SHUTE HARBOUR JETTY

AFTER dark seems to be the best time to be fishing at the moment.

Squid are still showing up and tarpon and small trevally are taking small metal and plastic lures.

Using live baits is also producing some quality mangrove jacks and barramundi.

ROCK WALLS

LAND-BASED anglers trying their luck from the rock wall around Airlie Beach have reported some good catches.

The Sailing Club and Port of Airlie are fishing well on the run-out tide for grunter, barramundi and fingermark using prawns and strips of live baits on a running sinker.

Fishing the run-in tide at Whisper Bay and Cannonvale Beach with peeled prawns and strips of garfish is producing grunter and whiting.

Live baits will give you a great chance of hooking a barramundi also.

Casting plastics while waiting for your baits to get taken should fill the time in with a few trevally and queenfish.

ISLANDS

IT'S a great time to get into the bays and shallow areas to get yourself out of these big tides and tuck away from the wind.

Fishing the edges of the fringing reefs around our islands using pilchards will produce the usual reef fish.

For a bit of visual fun, try casting surface lures and plastics over these reefs as the tide moves over them for some explosive strikes in shallow water.

Using coral prawns on 100lb hand lines around the shallow bombies is a very good option and a great technique to get yourself a fantastic feed of blue tusk fish.

Ryan Fuller, Whitsunday Fishing World

DAMS

THIS week's moon phase will be a good one for freshwater enthusiasts chasing barra in the Peter Faust Dam.

With the full moon coming this week should be peak time to fish the dam.

Trolling the main basin with deep divers such as poltergeist and doctor evil should work during the day.

At night time, try trolling shallow divers around the three-metre mark.

Surface lures such as stick baits and poppers along the edge of the sticks and weed beds casting and retrieving at a very slow speed should also work well.

RIVERS

WITH the large tide and full moon upon us the rivers will be very difficult to fish.

Try crabbing in the river but be very careful when placing your pots due to the large run-in.

The river should improve over the coming weeks.

Bob Spees,

Whitsunday Fishing World

REEF

THE weather conditions at the reef over the last week were tough but there were some excellent catches taken which made the effort worthwhile.

The good bottom fishing continues with trout and red throat making up the bulk of the catches. There are some nice Spanish mackerel and long tail tuna showing up for those putting in the effort on the troll.

The weather looks promising for the week ahead for a trip to the reef.

Ashley Matthews, Sea Fever Sportfishing