OFFSHORE: It was a bit chilly on the local reefs around first light this week with cool, light to moderate (10 to 15 knot) variable westerlies reminding us that this is, after all, the middle of winter. Forecast strong winds for the weekend didn't really materialise and there was a bit of grumbling from those boaties who'd canceled trips based on the official data.
Still, today was an absolute pearler with the bar crossing looking like a mill pond and all manner of boats motoring out.

The cool weather heralded the start of the annual whale migration and a few boats have reported the odd close encounter.
Double Island Point was pretty quiet this week, yielding only average size reefies such as squire and parrot fish. Closer in, Chardon's Reef was a much better proposition, producing pearl perch, hussar, parrot fish and, as you can see by the photo above, plenty of quality snapper. Dean Pit, Frankie Tuckwell and Luke Tuckwell got right into the 'Knobbies' on Wednesday while out there on a Cougar One Maxi day charter.
North Reef was another strong performer with cobia, pearl perch, mackerel tuna, northern bluefin tuna, hussar, estuary cod, plenty of average size snapper and a few snodger 'Knobbies' on the bite.
Cole McDonald (above right) was out there on Friday morning with his buddy Bruce when he got onto the 12kg cobia he's posing with. They also caught and released a number of mackerel tuna and an 8kg northern bluefin tuna.
And Jock Walker, Robert Petric and Jeff Crellin (above) were at North Reef the day before on a three quarter day Cougar One charter when the fish came on the bite. There were plenty of reefies boated but the 7kg and 8kg 'Knobbies' that Jock and Jeff landed were the standouts. Sunshine Reef was a bit disappointing this week although the odd Spanish mackerel capture around the top of the tide did make life interesting for some anglers. In Laguna Bay, Jew Shoal produced a few squire and sweetlip as did Little Hall's Reef but with the added bonus there of mackerel tuna and the odd Maori cod.

ONSHORE: The coastal surf beaches were absolutely perfect this week and the fishing was a dead set bonus. The North Shore was well worth the ferry crossing with tailor on the bite down at the river mouth end and dart and whiting (and the odd mackerel tuna) well spread all along Teewah Beach. Over on the east side, bream and dart were on the bite at Castaways Beach and also at Peregian Beach. Apart from that, Sunshine Beach produced whiting, as did Marcus Beach but with the added bonus of tarwhine, while further south at Coolum Beach there were a few squire landed from the rocks.

The river mouth area was popular this week with trevally and tailor chasing soft plastic prawn lures and surface poppers. Flathead were going for soft plastics and drifted whitebait while luderick were again on the bite at the car park rocks.

Bream were well spread throughout the system with lots of juvenile fish making their presence felt. Some of the better fish, however, were taken in the Woods Bays along with tailor (to 2kg), queenfish (to 80cm) and trevally. Young Jesse Russell (above) was fishing in the 'Bays' with his dad on Saturday and apart from a few 'choppers', landed the 34cm bream he's pictured with. His bait? Pilchard pieces. Flathead were also on the prowl in Noosa Sound as local angler Paul Richardson (below) found around noon today. Paul used a Gulp 'Pumpkin Seed' soft plastic to attract this 1kg 'Lizard'.

On the freshwater scene, the Lake MacDonald bass (up to 33cm) were responding to live shrimp baits off the jetty near the dam wall and to Jackalls (to 37cm) further out. Jackalls also accounted for bass to 38cm along the 'Gazebo' stretch.