The Kolan River is the Bundaberg region’s second largest river and produces much the same species as the bigger Burnett River to the south.
However the Kolan is a shorter, shallower river than the Burnett with substantial drying flats.
The Kolan has good prawn runs and these can bring the predatory fish on.
There are usually schools of small mullet and herring available for bait, and productive nipper beds.
The main launch sites are the Booyan ramp on the south bank, side, and the Miara ramp on the north.
The Kolan has excellent flats fishing at times for whiting and flathead with a chance of queenfish and tailor off sandy points and beaches near the mouth.
There are miles of mangrove forest to fish, with bream, cod, jacks and mud crabs found around the trees.
Big barramundi are taken by trolling lures or dropping livebaits in the Kolan’s deep holes, but these fish can also be caught around mud gutter drains and where bait congregates.
Moore Park Creek is a smaller associated waterway, with whiting, flathead, bream and jacks.
Much like Baffle Creek to the north, bream, whiting, flathead, salmon, cod and grunter can all be caught in a day on the Kolan.
Fishing is seasonal, with barramundi and mangrove jacks best in warm weather and bream, flathead and trevally better in winter. However most species can be caught all year.
The Kolan is fished quite hard and small tides can make the fishing become harder, and may require using light tackle and fresh or live bait, or fishing at night, for best results.
As with most rivers, heavy rain pushes marine fish downstream, while extended dry periods see them move back upstream.
There are rock patches marked on our Queensland Kolan River map that are good spots to fish for bream, grunter, cod and jacks.
The Yanadaran Creek tributary is shallow and rocky but fishable by yak or cartopper and has jacks, bream, cod and occasional barramundi.
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Kolan River tides
QLD fishing regulations
QLD marine parks
GBRMPA marine parks
