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Fishing Report – 9 February 2023 

The full moon this week combined with big tides and a persistent moderate to strong South Easterly wind has made conditions a bit tough for everyone fishing on the Tweed and Gold Coast. As we head into the weekend the swell is tipped to jump, making offshore conditions bad – especially with the current state of the Gold Coast Seaway. Sunday looks like the pick of the days with the wind tending from a strong SE to a moderate N/NW, giving you a nice little window to have a look in sheltered water for a feed. Let’s have a look at what’s been happening this week.

Given the conditions for the weekend, chasing a feed of Whiting from the protected rivers, estuaries and canals from the Gold and Tweed Coast will be a great option with some fantastic quality fish being caught the past week. Some sheltered areas to have a look are the Tweed River, Tallebudgera Creek, Currumbin Creek, Nerang River, Coomera River both South and North Arms, Pimpama River, Jacobs Well and the Logan River all offer spots to fish with protection from the wind.

Time to Fish

I normally find that the fishing is at its best either a few days before, or a few days after the full moon. The weekend will be a good time to try your luck. Try to time your trip for after a tide change, Whiting will bite best when the water has plenty of tidal flow. The water flow tends to stir up the bottom and assists the fish to expose their food source helping them to feed for longer periods in a certain area. It pays to have a good hunt around when you are chasing Whiting, the schools will tend to move around a bit, spend 15 to 30 minutes in each spot until you can find better numbers of fish to target. Sometimes you don’t have to move far to find the school if they move on, it’s quite common to find them just 50 to 100m meters away.

Bait, What?

Quality bait is a must have when targeting bigger fish, live bloodworms, beach worms and yabbies all make great bait. During the warmer months I still think the better sized fish are more commonly caught at night, if you are willing to put in the effort it’s worth it when you land a 40+cm fish. Another tip is not to strike at the fish too early, especially when using worms for bait, Whiting will tend to chew on the worms for much longer I just let them hook themselves majority of the time. A light estuary outfit with a sensitive tip will work best, matched with a small alvey or spin reel spooled with 6 to 9lb mono, a long 6lb fluro carbon trace, sized 6 or 4 bait holder hook depending on what bait you are using and a size 3 to 5 ball sinker to keep your bait on the bottom depending on the water flow.

Mangrove Jack and Jewfish

Once the swell eases try the Gold Coast Seaway entrance, the area has been fishing well the past week or so producing some great sized Jewfish and some quality Mangrove Jack, that have been schooling up before they head out offshore and make a new home on the reefs. Live baits have been working best, Pike, Herring, Mullet, Yakkas, Winter Whiting and Silver Biddies will all do the job. The best time to fish is the last 2 hours of the run-in tide, and the first 2 hours of the run out. Have a good look around on the sounder to locate bait or fish actively schooling. You will usually find activity on the pipeline and around the hole at the north wall. You will also find some Trevally and Tailor in the same area.

Bull Shark Fishing

Bull Sharks are another option to target until the weather eases, they will inhabit all waterways on the Tweed and Gold Coast. A few good spots to try the Tweed River, Nerang River, Coomera River, Pimpama River and the Logan River all hold good numbers of Sharks. Fresh water Eel is the best bait followed by Pike Eel and Mullet, I prefer to use dead baits over live bait. Try cubing up WA pilchards as a berley trail. Don’t use too much, just a few small cubes in the water at a time to get the smell going through the water column. A nylon coated wire trace between 50 to 100lb, a size 6 to 8 hook rigged on a medium to heavy outfit spooled with 20 to 30lb line will handle most of the average sized Sharks you may encounter.

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS 

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“This week started well with plenty of Giant and Bigeye Trevally caught on MMD splash prawns on the surface around the middle reach of Tweed River. There were also School Jew and Flathead in the deeper holes upstream, Ecogear Breamer vibes and Ecogear ZX40’s worked well. Fishing got tougher as the week went on, it paid to get out there early to catch fish and concentrate on finding any bait in the drop offs.”

 

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“Mixed results this week with the hot water, but on Wednesday some cooler water moved in from the ocean bringing it down from 29 degrees to 22 degrees, then back up to 25 degrees in the Broadwater by Friday! It was quite amazing to see lots of Flathead appear with the cooler water then disappear as quickly as they had arrived in the shallows and drop offs. There was some Sand Whiting on the banks, but they were hard to find. In the channels around the reefs and wrecks we caught Moses Perch, Snapper, Tuskfish, Slateys, Flathead, Flounder, and masses of Tarwhine/ Bream. Best lures were Ecogear ZX40 in 440 colour, and Ecogear Breamer vibe in 06 colour, and Zman 2.5 inch Prawnz in Opening Night and Beer Run colours. Live Yabbies were the best bait. Best areas this week were the deep hole, Carter’s reef, and Crab Island channels.”

 

LINKS & INFO

If you have any great catches or photos you would like to share, please email us and let us know how you went. brett@coomerahouseboats.com.au or brett@fishotackle.com.au     

Stay up to date with all fishing regulations in Queensland https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries

Fisho Tackle and Coomera Houseboat Holidays now have Hire  follow the link to view http://www.coomerahouseboats.com.au/our-fleet-type/hire-tinnies/     

Seabreeze is a great website to access a local forecast http://www.seabreeze.com.au/graphs/  

Good luck with the Fishing. Brett     

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Fishing Report – 2 February 2023   

The hot weather continued this week on the Tweed and Gold Coast with warmer Northly winds and a few showers hanging around.

At the time of writing my report, the weekend was looking ok to start with – Saturday morning being the pick of the days – seeing much lighter Northerly winds before a Southerly change moves through later in the day, increasing on Sunday. This will make conditions a bit unpleasant for being on the water, unless you can find some shelter up the rivers.

It seems the holiday season went by very quickly.  Let’s check what’s been on the bite this week.

 

Mangrove Jack

Some quality Mangrove Jack have been landed around the Gold and Tweed Coasts during the past week. The Coomera River has produced some quality fish with canals and marina entrances around Hope Island and Coomera holding some big fish and a fair bit of bait.  The western reaches of the Coomera have also fished well up past the highway bridge with plenty of natural structure including; the big rock bar behind the old koala town, and the channels behind the quarry that have several deep holes close to structure.

Bait fishing is my number one go to when chasing Jacks, if you can manage to cast net or catch some Live Herring, Mullet, Silver Biddies, Garfish and Pike they all make fantastic bait. Mullet fillet or half poddy Mullet are my favourite dead bait that seems to attract the big Jacks but is tough enough to put up with little pickers like Bream until a Jack shows up. Fishing with bait is a great way to temp a big Jack, but also plenty of Estuary Cod and Trevally will respond to this method.

You can also try casting or trolling lures along the rock walls, bridge pylons and pontoons scattered throughout the Gold and Tweed Coast. Some good spots to look around are the Tweed River, The Nerang River, Runaway Bay Canals, Paradise Point bridges, Ephraim Island and Sovereign Island, Coomera River, Jacobs Well, Cabbage Tree Point and the Logan River to name a few. Jacks will tend to hit hard so having a fairly tight drag will give you the best chance of a solid hook up, and limit your chances of being bricked back into the nearest snag that the fish can find. Jacks are dirty fighters and will make you earn each fish on most occasions.

My normal outfit will be a medium to heavy rod 5 to 10kg rating with either a bait caster or spinning reel spooled with 30lb braid and either 30 to 60lb leader depending on how tentative the fish are and the type of structure you decide to fish.

Prawns

It’s that time of year to dust off the cast nets and start having a look around for a feed of Prawns on the Gold Coast. They usually start to appear from February and most years run until May or June. I have seen a few reports where fishos have been scoring a feed from up north around the Pine River, but some of the Prawns have been a little on the smaller side. We have not had as much rain as last year so it will be interesting to see how this season will go – last year was a cracker with plenty of great feeds on offer for those willing to put in the time.

This time of year, Banana Prawns are well spread out so having a hunt around a few different areas on the sounder will be worth a go. Try looking around The Powerlines, Rocky Point, Logan River, Russell Island, Macleay Island, Cabbage Tree Point and Jacobs Well.  When choosing the right net, I recommend using a top pocket cast net as it is the best option. When casted, as the net sinks the prawns are pushed into a catch pocket in the top of the net. When you have casted, and you can feel something kicking in the net just pull on the rope a few times and that will make the prawns head into the top pocket. The top pocket makes emptying the prawns from the net an easy task then you can go straight back into casting at the school a lot quicker. An easy way to know if there are Prawns around just keep a keen eye out for other boats throwing nets that way you know you are in the general area.

Tide changes are important when timing your trip, top or bottom of the tide will work for most areas. When the tide slows the Prawns will pop up from the mud to schools and feed, this is the prime time to target them. As the tide starts to flow and more boats start casting the schools tend to break up, then you only get a few at a time, which can be hard work. I will normally take a fishing rod this time of year it can be a bit quiet and cast some soft plastics and vibes around for a Flathead, Snapper or Bream.

 

 

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“It was extremely hot on the water this week, so I started all my trips very early to finish up before the midday heat. This worked out well as we were in time for the first of the early morning run out tides which saw for the first hour a heap of small, Big Eye and Giant Trevally busting up on the surface everywhere. We quickly took advantage and started casting MMd Splash Prawn lures across the surface and the Trevally smashed them. Although the Trevally were only small it is so exciting to watch how much fun my clients had seeing the fish attack surface lures. We also took the opportunity to jig some Ecogear ZX 40 lures in the deep holes that had a ton of bait showing on the sounder. Deep jigging through the bait schools produced some Flatties, Bream, Whiting and small School Jew.”

 

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“The water heated up this week to 29 degrees in some areas in the Broadwater, and higher up the rivers and creeks. It’s best to fish the shallows early in the morning then venture deeper, as most fish can’t tolerate too much heat this time of year. This includes the Sand Whiting who like to explore the sand flats as the tide flows in. The good thing is that cooler water comes in from the ocean with the run in. There have been good numbers of legal size Whiting when we fished the shallows. With the neap tides and the heat, I have been sticking to the deeper areas on drifting charters. While the fish have down in size there has been lots of numbers and variety including Slateys, Snapper, Tuskfish, Moses Perch, Flathead, and many  good size Tarwhine and Bream. Ecogear breamer vibes and yabbies once again are   working great. Best areas have been the deep hole wrecks, Carter’s reef, Southport main channel, and the holes up from Capri bridge.”

 

Gavin from Sea Probe Fishing Charters reports:

“The Dolphin fish have been very quiet around the fads but with the less current bottom fishing has been ok with Snapper and nice size Pearl Perch on the chew. Trolling has been good outside on the shelf and in close around the 60 to 80 m with Black Marlin, Blue Marlin and Striped Marlin being caught trolling lures.”

 

LINKS & INFO

If you have any great catches or photos you would like to share, please email us and let us know how you went. brett@coomerahouseboats.com.au or brett@fishotackle.com.au     

Stay up to date with all fishing regulations in Queensland https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries

Fisho Tackle and Coomera Houseboat Holidays now have Hire  follow the link to view http://www.coomerahouseboats.com.au/our-fleet-type/hire-tinnies/     

Seabreeze is a great website to access a local forecast http://www.seabreeze.com.au/graphs/  

Good luck with the Fishing. Brett     

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Fishing Report – 18 January 2023   

The wind hung around this week and was stronger than initially forecast, along with a few showers on the Gold and Tweed Coasts giving fishos some pretty average conditions to deal with on the water. Those that could find a nice spot tucked away from the wind, managed to have some fun and land a few nice fish. The Gold Coast Gamefish Club is holding the light tackle masters comp this weekend.

Looking at the forecast at the time of writing this report conditions on Saturday are looking less than favourable with the wind up from the South to Southeast and the swell increasing, making the Seaway most suited to experienced boaties looking to head offshore. Let’s see what’s been biting this week.

Whiting and Crabs

Heading up the rivers and canals has been a great option to get out of the wind this week, fishos have managed to land some great catches of Whiting, which is great news for anyone keen for to catch a great feed. The best spots to try your luck have been the Nerang River, Coomera River, Pimpama River, Wave Break Island, Jacobs Well, Tiger Mullet Channel and the Logan River. Fishing during the daytime has been consistent, with some nice fish being landed. Fishing at night has certainly produced the bigger quality fish and also better numbers caught. During the summer months Whiting will tend to feed better at night, and more often than not, they will be in fairly large schools of fish. It is always worth fishing each area you have in mind for around 15 to 30 minutes to see what’s around, if you have not caught any legal fish I would move onto the next spot to. Whiting tend to move through an area when feeding, if you catch a few then they go quiet it might be worth hanging around as they won’t move too far and will come back to feed again in the same area. Tidal flow is a big factor when it comes to catching fish; the saying “no run no fun” defiantly applies to Whiting, as they rely on the current stirring up the bottom to expose the worms, small crabs and yabbies they feed on. I find most areas fish well on either the run out or run in tides. Live bait is very important to catch quality fish, with bloodworms, beach worms and yabbies being the best option. A nice light estuary rod and reel set up will get you started. I normally use 6 to 9lb mono main line, a long 6lb fluro carbon trace, a size 3 to 5 ball sinker (depending on current flow) to keep the bait on the bottom. A size 6 short shank bait holder hook for worms, or a size 4 long shank baitholder hook when using yabbies. It’s always worth throwing in a few crab pots whilst you are having a fish, there have been some nice hauls of both Sand Crabs and Mud Crabs lately.

Offshore Fishing

It was good to see a few boats venture out offshore the past week and take advantage of one of few weather windows we have seen so far this year. Young Bailey had a great day recently trolling with his Dad Ben on the 24 fathom line off the Gold Coast, scoring a quality Spanish Mackerel. It has been a pretty good start to the Mackerel season so far with several boats managing to put together a great feed. An early start is key: getting the lures and troll baits in the water on first light will increase your chances of success. Depending on the amount of Spanish in the area, they will usually go off the bite by mid-morning and sit deep closer to the bottom, trolling live baits on a down rigger is a good option when the surface bite slows up.

A few good spots to look for a Spanish Mackerel is the bait grounds, 18 and 24 fathom reefs, Gravel Patch, Palm Beach and Mermaid reef. Like any fishing having a sound around whilst trolling is extremely important to try to locate and mark bait schools in the area that are likely to hold predatory fish. Black Marlin have also been a great target species for anyone keen to tangle with these aerial speedsters of the ocean. They are still pretty wide spread at the moment and are being caught in water depths from 30m to 80m off the Coast, with most boats reporting multiple numbers of fish hooked and landed per trip. Try trolling a spread of small and medium sized light tackle skirted lures and cover ground particularly concentrating of local reefs in the water depth you choose to fish. Always keep and eye on the sounder for bait, an eye on the sky for bird activity, and surface action including splashing or birds hitting the surface. These are all signs of predatory fish actively feeding, tide changes are a great time for a hook up as they are known as a bite time. Bottom fishing will still produce a feed of Snapper, Moses Perch, Tusk Fish, Jew Fish, Trag Jew and Cobia current dependant.

Mangrove Jack

Mangrove Jack are a good target with the humidity we have had the past week or so with a few nice fish being caught. The Tweed River, The Nerang River, Runaway Bay and Paradise Point canals, Coomera River rock walls and rock bars. Bridges in the above area that hold bait, natural snags in the Logan River and also Marks Rocks will be worth a try. Estuary Cod and Trevally and a common bycatch and fun to land, live baits work well especially at night, Herring, Mullet, Pike, Winter Whiting and Yakkas all make great bait. My favourite dead bait is Mullet Fillet, it’s keeps the pickers like Bream at bay long enough for a Jack to show interest.

 

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“This week I started my charters as early as possible, as it has been getting too hot through the middle of the day and a bit uncomfortable for my clients. The early morning starts have also been the most productive bite periods, which is not uncommon for this time of the year with the quickly rising water temperatures. Working the deeper holes in the Tweed River still produced the best results but I rigged up a couple of extra rods with some MMD Splash Prawns and cast them at some random surface action from schools of Big Eye and Giant Trevally. The species caught this week were Flatties, Bream, Whiting, School Jew and the mentioned Trevally..”

 

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“A nice mix of fishing this week. We caught mangrove jacks, mulloway, giant trevally, grunter, flathead, big whiting, flounder, and endless amounts of bream and tarwine. It looks like the relatively dry weather will continue here on the coast and the water near the seaway is getting very clean. It pays to find a bit dirtier and deeper water where bait is hiding. Ecogear ZX40 blades have been getting smashed and catching lots of variety. Best areas have been Curlew island, Benowa, North Currigee. This coming week we have neap tides with morning highs getting bigger through the week as we move towards new moon on 22 January. There are high low tides during the day which are good for some whiting spots, or drifting the broadwater channels with vibes and yabbies.”

 

LINKS & INFO

If you have any great catches or photos you would like to share, please email us and let us know how you went. brett@coomerahouseboats.com.au or brett@fishotackle.com.au     

Stay up to date with all fishing regulations in Queensland https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries

Fisho Tackle and Coomera Houseboat Holidays now have Hire  follow the link to view http://www.coomerahouseboats.com.au/our-fleet-type/hire-tinnies/     

Seabreeze is a great website to access a local forecast http://www.seabreeze.com.au/graphs/  

Good luck with the Fishing. Brett     

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Fishing Report – 15 December 2022    

It was a bit of a warm and windy start to the week on the Gold and Tweed Coasts, but as the week progressed we saw a few nice days giving everyone a good weather window to get out on the water an try your luck. A drop in swell was good to see. There has been a few little Black Marlin showing up in close off the Gold Coast this week, with local fishos getting out to try their luck. Let’s have a look at a few options for the weekend and week ahead.

Marlin

At the time of writing this report, the forecast was looking pretty good for heading offshore on the weekend with lighter S/SE winds and smaller swell on the cards. The water quality offshore has been pretty good the past week along with plenty of bait schools on both Yakka’s and Slimy Mackerel hanging around. This has given predatory pelagic specials like Dolphin Fish and Little Black Marlin a great reason to hang around offshore on the Gold Coast. Reports of several boats hooking multiple Marlin this past week is great news for anyone interested in chasing these exciting game fish. The majority of the Dolphin Fish have been coming from the fads on both the 36 and 50 fathom lines with some bigger fish amongst them. As we head further into to summer bigger Dollies will be mixed amongst the Marlin feeding on bait schools on the local reefs, from North Stradbroke Island to the Tweed. Like all forms of fishing, finding the right area to fish can be hit and miss. It pays to keep a keen eye on the sounder for bait schools and looking for bigger fish hanging around the general area and keeping an eye on the sky for bird activity. Birds that are very high in the sky working a particular area usually means that the bait is siting fairly deep. If the birds are working low and hitting the water it means that predatory fish like Marlin, Dolphin Fish, Tuna or Wahoo have pushed the bait school to the surface whilst feeding, giving the birds a target to dive in for a catch. Trolling Skirted lures at 6 to 7 knots is a great way to cover large areas whilst always keeping an eye out for tell tail signs, if you get a hit or hook a fish mark the spot to return to fish it again. If you find an area holding both bait schools and fish it may be worth dropping down a live bait if the fish are not responding to lures just to cover all bases. Most of the fish you will encounter from the bait grounds out to 50 fathoms will be anywhere from 10kg to 80kg in size, I usually run a leader size between 80 to 120lb when targeting smaller Black Marlin. Marlin is an exciting fish to hook and land, capable of stripping line of the reel in seconds and jumping multiple times trying to throw the hooks. When fishing always consider that safety is very important for all on board given the fast speeds, big jumps and a long sharp beak can do all sorts of damage if not treated with respect. Some good areas to start looking are the 18 to 24, 36, 42 and 50 fathom grounds off the Gold Coast, Sullies, Cottons and drilling tracks off the pin and Kirra, Gravel Patch and Nile Mile or fidos off the Tweed. I always recommend having the latest forecast on hand before heading out on the water.

Flathead

Flathead have been around in pretty good numbers so far this month. As the water temperature heats up the fish will tend to move back up the rivers or into deeper holes to find some cooler water. Throwing 3-to-4-inch soft plastics with either quarter ounce or three eighth ounce jig heads around the edges of sandbanks and drop offs can be productive. Working soft vibes in the deeper water is a great way to temp a strike or trolling hard body lures in the shallow water or tops of sandbanks around high tide will usually produce a few fish. The run-out tide is normally the easiest tide to find fish, as the water level drops out of creeks and off sandbanks, the Flathead will make their way out and sit at the entrances to creeks and the edges of sandbanks and wait for the bait to swim past to ambush. Some good spots to try are Wavebreak Island, Crab Island, Coomera River, The Neverfails, Bedrooms, Tiger Mullet Channel, Jacobs Well, Crusoe Island, Russel Island and the Logan River.

Bream and Whiting

There has been some good catches of Bream and Whiting around the Gold and Tweed Coasts this past week. When targeting Bream, look to fish structures like Jetty’s, pontoons, bridges and rock walls in your local area: Mullet Fillet, Prawns, White Pilchards and Squid all make good bait. For Whiting most sandy beaches along the Broadwater should produce a feed of Whiting. Also try the tops of sandbanks on high tides, or fish the edges as the tide runs out. Best bait for Whiting is live Bloodworms, Beachworms or Yabbies.

 

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“On the days that were fishable there were more Jewfish, Flathead, Big Eye Trevally, and Bream caught on Ecogear ZX40 and Samaki soft vibes in the deeper holes now that that the water is warming up.”

 

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“The Gold Coast Broadwater this week produced some Flathead, Bream, and Tailor on soft plastic and vibe lures. Bigger tide sizes around the full moon filled some of the flats that are normally very shallow, and it was these areas that were the best spots to catch fish. The water is getting crystal clear, so it pays to target weed edges that fish use to hide and ambush prey. There has been massive schools of white bait which sometimes makes it hard to catch fish as they are so well fed. We always get these tides around Christmas, and it does make it tricky to find fish. The fishing is up one day and down the next, unsurprisingly with such extremes. Nerang river is fishing quite well, as normal for Sand Whiting on worms and yabbies, and Mangrove Jacks on lures and live bait. This will continue until there is flooding rain. This coming week the tide sizes drop off and revert to morning lows, great for chasing Sand Whiting in the Southern Broadwater. Don’t worry about the almanac, if they’re hungry the fish will eat.”

 

Gavin from Sea Probe Fishing Charters reports:

“This week there are plenty of Black Marlins in the close grounds in 30 to 80m of water trolling lures has been doing the best trolling 6 to 8 knots and looking for bait schools, also fads still working a treat out there for Dolphin Fish.”

 

LINKS & INFO

If you have any great catches or photos you would like to share, please email us and let us know how you went. brett@coomerahouseboats.com.au or brett@fishotackle.com.au     

Stay up to date with all fishing regulations in Queensland https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries

Fisho Tackle and Coomera Houseboat Holidays now have Hire  follow the link to view http://www.coomerahouseboats.com.au/our-fleet-type/hire-tinnies/     

Seabreeze is a great website to access a local forecast http://www.seabreeze.com.au/graphs/  

Good luck with the Fishing. Brett     

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Fishing Report – 8 December 2022    

We have had an interesting start to summer so far with howling southerly winds and top temperatures of 19 degrees (last Friday), to northerly winds and highs of 33 degrees on Tuesday, making conditions pretty hard to fish on the Gold and Tweed Coasts. It was pretty nice during the middle of the week and at this stage Sunday is looking like the pick of the days over the weekend to get on the water for a fish.

Let’s check out what’s been on the chew this week.

WHITING

With some better weather on the way this weekend it will be worth trying your luck up the rivers for a Whiting. Good numbers of fish have been caught consistently over the past couple of months and as summer kicks off they should start biting well especially around the moon phases with larger tides. The Nerang River is a great spot to fish with shallow banks and corners with good water flow when the tide is running, which is a main ingredient when targeting a feed of Whiting.

The best bait is Bloodworms up the River followed by Beach Worms then Yabbies.

Fishing gear of choice would normally comprise of a 7ft -9ft light estuary rod rigged with either 6 -9lb mono, 6 lb fluro carbon trace and a 4 – 5 ball sinker with a hook designed for the bait of choice, for worms a sized 6 short shank baitholder hook is best. I recommend having a look around and fish a spot for 15 to 20 minutes to try and locate schools of Whiting actively feeding, if the fish are quiet just move onto the next spot until you get consistent hook-ups. Other areas worth a look that produce quality Whiting are the Wavebreak Island, Crab Island, Coomera River (North and South Arms), Pimpama River, Jacobs Well, Bedrooms, Logan River, Tallebudgera Creek, Currumbin Creek and the Tweed River.

School Holiday Fishing

School Holidays are upon us once again, this is a great time to get the kids out of the house and spend some quality time outdoors and go fishing. We have plenty of fishing options around the Gold and Tweed Coasts for kids to try their luck either land based or out in the boat. Some land-based spots that are easy to access are the Coomera River, the foreshore along Runaway Bay and Biggera Waters, Grand Hotel jetty Labrador, Broadwater Parklands, Southport Bridge, Marine Stadium, Paradise Point, Hope Island, Nerang River Tweed River, Tallebudgera Creek or Currumbin Creek. A basic kiddies combo or light estuary outfit with a running sinker rig will normally work well on the more common species you are likely to encounter such as Bream, Tarwhine, Whiting, Flathead and Trevally just to name a few. Yabbies make great bait and are also fun for the kids to pump, they can be accessed on selected beaches on the Gold Coast on the run-out tide, try fishing the same areas you catch your bait in as the tide rises and fish will most likely be feeding in these areas. Prawns, Worms and White Pilchards also make good bait. If you are new to fishing, I would recommend dropping into your local tackle store as they will be more than happy to help you out with the right advice and gear to get you started.

 

Bull Shark!

 

Bull Sharks have been showing up in decent numbers lately, as the weather is starting to warm it’s a good time to have a go at targeting them if you are keen. Bully’s can be found throughout all the waterways on the Tweed and Gold Coast with the smaller Sharks being a good target on lighter gear. All you need is a basic medium to heavy outfit spooled with 10 to 20 lb mono or braided line, about 1m of plastic-coated wire trace from 50 to 100lb and either a circle or J hook from size 6 to 9. When it comes to bait, I find a small piece of freshwater eel work well followed by pike eel them mullet fillet or heads. The eel is very tuff and will put up with all the pickers like Bream attacking your bait until a Shark comes along. Some good spots to try are the Coomera River, Saltwater Creek, Paradise Point, your local canals including the Nerang River, Pimpama River, Jacobs Well and the Logan River which will all give you land based options as well and fishing in a boat. Just remember safety first when landing a Shark as they have a serious mouth full of razor-sharp teeth and a bad attitude to go with it. They do make a decent feed if bleed properly and prepped, just make sure you are up to date with bag and size limits in your area.

 

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“I caught more school Jewfish, and Flathead in the deeper holes that were sheltered from the wind. This coming week is looking much better with improved weather and fill moon lead up. Zx’s and Samaki vibes will work well in the deeper holes for Jewfish, Flathead, Bream, Trevally, and Whiting.”

Brad is usually booked out a few weeks ahead, and the busiest time of the year is approaching make sure to give him a call to book if you are keen.

 

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“I only did a couple of charters earlier in the week before the wild weather arrived. There were still some good Flathead caught using Zman ST Grubz, Zman Prawnz, and 6th Sense plastics, as well as Flathead, Bream, Whiting, Tailor in the deeper reefy areas on ZX’s. The good news is next week is looking much better, so I should be out fishing most days. We have full moon on Thursday too so we will have some good fishing. Morning high tides will suit fishing the shallow banks with soft plastics for Flathead. The water is still sitting at around 22 degrees and will take time to rise again after the unseasonal cooler weather we have had. This is ideal for flathead, so we may as well make the most of the extended flattie season. They are so much fun to catch; the moment they grab a plastic is so addictive. They often bust up on the surface in the shallows, so always keep an eye out for that. Apart from that, with the water so stirred up by swell and wind, there will be lots of bait fish in the Broadwater chased by Flatties, Jew, Snapper, Tailor, Trevally, Bream, Tarwhine and Whiting. Ecogear ZX’s and Samaki vibes will work well on the last of the run-out tides in the deeper sections from the Seaway to North Currigee.”

Gavin from Sea Probe Fishing Charters reports:

“There have been some great catches of good-sized Mahi Mahi around all the fads and also on the bottom. Some nice Snapper and Yellow Tail Kingfish up to 15kg have been getting caught on live bait. In closer, the odd little Black Marlin are starting to show up slowly, try trolling lures or live baiting for these around the bait schools.”

 

LINKS & INFO

If you have any great catches or photos you would like to share, please email us and let us know how you went. brett@coomerahouseboats.com.au or brett@fishotackle.com.au     

Stay up to date with all fishing regulations in Queensland https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries

Fisho Tackle and Coomera Houseboat Holidays now have Hire  follow the link to view http://www.coomerahouseboats.com.au/our-fleet-type/hire-tinnies/     

Seabreeze is a great website to access a local forecast http://www.seabreeze.com.au/graphs/  

Good luck with the Fishing. Brett     

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Fishing Report – 1 December 2022    

We have had a pretty mixed bag of weather this week on the Gold and Tweed Coasts, seeing hot temperatures and thunder storms at the start of the week before a strong south-easterly wind change bringing a big drop in temperature and an increase in swell. The cool change predicted will tend to put species like Mangrove Jack and Estuary Cod off the bite but it’s always worth a look.

 

Reef Fishing

Before the south-easterly wind kicked in and the swell jumped, fishos had a pretty good run offshore. It’s great to hear reports of Spotted Mackerel being caught around Palm Beach Reef, Mermaid Reef and also around the 18 fathoms grounds off the Gold Coast before December, as they were pretty late to show up last year. When the word spreads about the Spotted Mackerel being on it doesn’t take long for a large number of boats to be jostling for a spot to anchor up, making the reefs a pretty crowded spot to fish. It pays to get an extra early start to make sure you find a show and get anchored up before the crowd arrives. In the past, Sharks have been an issue due to the amount of burly in the water and fish being hooked and bled once caught. When chasing Spotties, I will try a couple of different methods. I like to have a couple of unweighted whole or half WA Pilchards floated out behind the boat and a live Yakka baited up on a stinga rig in the rod holder, whilst casting out and rapidly retrieving a metal slug to fire the fish up and also guide them closer to your baits. It’s surprising just how many fish fall victim to the metal slugs rather than the baits. Once the swell drops it will be worth getting out and look for a Mackerel. Ben White has been finding some great quality reef fish lately including a cracking big Jewfish he scored whilst trying his luck on the 18 fathoms grounds off the Seaway. Swell and current permitting, there has been some good catches of Snapper, Jew Fish, Tusk fish, Trag Jew, Maori Cod, Moses Perch and Cobia. Out wider of the 36 and 50 fathom grounds the FADS have been holding good numbers of Dolphin Fish, the odd Small Black Marlin has also been hooked. On the bottom out wider current permitting there has been Snapper, Pearl Perch, Tusk Fish, Trag Jew along with some hard fighting Yellow Tail Kingfish, Samson and Amberjack. I always recommend to have the latest weather forecast before heading out for a day on the water.

Tailor

Jumpinpin has been producing good numbers of Tailor this week that have been getting stuck into schools of baitfish consisting mainly of White Bait and Herring. If you can match the size lure to the bait you should do well. Try trolling a mixture of deep and shallow diving lures until you can locate a feeding school of fish. Always keep an eye on the sky for diving birds working a feeding school of Tailor and any splashing on the surface. If you find this kind of action casting metal slugs, surface walkers and surface poppers are a fun way to catch a feed.

Tailor is great to eat fresh. Just remember to bleed them straight away and get them onto ice as soon as possible.

Best time to target Tailor is the last 2 hours of the run in and the first hour of the run-out tide. Jumpinpin Bar, Crusoe Island, Bedrooms, Tiger Mullet Channel and Canaipa Passage are some good spots to have a look.

Some good-sized Whiting have been on the menu this week with the Nerang River, Wave Break Island, Crab Island, Foreshore along Runaway Bay, Coomera River North and South Arms, Pimpama River, Jacobs Well, Cabbage Tree Point, Tiger Mullet Channel, Bedrooms and the Logan River producing nice fish. Best baits are live Blood Worms, Beach Worms and Yabbies.

 

 

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

 

“Much the same this week with continued good weather and plenty of Flathead in the middle reaches of Tweed River. Ecogear ZX40 and Samaki Vibelicious lures have been working well and catching School Jew, Mangrove Jacks, Whiting, and Bream that are all feeding on bait in the deeper holes. Hopefully the good weather continues for a while, and we’ll keep seeing great fishing on light line.”

 

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

 

“As always there has been good days and not so good days at the Gold Coast Broadwater. The fish are not always hungry, but we have been averaging 20-40 fish a day. The water is still hovering around 22 degrees on the shallow flats. Big day time run in tides around the new moon have been pushing in cool ocean water, making it ideal conditions for Flathead. There are large schools of small whitebait in the Broadwater which the fish are feasting on. Small plastics such as ZMan ST Grubz and 6th Sense Divine swimbaits have been the lures of choice to match the hatch. Rigged on TT Demonz jigheads it is then just a matter of casting on to sandy patches near weed beds and edges to find the aggressive feeding Flathead. Always look for birds diving into the water for bait fish and the fish are never far away. My favourite set ups for small soft plastic fishing are Samaki Archer 4-8 lb, TT red belly and black mamba 2-4 kg rods matched with 2500 Okuma ITX and Ceymar HD reels. For bigger plastics and jigheads you can use 3-6 kg rods. I also have a 1-3 TT Black Mamba rod with a 1000 Okuma ITX reel which is a beautiful combo for fishing with small soft plastics such as the Zman ST Grubz and Prawnz. Again, this week’s best fishing areas have been Crab Island, Little Crab Island, North Currigee, Browns inlet, and Runaway Bay. These big tides are tricky to fish with some over clear water on run in so get right up on the edges and shallow banks. Next week, the Sand Whiting should fire right up on the flats and tides are getting better. This time last year we already had some dirty water and heavy rain, but were catching 30-50 Whiting a day. It looks like some rain building again next week – hopefully not too much.”

LINKS & INFO

If you have any great catches or photos you would like to share, please email us and let us know how you went. brett@coomerahouseboats.com.au or brett@fishotackle.com.au     

Stay up to date with all fishing regulations in Queensland https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries

Fisho Tackle and Coomera Houseboat Holidays now have Hire  follow the link to view http://www.coomerahouseboats.com.au/our-fleet-type/hire-tinnies/     

Seabreeze is a great website to access a local forecast http://www.seabreeze.com.au/graphs/  

Good luck with the Fishing. Brett     

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Fishing Report – 18 November 2022    

We have had a bit of everything weather wise on the Gold and Tweed Coasts this week, from hot days (fuelled by Northerly winds) to a cool Southerly change, dropping the temperature down and pushing the swell up. Good news for the weekend, Saturday is looking like the pick of the days to head out, with light winds and plenty of sunshine. There may be some left over swell hanging around, so if you are thinking about heading offshore, just make sure that you have the most up-to-date forecast before planning your trip.

Night Fishing

 

Last Friday night I ventured out with good mate Wayne Young and my daughter Jess, for a night-time Whiting session up the Nerang River. Wayne had put in all the hard work the day before, making sure we had the best quality live bloodworms for bait. we ventured up the river just before sunset to try our first spot. This was Jessica’s first night time Whiting fish and she did well land a nice 37cm fish on her first cast which was a great sign, after that the school must have moved on and things were pretty quiet with small Whiting stealing the baits. We ended up moving multiple times during the night trying to locate better quality fish, picking off a few fish each move. In the end we caught 25 nice Whiting between us for a great feed for both families.

If you are thinking about having a fish at night, it pays to have a good lighting set up that particularly shines near the rod tips so you can see when you are getting bites and also make it easy for other boats using the river to spot you at anchor. Another tip is to paint your rod tips white making it a lot easier to spot when you get an inquiry from a fish. I like to use a landing net just in case the fish are lip hooked, which can be a bit more common with the larger fish, to avoid disappointment boatside when you put so much effort into organising a trip. The gear of choice when targeting Whiting is; a longer 7 to 9ft light estuary rod with a very sensitive tip, matched with a small spin or alvey reel spooled with 6 to 9lb mono; a long 6lb fluro carbon trace with a running sinker rig consisting of either a 3 to 5 ball sinker, depending on run, and a size 6 short shank baitholder hook for worms or size 4 longshank baitholder hook when using yabbies.

You will find fish during both the day or night time but I do think the better quality fish bite more at night throughout the warmer months. Some good spots to try are the Tweed River, Tallebudgera Creek, Currumbin Creek, Nerang River, Wave Break Island, South and North arms of the Coomera River, Pimpama River, Jacobs Well, Cabbage Tree Point, Bedrooms and the Logan River. Best baits are live Bloodworms, Beach Worms and Yabbies.

Summers Coming, So are The Jacks!

 

With the weather starting to warm up it’s a great time to start looking for the hard fighting Mangrove Jack that the Gold and Tweed Coats are famous for, I have seen a few fish being caught the past couple weeks which is a good sign of things to come. We get some big Jacks on the Gold and Tweed coasts, given the large amount of structure there are plenty of areas to try your luck. When targeting Mangrove Jack look for bait in the area you are wanting to fish, early morning or night sessions are usually the prime time especially in busy traffic areas. The best areas to try your luck are natural rock bars, fallen trees that provide a spot to hide, around the edges of rock walls, bridge pylons, jetty posts, pontoons and around moored boats. These areas should also hold bait like herring, garfish, pike, mullet, silver biddies and prawns to name a few, live bait is a great way to target a Jack and can be a lot more productive than lure fishing. Jacks are not too fussy when it comes to dead bait either, I usually use mullet fillet, bonito fillet or butterflies yakkas. They tend to hit hard and will try to brick you back in their snag as quick as they hit,. A heavy drag setting is required to give them as little room to run as possible. The gear of choice I usually use when bait fishing is a 5-10kg rod, reel spooled with 20-30lb braid, 40lb leader with either a single or double hook rig made of size 6 black magic or mustad big gun hooks that are nice and strong. For the lure fishos prepared to put in plenty of casts when the fish hits it is very rewarding, soft plastics around the 5-inch size range rigged on heavy duty jig heads work well with white being a popular colour, hard body lures from around 10cm in length or surface walkers are poppers are also worth a go depending on the conditions. By-catch can be great fun to land as well, with Estuary Cod and Trevally being the main species encountered. Some good spots to look around man made or natural structures  are the Tweed River, Tallebudgera Creek, Nerang River, Runaway Bay and Paradise Point Canals and Bridges, Coomera River main river and South arm, Jacobs Well, Cabbage Tree Point, Powerlines and the Logan River.

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

 

“I had hoped from last week’s report the big tides this week produced some outstanding fishing. The changes and differences between the high and low tides make a huge difference and this week they were extreme, making the critters feed like crazy. My business partner Clint and I were having a joke about it, as he had a thumper week on the Broadwater and we wondered  last week’s blood moon and the outstanding fishing. The species caught this week were huge, a number of Flathead and juvenile School Jew and were supplemented by Whiting, Bream and my biggest Mangrove Jack of the season.”

 

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

 

“We had some good Flathead fishing leading up to the full moon. Some days we caught 20 plus fish with some good size ones. The water temperature is still stuck on 22 degrees or so, which Flathead love. The cool water on the flats seemed to have pushed the big Whiting deeper, but with air temperatures rising this coming week and with Northerly winds we should see the schools of tings back and Mangrove Jacks firing up more. There has been plenty of small bait fish around, which means that using small lures gets you a heap of action. My favourites lately have been the Zman ST Grubz and Zman Prawnz. Both these new releases are 2.5 inch length, perfect for finesse presentation. They catch a stack of species for me including; big Flathead, Bream, Trevally, Sand Whiting, Tarwhine and Tailor. I like to rig them on TT Demonz 1/4 oz 2/0 H when fishing the flats. You can go lighter when the wind is light for more finesse. My favourite colour is definitely Houdini, but midnight oil, blood oil, and beer run also work great. All I do is cast them out, let them sink to the bottom, then single little hops and pauses. Ecogear ZX40’s in 440 colours are also working great, as are Samaki Vibelicious forktail 70mm in whitebait colour. Best fishing areas have been Sovereign Island, Crab island, Curlew Island, and Southport.”

“This coming week we should see come big Sand Whiting on the flats, and more Flathead also shallow. I like the tides coming up. Not too big not too small, just right! Let’s hope the wind chills out, we’ve seen enough lately.”

LINKS & INFO

If you have any great catches or photos you would like to share, please email us and let us know how you went. brett@coomerahouseboats.com.au or brett@fishotackle.com.au     

Stay up to date with all fishing regulations in Queensland https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries

Fisho Tackle and Coomera Houseboat Holidays now have Hire  follow the link to view http://www.coomerahouseboats.com.au/our-fleet-type/hire-tinnies/     

Seabreeze is a great website to access a local forecast http://www.seabreeze.com.au/graphs/  

Good luck with the Fishing. Brett     

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Fishing Report – 2nd November 2022    

It was great to see some good weather last weekend on the Tweed and Gold Coast after such a bad run of wind and rain. The sunny conditions were very well received, seeing plenty of happy people throwing in a line and spending some quality time outdoors. We have had a bit more wind and rain during the week but conditions have been ok if you stick to sheltered waterways. I always recommend checking the latest forecast before heading out on the water.

Flathead Fishing

The Flathead fishing has been great the past week with local fisho Jackson Ford  having a great trip on Sunday landing good numbers of quality Flathead fishing around the Broadwater and Jumpinpin. When it comes to tides you can find good numbers of fish on either the run in or run out tides depending on the aeras you choose to fish. On the run-in tide Flathead will tend to move onto the tops of sandbanks, up close to the shoreline and get amongst the mangrove tree bases searching for bait fish and prawns to feed on. On the run out tide the same fish will then tend to move as the water recedes and then sit on the drop offs waiting head into the tide for the bait to be washed off as the water get shallow. In the deeper water like the Jumpinpin Bar or the Gold Coast Seaway, on either the run-out or run-in tide, keep an eye on the sounder and locate an area that is holding bait. If the bait is there the Flathead usually will be feeding nearby. This time of year is when the big trophy breeding females are around in good numbers accompanied by lots of smaller male fish fighting for their attention. If you manage to catch and release a big fish there is usually good numbers of male fish around, which are the perfect size to keep for a feed, or just great fun to catch and release. I have seen pictures over the years of up to 20 male fish hanging around one female.

It pays to have a few different options when it comes to lures until you can find the right size and colour that switches the fish on to bite, when it comes to soft plastics generally anything from 3inch all the way to 7inch will do the job, just match the jig head size and weight to suit the plastic size, current and the depth of water you are fishing. Prawn imitation lures are also very popular and very affective given the number of prawns that school up in the area. These can be fished weedless or with a standard jig depending on what brand you choose. I also like using soft vibes, with Zerek fish traps being on of my favourite lures. The action on these lures tends to fire the fish up and get the bite. If you prefer to use bait, drifting is the most productive method. Try using live yabbies, white pilchards, WA Pilchards, Blue Bait and strips of mullet fillet. Some good spots to try are the Gold Coast Seaway and rock walls along South Stradbroke Island, Wave Break Island, Crab Island, Tipplers Passage, Never Fails, Jacobs Well, Bedrooms, Jumpinpin Bar, Kalinga Bank, Crusoe Island and the Logan River.

The weather was great last weekend giving fishos a good opportunity to head out offshore to try their luck at chasing a feed. Scott Kempton was one of these anglers and he came up trumps with a nice big Snapper for his efforts. The 18 and 24 fathoms reef off the Gold Coast have continued to produce some great quality fish for those keen to put in the effort. An early start is very important as first light will often produce some top-quality fish such as trophy sized Snapper. Getting an early start can also see a lot less boat traffic from putting pressure on the fish. I always recommend you have a good look around on the sounder for any signs of bait and fish archers before choosing a spot to fish. If you are anchoring up, a burley trail will also help to fire up any fish around your boat to feed. When fishing the shallower reefs, a light set up is best, you will still be able to catch some extremely big fish on the gear but the lighter you go the better chance you have of getting the bite from a quality fish. I normally use a 5 to 10kg outfit spooled with either 15 to 20lb brad and a 20lb mono leader. This will make your bait present much more naturally, which in turn results in a much better catch rate. Lately, catches have consisted of Snapper, Moses Perch, Maori Cod, Trag Jew, Spangled Emperor, big Jew Fish, Tusk Fish and the odd legal Pear Perch.

Quality bait is also a must.

Try using IQF WA Pilchards, large Squid, Bonito Fillet, Mullet Fillet, Tailor Fillet and also live or butterflied Yakkas.

 

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“It was another tricky week on the Tweed River due to the rain event. The upper catchment areas of the Gold Coast and Tweed received over 200mm of rain in which quickly travelled downstream turning our rivers to mud. It was lucky that we had some good early morning run-in tides that allowed me to fish close to the entrance of the Tweed River with some cleaner oceanic water. The species caught were Flatties, Bream, Whiting and a couple of Giant Trevally with the best lures being pontoon 21 crackjacks and zx 40s.”

 

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“The water is now clearing again after the big rain the weekend before last, but still dirty up the rivers especially on run out tides. You can see the colour changes along the Southport section of the Broadwater. The fishing has been tough with low air pressure and tricky big tides making the fish finicky. The last two days has seen an improvement though, we caught around 30 fish a day on lures and yabbies, with Sand Whiting, Winter Whiting, Flathead, Tarwhine, Bream, Moses Perch, Tailor, Emperor, Luderick, Grunter included. Best areas have been Southport and Sovereign Island, best lures Ecogear ZX40, Ecogear Breamer vibes, and Zman 2.5 ST Grubz in houdini and midnight oil colours. I’m looking forward to next week with better tides to chase big Sand Whiting and Flathead in the shallows. The estuary water is finally and suddenly warming up. After being stuck on 22 degrees for seemingly ages it is now climbing to 24 in places.”

 

Gavin from Sea Probe Fishing Charters reports:

“The past week the weather was beautiful, but it has been a little tough on the fishing front. Still some Dolphin Fish around the fads. Bottom fishing was a little tough but some nice Pearl Perch made up for it and few Amberjacks.”

 

LINKS & INFO

If you have any great catches or photos you would like to share, please email us and let us know how you went. brett@coomerahouseboats.com.au or brett@fishotackle.com.au     

Stay up to date with all fishing regulations in Queensland https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries

Fisho Tackle and Coomera Houseboat Holidays now have Hire  follow the link to view http://www.coomerahouseboats.com.au/our-fleet-type/hire-tinnies/     

Seabreeze is a great website to access a local forecast http://www.seabreeze.com.au/graphs/  

Good luck with the Fishing. Brett     

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Fishing Report – 27th October 2022    

The Week Ahead 

We just can’t seem to get a break from the wind and rain lately with the Gold and Tweed Coasts copping another drenching over the weekend with hundreds of millimetres of rain being dumped into the system along with a massive swell offshore. The good news is we are finally in for some great weather with light winds, plenty of sunshine and small swell forecast for the weekend. Just remember to always check the latest forecast before heading out on the water. Let’s check out a few options for the weekend ahead.

With a favourable weather forecast for the weekend at the time of writing my report I’d say the offshore grounds will be very busy with everyone taking advance of a long-awaited weather window to get out for a fish. The closer reefs around the 18 to 24 fathom lines should be

holding some nice fish with very little fishing pressure from the past month or so due to bad weather. As always, I recommend getting an early start and try to be anchored up or drifting in a good area for the dawn bite period. Make sure to have a good hunt around on the sounder keeping a look out for signs of life being either bait schools or predatory fish showing up giving you a good starting point to drop on. Majority of the time I do prefer to anchor up and get a burly trail going which will help to draw fish in from around the general area you are fishing increasing your chances of a successful day on the water.

Reef Fishing

The close reefs should be holding some quality Snapper, Spangled Emperor, the odd legal Pearl Perch, Moses Perch, Trag Jew, Silver Jew, Tusk Fish, Maori Cod and Cobia. Current dependant, out wider on the 36 and 50 fathoms grounds you will find a feed of Snapper, Pearl Perch, Trag Jew, Tuskfish, Yellow Tail Kingfish, Amberjack, Cobia, Samson Fish. The local FADS will be worth a look for a Dolphin Fish now the current will be starting to pick up and the water temperature is on the rise, you may have to try a couple of different methods to get the bite, if you can see fish in the water its worth a go. For Dolphin fish you can troll skirted lures near the FADS, cast soft plastics, metal slugs, surface lures, WA Pilchards pieces or the ever-reliable live baits. When I find fish on a FAD I will always throw a few bits of cubed WA pilchards in to keep them in the area and looking for a feed. Just remember to have the latest forecast before heading offshore.

Gold Coast Broadwater

Thanks to the latest rain fall received water quality is very average is due to the amount of freshwater run-off the past week, bait fish will tend to head to these areas looking for some cleaner water and the predators will be on the hunt no far behind.  With this in mind, try fishing closer to the open ocean entrances and timing your trip to catch the last couple of hours of the run-in tide and the first hour of the run-out tide, to increase your chances of landing some quality fish. Jumpinpin Bar entrance and adjoining channels have been producing some good quality Tailor on trolled hard body lures, metal slugs and surface lures. Just keep your eyes peeled for fish busting up on the surface and birds diving ay the water chasing bait fish and scraps. Some quality Jewfish have been landed on a mixture of larger soft plastics, soft vibes and live baits fished in the deeper water around the bar mouth. There have also been some extra-large Flathead being caught and in the same areas around the pin. The Gold Coast Seaway has also been the go-to place for the same reasons, seeing plenty of bait fish siting on the edges of where the fresh water meets the salt. Try the North Wall and Pipeline for some good sized Jewfish, Trevally, Tailor and also drift the edges of the rock walls for Flathead which have been around in good numbers during breeding season.

If you are going for a fish try dropping in the crab pots and try your luck for a Mud Crab. There should be a few on the move after the rain.

 

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“It has been a bit of a rollercoaster week with the weather, but I still managed to do a few days on the water. For some reason the best bite periods came on the run-in tides and that was regardless of whether we were fishing the flats or the deep holes. The fish caught this week were Flatties, Bream, Whiting and once again some small School Jew. The best lures this week were the ever-reliable zx 40s in the deep holes and pontoon 21 crackjacks worked across the shallows. I am still puzzled of why the run in tides fished so well in places that normally fire up on the run outs, but that is the intriguing part of being a guide and working in with good old mother nature.”

 

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“We fished the Broadwater channels on the smaller tides, catching three types of Flathead, Sand Whiting, Winter Whiting, Tarwhine, Bream, Tuskfish. Yabbies as usual scored lots of fish, and I used Ecogear breamer vibes for the first time, catching over 20 fish per session on them. These little lures have an impressive strike rate and I’ll be using them a lot more, in tandem with the ever-reliable Ecogear ZX40’s and Samaki Vibelicious. If you haven’t tried the new Zman 2.5” ST Grubz and 2.5” Prawnz, give them a go. We love small lures because they get a lot of bites from small to big fish. As a charter guide, we try to keep rods bending as often as possible. On all our lures we like to smear some scent on too for added effect, our favourites are Sax scent uv prawn fot prawn imitation lures, and Pro Cure saltwater inshore for minnow and grub style lures. We also fished some of the shallows this week, wading for Whiting. The Whiting weren’t as big as usual, the bigger ones could be in the seaway getting ready to spawn. They should be back on the flats this coming week. There were also plenty of Flathead on the flats this week, I landed a 60cm on 3 lb fluorocarbon line. It put up quite a fight.”

 

Gavin from Sea Probe Fishing Charters reports:

“The fads have been still fishing well for Dolphin Fish also on the bottom some Snapper and Pearl Perch on the 18s there also have been some nice Cobia and Jewfish using live bait.”

 

LINKS & INFO

If you have any great catches or photos you would like to share, please email us and let us know how you went. brett@coomerahouseboats.com.au or brett@fishotackle.com.au     

Stay up to date with all fishing regulations in Queensland https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries

Fisho Tackle and Coomera Houseboat Holidays now have Hire  follow the link to view http://www.coomerahouseboats.com.au/our-fleet-type/hire-tinnies/     

Seabreeze is a great website to access a local forecast http://www.seabreeze.com.au/graphs/  

Good luck with the Fishing. Brett     

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