JULY saw some great snapper fishing making the 2016 season another great one in Hervey Bay according to Hervey Bay Fly and Sportfishing guide Andrew Chorley. Often the bite periods were short but intense with soft plastics working well as per usual but plenty of success was also had with prawn imitations and micro jigs.
The snapper at this time of year are in Hervey Bay to spawn and feed up on the big yakka schools. Finding and then working the schools using the earlier mentioned methods has been working a treat on the snapper with the occasional deep-holding tuna as well that are also feeding on the yakkas.
Winter is always a good time for a mixed bag of reefies while targeting the snapper and July saw plenty of scarlets, winter coral trout, cod, sweetlip and a bunch of different trevallies taking offerings intended for snapper.
Down the Sandy Straits is where you want to be on the blown out days targeting trevally, queenfish, broad bar mackerel and flathead. Anglers can also enjoy the scenery of the Straits in some calm water on those days that aren’t comfortable fishing in the bay.
There have also been some reports of small black marlin about earlier in the month with Sunshine Coast crews getting into them outside Break Sea Spit. Andrew managed a day outside a week or so later targeting them, but said that they missed their opportunities.
“It’s certainly interesting to hear of good numbers at this time of the year and certainly asks the question, is there another spawning run on the Barrier Reef other than off Cairns?” Andrew said.
And speaking of black marlin now is the time to be getting ready for the main season of small blacks in late spring that happens each year on the inside of Fraser Island. To find out more about the black marlin run or fishing in general in Hervey Bay head to the Hervey Bay Fly and Sportfishing website.
