Fishing tips: What's biting in Moreton Bay in August

The last of winter will soon be upon us. August is typically a month dominated by westerly winds, but with plenty of fishing options generally available.

Inshore Reefs, Bay Waters

Expect snapper on the inshore reefs and they can be targeted after the completion of the snapper spawning closure on August 15. Tailor will be busy around the inshore reefs and open water and floating around a pilchard or using various metal lures should see you have some fun and get a feed. They have a minimum legal-size limit of 35cm and an in-possession limit of 20 fish. Tailor are one of my favourite table species, but it is essential that you bleed the fish and ice them straight away as this helps maintain their texture and flavour. I also recommend that you brain spike the fish (iki Jime). If you are not sure where to spike them, there is a very helpful app called the Iki Jime Tool in the various app stores which will assist you to do so, with most popular angling species. The iki jime methods improves the eating quality of all fish and is a humane way of dispatching your catch for consumption.

Diver whiting will still be around for small boat fishers in Deception and Bramble Bays. Popular baits are bloodworms or strips of squid, and a good method is to drift until you find them. There is an in-possession limit of 50 fish per person but no minimum legal size.

Pelagic Fish

August can be a good month locally for school mackerel on baits such as pilchards, and metal and hard bodied lures. You should also expect to encounter some schools of mac tuna. They will move around from day to day, but look for any signs of bait and bird activity to get you closer to the action.

Estuary and Land Based

It pays to be flexible in your targeting approaches in the estuaries and particularly land based in the bay depending on prevailing winds. Particularly later in the month, if there are periods of onshore winds from south-east or north-east it can also signal that it’s time to dust off the gear for sand and yellowfin whiting. These onshore winds can stir up the bottom in the shallow parts of Bramble and Deception Bays and Margate Beach, and the whiting can be actively feeding as they try and build condition for their Spring spawning period. Locally dug rock worms are always a great bait for them.

On the calmer days or when there are offshore winds from the west, look for tailor and flathead with some bream mixed in with them. Expect good catches around the fishing platforms of the Ted Smout Memorial Bridge and Woody Point Jetty. Yellowtail pike will also still be around at Woody Point and Redcliffe Jetties in particular. Squid are also a great target species at night, this month, when the water stays clear around the Peninsula and including within Scarborough Harbour.

Surf Beaches

August is always my favourite month to fish the surf beach of Moreton Island. Tailor are generally at their best there this month and can be caught early morning, late afternoon and through the night. Some moonlight is always the best and a westerly wind is preferred. While you can catch plenty of fish on pilchards and metal lures during the day, most of the larger fish will be caught at night on baits such as bonito fillets or garfish.

Bream, tarwhine, and swallowtail dart are likely to be abundant on the surf beaches of Moreton Island as well. For swallowtail dart, yabbies are the number one bait, although eugaries (pippies), beach worms, blood worms or peeled prawns will produce some fish as well. It can also be a great month for really big sand whiting. In fact, August is often the best month for consistently large fish. Look for very shallow gutters and drains and be prepared to use a fairly light sinker and drift the bait around to nab a feed. A few should also be active around Reeders Point on the southern end of the island and around Yellowpatch on the northern side. Worms are by far and away the best bait for them.

I know I have said it before but for surf fishing, the Alvey reel is still king!

Offshore

The annual closed season on snapper and pearl perch to protect spawning fish comes to an end on August 15. Until then, offshore anglers will need to target other species. Other species that you should expect to encounter are Venus tuskfish, silver trevally and teraglin. If you do venture offshore, keep an eye out for the humpback whales as they migrate along our coast.

Daryl McPhee is an associate professor of environmental science at Bond University