Islands

THE islands this week have been a bit slow with reports due to the weather. The anglers who have braved the weather have had good days reporting plenty of coral trout and big sweetlip around South Molle Island and Daydream Island.

And anglers are catching some great size trout and sweetlip fishing around the fringing reef using pilchards on the run-out tide.

Unsafe Passage between North Molle and Mid Molle has had plenty of garfish hanging around and a few anglers have been catching some large queenfish by flicking surface lures around, and have also reported a few mackerel feeding on garfish around Unsafe Passage.

Leading into the full moon would be a good time to chase a Spanish mackerel at Hannah Point to the northern end of North Molle. Towards the last of the rising tide is the best time to find them there.

Rockwalls and Shore fishing

THE rockwalls have been fishing extremely well with the winds pushing the bait into places out of the wind, the bay around Coral Sea Resort jetty has been full of bait with plenty of fish coming in to feed.

Anglers are reporting heaps of blue salmon, fingermark, queenfish and trevally.

Shute Harbour wharf has been fishing well for queen- fish on lure and live baits.

Port of Airlie rock wall produced a nice metre-plus barra last week by an angler flicking a shallow diving hard body lure.

Cannonvale Beach and New Beach have been fishing well for whiting and the odd flathead on the rising tide fishing with worms and prawns, and is great fun to get the young kids outside.

Creeks and rivers

THE Proserpine river has been fishing well over last week's small tides, with great reports of barramundi and king salmon.

The best reports are from anglers using soft plastics in the shallower snags for barra, with a few anglers getting decent numbers.

King salmon have been reported on the edge of the deeper holes and anglers have been reporting soft vibes as the best lure for catching a few salmon.

The best technique for using vibes is bouncing the lure off the bottom like it is a prawn.

The mud crabs have also still been in good numbers and size in the river, with some great reports by anglers working their pots.

The coastal creeks have still had good numbers of mangrove jack and flathead being caught on lures and dead bait.

Mullet fillets and half pilchards have been the best ways to get numbers of jacks and flathead.

Grant Spees, Whitsunday Fishing World

Dingo Beach/Hydeaway Bay

THE reef fishing has been fairly tough of late as our local coral trout population has copped a serious dose of lock jaw.

Thankfully the inshore pelagic scene is cruising along nicely and providing anglers with plenty of light tackle fun.

Amongst the fish that have been caught, there have been scores of school mackerel and a few rat sized Spanish mackerel.

The schoolies are in great condition at the moment with most specimens being nice and plump.

Feeding in the same areas as the schoolies there have also been good numbers of donkey-sized golden trevally and a few decent tea leaf trevally. The shallow rocky and rubble patches at the back of Edgecumbe Bay are where most of the fish have been hanging out.

Mick Underwood, Reel Addiction Sport Fishing