Original story by Matt Osley, Queensland Times
WITH all the rain about, many anglers think their fishing opportunities go down the drain. That is not the case and in some circumstances the fishing can actually improve.
PRIZE CATCH: Kyle Fletcher took out the mangrove jack competition last weekend at the Gold Coast with this cracker 59.5cm fish. It was caught on a surface lure.
The mouths of rivers are a great place to start.
Fresh water pushing down the rivers and meeting the salt water can create a dirty water line.
This dirty water line is a favourite attraction for large jewfish, flathead, estuary cod and threadfin salmon.
These fish can be targeted in a similar way to each other.
Local live bait is the best. However, if you can’t catch or net your own, try freshly defrosted pilchards, squid or large endeavour prawns.
Try to use little weight as you want the bait to move around a little in the current to help in the presentation.
A run-out tide is the best after a lot of rain as it concentrates the baitfish a little more.
Lures can also work and vertical presentations like Jackall Transams and heavily rigged paddle tails like the Norries Spoon tail or Keitech Fat Impact are great for this situation.
Simply drop the lure to the bottom and slowly work the lure back to the boat.
Allow plenty of pauses to keep the lure in the strike zone.
In the fresh, many of the dams and rivers actually fish much better after an influx of water.
As the rivers rise with the incoming water, the bass and other predatory fish make the most of this and begin to hunt in the shallows for stranded insects, frogs and other food items.
Small surface poppers can be great early in the day with shallow divers coming in when the surface strikes quieten down.
In these shallow waters, bass will often take baits of live worms or shrimp.
If you want to try your hand at luring, try the Megabass Dog-X and Type-X or the Luckycraft Sammy 65. These are great lures and replicate a host of different prey items.
Another great place to try would be Hinze or Maroon dams.
Both of these dams respond well to the rain, and fish particularly well early in the morning with surface lures the same as you would use in the rivers being the common theme.
Focus your attention around the edge of these dams as the fish will move into the shallows to take advantage of freshly flooded grasses and all the prey.
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