The March Fishing Report, Week Three 2007, Noosa, Queensland, Australia, brought to you by Black Magic Tackle.

As at Monday March 19, 2007

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OFFSHORE: The offshore week got off to a bit of a shaky start with 20 knot+ south easterlies, 1.5m seas and a matching swell putting a damper on things for the first three days. From Friday onwards, however, the wind strength eased and it was all on for young and old with conditions on the local reefs pretty much as good as they get for this time of the year.

Sweetlip and Parrot Fish were pretty much the common species at all the visited reefs. In addition, North Reef produced Teraglin Jewfish while at 'The Hill' the extras were Snapper, Moses Perch, Pearl Perch, Cobia and, as you can see by the photo above left, quality Red Emperor. Mick Hartwich from Brisbane boated this 4.7kg specimen while out there on Saturday on a full day Cougar Too charter. Chardon's Reef was most definitely worth the effort, yielding Mowong, Moses Perch, Maori Cod, Yellowfin Tuna, Pearl Perch, Gold Band Snapper and, as per the photo above right, Scarlet Sea Perch. Brisbane angler Len Olyott nailed this 5kg 'Scarlet' yesterday while out there on a full day Cougar One charter. Closer to home, Arkwright Shoal was the spot for Moses Perch and Shiny Mackerel, as was Sunshine Reef but with the added the bonus of Spangled Emperor, Pearl Perch, Coral Trout, Mackerel Tuna, Northern Bluefin Tuna and, as above, Spanish Mackerel. Local angler Ben Nothling was out there on Saturday morning and attracted the 15kg Spaniard he's posing with by floating a whole Pilchard down a burley trail. He was armed with a Wilson Live Fibre rod and a Shimano 6500 Baitrunner reel loaded with 30lb line. Laguna Bay ran hot and cold most of the week with fast moving Mackerel Tuna schools crisscrossing the bay. Spotted and school Mackerel made the odd appearance at the river mouth and Little Hall's Reef while Northern Bluefin Tuna fired at times around the outer side of the shark nets, the drum lines and in Granite Bay. ONSHORE: The coastal surf beaches were better patronised this week with Dart (heaps of) and Whiting well spread along the North Shore stretch. The area north of Teewah produced the better Tailor (to 3kg). Across the bay there were Dart and small Tailor around First Point. Apart from that, Marcus Beach produced Tailor (to 3.75kg), Dart, Bream and Whiting. In the river, Whiting and Bream were the bread and butter species this week and were well spread throughout the lower estuary. Trevally were also quite active with best results coming from down at the river mouth (live Prawns), around the Sheraton Bridge at night (Rio's Prawn lures) and in the Culgoa/Munna Point area. The Woods Bays were a good option for Tailor (to 2kg), Mangrove Jacks and, as you can see by the photo above, quality Queenfish. Gold Coast visitor Darren Barber had a blinder of a session there on Wednesday afternoon with his standout fish being the 4kg 'Skinny' he's pictured with. Darren, who was armed with a Shimano XL Weapon/Stradic 4000 combo loaded with 20lb braid found that skipping a Rio's Prawn lure across the water got best results on the day. With the Borumba Dam leg of the ABT Bass Pro Tournament in full swing over the weekend there were Bass caught and released in numbers. Saratoga, however, were also active there (on 'Wooly Buggers' early) with best results coming from around 'The Clumps' in the Yabba Arm.