Fisho's Weekly Fishing Report – 16 January 2026
by Fisho's Tackle World Hervey Bay 16 Jan 01:03 PST
16 January 2026
Fisho's Weekly Fishing Report © Fisho's Tackle World Hervey Bay
Well, fishos, the past week has been decidedly less than ideal weather-wise, yet it failed to turn out anywhere near as wet or as dramatic as BOM kept claiming it would. Intense humidity forewarned us of incoming showers and drizzly rain last weekend, which was generally pretty light for the most part early in the week. A cooler south-easter followed, which served to at least ease the sweat-level thereafter.
Rising humidity again now is a sure indicator of further shower activity to come, as a fairly persistent onshore air flow looks set to prevail for the coming week. Luckily, today's lighter 10-15 knot south-easter is a precursor to even better weather over the coming weekend, even if it's a bit drizzly and miserable out there this morning.
Suss out the latest forecasts for improved accuracy, as at the time of writing, conflicting forecasts from BOM and online weather sites are just plain confusing. In a nutshell, the weekend looks quite good, with light winds of less than 10 knots both mornings and a slightly stronger sea breeze late afternoon. It is the wind's direction of origin that is confusing, as BOM seems to differ from the other gurus.
Stronger south-easterly trade winds look set to kick in as the working week commences; prevailing at 15-20 knots from the south-east, potentially. Lighter winds seem likely by mid-week, but who really knows these days. Showers are a possibility daily from now on (best chance Sunday), yet they should be quite scattered and insignificant if they even eventuate.
Much more predictable are the tides and moon. Monday will herald the passing of a new moon, which means increased tidal flow days before and immediate thereafter. Not massive tides by any stretch, but very productive ones for reef fishos, those that enjoy chasing pelagics, and those keen to fish our smaller streams or the straits.
Darker Moon Means More Squid at the Pier
Urangan Pier fishos had to contend with passing showers and light rain last week, but even this didn't deter the super-keen. Better weather since has seen a return of more fishos, particularly at night-time chasing squid. Fishing-wise, it has been a little slow, with queenfish being the most consistent quarry. There is plenty of small herring beneath the pier, and this drew in the odd school mackerel, but they were generally very scarce.
At least the queenies were sizeable, and frequent visitors at the right stages of tide. They weren't always interested in the herring, so it should be obvious what was the preferred live bait. Giant trevally are highly sought-after on the pier, as they are every summer. Some have the tackle and the skill to subdue them from time to time, but no-one can lay claim to winning battles with these bruisers every time. Go for a wander out to the deep end and see if you have what it takes.
Pencil squid numbers have improved over the past week, and they should be very easy to catch over this set of darks. A possession limit of 50 arrow squid is easy enough to achieve when they are thick, though extra competition from neighbours can draw out the process some nights. Give yourself the edge with the aid of artificial lighting (as detailed in past reports), or time your efforts for the wee hours when few others are so keen.
New Moon Enhances Chances for Beach Fishos
A fairly lack-lustre bite from beach-dwelling species over the past week should come as no surprise. Increased tidal flow and pitch-black nights will improve that situation this week somewhat, so go pump some yabbies, or grab some worms or prawns and give them a soak when the tide is right. Less swimmers and general beach 'traffic' will aid your cause in town, or better still, you could head west of town for an even better chance at species like whiting.
Grunter will be the major target for some tuned in fishos this week. Early rising tides can be productive times to flick prawn imitations or soak the real deal somewhere there is nearby rock or at least a subtle gutter formation. Your chances improve even further after dark, when some of the biggest grunter lose their inhibitions and cruise right into the shallows. Good grunter might be found at Pialba or at Gatakers Bay, whilst they might also turn up at Urangan.
Larger tides will stir the garfish into action, so expect a few fans to gather at the beach end of Urangan Pier or at the Shelley Beach rock groynes. Tiny hooks adorned with small pieces of prawn or yabby trailing behind a slender float will be their undoing, particularly in a subtle berley trail. Garfish are good fun for the smaller kids, offering them the visual stimulus and bouncy antics these 'mini-marlin' are renowned for.
Battling sandflies and mozzies in our local creeks could see you tangling with mangrove jacks and small estuary cod, along with the odd flathead and perhaps a few bream or stray whiting. Some might put in the effort to chase prawns over the lower stages of tide, and are every chance of being rewarded. Small prawns are on the move in the Burrum in a big way, so one would expect our smaller creeks to be productive too. Xmas prawn was almost a given from Eli Creek years ago - at least until developers mitigated water flow so drastically upstream that all the deeper holes silted up.
Holidaymakers keen to get stretched by a large "fish" from our local beaches could consider putting a bait out after dark for a shark. It shouldn't take long to get a bite, and you might end up hooking multiple. You don't need heavy tackle, and to be honest, you don't really even need wire trace (for the small-medium sized sharks). Just a large enough bait to withstand the attention of pickers and an outfit with plenty of line capacity. Small sharks cruise our near-shore waters as do larger models. You might hook either. Obviously, it would be foolish and quite shameful to berley anywhere near where swimmers are likely to congregate the next day, so avoid doing so please.
Better Times for Reef Fishos This Weekend
Better weather is likely to see a number of crews head for the Gutters and other northern bay hotspots this weekend. The dark of the moon will have the sharks hyperactive, so beware, and do what you must to lessen the damage done to those once-productive grounds.
Rocking up and anchoring on the gnarly prominent ledges would seem foolhardy these days, as they are almost certainly shark central. Better to scan for smaller isolated patches of ground elsewhere and work them over with short and accurate drifts. Dedicated bait fishos can trail squid, flesh or whole fish baits behind them as they drift over, or focus their efforts on the slacker stage of tide with heavier tackle and live baits.
Few venture north these days without an arsenal of prawn imitation plastics and heavy jig heads to match, or some form of alternative jig. Squid imitations such as Nomad's Squidtrex are superb for prospecting the flatter country or grounds with scattered whips and ferns. Save the prawn imitations for the hard reef or for when the tide isn't raging. With any luck, you will come home with a feed of coral trout, cod and nannygai, whilst your mates favouring bait catch various sweetlip, tusk fish and perhaps those fish mentioned previously. Let the sharks find you too many times and you will come home with a box of less desirables and an all-too-familiar sense of frustration.
Those saving fuel and staying inshore have the same good tides for chasing reef fish, but they too will have to contend with hyped-up sharks. The big bulls are really aggressive inshore at present and haunting many popular reef sites. Avoid them, and you can catch coral trout, estuary cod and plenty of sweetlip. Get out in the paddock away from the heavy reefs and you might be hooking into quality grunter one after the other while the new moon has some pull.
The recently renewed abundance of pencil squid have the reef fish on the chew, and they are the favoured bait for the vast majority. Most folks fishing inshore will spend time chasing pencillies before fishing, if their timing allows. By this, I mean; you should be fishing when the tide is slack, not squidding. If you failed to gather your squid prior to the impending tide change, then fish with alternatives over that change and gather squid thereafter for the next tide.
The dark of the moon also means prime tides for shallow reef trollers seeking a feed of coral trout. Tie on your favourite trout lolly and set yourself up for a troll that starts with the first light of day. Being a species that doesn't feed at night, means trout are quite hungry and aggressive at dawn. You can continue your trolling efforts right into the morning - and you may succeed - but you shouldn't miss the dawn bite!
Gatakers Bay and Pt Vernon reefs have copped an absolute flogging over the summer holidays. Those reef systems are likely to receive a lot more attention this week due to the wind strength and direction too. You might score some remnant trout there, or perhaps a cod or two, but should be taking advantage of better weather to try further afield. The reefs fringing the bay islands, along with select stretches of ledge skirting Fraser's western shores all offer alternative trolling grounds. Yes, cod will be vastly more prolific than trout in certain areas, but some action is better than none, right.
Big Spaniards and GTs Close Inshore
As mentioned in recent fishing reports, there are some menacingly large predators lurking around prominent structures close inshore this time of year, and they aren't all sharks. Huge solo spanish mackerel and schools of thumping big black giant trevally have taken up their usual positions on inshore shipwrecks and other artificial reefs.
Live baiters are the folks most likely to come into contact with them - whether they like it or not! Folks winding in sweetlip or small trout and the like, are also likely to attract the attention of these apex predators. Being such robust and powerful fish, obviously these bruisers can all contend with the strongest of currents, yet it is the turn of tide, or the period either side of such, that appeal to fishos trying to target them.
Rigging with appropriate leader and trolling over-sized diving lures past likely hangouts could be worthy of consideration for the periods when the tide is at its strongest. Every summer, folks trolling from passing yachts or motor cruisers hook GTs and spaniards in our inshore waters, and that is without even trying to focus on where the bruisers live.
Break out the heavy casting tackle and take some stickbaits and large blooping poppers for a workout around the bay islands and you could soon be connected to a rampaging GT. There are manageable-sized models on offer, and XOS trophy fish as well. Look at the terrain and it should be obvious where and when to target these fish, as volumes of water rush past select outcrops and over ledges that offer the perfect ambush positions.
Ensure you have lighter tackle on board for alternative periods of tide, so that you can target queenfish nearby, or perhaps some golden trevally on the flats. The option to jig or troll for a coral trout for dinner shouldn't be overlooked either. As always, perfect timing will be rewarded. Oh, and don't think you are safe from the sharks just because you are fishing shallow with surface lures. It seems our bull sharks have taken a liking to poppers in particular this summer, and some monstrous surface strikes have ended in lost tackle and I am sure, plenty of cursing.
Look for Spotties and Tuna in the Bay
An apparent lack of school mackerel in any significant numbers inshore this summer, has mackerel fans running up the island in the hope of finding spotties. There are fish up there, in sufficient numbers to warrant some effort, but no-one has been bragging about serious numbers this week. Admittedly, the weather has been unfavourable, being either rainy or cloudy and a tad too windy, but at least it hasn't blown from the north for a while, so the spotties should still be there, somewhere.
Hopefully it will be bright and sunny for your trip up the central bay or up into Platypus Bay. That will make it easier to spot the birds working above actively feeding schools of fish, and will also encourage the spotties (and tuna) to push their prey against the glare of the water's surface. Investigate any flocks of smaller birds such as terns, and look for the tell-tale sign of white-water where the spotties are active. If it's overcast, then the spotties may stay deeper in the water column. Look for birds hovering higher above the water to indicate this, and sink your slugs to the fish below (roughly the equivalent depth to the height the birds are hovering).
There are scattered schools of mac tuna throughout the bay at present, and a few random schools of longtails, but all in all the 'tuna season' proper is still something to look forward to. Stronger onshore winds, particularly those associated with an east coast low or a former cyclone are what will see a surge in tuna numbers this early in the year. Otherwise, time itself will see the usual migration bay-ward soon enough, but we are talking autumn in that case.
Anyone headed south towards the Wide Bay bar will find mac tuna within the channel off Inkip Point. There were spanish mackerel in close offshore in great numbers for a period around Xmas, but they have kept moving apparently. Spotties have been hard to find down that way lately too. The sharks are as bad, if not worse, than they have ever been down there close offshore, so keep that in mind and be shark savvy if heading down for a crack at the reefies.
Minimal Rain Has Left Our Rivers in Prime Condition
I tipped 50mm of rain out of my gauge in Torquay after our latest 'big rain event'. Rainfall in the hinterlands and catchments of our rivers failed to achieve the volumes required to fulfill the warnings the BOM was spurting. As you know, ex-TC Koji headed west instead of our way, yet the alarms weren't turned off down here. I am sure I am not the only one annoyed and ever-frustrated at exaggerated and inaccurate forecasts that make us re-think our favourite pastimes of fishing and camping (whilst also a little relieved that the big wet didn't eventuate and has offered estuary fishos further reprieve).
Make the most of this weekend and future opportunities to fish our river and creek systems, as flooding seems a given at some time soon. The Mary is a tad dirty in its downstream and mid reaches, but this is just localised run-off and suspended silt from those massive full moon tides many days ago. It remains a great place to target threadfin salmon, bettered only by the waterways of the Great Sandy Straits to some degree.
The Burrum system is particularly healthy at present, providing many fishos with memorable jack sessions regularly enough, and giving up a few grunter, flathead, salmon and whiting amongst other species as well. The prawns are on the move in that system as well, offering keen cast netters the chance to fill their bucket with small prawns in no time. This prawn abundance will likely be enhanced by the bigger draining tides of the new moon, and will no doubt see many families enjoying a tasty meal or three next week.
Guard Your Crab Pots
I recently mentioned issues sand crabbers were experiencing close inshore, in regards to sharks chewing their way into their pots to steal their fish baits. Seems they are still at it here and there, so some are reverting to alternative baits to try and negate the problem. Good luck with that. Notwithstanding, a feed of sandies is on the cards again this weekend, as new moon tidal run enhances sand crab movement inshore and will see them potting day and night.
Crabbers chasing muddies have being enjoying success in various waterways, from the creeks of the straits and Fraser's western fringes to our major rivers and local creeks - yet, not nearly the success they might enjoy. The past year as a whole has been a ripper for mud crab fans locally, but the abundance has drawn the attention of commercial operators from elsewhere and they are exploiting our local crab fishery.
From the southern end of the straits to the Mary River system, there are visiting commercial crabbers soaking 50 crab pots per licence, with some sporting dual licences, in waters already adequately 'farmed' by local pros and an increasing number of recreational crabbers. The spike in crabbing activity over Xmas creates its own pressures every year, whilst this additional effort will see our crab fishery pillaged en-masse.
Reports of crab pot theft, crab theft and pots slashed and destroyed are absolutely rife at present. Some of these actions are undoubtedly the workings of the usual scumbags who raid pots and steal your gear, but the slashings are another matter. Keep this in mind if crabbing in the future and consider crabbing away from heavy activity. Future flooding will see a flush of muddies no doubt, and a temporary abundance for all. Here's hoping over-exploitation doesn't destroy a favoured pastime of many locals and the livelihoods of our local crabbers.
Good luck out there y'all... Jase