Author: Top Catch

Hi all,

The previous weeks have been good to fishermen working our local reefs off the sunshine coast. Species caught have been- Tusk fish, red throat emperor, job fish, pearl perch, squire, cobia, yellow tail king fish, moses perch and amber jack from the bottom as well as mahi mahi, skip jack tuna, mack tuna, yellowfin tuna and heaps of Spanish mackerel from the surface on lures and floating pilchards.

The past weekend was no different. Some awesome fishing action was had including double and triple hook-ups on the troll, hard fighting amberjack off the bottom and some tasty mahi mahi, pearl perch and coronation trout for the table. Both days were booked for full day trips and Saturday fished a little better, probably because of less boat traffic due to the weather forecast. Spanish mackerel were on the chew with catches between 5 and 13kg. This group shot is of the crew from civcorp, who are regulars with us, showing off their catch.

Sunday was a mixed charter and a full day again. We had the same plan- heading for the barwon banks. Weather was amazing, light winds and very little swell. We had a lot of company, plenty of other boats around, so the mackerel tended to stay deep in the water column however we did still knock off a few along with some tuna and a couple of mahi mahi. Bottom fishing was a little difficult due to strong current and big tides so we did a lot of drifting catching species such as coronation trout, pearl perch, tusk fish, fusilier, amberjack and red throat. This photo is a hard fighting 7kg amberjack caught in 45m.

If you would like to join us for a trip you can contact us via e-mail or phone. Until then happy hunting!!!!!!

Everyone remembers’ the sheer speed of that long first run when a wahoo is hooked. Fishing line cutting through the water as the rachet screams and it’s no surprise because wahoo are one of the fastest fish in the ocean. After some research I’ve learnt that wahoo have clocked at an impressive 75km/hr. As a fighting and table fish wahoo are at the top of the list. It’s fair to say that the majority of wahoo caught off Mooloolaba are by marlin lure fishermen and are not always welcome because they destroy expensive trolling lures. Wahoo can grow huge, with fish over 50kg recorded. The largest caught in Australian waters was 46kg, which is still a very big fish. Any wahoo over 20 kilos is considered a good fish. Our best so far is 30kg

Distribution in Australian waters is right across the Northern Territory down into northern New South Wales on the east coast and down to Exmouth on the west coast. Wahoo swim singly or in small, loose aggregations rather than large schools. Migrations are thought to be extensive; wahoo range over the tropical and sub-tropical waters of the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The pointed snout is the easiest way to identify wahoo. As well, the tail is much less crescent-shaped than those of its cousin the mackerel and it has a longer and higher dorsal fin.

Tackle and bait
Given that wahoo are generally found in the same waters as yellowfin and marlin, targeting them with light lines is not a good idea. As a bycatch encountered when mackerel fishing, 6-10kg line will do just fine, but out wide 15kg-plus is the norm – though this really doesn’t give the poor old wahoo much of a chance to show its turn of speed. Trolling lures, especially high speed metal heads, are the favoured way to target wahoo. Jet heads and other heavy trolling lures in red/black, orange/black and pink/white colour combinations are proven winners. Rigged baits such as garfish and slimey mackerel will catch wahoo and swimming baits seem to be preferred to skipping baits.

Fishing methods
As I indicated previously my preferred way to target wahoo would be trolling high-speed lures that hang in the water at ten knots-plus. Wahoo tend to either like the lure right in the prop wash or the one way out the back, so a pattern of five lures with four positioned in and around the prop wash and the fifth 50 to 70 metres back makes a good starting point. If there’s room for a Halco Giant Trembler drop one of those in the lure pattern as well for fish that are swimming a bit deeper.
Any current line in 50 metres or more could be worth a look or simply troll around crab floats, debris or a FAD. Once you have located wahoo, note the location and keep working the area because there’s a good chance you will find some more. They don’t form big schools away from coral reefs but a good spot could still produce three or four fish so it’s worth the effort.
Hopefully this gets you started and in time you may land a prized fish like this one caught last year. Happy hunting!!!!!!!

Caloundra 9 and 12nm- the odd spanish mackerel on lures, squire, cod and sweetlip off the bottom

Caloundra wide- good size snapper, pearl perch, kingfish and jewfish from the deeper bommies

Barwon banks- fusilier, red throst emperor, tuskfish, Spanish mackerel, gold spot wrasse, moses perch and tuna

Murphy’s and the gneerings- spotted mackerel, king fish, squire, sweetlip and plenty of tusk fish

Currimundi- grassy sweetlip, squire, school and spotted mackerel

Well the month of February was pretty much a write off for offshore anglers on the Sunshine Coast. I think we only managed to squeeze in 5 charters in between the relentless S/E winds and a constant 2m swell. Unfortunately this month has started the same, however there is light at the end of the tunnel with forecasters’ predicting a break in the weather on Wednesday(12.3.14) and good coming for the rest of the month. Let’s hope they’re right!!! When we have got out the fishing has been good especially on the full day charters to the outer reefs. This weekend was no different we had full day trips going Friday and Saturday and, unfortunately, the half day trips’ booked for Sunday had to be cancelled.

On Fridays’ trip we started off at the top end of Caloundra wide targeting snapper and pearl perch. A lot were caught but not a lot were legal size. An hour went past and we only had 1 squire and 6 moses perch in the esky so we worked our way north to the barwon banks and fished the shallower area’s which have been working well. The action got better and we boated Spanish mackerel, fusilier, gold spot wrasse, red throat emperor and some really nice size tusk fish. This pick is of Barry holding up tusk fish around 3kg.

On Saturday we changed tactics a little and headed straight for the banks. First up we trolled and had great success. Lots of Spanish mackerel in the 4 to 8kg range, a couple of mahi mahi upto 5kg and a couple of tuna about 4kg were landed and once everyone had got a turn we decided to start bottom fishing. The bottom didn’t fish as well as the day before but that may have been because we had spent a lot of time trolling the earlier part of the day. Tusk fish and fusilier were again on the menu and we picked up a couple more mackerel trolling between spots. The weather was a little sloppy but Mal, celebrating his 40^th, and his crew handled it really well and said they had enjoyed the day emensely. Well done boys’!!! This is a group shot of some the fish they got on the troll.

So we should be out again Friday and the weekend. If you would like to join us for a fishing charter this weekend or anytime give us a call or flick us an e-mail and we’ll make it happen. Until then Happy Hunting!!!!!

The next weeks weather looks great, but beware of Friday and Saturday’s northerlys.

Gneerings – tuskfish, kingfish, sweetlip, squire and spanish mackerel

Currimundi – squire and sweetlip

Caloundra 9 and 12 mile – moses perch, tuskfish, squire and pearl perch

Barwon Banks – Spanish mackerel, yellowfin tuna, red throat emperor, fusilier, tuskfish, job fish, wrasse and moses perch.

High tide was at 6:45am @1.73m.  The upcoming full moon should lead to good afternoon fishing if the wind allows.

Before Friday weather conditions were very ordinary offshore. Strong winds and big swells whipped up by passing cyclones and low pressure systems kept us at home. The past weekend we seen it all disappear and we were keen to get back into it as the past 6 weeks have been fishing really well especially on the full day charters. Friday was a ¾ day trip and we stayed close fishing currimundi reef in hope of mackerel, but ended up with squire and sweetlip instead. We then headed out wider and fished the Caloundra 9nm we caught heaps of mixed species including tuskfish, squire, a big 6kg grey morwong and moses perch releasing quite a few along the way. It was good to be back on the ocean!!!

Saturday and Sunday were both full day charters and we headed to the sunshine coasts’ most abundant reef system- The Barwon Banks. This area has been really firing for about 6 weeks now catching a variety of pelagics’ and mixed reef species. Both days’ were started with a bit of trolling and the Spanish mackerel were chewing their heads off with everyone getting in on the action with double and triple hook-ups happening regularly. Most were in the 4-6kg range and the biggest weighing in at 15kg!

After a while we decided to start bottom bashing and caught lots of colourful species including red throat emperor, fusilier, moses perch, gold spot and maori wrasse, job fish and hussar. The biggest red throat was Zoe’s 3.5kg fish, a great effort showing the boys’ how it’s done. The days were topped off with few crabs and everyone had a great time. If you would like to get in on the action while it’s running hot flick us an e-mail or give us a call to book a spot

Happy Hunting!!!!!

Currimundi– sweetlip, moses perch, squire and spotted mackerel

Caloundra wide– squire, pearl perch, tuskfish, spangled emperor and mahi mahi

Barwon banks– red throat emperor, tusk fish, gold spot wrasse, fusilier, wahoo mobile casino and Spanish mackerel

Murphy’s and the gneerings– yellowfin, Spanish mackerel, tuskfish, king fish, amberjack and squire

New moon is the 31^st so be ready for some action! High tide is 6:48am at 2.01metres.

Full days have been firing; both the Barwon Banks and Caloundra Wide have been fishing exceptionally well. In close things have been a little hit and miss, but the last week has seen a little improvement with some pelagic action heating up.

Murphy’s – squire, sweetlip, tuskfish

Gneerings – tuskfish, cobia, yellow fin and spanish mackerel

Caloundra 9 & 12 mile – tuskfish, ,moses perch, big cod, spotted mackerel and school mackerel

Caloundra wide – snapper, pearl perch, mahi mahi and wahoo

Barwon banks – red throat, tuskfish, fusilier, wahoo, mahi mahi, Spanish mackerel and black marlin

We just went through a low tide at 5:20am @ 0.55m. New moon is the 31.1.14 so the next 10 days should fish well. Listen to Trent doing the fishing report on ABC coastal FM every Wednesday morning to hear some more tips.

The past weeks weather has been a little ordinary, but we were still out and about squeezing in charters Monday, Wednesday, Friday and the weekend. Fishing went well, especially the full day trips Friday and Sunday. Wednesday and Saturday’s half day trips were spent on murphy’s reef and the gneerings’ catching species such as squire, sweetlip, tuskfish, maori cod and moses perch. The full days were on the barwon banks where the fishing has been going off! The biggest fish was caught on Friday a black marlin caught trolling skirted lures, we didn’t bring it on board it was released at the side of the boat, at a guess it might have weighed 60kg – we will upload some footage to our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/TOP-Catch-Charters/340047046026078?ref=hlin the next few days if you want to have a look. One of the punters’ captured this shot of it in mid air near the boat.

We also caught plenty of red throat, tusk fish, rosy job fish, wahoo, mahi mahi, moses perch, tuna, gold spot wrasse and lots of spanish mackerel. This is a shot from Sunday’s trip where everyone was enjoying the sound of fish pulling drag and line off the reels from the floating pilly’s and lures.

The Australia day long weekend is fast approaching and with the approaching new moon phase the fishing should be on the bite, we have spots left for a half day Saturday morning and the full day on Sunday. They are filling fast so if you would like to join in on the action head to our contacts page to get in touch, until then Happy Hunting!!!!!!!!

Hi all, the weather the past 2 weeks has seen the return of our S/E trade winds which can generate some choppy conditions. However the pattern has been working out for good conditions on the weekends and we have seen some great fishing. The outer reefs have been firing, we had full and maxi days’ booked over the weekend and it fished well. Species caught were red throat emperor, tusk fish, fusilier, Maori wrasse, yellow fin and skipjack tuna, gold spot wrasse and mahi mahi. The biggest fish caught was this 9kg mahi mahi caught by Ian on a live yakka float lining with a balloon. Well done mate!!

The best eating fish would have to go to the red throat emperor, I’m a big fan. This one weighed in at 2.5kg

The crabbing went well too, everyone got a feed to take home. Overall a good weekend, we caught fish on the surface and on the bottom with lures and with bait. The Sunshine Coast has shown her better side this summer and it’s good to see everyone enjoying it. If you would like to join us on a trip or charter the whole boat head over to our contacts page and give us a shout.

Happy hunting!!