APRIL is normally a huge month for us on longtail tuna. This past April saw good numbers at the beginning of the month but saw fish move out of the bay fairly quickly. High water temps I believe contributed to making the longtails’ visit shorter than usual this year. Finally temps are coming down so hopefully we will see a pulse of longtails move in over the coming weeks.
Lucky our diverse fishery has not let us down with a range of other species keeping us busy. Mack tuna numbers are certainly not down, with good schools spread right across the bay. Under the mack tuna are golden trevally, queenfish, cobia and various mackerel and trevally species that have been taking offerings fished deeper in the water column.
Guests enjoyed some solid queenfish action with many fish over the meter mark hitting the deck while Spanish mackerel also kept us entertained with some spectacular surface strikes while working stick baits for queenfish and longtails.
Fly anglers also got into the action with some great fish taken on the fly including longtails, various trevally and mack tuna.
As I write this we are copping some big winds, which can be expected at this time of year. We had a great month generally speaking for weather with 24 days out of 30 for the month fished on the water, assuming I get out over the next few days. As we move into May we will begin to see cool mornings and those afternoon glass outs that late Autumn is famous for. Personally, these conditions start to get me excited, as it means that snapper season is almost upon us. When the water cools down a little we should start to see one of my favourite sportfish smashing our offerings!
If you are interested in targeting some of our sub tropical snapper please be in touch by email at fishing@herveybaysportfishing.com.au or through the website as I have dates left for both myself and Murray.
Murrays new boat is coming along nicely and will be ready for action from late May or early June. Running two guides and boats on the water daily is going to be exciting. With two sets of eyes being better than one, so to speak, we will know what is happening where at all times, as we will cover more parts of the bay on a daily basis.
Exciting times ahead for us here at HBFSF, we are looking forward to guiding our guests over the coming months as we move into our winter guiding season.
See you on the bow!!
