The Gympie region has more fish species than the Great Barrier Reef with the option of salt and freshwater varieties from deep sea, beach, dam, river and creek fishing – you just need a rod and we’ll supply the rest.
Cooloola Coast
Tin Can Bay and Inskip Peninsula are within the UNESCO recognised Great Sandy Straight which is a perfect destination for fishing and boating. The Great Sandy Straight, situated within the Great Sandy Marine Park, rivals the Whitsundays with its ideal sailing conditions and stunning scenery. Sail the marine sanctuary and explore the locals’ secrets right up the western side of K’gari (formerly Fraser Island).
The uniqueness and diversity of the Gympie region’s waterways provide angles with double the amount of fish species that can be found anywhere else in Australia. With warm northern and cool southern currents meeting at K’gari, the Straights provide a one-stop location for an incredible variety of top angle fish, all able to be caught in the one location.
Offering a maze of sandbanks, estuaries and reefs, the Great Sandy strait creates the perfect home for an array of marine life. Species include coral trout, bream, whiting, flathead, mackeral, tailor, mangrove jack and barramundi along with sand and mud crabs.
Beach fishing is one of the great nature-based activities you can do in the Gympie region. Inskip Peninsula, Rainbow Beach and the Cooloola Coast offer almost 100 kilometres of fantastic year-round fishing. The variety of species includes dart, whiting, flathead, bream and tailor.
If you venture to the rocks at Double Island Point you can catch mackeral and kingfish. Additionally you can charter a boat for a reef fishing excursion and catch a red emperor, snapper, parrot and coral trout.
To ensure sustainability, some fishing restrictions apply within the Great Sandy National Marine Park. For up-to-date marine park zoning information visit npsr.qld.gov.au.
Inland River Systems
Getting away from the coast the Gympie region offers the angler the excitement of fishing in freshwater dams and rivers. Lake Borumba, near Imbil, is perfect for lure and fly fishing and you can catch golden and silver perch, Australian bass and Saratoga. Lake Borumba is a fishing paradise with calm waters, misty mornings, sightings of native deer and structure to cast at above and below the water with rainforest growing right to the water’s edge in places.
There is some fantastic wild bass fishing available in the upper freshwater reaches of the Mary River and her tributaries like the Yabbia and Obi Obi Creeks in the Mary Valley. Experience the serenity of floating down Yabbba Creek or the Mary River in your canoe. If the fish aren’t biting you can simply take in the abundant wildlife from azure kingfishers to playful platypuses.
