Head North to fishing paradise

North Reef is a one of the best winter snapper fishing locations out from Noosa and it has been producing copious amounts of quality specimens so far this winter. The fish are constantly on the move and trial and error is needed to track them down.

Some of the big snapper have been up to 7kg this year and it has also been producing pearl perch, maori cod, coral trout to 8kg, 15kg yellow tail and black kingfish, large long tail tuna and the odd red emperor up to 8kg.

After you leave the Noosa River mouth travel NE for about 15 kilometres and you'll be there. A rough GPS mark to get you in the area of North reef is Latitude 26° 18' 55'' S and Longitude S 153° 10' 13'' E. Once you arrive you will have to sound around looking for structure to anchor on. The bottom structure consists of coffee rock, coral reef and weed beds with a depth range between 35 and 45 meters.

The very northern end of North reef is called the Coffees because it is made up of Coffee rock type reef. The local charter boats have been rattling quality snapper here over the past month. Early morning and late afternoons are the best times to fish north, but when it is on fire it produces quality fish all day long. The main worry is crossing the Noosa bar during the dark as it is notoriously shallow on low tide, so it pays to cross ½ tide or higher.

Due to North average depth of around 40m, most angler use a dropper rig with a heavy snapper lead that will hold against the current. If you are using berley than it is well worth sending down a whole bait on a set of gangs weighed slightly with a North reef is one of the best ball sinker that is heavy enough to get your bait down mid water.
 
Don't always expect to catch fish on your first trip to north as the fish are constantly moving and may take several trips to find them. Noosa Blue Charters (54499355) and Noosa's Laguna Charters (0428 409 628) are good local charter operators that fish these waters on a weekly basis and it is well worth booking a full day trip out with them to learn how they fish these areas and what end of the reef is working at the time. 

Where are the fish biting?

Noosa: Snapper from Sunshine and North Reefs. A 2.2kg mangrove jack from Munna Point. Tailor up to 1.5kg in Woods Bay on live herring. Luderick to 1.2kg in the river mouth. Whiting up to 500g at the river mouth. Tailor to 1.2kg at the southern end of A Bay and to 1.5kg between the 2nd and 3rd cuttings. Dart, big dusky flathead, tarwhine to 1kg, 5kg jew and tailor to 3kg over night north of Teewah beach. 

Maroochydore: School jew around the 4kg mark in the river mouth. Chopper tailor, bream and dart around the sand bags in the afternoons.  A 55cm flathead and several bream to 32cm were caught in the cod hole. Whiting up to 35cm in the lower reaches on the ebb tide.

Mooloolaba: Snapper to 6kg, parrot and maori cod from the blinker over night. Good snapper from Murphy's reef. Bream and tailor in the washing machine.  Pike and gar in the river mouth. Bream throughout the lower reaches. Luderick off the rock walls.

Caloundra: Snapper from 4-6kg  and cobia around 14kg on Caloundra 9 mile reef.  Snapper to 4kg around Brays Rock. School mackerel on metal lures off the rocks at Moffat beach. Tailor and bream off the NE tip of Bribie and in the bar. Bream up to 1.2kg, luderick and tailor off the boardwalk. 

Noosa Blue Water Charters has been fishing North Reef over the past month with excellent results for there customers including 

10kg to 15kg yellowtail kingfish

plenty of thumper snapper

quality cobia in good numbers.

Colin Seccombe from Marine Manufacturing in Yandina was lucky enough to score a work fishing trip on Laguna Charters with his work mates and ended up catching the fish of the day, an 8kg red emperor from a secret mark on North Reef.

Carl Chakley from Eudlo fished along Maroochy North Shore using pilchards after a feed of chopper tailor and was presently surprised when this 5kg school jew swallowed his bait and put up a good fight.