gold like when you pull them out of the waves, the rest of the fish have very dark skin showing they were from the Upriver river... incredible! I know I've said this word 4 times, but it was a great meeting. With the new moon of February 24th approaching, if you want to experience the thrill of an ELBOW MERLAN encounter...now is the time to do it!

If you would like to share some information from your fishing experience, please contact me atmalcolmmckinlay0@gmail.com.Good luck!

February 12, 2020

Finally! I have something to write.

This summer has been the worst cod season since I started fishing Maroochy 12 years ago. Apart from the festive traffic that has besieged the river for the past two months, the persistent hot and dry weather since October also contributed significantly to the event. My theory is... when the river clears, the cod downstream spread throughout the river, moving up into deeper streams and channels, past the Bli Bli, in search of food and shelter. There will be downpours near Goat Island, Picnic Point and Cotton Treeaches to wash them away. I was excited in mid-January when we had 200ml of water for 4 days, but the soil was so dry that only half reached the river, so there was little discolouration. Then came 4-7 February when the upper Maroochy Basin was cleared and Yandina received 350ml of water overnight. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up... it meant my beloved cod was about to wash down the river to the base of operations.

On February 10th, the day after the full moon... the stars lined up, signs that a perfect (white) storm was forming just downstream of Maroochy. A billion liters of water the color of Coca-Cola flowed downstream at low tide as I pulled the boat up the slopes to the picnic spot, and today was the day.

I smoked 40 yabbies near the 6 knot mark on the west side of the Goat, hoping I could keep them alive long enough (because the water was so cold) for the soldier crabs to come out. Looking in the few places I've had success in the past, only a few small cod and bream are interested. When the tide started to recede from the shore, I slipped over to the X spot, which hadn't worked for me all summer. At first I tried hard to get to the shore with no success, then decided to move on to some work ripples in mid-current. First, drop the eye opener on the rod, get the hook up quickly and I'm in heaven. I can tell right away I'm in solid white and I'm trying to put it back in the pot. I dropped my first cod on the ground and my other rod was in the air. I let her walk to the pot and a couple of 36cm pigeons landed safely in my sky. In the next hour I caught 4 more 32cm cod and 4 smaller 25cm cod. Snapper and tar were also released into the mix, except for one fish whose gills were bleeding and would likely die if thrown. All fish were caught with live crabs as the soldier crabs did not come out to eat for reasons known only to them.

The old man stopped when I caught my first cod and told me he hadn't had a bite of it on his last trip. He took one look at the size of my first fish and couldn't get to his favorite corner spot fast enough. I never saw him again so I can only assume he is fine where he is. Catching whiting in very dirty water is very different compared to crystal clear water. Once they're hooked, they're very happy because you'll hold them like a dog on a leash until they're right next to the boat, and then they'll all run away.

My confidence (in my abilities) is back now...it's amazing how your confidence drops when you have a few bad river trips, but when things go according to plan your confidence will bounce back so quickly. While the river has retained its runoff color due to the recent rains, I believe the whiting will remain downstream. So this is your good chance to get elbows in the next week or so. If you would like to share some information from your fishing experience, please contact me atmalcolmmckinlay0@gmail.comWhenever. Good luck! McKinley

January 8, 2020

It has been a month since my last report and unfortunately there has been no noticeable change in the hot dry weather or river conditions. This river is almost the cleanest river I have ever seen. There is a lot of traffic on the water and almost no places to fish. In every nook and cranny float every imaginable watercraft invented by man.

On the new moon in December I caught a mixed bag of snapper, grunt and flathead on the run, all released and managed a 12" cod using Japier as bait. I threw 2 very large cod that were within elbow range (over 14 inches) on the boat. Once hooked, they perform head casts, dips and dives, twists and turns, and various tricks to get the hook. I always feel a twinge of disappointment when a good fish takes the bait, but I am grateful and respect what escapes from me and lives to live another day.

These two good fish encouraged me to try again 4 days before the January full moon. When I fished the backflow I used rabies waiting for the soldier crabs to come out and caught some very good 12" buttons and a small 18" flathead all released. Soldier crabs are slow feeders so I only have a few hours to clean the cod well before low tide. I have tried at least 6 different spots that usually produce fish without losing the bait. With less than an hour until high tide, I headed upstream back to the west side of Goa, a place I hadn't fished in 12 months. This place produced a school of cod and kept me busy for about 30 minutes. I cast a few at the junction but ended up with 4 good fish around 30cm. I also caught a 30cm grunt, a snapper 3 legit and a blue portunus all released. As always on the lower tide, the cod were completely out of the bay. On the theory that they re-emerge when the tide turns, I caught young flounder but didn't have another bite of cod all day...miracle of fishing.

Sand crabs are nasty, my soldier crab bait has been stolen a few times, and if I set up crab traps I'm sure I could catch tons of bugs (ya think?). Although I only brought home 4 cod (first priority on my plate), my efforts would have had a nice mix if I had kept all the legal species caught that day.

As I hit the water at the Picnic Point ramp, I couldn't help but notice flatheads in the sand next to the ramp. There were at least a dozen of them, all clustered where the night lights of the hillside shone on the water. I can only venture a guess, but I think they are ambushing the shrimp and bait fish that are attracted to the night lights... might be worth a try?

There are cod downriver but they are very unpredictable and until we have a severe weather event with at least 300ml of rain I don't really see things improving much. I am absolutely amazed at the quantity and quality of bream caught this season. Things are sure to calm down in a few weeks when the school holidays are over and all the holidaymakers go home. So unless you're like me and have a rash of lack of fishing after two weeks away from the river, save your energy.

If you would like to share some information from your fishing experience, please contact me atmalcolmmckinlay0@gmail.com.Good luck!

December 10, 2019

where did they go

I'm talking about those cod that come out when the cod season starts in October. To say my last 3 trips to Maroochy have been disappointing would be the understatement of the year. I fished twice for a whiting @ 30cm around the new moon in November. I have to admit that on my last trip 4 days before the full moon in December I wasn't sure if I would be able to find a good area for cod. Based on my experience over the past 12 years, the indications are otherwise. It's been almost 8 weeks since we last had a lot of rain. Just as on earth the farmers toil when it does not rain, the same applies to those who are engaged in fishing...no fish if it does not rain. I know it's hard to believe, but every time we go through a prolonged drought, the cod seem to disappear. I tried all my usual producing spots and could find no cod of any description, regardless of size. My total from my last trip was 1 flathead, 1 snapper and 1 grunt, all released. At times like this I love the Knockers of the Maroochydore and the fact that there are no fish there. I think we need a major storm water system to stop above us before there is any improvement, especially for cod.

Anyway, enough doom and gloom... Remember that the worst fishing day is much better than the best working day, and if you're lucky enough to catch a feed, that's a bonus. For pure fish that can't help but have to wet the line anyway, I would give the pelagics (Silver Trevally) a shot and use bait and live bait between the road bridge and Chambers Island. I also think that if you focus on flathead fishing with fresh dead bait and live herring around the deeper channels of Chambers and Goat Island, you can probably catch some good fish. For those coming to the Sunshine Coast for the Christmas break and looking for an alternative to the river, the beaches between Cape Cartwright and Caloundra have plenty of good drainage for some darts and cod. You'll find me here before the new year, unless of course we hit a flood.

With the holidays starting next week, the river is by no means going to be a good place to forage. There will be countless jet skis, boats, paddle boats, kayaks and tourists frolicking on the water. So over the next 6 weeks, it's time to build the outboard, fit trailer wheels and bearings, and buy lots of new fishing rods and tackle to put under the Christmas tree. If warm weather is on the way, find a spot under the air conditioning and relax with a beer or wine in hand.

To all my readers who are following me again this year, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. If you would like to share some information from your fishing experience, please contact me atmalcolmmckinlay0@gmail.com.Good luck!

November 4, 2019

We are at that time of the calendar when the tides are more influenced by the moon than any other time of year. November, December and January, but especially around Christmas, we have high tides. These larger than normal tides create more water in and out of the river, reshaping the riverbed with each tidal event. The increased water flow also affects the summer species that frequent the river at this time, making them more active. While my main target is cod, I understand from fishing media reports that all the other species that are prevalent at this time of year also get excited. In the inlets the fish hunted mangrove and giant trevally, the cod holes were full of giant and small fish, and there were shoals of golden and silver trevally that poured out of the ocean, gobbling up anything edible in sight. Gulls were feeding avidly from a large school of trevally mid-river as I made my final trip upstream. All of this happens in just 2 feet of water when the tide washes over the sand in front of the Picnic Point boat ramp. , while a school of 2kg trevally gather their bait in the shallows of the Mooloolah River.

I fished 2 times around the new moon in October. The first trip, just before the new moon, was by far the best trip with a nice 36cm cod. During the day, I caught a fish, and the fish tore the line furiously and slowly moved away around the boat. I bet my house is disgusting, but I'm determined to stay there until I can recognize it. As I approached the boat, a huge silver flash in the murky water told another story. I landed a nice 37cm snapper in no time (see photo). If I had acted prematurely and fried the fish as a stick, I would have paid dearly for it. I also caught a 35 cm yellowfin and a 45 cm flathead. 2^{North Dakota}Trip I was fishing 30 km south on a day when the weather forecast was not accurate and gale force winds made it almost impossible to catch soldier crab (the cod was stealing my bait without me knowing). It ended the day with quality over quantity as I only had 3 12-14 inch fish by the end of the afternoon.

My favorite part is that the turn happened in the last 4 hours of the turn. Once the shoals are found, the soldier crabs go to work and the fish have no choice but to retreat to deeper channels and outlets. Look for fast moving water, no more than a meter deep. With a good pair of sunglasses, you can look for deeper water ripples, anchor well upstream and return to greener areas. It may take some searching, trying different parts of the river, but you'll soon find your favorite spots, which produce great cod time and time again. However, some days it just isn't there and you go home with little reward for your efforts. This is what keeps us coming back… to try and prove that we are actually smarter than fish. My next favorite part of the tide is the first 2-3 hours of high tide, right when the tide starts to cover the sand. Look for places along the stream where the water covers the edge of the sandbar to a depth of about 9 inches. The water you're fishing will deepen quickly, so you'll want to drop anchor and follow the water onto the sand. Always look for fast moving water no more than a foot deep. My only problem with incoming tides is that once the shallows sink in, the fish have more options to hide...so they can prove to you that they are smarter than humans. I imagine you will find that with the tide rising before Christmas you may need to go up a size or two to allow your lures to stay in the strike zone as the incoming water rises and passes.

The next full moon, November 12th, will be your last chance to enjoy the solitude of the river before the school holidays start when our population doubles... so you better get to work. Construction site.

If you would like to share some information from your fishing experience, please contact me atmalcolmmckinlay0@gmail.com.Good luck!

22/10/19

I often mention the benefits of night fishing over day fishing in my reports. I'm a bit too old to worry about night fishing but at any other time there are plenty of cod in Maroochy. Since I started writing this column, I have been in constant contact with a night angler named Troy Schumacher who has been fishing for cod over 14 inches. Troy has graciously agreed to share his knowledge and advice with all of us and I know you grown-ups are in for a real treat...so read on.

“Morning Mal, this is how I catch big cod at night.

I really like shallow water at night. If I'm sitting 2 feet or less, it's fine. As you say, during the day the waters are clear and the cod will see you and your boat. I say, in shallow water at night, they will hear you. I try to be as quiet as possible...no music, empty beer bottles, no shouting...just silence. Most of my fishing is solitary, so now is a quiet time, observing.

Looking for fast, shallow water. This is sometimes hard to find because often the flock can be a very flat flock and the water is not necessarily channeled to create a fast flow. However, you can find it in some places...look for places where the water is moving fast through the shallows. These are the places I "go" on the low tide, but with the ledge, I move towards the edge of the channel.

I put two 9' rods on the back and one on the side of the rod holder pointing away from the boat (the length of the rods helps to separate the lines). It might sound like a lot of rod for a lot of fish, but since I spend most of my time in shallow water, I don't get tangled up much even with fast currents. Many Australians swear by Alvey cord wheels, they are strong and virtually indestructible, but I prefer egg beaters. I usually use Shimano, Daiwa and Okuma in sizes 2500 to 4000. All my lines are 6lb braid and 6lb fluorocarbon cables. I use a light pea barrel and a hook about 2 feet long. My favorite hook is Mustad Carlisle...in a box of 50 you can't go wrong. I don't use red beads or piping.

Bloodworms are dynamite! And you don't need much. There are some worms in the fast moving water and any random odd cod lurking around will smell you. To fight or not to fight when the cod is hooked? It depends how they bite at night...their behavior changes. Sometimes when fishing all night you don't need to strike and the fish will catch as soon as the pole is bent. Sometimes I can cast 3 rods at once (when there is a "white cod" tide) and still be confident of picking them all up at the right time. Other nights are very difficult and I have to pay more attention and hit the ball regularly to catch my ball. Another thing I will say is that I noticed in some of your pictures that the red hook comes down from the mouth. I rarely hook them with the muzzle... 9 times out of 10 I do.

As I like fast running water, I like high tides, you and I agree. I've eaten a lot outside of prime time, but some of that success was due to other factors like heavy rain. I do my best to keep my headlights out of the area I'm fishing. Much of the regular Fraser Island fishing has made me paranoid about not having lights on the water while fishing. On my boats, I have LED strips installed on the bottom of the boat, running the length of the boat, so I can minimize the use of spotlights.

When I fish, I walk until I figure it out. I'll have some nights where I feel like I don't have it figured out and I'm just looking, but I definitely learn something from every place I go. If I try again where it has failed me in the past, I'm fine...if it looks good. Other nights I just patiently wait for the next 'wave' of schools of cod. I have found that these whiting waves are more common in deeper water at low tide. I think this is it my friend... Cheers! Troy.

A big thank you to Troy for his informative article on night cod fishing in Maroochy, I know you all enjoyed it as much as I did. The river is expected to fire on all cylinders with all sorts of summer endings!

If you would like to share some information from your fishing experience, please contact me atmalcolmmckinlay0@gmail.com. Good luck! McKinley

23/9/19

19/3/9

Report 31/7/19

Report 22/7/19

Report 6/26/19

Report June 14, 2019

Report May 22, 2019

Report March 25, 2019

Report 2/19/19

Report 06/02/19

Report 24/1/19

Report 1/2/19