You’ve woken up to the ideal fishing weather and you’re keen to get out and about on the Sunshine Coast to explore this angling paradise. Lucky for you, this area is blessed with a diversity of brilliant fishing experiences. So whether your choice is fishing on the beach, booking a charter or fishing from a boat, here are some of the best fishing spots on the Sunshine Coast.
Land based fishing spots – Sunshine Coast
No boat? No problem. There are heaps of fantastic land based fishing spots on the Sunshine Coast to explore.
Caloundra Boardwalk
Loaded with a variety of family-sized fish, this is one of the great Sunshine Coast fishing spots to bring the kids to try their hand at making their first catch! An ideal time to fish is at the change of tide when the currents aren’t strong. Use a tiny hook, a little burley and no sinker. When the tide is high on a sunny day, the water is usually bright blue and clear, so it offers great photo ops. There are also lots of handy amenities here, including seats, rod holders and taps, and the boardwalk is close to cafes and restaurants, so you can enjoy a seafood lunch if you weren’t lucky enough to catch it yourself!
Ewen Maddock Dam
Located in 1973 and located five kilometres southeast of Mooloolah, Ewen Maddock Dam is home to native and stocked fish, including saratoga, tandans, yellow belly, spangled perch, Australian bass and Mary River cod. After even more adventure? It’s not only one of the fantastic fishing spots on the Sunshine Coast, the dam also offers other activities like canoeing, kayaking, sailing, mountain biking and high ropes courses.
Maroochy River
One of the best land based fishing spots on the Sunshine Coast, the Maroochy River is a very large yet shallow system that’s peppered with deep holes perfect for some spirited angling. The river is home to a wide variety of fish including cod, flathead, sand whiting, bass, tailor, mangrove jack, mulloway and several types of trevally. The best fishing is from the southern and northern shores of the river mouth.
Borumba Dam
This is renowned as one of Queensland’s most established lakes and is located 50 kilometres south of Gympie. A fly fisherman’s delight, both saratoga and bass are plentiful here. You can also find Australian bass, Mary River cod and a combination of silver and gold perch. Camping and BBQs are also welcome, so why not make a day or a weekend of it?
Beach fishing spots – Sunshine Coast
There are more than 50 kilometres of beaches to choose from in this part of Queensland. In terms of the best beach fishing spots on the Sunshine Coast, here are just a few.
Golden Beach
A few casts from the boardwalk you’ll find Golden Beach. Flathead, whiting and bream are popular catches here, and a running sinker rig with a small hook is recommended. Keep your bait moving if you want to avoid the smaller nibblers or use bigger bait that will last a bit longer. Aim high we say!
Teewah Beach
Only accessible by 4WD, Teewah Beach stretches for roughly 50 kilometres. For your best chance of a catch, drive along the beach and look for deep gutters. Tailors are the main species on offer in winter, and jewfish may also turn up in the deeper gutters, particularly at night. In summer, you’ll find mackerel, tuna and golden trevally, and pelagics may also come close to shore. For the rest of the year, dart and tarwhine are the main catches along the beach.
Rainbow Beach
Another one of the best beach fishing spots on the Sunshine Coast is Rainbow Beach. Again, only accessible by 4WD, it is ideal for those seeking a little more adventure from their angling experience. Depending on bait and the time of year, dart, whiting, tailor and jewfish are the species to target. Look for gutters and pockets, and in shallower waters, aim for the whitewash as it provides shelter from birds of prey. In terms of bait, locally caught beach worms will work a treat.
Best fishing spots on a boat – Sunshine Coast
With a variety of waterways and habitats to choose from, onboard a boat is an ideal way to explore them. There is something for every angler here!
Maroochydore River
Extending from the mouth at Cottontree to the ranges of Mooloolah and Blackall, the Maroochydore River has 26 kilometres of fishable water, not including fresh water. There are three catchment dams on the river, Poona Dam, Wappa Dam and Cooloolabin Dam, and all have native Australian bass. Bream and flathead can also be found here.
Noosa River
From the mouth of the Noosa River to Lake Cootharaba, bream, tailor, flathead and whiting are all on offer here. To entice these fish, try using fly, hard body, soft body, lures or live bait. More experienced anglers might also get lucky and hook a good-sized trevally and the highly sought-after mangrove jack — and big ones at that!
The Mooloolaba Bar
The blend of tropical and subtropical waters produces an amazing variety of species, including tusk fish, snapper, Maori cod and pearl perch. Light game fishing includes exceptional sight fishing for tuna, cobia, billfish and various mackerel species, cobia and billfish. The heavy tackle Giant Blue Marlin fishing is world-class.
Pumicestone Passage
Another one of the best fishing spots on a boat on the Sunshine Coast is the Pumicestone Passage. Jewfish, flathead and the elusive mangrove jack are all on offer here, and for bigger fish, use larger baits, particularly at night. However, giant flatheads are classified as ‘breeders’ here, so must be returned to the water.
Offshore fishing spots – Sunshine Coast
One of the best ways to explore offshore fishing spots on the Sunshine Coast is to book a charter. Charter boat companies offer a range of packages in terms of duration and location. Here’s a brief rundown of some of the more popular reefs you can explore, and what you might catch!
Halls Reef
Located only two kilometres from the Noosa Bar, this is a great spot to start your charter boat adventures before you tackle the more distant reefs. This area can fish outstandingly well after prolonged rain as it is close to the river mouth and pushes herring, prawns, mullet and other bait into Laguna Bay.
Jew Shoal
Almost four kilometres from the Noosa Bar, Jew Shoal is a great area for longtails and passing schools of spotted mackerel in summer. In the winter you can pick up cod, snapper and sweetlip.
Sunshine Reef
Roughly ten kilometres from the Noosa Bar, this reef is well known for its pelagic fishing in the summer, in particular mackerel, kingfish and tuna varieties. Snapper, parrot, pearl perch, cobia, trout, spangled emperor, grass sweetlip and many other species can also be found here.
North Reef
Further out (around 15 kilometres from the Noosa Bar), is North Reef. It is a top spot to fish for kingfish, mahi mahi and spotty and Spanish mackerel. It also has a fantastic range of reef species like snapper, pearl perch and spangled emperor.
Barwon Banks
The ‘Banks’ is a large reef system that covers around 23km. Any number of reef species and larger pelagics can be caught here including cod, cobia, kingfish, amberjack, tuskfish, pearl perch, emperor and trout. With all the available species there also come plenty of sharks so take care!
The Hards
A lot further out (50 kilometres from the Noosa Bar), the Hards begins at the tip of the Barwon Banks and goes a further 20 kilometres north offering changing reef and bottom conditions along the way. There are plenty of amberjack, kingfish, tuna, wahoo and sailfish here in the warmer months.
References
- 2024, Best places to fish on the Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast
- 2013, 4 top fishing spots on the Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast Lifestyle
- 2024, Teewah Beach, Fishing Spots
- 2019, Fishing checklist for Rainbow Beach, Creek to Coast
- 2022, Sunshine Coast Reefs, Deep Sea Fishing Co. Sunshine Coast