Five Tips to Moreton Bay

By Tammy Spina

Moreton Bay can be a great fishing location with many different target species to choose from, here are 5 tips to get you started.

Tip 1. Location

Moreton Bay can be tough fishing but if you do your research and find the right grounds to fish then you will increase your chances of landing good quality fish.

I see it all to often out in the bay where boats are just sitting what I would call the sea dessert, if you head out for a fish without studying your surroundings via Navionics or other great map apps than chances are you are fishing in a dessert and you probably won’t land many fish.

There are many fishing locations including ship wrecks, small patches of reef, drop offs and other forms of structure out in the bay which are great places to start and these are all available to you via Navionics and other apps, all it takes is a little bit of reading and then scouting around before you drop your lines in the water.

Tip 2. Gear

Moreton Bay is the home to many different species from bream, whiting & flathead to mackerel, jewfish and tuna.

If its bread and butter species your after then a 2500 to 3000 size reel matched with a 2-4 to a 3-6kg rod is a good option.

If you are after something a little bigger and a little crazier like mackerel, jewfish, snapper and longtail tuna then a 4000 to 6000 sized reel matched with a 3-6 to a 6-12kg rod will be more suited to these species. 

Tip 3. Tackle

There’s no need to get too complicated with rigs, a simple running ball sinker rig will do just fine in most cases.

If you are interested in drifting your fishing spots then a Paternoster rig will be a better option as this will keep your hooks away from the bottom and hopefully prevent you from getting snagged up.

Both the running sinker and paternoster rig can be altered to your desired bait and/or hook of choice. I mostly use circle hooks or gang hooks as I use live small bait fish as my desired bait.

Keep in mind that If you do want to try a circle hook don’t strike when you feel a bite, this will pull the hook out of the fish’s mouth, instead fish with light drag, let the fish run and slowly tighten your drag up to pin the fish in the corner of the mouth.

Using the correct hook

Worms - Long shank worm hook

Prawns or squid - Bait holder or long shank hook

Fish strips - Circle, gang hooks or j-hook

Pilchards and/or whole small bait fish - Gang hooks

Live bait - Circle hook or gang hooks

Tip 4. Lures & Soft plastics

The fishing industry is flooded with all kinds of lures and soft plastics, this can make it difficult to choose a lure and many people become overwhelmed with this decision.

At Daiwa Australia we offer some great options in our new Bait Junkie soft plastics range, a 2.5’ Grub or Minnow is a great all-rounder and most species will snatch one out of the water column, with the smaller profile plastics like these you are more likely to entice a few smaller fish but there is always a change of enticing bigger fish if there is one hanging around.

Match this with a lightly weighted jighead (1/12 to a 3/8oz depending the depth and current, if fishing shallow reefs don’t go to heavy as you will end up snagging your plastics up. 

Tip 5. Have Fun

Don’t forget to have fun along the way

There will be many adventures spent out on the water catching nothing, every angler knows this feeling, but with every trip out on the water you are learning more and adding to your fishing experience, this time is when you learn the most, when you are out there applying all you have learnt and, in these moments, when everything aligns and you land your targeted species you feel alive.