Hervey Bay has an international reputation as a top-flight recreational fishery. Anglers flock from all corners of the globe hoping to tangle with a wide variety of sports-fish: from bottom bashing the reefs for Coral Trout and Red Emperor to chasing the flighty pelagics inside of Fraser Island to the world-class Sailfish and Marlin fishery offshore.
While all this can be a little daunting to the beginner angler, Hervey Bay is also home to some of the best bread-and-butter fishing on the east coast. There are a myriad of options for the shore-based angler in the region that don't require anything more than the right attitude and some basic gear.
Fishing the flats at the change of tide and low light periods is ideal
The beaches of Hervey Bay from Burrum Heads in the north right around past Urangan in the south provide easy access to species such as Whiting, Bream and Flathead. These expansive flats fish best an hour or so either side of a tide change. It pays to fish the structure in these areas; they might be drains, deeper holes, yabby banks, mangroves or even jetties and groynes, any irregularity in these otherwise featureless areas usually hold a fish or two. The rocky areas around Point Vernon as well as River Heads can offer a bit of variety, with more of the reef species like small trout, cod and grunter.
The rocky areas around River Heads and Point Vernon hold Bream and Grunter
The Urangan pier is perhaps most prominent of the land-based fishing spots and certainly draws its fair share of fisherman, for good reason. At certain times of the year the pier can attract some genuinely large fish with Spanish Mackerel and Giant Trevally chief among them. It's also home to some very large Bream and if you're lucky, some monstrous Flathead. If nothing else the pier provides variety with an array of species attracted to its oyster encrusted pylons and schools of baitfish.
The Urangan Pier one of the best known fishing hotspots in the bay / Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
Fishing gear needn't be over-complicated; a simple spinning reel attached to a lightweight (2-4kg) 6-7 foot rod will suffice. Use as light a sinker as you can get away with for the conditions and a trace of around 2-3 feet. A long-shank, chemically sharpened hook will greatly improve your catch rate. As for bait, fresh is best and if you can manage to source some fresh yabbies' you ought to be able to get amongst some fish.
