Here’s what’s been caught over the past week:
Gneerings and Murphy’s Reef – squire and sweetlip
Caloundra 9 Mile – squire, moses perch, tuskfish and pearl perch
Caloundra 12 Mile – snapper, moses perch, tuskfish, pearl perch and estuary cod
Barwon Banks – snapper, tusk fish, moses perch, pearl perch, fusilier, jobfish and hussar
Caloundra Wide – snapper, tuskfish, gold spot wrasse, fusilier, cobia and jobfish
Chardons Reef – snapper, cobia, pearl perch and trag jew
It was awesome to see a few great fish hauled in this weekend. It adds a bit of excitement to the trip when we reel in a big one and we certainly got a big one this time. But more about that later.
We had full day charters booked across the weekend and on Saturday we headed for the Barwon Banks. We started in the 50 to 60 metre area at the bottom end and finished up at the top end of Caloundra Wide. We caught a mixed bag of species including snapper, pearl perch, tusk fish, fusilier and gold spot wrasse.
Tusk fish and snapper made up most of the catch, with most weighing in between one and two kilograms – perfect table fish. There were some bigger ones caught with the biggest tusk fish weighing 2.5 kilograms and the biggest snapper coming in at four online slots kilograms.
Graham (on the left) was happy with his catch and Bucko’s fish was just a tad lighter.
It was a bit choppy off the Sunshine Coast on Sunday so we didn’t get out as wide. We fished Caloundra 12 Mile for snapper, tusk fish, moses perch, estuary cod and trevally, which were fun to catch but most were happy to release them to fight another day.
The biggest fish was Lloyd’s 1.17metre gold spot estuary cod weighing in at a whopping 25kg or 55lb in the old scale. That’s a big fish and he was pretty stoked with his efforts.
This species has a maximum size limit of 1.1metres so we took some photos, popped her swim bladder and let her go. Fish this size are valuable for breeding and reproduction of stocks.
The weather looks a bit rough for offshore fishing for the next few days but the Sunshine Coast forecast for Friday and the weekend looks good. With the approaching new moon the snapper should be on the chew. If you want to book a trip and get in on some offshore fishing action, give us a call.
Here’s what’s being caught this week:
Caloundra 9 mile – snapper, tuskfish, moses perch and estuary cod
Caloundra 12 mile –snapper, coral trout, cobia and tuskfish
Barwon Banks –squire, red throat emperor, fusilier, hussar, jobfish and tuskfish
Caloundra Wide –snapper, pearl perch, cobia, fusilier and trevally
Noosa –snapper, tuskfish and the odd coral trout from sunshine and chardons reefs
There are plenty of fish about. Head over to our facebook page and hit like page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Top-Catch-Fishing-Charters/132542573455412 and we’ll keep you updated with what’s going on or you can share your fishing tales with us.
We had some happy fishermen this weekend, with some good fish reeled in and a few taking home enough for a good feed or two for the family.
We had full day charters across the weekend. Saturday started sloppy with northerly winds making it tough, but perseverance paid off and we got on to a patch of snapper and tuskfish in about 58 metres of water, east of Mooloolaba.
Later we moved a bit deeper and caught a few fusilier, pearl perch and trag jew.
Sunday was even better – the weather was good and so was the fishing. We caught a few cobia, plenty of squire and Venus tuskfish up to two kilograms, fusilier, gold spot wrasse and Moses perch. Poddy caught this 6.5-kilogram cobia, the biggest catch of the day.
The boys got busted up a few times from some good-sized fish. We almost got to identify one but about 20 metres from the boat it snapped the 50-pound braid, before we could get a look at it. Steve kept trying but they were playing dirty and heading straight for the rocks.
Rob was pretty pleased with his catch, which included these squire, weighing between one and two kilograms. We’ve seen plenty of these around this size out at Barwon Banks and Caloundra Wide this month.
Big tides and a strong southerly set the current over the weekend, which turned the crabbing right off. We caught eight on Saturday. They bury themselves into the sand for protection during the big swells and strong currents.
We’re expecting swells up to three metres over the next few days but the weather is looking great for the weekend. The current should drop off after Wednesday’s full moon, so the weekend should fish really well. Give us a call to book a spot on the boat.
Happy hunting!
Rules and regulations for whale and dolphin watchers
We’re pretty lucky here. We get to see some of the ocean’s biggest mammals frolicking in our waters. Australia has many sites around its coastline that are ideal for whale and dolphin watching. Humpback whales travel almost the entire Queensland coast during their migration season, which peaks between July and September, and the Sunshine Coast is a definite hot spot. With an increasing whale population and more boaties heading offshore, I thought it was a good time to refresh on regulations to ensure the safety of people and whales.
The basic rule when near whales and dolphins is to be quiet and do not try to feed or touch them. These tips will help make sightings of our marine life more enjoyable and safer for everyone:
Whether you are whale watching or just on the way to your favourite fishing spot, following the rules and regulations ensures everyone should have a safe and enjoyable whale season.
Don’t worry if you don’t have a boat. You will still get a chance to see whales. When they start to migrate south the mothers and calves hang close to shore avoiding predators. Mooloolaba, Alexandra Headland, Noosa and Kawana Beach are regular haunts for humpback whales.
Enjoy these amazing creatures and stay safe on the water! Let us know where if you have spotted any whales recently.
These rules are supplied by the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities and can be viewed at www.environment.gov.au.
Currimundi Reef – squire and sweetlip
Caloundra 12 Mile – snapper, tuskfish, pearl perch, moses perch, cobia
Gneerings and Murphys Reef – morwong, snapper, moses perch
Barwon Banks – fusilier, red throat, king fish, tuskfish
Caloundra Wide – snapper, pearl perch, tuskfish, moses perch from north reef
Inshore:
There’s lots of bream in all our river systems. They are in the lower reaches and the bigger ones up to one kilogram are being caught at night. You should find sand crabs in the Mooloolah River around the Coast guard station.
The next low tide is at 9:31pm and at 9.27am tomorrow.
Weekend fishing on the Sunshine Coast
We had half and three quarter day fishing charters across the weekend and reeled in a variety of species from the inshore reefs.
The afternoons were perfect with winds at five to 10 knots and small seas. The odd squally showers came through in the mornings but it didn’t stop us fishing. We caught squire, pearl perch, tuskfish and cobia with the most success on Saturday.
The making moon and small tides over the next week to 10 days should create good fishing conditions. The coming weekend is looking good with good light winds, small seas and just a few showers predicted for Friday and Saturday.
Lots of moses perch were caught this week, on all reefs. This one, caught by Ross, weighed just under two kilograms and was 48cm long – quite big for this species.
There are plenty of squire hanging on the inshore reefs. The biggest, caught by Ken at Murphy’s Reef on Sunday, weighed three kilograms.
We’re in the middle of whale season and we’ve spotted quite a few of the ocean’s giants on recent trips. Check out the videos on our facebook page to see footage of them up close: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=676226905726158.
Happy Hunting!
Caloundra 9 mile and 12 mile: Snapper, tusk fish, pearl perch, moses perch
Gneerings and Murphys Reef: Morwong, squire, moses perch
Barwon banks: Fusilier, red throat, king fish and tusk fish
Caloundra wide: Trag dew, snapper, pearl perch
Happy Hunting
Caloundra 9 mile and 12 mile: Snapper, tusk fish, pearl perch, moses perch
Gneerings and Murphys Reef: Morwong, squire, moses perch
Barwon banks: Fusilier, mobile casino red throat, king fish and tusk fish
Caloundra wide: Trag dew, snapper, pearl perch
Happy Hunting
The Sunshine Coast turned on some awesome weather for the last weekend of the school holidays. Light winds and virtually no swell set us up for some great deep-sea fishing. On Friday and Sunday we had half-day charters fishing the inshore reefs for species such as squire, snapper, tuskfish, pearl perch, moses perch and cod. This gold spot cod weighed in at 18kg and took a live slimey mackerel. Chris was stoked saying his personal best before this was only a couple of kilos.
We had a full day fishing charter on Saturday and we headed out wide to fish Caloundra and the Barwon Banks. We caught trag jew, snapper, pearl perch, yellow tail kingfish, some nice sized moses perch and we got a shock hooking a 16kg wahoo while trolling a lure on the way home. It’s usually a summer species. Zach had the pleasure of winding it in and he did well. Its first run felt like it went forever and must have peeled 100 metres of line off the spool. It then made two more sustained runs when it saw the boat. But Zach was patient and we landed it after about 10 minutes. Well done mate. We cut it into steaks and shared it between all the punters. Mmmm wahoo on the barbeque.
Next weekend is looking good for some off shore fishing adventures. With the new moon rolling over today we look forward to some great fishing over the next 12 days in the lead up to full moon. Hopefully we get some great weather and sunrises like this.
Give us a call to book a trip with us. In the meantime – Happy Hunting!
