Tackle

Most of the regions beaches are relatively tame so there’s not a great need for big surf rods and heavy sinkers. Rods that are around 2.5 – 3 meters are quite popular as long as they have a reel spooled with around 200 – 300 meters of line. The reason for this line capacity is evident when you realise that a small bunch of yabbies is as attractive to a 25cm whiting as it is to a 3 kilo oyster cracker (snub nosed dart).

Regular whiting 'fisho's' will understand those mind blowing runs that spin spools into a blur cannot always be dismissed as stingrays!

Having the extra line capacity gives you some, although often slight, chance of landing one of these sought after sport fish. A correctly spooled reel will also require less weight to get it out into the feeding zone and we should all realise that less lead creates a more natural presentation which gives a greater chance of hooking a fish.

Tactics

There are a large number of suitable beaches in the Mackay region that provide the recreational fisho with plenty of options. The most important consideration when beach fishing is to take note of the tide. During the period of new and full moon the variation between low and high tide increase meaning more water shifts in and out of the regions beaches.

In some cases where the beach is steep this may mean the water line between high and low mark is minimal. However, with many of the beaches quite shallow the difference between low and high tide water mark can be measured in hundreds of meters

These big tides are best suited for beach fishing because species that feed in this environment take full advantage of high water to feed over grounds that have been left exposed in the days leading up to the big tides. Marine life settles in the undisturbed sand and once covered by the big tides becomes easy prey for whiting, bream, trevally and dart.

These fish will continually disturb the sand until the water recedes and in doing so leave small depressions in the sand. The falling tide deposits this sand to the edges of the depressions these fish have made and these holes can be witnessed on a number of Mackay beaches. At times, you can determine what stage of the tide the fish were feeding by checking which side of the depression the most sand has been deposited.

It all sounds a bit technical but really it’s just a small observation and using it to your advantage can dramatically improve your beach fishing.