Hervey Bay cheat sheet
Every fish, the limits, the four rigs and the one box of tackle. One page to take to the water.
Hervey Bay
Winter is the all-round sweet spot for snapper. Spring (August to November) is the longtail tuna run. The warmer months are mackerel and trevally.
No licence
Queensland needs no general recreational fishing licence; there is nothing to buy for the bay. The Stocked Impoundment Permit applies only to listed freshwater dams, not Hervey Bay.
Limits
Snapper 35 cm, 4 a person (1 over 70 cm); Spanish mackerel 75 cm, 1 a person; school mackerel 50 cm, 10; flathead 40 – 75 cm, 5; bream 25 cm. Confirm the current Queensland limits before you keep a fish.
Release
The tunas are mostly catch-and-release; revive a longtail boatside before it swims off. The reef and bay fish are good eating within the limits.
Bank vs boat · season · time → rig
| Fish | From the shore | From a boat | Best time | Rig |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longtail tuna | Only off the Urangan Pier when a school is in close | Yes, the bait grounds and open bay | Aug – Nov; whenever the schools bust up; calm days to spot them | Jigging rig (metals), popper and stickbait rig, or streamer rig (fly) |
| Mackerel tuna | Off the pier in a close school | Yes, with the longtail | Warmer months and the spring run | Jigging rig or popper and stickbait rig |
| Snapper | Limited, off the pier and strait edges | Yes, the reef patches | Cooler months; the change of tide, dawn and dusk | Inshore bait rig (bait) or jigging rig (slow-pitch jig) |
| Spanish / school mackerel | Off the pier on a metal | Yes, the reef edges and current lines | Warmer months; moving water | Jigging rig (cast metal + bite trace), or trolling from a charter |
| Golden trevally / queenfish | The strait edges on foot at low tide | Yes, the strait flats and channels | Warmer months; the run-out tide | Popper and stickbait rig, jigging rig, or streamer rig |
| Flathead / bream | Yes, the strait edges and flats | Yes, the channel edges | Run-out tide; year-round | Inshore bait rig or a light plastic |
Shore only is the Urangan Pier with a fast metal when a school comes in close. A boat opens up the open-bay tuna grounds, the reef patches for snapper, and the strait for trevally and flathead.
The rigs
Braid (PE 2 – 4) → FG knot → long fluorocarbon leader → metal slug (tuna) or slow-pitch jig (snapper) on a Palomar to the ring; add a short wire bite trace for mackerel
FG knot (braid to leader) · Palomar (jig and rings)Braid → FG knot → heavy fluorocarbon leader → stickbait or popper on strong rings
FG knot (braid to leader) · Palomar (rings)Main line → sliding ball sinker → bead → swivel (Palomar) → leader → snelled snapper hook → bait, or a light paternoster off the bottom
Palomar (swivel) · snell (the bait hook)Fly line → perfection loop (loop-to-loop) → tapered leader → fluorocarbon tippet (surgeon's / blood) → streamer on a non-slip loop
Perfection loop · surgeon's / blood knot · non-slip loopWhat you need
One light-to-medium spinning outfit and a box of metals and stickbaits cover the tuna and surface fish. Add a medium outfit and running-sinker bits for snapper, a wire trace for mackerel, and a fly outfit only if you fly fish.
The knots
| Knot | Ties | Used by |
|---|---|---|
| FG knot | Braid to leader, the saltwater workhorse. | Every lure rig |
| Snell knot | The bait hook on the snapper rig. | The inshore bait rig |
| Palomar | Swivels, jigs and rings. | The lure and bait rigs |
| Non-slip loop | A free-swinging fly or lure. | The streamer rig and lures |
Learn the FG knot first; it joins braid to leader on every lure rig. Wet every knot before you pull it tight. The fly rig uses its own leader knots (perfection loop, surgeon's / blood), given on the rig page.
This one page is the printable I take to the water.
Give me an email and I will show it to you, ready to print. A one-page reference: what's on by month, the licence and rules, a rig for every fish, the shared tackle box and the knots.
I'll send you the cheat sheet, and email you when I add a new place to fish. Nothing else.