The Wide Bay Bar can be very nasty in bad conditions like any bar but with some simple knowledge it can be passed from even the smallest of boats. This bar is known as the "mad mile" because from the inside of the bar to the outer bank is roughly 1 mile and when you have such large volumes of water passing out into a rough seas it can soon become a hand full. A few simple rules will see that this bar is never a concern and you can be comfortable whenever you plan for a fishing trip.
Basicly any swell over 2m will make the bar rough but still passable. The bar is usually only rough on a run out tide from say mid tide to the bottom of the tide. The main channel is very deep coming from the inside of it and its not till you get to the outer bank that it comes up to 3mtrs and in big seas will break in this area but I have only ever seen this once in a blue moon in big swell. So pick your tides (rising tide near high is best) and avoid big seas over 2m and you will have no drama’s. This bar is not as bad as people think and is often crossed at night time by many fishermen. The Tin Can Bay Coast Guard have latest GPS marks for the main channel and just to let you know you can came off these marks a fair way and still be in flat deep water. There is also the fisherman’s gutter, which cuts through almost on the beach at Inskip Point. This gutter is not deep or wide but in good conditions is a dream and when I head back towards DI way to fish is a real time saver and can be passed in a short distance.
I assume you dont have a 4x4 hence why you will be going out the bar? There are some close reefs out the bar but it's very hit and miss and local knowledge is pretty important in these areas. There are some great areas a few kms out from DI which can fish pretty well and this would be the better area to try if you can launch at DI. I will pm you some marks for some ground off the bar but you really need to fish these very early morning or on dusk to better your chances of some decent fish.
Regards,
Greg
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