Fishing Report Tin Can Bay

by Jim Cole, Tin Can Bay Boat Hire 0408 329 167

It has been absolutely awesome weather this past week with light winds providing smaller boats the option to get out and explore the open waters of the bay in search of a few pelagics.

School, Spotty and Spanish mackerel have all started showing up inside the bar meaning smaller boats that wouldn’t venture out beyond the bar now have a chance at getting amongst these fish.  The Channel between Inskip Point and Fraser Island, Big Mick or Bluff Reef are great places to start. 

Floating baits of pilchards or yakka’s rigged on gang hooks in the current is a great option for bait fisherman.  Whilst if lures are your thing try casting metal slugs.  Large schools of juvenile queenfish have also been present with 20g slugs used with a high speed retrieve working well. 

Trolling hard bodied lures or live bait around is also a great way to cover more ground and find where the fish are feeding just keep an eye on the sounder and try to get you baits/lures as close to the depth where the fish are feeding.

The run of hot humid weather has seen the jacks firing up well. A couple of smaller squire have started showing up on the shallow reefs around Tin Can Bay along with a few sweetlip.  The best time being just after sunrise.  Pilchards rigged on gangs hooks with little to no weight giving the best results.

Schools of small big eye trevally have being cruising the drop offs in front of Tin Can Bay.  Surface poppers like Sebile Splashers 52-76mm range working well.

Barra season has started off well with several nice fish being taken in the bay along with a few more stories of the ones that got away.  It pays to make sure your gear is up for the task when chasing Barra as there is nothing worse than losing that trophy fish due to tackle failure. 

It’s well worth beefing up the trebles on your hard bodies from the standard ones from factory to something a little more robust.  If your using soft plastics choose the jig heads with heavy duty hooks like the TT Headlockz XH or the Evolution HD range.

Crabs have been active with several reports of people coming back with a feed of muddies.  Upside has been the recent publicity by Fisheries QLD regarding on the spot fines of $1100  for those caught tampering with someone else’s crab pots.  This is great news and hopefully it is enforced heavily around holiday/peak seasons.

While the winds are light it is worth heading up towards Fraser Island and fishing the channel between Inskip and Fraser for mackerel.

If the wind kicks up and with temps in the high 20’s to early 30’s it will pay to seek shelter in the creeks and chase a few jacks and barra.

We have received some great news over the past week and we are excited to announce that we have been appointed the Shimano dealer for the Tin Can Bay area. This means locals and visitors no longer have to travel to Gympie or Maryborough to get what they are after. 

Don’t forget our fish of the month competition.  With just over a week left for the month be sure to get your entries in and remember to keep it fair this is a random draw so it doesn’t have to be the biggest fish to win.

Find us on facebook @ www.facebook.com/TinCanBayBoatHire we would love to see pictures of your holiday catch.

Until next time, stay safe on the water.