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I have fished the Boyne pretty much through all seasons and understand why it is regarded as one of the iconic fishing locations for the Gladstone Region. It can produces Barramundi all year round even though the number caught is often low. Other target species include Mangrove Jack, Grunter, Fingermark, Queenfish, Trevally, Flathead, Bream, Whiting, Tarpon, Threadfin and Blue Salmon.

Unfortunately, the Boyne river is still a legal netting option for professionals and that, and the natural life cycle of target species do produce times when stocks of some species such as barra are often severely depleted and when some species are just not in that part of their annual life cycle that keeps or puts them in the river.

It's hard to get a handle on when and where professionals are netting so I pretty well just keep and eye out in the surges of any commercial species and recognize that is when it's likely that professionals will be active.

Putting the impact of professional fishers aside being aware of when the various species are likely to be active is certainly helps when working out which species to target and the of course having a handle on the feeding habits of your target species is another key to success.

The Boyne River was named by John Oxley as it reminded him of the River Boyne in Ireland. The river is dammed by the Awoonga Dam which is the major water source for the Gladstone Region and its the river that runs from Awonga Dam then some 20 kilometers down to the sea entering the sea at Gladstone that this post reports on. In that stretch there are three major bridges. Working from the entrance upstream a bridge built in 1980 connects the communities of Tannum Sands and Boyne Island and is about 1 kilometer from where the river enters the sea. The second bridge is around a further 10 kilometers upstream at Benaraby and that carries the Bruce Highway that runs between Gladstone and Brisbane. Only about kilometers above that there is a railway bridge. As well as the three bridges there is also ford/bridge at Pikes Crossing just around 3 kilometers below the dam wall.

The river has a range of habitats from beaches at the entrance, sand and mud flats and banks, sand and gravel banks on the edges of the river at various locations as you move up the river, overhanging mangroves for the lower reaches and trees, scrub and grazing land as you progress toward the dam wall and finally not to be underestimated as fish attracting structure on the positive side, but extreme navigation hazards on the negative side, difficult to navigate gravel bars, rock bars, drowned trees and large rocks throughout and of course of the river.

How to get there

The Boyne can be fished from the bank and access points which you won't find hard to find on the East side of the Bruce Highway bridge at Benaraby and at various locations from a kilometer above the Tannun Sands Boyne Island bridge right down to the entrance. The best of the Boyne River fishing is however accessed by boat.

Boat launching

There 5 main places where boat/canoe access to the river can be gained:

1. Bray Park ramp is on the Boyne island side of the river toward the sea end of Malpas Street and is by far the best Boyne River launching facility. From there you can navigate the river all the way up to the road bridge and target both tropical and temperate species. This is about 6 kilometers of river and includes the big rock bars near the entrance of the river and several other rock and gravel bars as you move up the river. Because the Boyne River is the overflow for Awoonga Dam it is a top spot when the dam overflows releasing large stocks of Awoonga fish particularly Barramundi. This is a great facility and has picnic tables and toilets and parking for heaps of trailers ... still, it is very congested on weekends and holidays.
2. Below the Benaraby Bruce Highway bridge. There is no formed boat launching facility but if your careful you can launch from the bank about 70 meters below the bridge. Keep in mind that this is a popular bank fishing location and there is every chance that on popular fishing days you will offend somebody either when you launch or retrieve your boat. I have launched and retrieved my 4.29 tinny there with no difficulties but I would not attempt to do that on weekends, public holidays or when there are likely to be too many bank fisher folk around.
3. Above the Benaraby Bruce Highway bridge. Again, there is no formed boat launching facility there but if your careful you can launch from the bank about 100 meters above the bridge. The water is really shallow here so it's not so popular with those fishing from the bank. I launch my 4.29 tinny there with no difficulties. Make sure you park your car and trailer out of the way and above high water mark as this area is subject to the full influence of the tides.
4. I have seen canoes, car toppers and tinnies launched just below the rail bridge on the South side of the river but as it's only 1 kilometer above the Benaraby bridge I have not had the need to use that, reportedly pretty rough, access which is a dirt track of the end of Marrawing Rd.
5. Pikes Crossing is around 2 kilometers below the dam wall and as the name implies there is a concrete crossing over the river. There are 4 very good pools above the crossing and a long stretch down to the weir which is the top mark of tidal influence. I typically go as high up the river as I can before running out of water and on the highest tides I have fished I have still been well short of the weir. You can launch canoes and car toppers here at most times and at a pinch and subject to where people have parked you can generally launch lighter trailer boats up to say 4.5 meters with varying degrees of difficulty. A word of caution here. Make sure you lock your car and park where it will not offend others and don't be surprised if others don't have the same courtesy and park in places that make it difficult to retrieve your boat.

Closed season

Throughout the Queensland east coast a closed season applies to barramundi from midday 1 November to midday 1 February, except in and from waterways upstream of Awoonga, Burdekin Falls, Callide, Eungella, Fairbairn, Fred Haigh (Lake Monduran), Kinchant, Koombooloomba, Lenthalls, Peter Faust, Teemburra, Tinaroo and Wuruma dams.

There are also closed seasons for other fish that you can check out at http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/fisheries/recreational/rules-regulations/closed-seasons-tidal-waters

Services & facilities available

The Boyne river runs into the sea at Gladstone which is a fast growing industrial town with a full range of services. There is also fuel, accommodation and lesser services at Benaraby which is where the Bruce Highway crosses the Boyne River and at Tannum Sands and Boyne island.

Target species

Lower reaches

Upper reaches

Being directly below Awonga Dame and subject to major overflows from the dam the river pretty well has all the species that the dam holds. That list includes Barramundi, Bass, Mangrove Jacks and of course Fork tail cat Fish.

It also boast coastal species such as various Trevally, Queenfish, Tarpon and occasionally even Spanish Mackerel that run up from the sea and of course estuary species including Flathead, Bream, Whiting, Mullet and Estuary Cod.

Stocking

Since 1996, over 2.5 million Barramundi fingerlings and 470,000 mullet fingerlings have been released into Awonga Dam and as noted above many of those fish finish up in the Boyne River when the dam spills.

The Gladstone Area Water Board has a fish breeding program in place and breeds Barramundi and Mangrove Jack for stocking into Lake Awoonga as well as some of the surrounding waterways. Approximately 200,000 fish are released into Lake Awoonga each year (200,000 Barramundi and small numbers of Mangrove Jack).

The fish are bred at a purpose-built fish hatchery in Gladstone, operated jointly by the Gladstone Area Water Board and the Gladstone Ports Corporation.

The Board has a continuing fishery monitoring program in place using net surveys, to evaluate the success of the restocking effort.

The Boyne also has a healthy population of Mangrove jack. They are basically a summer target especially when there is an afternoon storm looming which often puts them into overdrive. In tidal waters target them on the ebb of the high tide tide when they are well up in structure. As the tide falls away from the mangroves and other shore structure the jacks retreat to deeper pools and generally go quiet. Above tidal influences the jacks take up residence in the snags basically waiting for ambush opportunities get your fly as deep into structure as you can and keep it there working for as long as you can. Hits are generally hard and fast followed by dramatic runs back deep into structure.

Food chain

A major nursery you will find bait fish throughout the Boyne River system which are a dominant element of the food chain from a fishing point of view. There is however a well well balanced phytoplankton and populations of prawns and shrimp as well as a range of crabs and other crustations or also on the menu. Drowned terrestrials including, beetles, hoppers and cicada are significant to the food chain during summer.

Techniques

Choice of rods is important.

If you use your trout gear and hook up to a Barramundi, sold queeny or trevally you run the risk of damaging gear. I suggest rods in the #9 or #10 weight range with a 20lb leader are the go if your targeting barra or say bigger queenies or bigger trevally.

If your targeting other species on the list above an 8 weight outfit with leaders from 10lb to 15lb can provide some very exciting fishing.

Reels and backing are important also and large arbor reels with an efficient drag system and a full complement of backing are certainly the go.

My main fly outfit (and the one I would carry if I could only carry one outfit) is based on an 8.25 foot #8 weight rod matched with a saltwater fly reel. I like modular reels and mine allows me to carry intermediate, floating and fast sinking lines each set up on modular spools that can easily be swapped over onto the reel.

As well as the fly line each spool has room for around 100 meters of 30lb braided backing.

My go fly line is an intermediate and to that I attach a fluorocarbon leader the same length as my fly rod. The butt section is around 1.5 times the diameter of the tippet and about 1/3 the length of the total leader. The heavier fluorocarbon butt section helps in turning the sometimes fairly big flies over and has a loop to loop connection to the fly line and is attached to the tippet with a surgeons knot. I use fluorocarbon rather than monofilament for my leader as it's thinner than monofiliment and sinks, both of which can be advantageous in the Boyne's often clear tidal waters.

My preference is to fly fish the times of slower water movement around the neap tides and tide changes. If you fish big tide or the full ron of even a neap tide you will find it very hard to stay in contact with your fly or flies and to get time for them to sink into the strike zone.

Fly suggestions

Fly choice will certainly depend on species targeted. Bass and Mangrove Jack, pretty well universally, respond well to the types of flies in my My Bass and native Species fly box and My tropical saltwater fly box.

Best times

In terms of tides the best times in estuaries is the 7 days leading up to the new moon and full moon. That is when the neap tides occur and the estuary waters are clearer and slower. After the new and full moons the tides build and the run off increases in volume and speed and the estuary waters become relatively more discoloured.

Hot spots

The whole river is a hot spot but most of the target species move through different habitats according to the seasons but as a general rule it's a good starting point to fish the structure.

My preferred fishing times are the hour or so either side of dusk or dawn with particular emphasis on when that coincides with the ebb of a middle size high tide or when storms are threatening.

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