Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Fishing-Adventures-Destinations » Hervey Bay Holiday Season Fishing

Hervey Bay Holiday Season Fishing

By Paul Chew

Burrum Heads to River Heads Family Friendly Fishing

Hi all, well somehow its that time of year again, when the holiday season is upon us. I thought I would just touch a little on what will be on the chew over the break, from Burrum Heads to Hervey Bay.

A lot of the Christmas fishing will be governed by the weather, which, to be honest has been all over the shop. Hot one minute, back to wearing a jumper the next, with rain still falling and keeping the salt water a little dirty.

Generally, around the river mouths will be the most productive, with the fresh just pushing back up the creeks a few kilometers. I will start at Burrum Heads and work my way around into Hervey Bay and River Heads. There’s a few of my videos linked here on catching fish in this area. If you are heading to the area and have any questions, drop them there and I will try and answer them as best I can, to see if I can get you onto a few fish.

Burrum Heads

By Boat

Straight across from Burrum Heads is Black Bank, where there will be plenty of sand whiting on the big tides, especially after dark. Around the small mangrove islands out from Walkers Point there will be plenty of gar on the half up tide. Fish with a size 6 hook and a small piece of saltwater yabby and it will keep the kids entertained. Further up, both the Gregory River and the Burrum around Buxton, as far as Isis Point, will be great for mangrove jack, grunter and a few flathead.

I use small plastics, predominantly the ZMan 3.5” EZ Shrimpz and particularly in Gold Flake colour, fished over deeper rock ledges and landslides in about three metres of water, along with the ZMan 3” Slim SwimZ. I like Space Guppy colour in the dirty water, but a couple of the new colors will be winners, including Houdini, which is always a mangrove jack favorite.

I also find that I get less barramundi by-catch when using plastics as opposed to hard bodies. The new ZMan ST GrubZ and 2.5” PrawnZ will be worth a throw, rigged on a TT HeadlockZ Finesse jighead once the sun gets up a bit and they should tempt some grunter. On a recent quick windy trip, I managed ten or so grunter and a nice jack in a two-hour period, before the wind blew up. I am finding that the jacks are either hitting surface early or hanging reasonably deep and hitting the smaller plastics. It has been a great summer so far chasing them. I haven’t managed a real big one yet but have gotten a fair few smaller ones.

Off the bank

There will be good sand whiting along the front, with the half out tide in the late evening always a good time to try, using fresh yabbies pumped up past the boat ramp. Just a running sinker rig, with a #4 Mustad Bloodworm hook, will see you in the action. Using this, you will also pick up some bream and the odd flathead.

There should also be grunter available, with a thin triangle of squid or mullet flesh, hooked through the point just once on a #1 or #2 Mustad Bloodworm hook, or similar, getting the job done. Cast out, leave your rod sit with just a bit of drag on it, and don’t pick the rod up until the fish hooks itself. There is a video hereabouts of me rigging up mullet bait for grunter. (8) Grunter / Javelin Fish Bait and Lure Tips with Paul Chew - YouTube You want the last hour of the run in, and fist hour of the run out, just on or after dark to be successful with the wily grunter.

Flathead will also take this, as well as a well-presented live bait such as herring. Either the last hour of the run out, or at high tide along in front of both the caravan parks is the go.

Hervey Bay

Hervey Bay has enough fishing options to write ten articles about, especially over summer, so I will limit it to what I think will give average fisho’s like myself, the best chance of catching a few.

By Boat

The options are endless if you have a boat and a bit of decant weather, however one of the easiest ways to get a fish, especially when it’s busy, will be to troll small hard bodied lures out in front of Gatakers Bay. Launch at the ramp, turn left when you hit about five metres of water, throw a couple of 80-100mm lures out that dive to about 10 feet, troll out to the point of rocks, and repeat. There should be coral trout, cod, grunter, and school mackerel about.

You want to fish with heavy gear, around 8-10kg spin or baitcast, and don’t knock the motor out of gear when you get a bite. Its much easier dragging them away from the structure. If trolling isn’t your thing, grab a few pilchards and drift the same area with the pillies rigged on 3 x 4/0 ganged hooks. My preferred method is fishing a prawn type lure, such as the ZMan 3” Scented ShrimpZ or 3.5” EZ ShrimpZ, rigged on a TT 1/4oz 3/0 or 4/0 SnakelockZ weedless jighead. Just let them waft down close to the bottom. You need to fish heavy, with some 40lb Platypus Hard Armor Leader my go-to. To be successful here, you need to be on the water at first light.

The bay and artificial should be full of tuna and spotted mackerel by then, with some good trout coming off the artificial reefs before daylight. Over around Kingfisher should still throw up a few good sand whiting, along with a few flathead, and an odd grunter off the beach if the water is still a bit discolored.

River Heads and up into the Mary, and Susan Rivers are just starting to produce good threadfin salmon, grunter, and some great prawns once again. Live pawns are working well as live baits, but for me a typical session will revolve around casting soft plastics to the drain mouths around River Heads, from half out tide down to low. You will often see the threadfin beaching themselves while chasing the prawns.

I just anchor well out from the drain. Using a medium spin rod, cast up into the drains and work ZMan 3” MinnowZ, 4” DieZel MinnowZ or 3” Scented ShrimpZ back out of the drain, then dropping down into the deeper water. My current outfit for doing this is a TT Black Mamba 7’, 4-8kg spin rod, paired with an Okuma ITX spin reel, loaded with 20lb Platypus Pulse Braid, and 30lb Hard Armor Leader. While it’s a heavy outfit, a lot of the fish encountered are a metre plus, warranting the bigger gear. I can get away with only 30lb leader as I rig all my plastics weedless on TT ChinlockZ or SnakelockZ.

Given that the water is still discolored, fishing over the top of the tide will likely be more productive, and it will be easier to navigate if you are unfamiliar with the waters. Grunter, bream, and flathead will all be target species early in the morning. I would launch at River Heads and work slowly up the Susan or Mary for a couple of kilometers, working up with the last of the incoming and then back with the start of the outgoing. I will be doing this a lot over the Christmas break, so if you see a poly with a Suzuki on it and a blue Okuma sticker, come say g’day.

To look for a fish, just find a bit of bank with water somewhere between two and four metres. Then just slowly work your way along, casting as close to the bank as you can, let the plastic sink and then hop it back. There’s a video link here of me fishing all that area. (8) How to Fish Soft Plastics - Creek Fishing with Paul Chew - YouTube

You don’t need big gear to fish this area, and to be honest, if you don’t have braid, it doesn’t matter. I will have three light spin outfits I will change out, and these are my go-to outfits as you have seen in a lot of my videos. I will start with a Midnight Oil coloured ZMan 2.5” GrubZ, either standard or ST, rigged on a Pearl coloured 1/4oz TT DemonZ jighead. I will also have rigged a ZMan 3” Slim SwimZ on a 2/0 TT HeadlockZ or DemonZ. The 7’, 2-4kg Okuma Cerros rod and Epixor XT spin reel will have a New Penny coloured ZMan 4” StreakZ Curly TailZ or 3” ShrimpZ, rigged on a 1/4oz 3/0 TT SnakelockZ weedless jighead. If you are up in this area, it will be worth throwing a couple of pots in for a mud crab as there are a fair few about at the moment.

Off the Bank

This one is easy, as it’s how I learned to fish back in the day with my grandparents. It’s also fun for the whole family. Pick an afternoon and take the family pumping some saltwater yabbies at the boat harbour or Eli Creek, and then go for a fish either late arvo or morning after a coffee, between Shelly Beach and the pier. You need high tide about 9am to be in the running. I would target just the pier side of the Shelly Beach access steps, and either side of the rock groynes near the pier. Have a look at my recent whiting video for all you need to catch a feed off the bank and look at these spots I have mentioned. You can of course fish off the Urangan Pier, but it will be super busy over the break. (8) How to Catch Whiting on Yabbies - High & Low Tide with Paul Chew - YouTube

In the Freshwater

Since the last flood the bass have been off tap in the locals, while Lake Lenthalls has been tough. Tinana Creek and the Mary River at Tiaro have been producing big numbers of bass. I have had good success on the ZMan 3” Baby GOAT, rigged on a 3/0 TT ChinlockZ. This is probably the easiest way to catch bass at the moment for me. Cast out as close as you can to any bit of undercut bank, or laydown timber, and just roll it back across the top, just fast enough to get the legs moving. Surface strikes will be aggressive and the soft and flexible, 10X Tough ZMan plastic will clear the hook easily.

Spinnerbaits are working well, however the easy subsurface option for me is a TT Jig Spinner in gold, teamed up with a 3” MinnowZ or 3” Slim SwimZ rigged on a 3/0 TT DemonZ or HeadlockZ Finesse. Super simple and productive, just cast out wind in and catch fish. It really is that easy. Any of the purple colours, such as Purple Death or the newer Troutsicle, are my go-to in the fresh.

Chewys Hervey Bay Christmas Wrap…

So, I hope this gives some families a few ideas in terms of where to catch a fish, or to take the kids where they actually might catch a few, while also enjoying all that Burrum Heads and Hervey Bay has to offer. I’ll finish up by dropping a couple of important dot points below.

• For the larger estuary species, on the water early will get you amongst them.
• For a cheap family fishing experience off the beach, you cannot beat fresh saltwater yabbies, rigged with small sinker, small swivel, 30cm trace and a #4 Mustad Bloodworm hook (don’t skimp and buy cheap hooks, you won’t lose many hooks off the beach).
• Don’t be overwhelmed by soft plastics. Most of the local tackle shops are fantastic, regarding rigging and so forth and they will show you how. A couple packets of each will get you started.
• My starter pack for Hervey Bay at the moment would include Midnight Oil colour in ZMan 2.5” GrubZ or ST GrubZ, New Penny colour in the 4” StreakZ Curly TailZ, and 3” Slim SwimZ in Watermelon Red colour, though the new Dirty Oil colour will smash the grunter in low light conditions. I just need some good weather to get out and get a few fish on them. A packet of 0 ball sinkers, small swivels and #4 Mustad Bloodworm hooks will complete the kit.
• I will keep an eye on the three videos linked. If you are heading to Hervey Bay over the Christmas break, drop a comment in there and I will do my best to answer your questions.

Tight lines and have a good break…
Chewy