You can’t go past the Pioneer River that winds though the middle of Mackay. Every keen estuary fisho turns their head briefly sideways when crossing any of the three bridges below Dumbleton Weir that span the river.
Hospital Bridge has a rocky bank to one side and expansive sand flats on the other. This is always a sure bet for whiting when they are schooling in the rivers. The rocks always have someone dropping a line from them and bream, cod, trevally and even jack are all possible captures.
The picturesque Pioneer River is home to a large
number of species from table fish to fast moving sport fish.
The Ron Camm is littered with rocks beneath and is excellent habitat for barramundi and mangrove jack. This is a good spot to work some soft plastics. Let them bounce over the bottom and pause during the retrieve. A number of species have a knack of following the lure and waiting several seconds for it to remain stationary before pouncing. Depending on the size of your plastic this may include bream, flathead and barramundi.
The gravelly areas are renowned for flathead and generally provide more than one fish given the right conditions. The Forgan Smith pylons are also home to barra and jack as well as cod and bream. Trolling beneath or anchoring up and drifting a livebait will get results.
To the mouth rock walls provide habitat and back eddies that suit a range of opportunistic and predatory feeders. Queenfish and trevally enter the river in search of bait schools and do not go un-noticed by eager birds that follow their every move. Using the rippling water and birds as a guide fly fishers can creep up on these speedsters. Soft plastics are also deadly in this situation.
There are some large queenfish in the Pioneer River and these fast fish need to be targeted with suitable tackle if you want any chance of getting them in. Wire traces are a no no unless you have mackerel on the agenda. A sturdy trace of at least 20 kilo line will resist the abrasive nature of the queenfish mouth.
TIP > Be prepared when fishing the Pioneer River. Try a range of baits and or lures until you find something that is working.
Get There > The main boat ramp and car parking is located at the end of River Street.
The Gear
Type of Fishing > Lure, Live Bait.
Bait Types > Live Mullet, yabbies, fresh prawns around rocks.
Peak Periods > All Year.
Best Tides > Navigating is difficult around low tides.
Tackle > Medium threadlines/overheads with 6- 10 kg line. Go lighter if chasing whiting 3 -5 kilo.
