There was a case for traffic lights at the Noosa bar this week with the owners of all manner of craft taking full advantage of the pleasant conditions. Squire, Snapper and Parrot Fish were common to all of the visited reefs. In addition, out wide, 'The Hards' yielded Moses Perch and Pearl Perch while at the Barwon Banks the bonuses were Maori Cod, Red Emperor and a number of Sailfish hookups. A little closer in, North Reef outshone the lot (again), producing Northern Bluefin Tuna, Sweetlip, Teraglin Jewfish, Moses Perch, Mahi Mahi, Mackerel Tuna, quality Cobia and thumper Coral Trout. Within near sight of land, Sunshine Reef yielded the a few quality Sweetlip and Hall's Reef was the spot for the odd Cobia or Black Kingfish. All in all, though, North Reef well and truly lived up to its recent reputation as a top performer as eight year old Gold Coast angler Ashley Cooper, above left, found on Saturday morning. Ashley was out there on a half day Cougar One charter when he boated this 1.5kg Snappery Squire and later, a 7kg Northern Bluefin Tuna. He was armed with a Fenwick rod and an Abu 6500C3 reel loaded with 12lb braid. And the day before at North Reef Judy Van Leeuwen, above right, outfished the guys on a full day Cougar One charter, the 4kg Snapper she's pictured with being her standout. She was using a Gary Howard rod, an Alvey 725C reel and 30lb line.

ONSHORE: Although the weed on the North Shore seems to have dissipated the East side coastal beaches continued to attract most of the attention. Peregian Beach yielded average size Dart and Chopper Tailor, as did Marcus Beach with the added bonus of Jewfish (Mulloway), as you can see by the photo below left. Local angler Ian 'Tinny' Treloar tempted this 16kg specimen on Thursday night using a Bonito fillet on 3x6/0 hooks as his draw card. He was kitted out with a SnyderGlas surf rod and a Penn 8500SS reel loaded with 20lb Schneider 'SuperFine' line and 80lb Schneider trace.

In the river, Bream, Whiting and Flathead were in good numbers in the lower reaches with the Frying Pan (which also yielded Chopper Tailor and the odd Trevally on poppers in the afternoon) and the river mouth both producing well. These bread and butter species were also on the bite (although to a lesser extent) in the Woods Bays and around the Munna Point area which also saw Trevally to 1.5kg in quite good numbers towards the bottom of the runout tide, as did lower Weyba Creek. The Tewantin stretch from Harbourtown to the ferry was another good option with the bonus of Trevally, school Jewfish and Mangrove Jacks an added attraction. Other Mangrove Jack hot spots were between the lakes, and (together with Tarpon) the back of Noosa Sound. Getting a Noosa River Bream to chase a lure is not an easy task and local angler Matt Flett, above right, did well when he tempted this 900gm specimen with a 'Crappie Spider' soft plastic on a Gamakatsu jig-head last Wednesday morning. Matt got his result jigging his lure under a floating pontoon jetty and after a quick weigh in and photo at Davo's, released the lucky fish back into the river opposite the shop. He was armed with a Daiwa Procyon (1kg-4kg) rod and a Daiwa Regal Z 1500 reel loaded with 6lb line. On the freshwater scene, Kin Kin Creek was another Tarpon hot spot while Bass were on the bite in the Everglades, Lake MacDonald (on spinnerbaits and C-Lures 'Borer' extra deeps) and at Borumba Dam, where Saratoga and Yellowbelly also made a splash.