General News
8 July, 2026
Barred grunter on the bite
FISHOS catching species on squid and prawn, with Hinchinbrook Channel top spot.
Freshwater
THE freshwater systems continue to produce quality sooty grunter and jungle perch, soft plastics, spinners and vibes continue to consistently get bites.
The cooler water tends to slow up the surface fishing, so sub surface techniques are the best option. I’d recommend a small three-inch plastic on a 1/6th ounce jig head with a size one jig spinner.
Using lighter leaders can also help to set more bites this time of year so make sure you’re using a high-quality fluorocarbon leader, six to 10 pounds ideally.
Estuary
BARRED Grunter are in big numbers. We have had plenty of reports of lots of big grunter being caught with some people even bagging out.
The grunter are being caught all over the place, our main river systems seem to be teeming with them, although the Hinchinbrook Channel seems to be producing better size and numbers.
Most fisherman have been catching them on squid and prawn as bait, there has also been a handful of people catching them on lures also, mainly small prawn lures hopped along the bottom.
The grunter have been found on weed, rubble patches and deep holes, so make sure you keep a close eye on the sounder.
Good numbers of barra are still being caught mostly on live skinny nippers or freshwater prawns, using lighter leaders during winter can lead to more bites.
I’d recommend a 40-to-60-pound leader just make sure to back your reels drag off a bit as I’ve had many barramundi cut through lighter leaders.
The mangrove jacks seem unaffected by the cooler water and plenty are still being caught.
Skip casting smaller plastics and snag bashing hard bodies are an absolute killer method. The lucky craft pointer 78 is the lure doing the damage of late.
The flathead are still in big numbers along the sandbars and river mouths, mostly caught on paddle tail soft plastics hopped along the bottom.
The inshore fishing this winter has been fantastic which is very lucky with the terrible offshore weather we have had lately. If you’re thinking of hitting the local river systems, don’t forget the crab pots as there’s plenty of big full mud crabs around also.
Offshore
UNFORTUNATELY, we haven’t had much of a break in the wind and not many people have managed to get offshore, although looking at the forecast we may get a few good days towards the end of the week.
Make sure you are stocked up with the reef essentials ready to go as the weather windows have been far and few between, and if you’re not quick, you’ll miss out the small breaks we have been having.
If you can get out, there has been plenty of Spanish mackerel around, so make sure you chuck a trolling lure in the boat on your next trip.
– Ryan Sanger, Tackle World Tully
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