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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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Fishing Report – 13th October 2022    

The Week That Was

Hi Everyone, hope you are all having a nice week, at least last weekend was much better than forecast with Sunday turning out to be a great day to hit the water and chase some fish with lighter winds and plenty of sunshine from lunchtime onwards. Unfortunately, the South-easterly kicked in and made conditions pretty hard going during the week with offshore off limits due to large swell and strong winds. The sheltered rivers and canal systems were the best option to get some respite from the wind and try your luck.

The Week Ahead

At the time of writing my report the wind looks like it may back off for the weekend ahead which would be nice. At this stage Sunday is looking like the pick of the days to get out on the water. Just make sure you have the most up to date forecast before heading out. Let’s check have a look at some options for the weekend ahead.

Fish About

It’s good to see some nice sized Tailor being caught around the Jumpinpin and the Broadwater after the water quality has cleared up a fair bit since the last lot of rain. Majority of the Tailor have been caught on the last 2 hours of the incoming tide when the water quality is at its best. There has been plenty of bait schooling up around the open ocean entrances including big schools of slimy mackerel in the Gold Coast Seaway which is like ringing the dinner bell a hungry school of Tailor. Start looking in the deeper channels around the mouth of the Jumpinpin Bar, Whalleys Gutter, Tiger Mullet Channel, the Gold Coast Seaway and Currigee Channel, keep and keen eye on the sounder for signs of bait. It also pays to keep an eye on the water for fish splashing as they attack the bait and also birds diving pick up bait pushed to the surface. Trolling hard body lures is a great method to cover more area when searching for a school of fish, I recommend using a combination of shallow and deep diving lures to help find the depth of water the fish are active in. Once located you can then target fish using either surface poppers, stick baits or metal slugs of various sizes until you can match the hatch of the size of boat they are feeding on. Tailor is pretty good to eat fresh, just remember to bleed any fish for the table and ice them down as soon as possible.

The Gold Coast Seaway

The Gold Coast Seaway has been fishing pretty well since the last lot of rain we got for Jewfish which is good news if you are keen to put in the time to land one of these great fish. The Seaway has been holding a good amount of bait lately which intern attracts predators like the Jew Fish that frequent the area. The only downside is that sharks can be a big issue if the fish are biting. When you hook a fish you must get it up as soon as possible before the sharks appear on the scene to ruin your day. Live baits are best when targeting jew Fish, Pike, Mullet, Herring, Yakkas or if you are lucky and find some Slimy Mackerel which have been also hanging around the Seaway you should be in with a good chance. The best times to fish are the last 2 hours of the run in tide and the first 2 hours of the run out, this will also allow you to fish the turn of the tide which is usually a good bite window for bigger Jew Fish in the area. Drifting around the pipeline and also the North Wall are the usual areas to find a school of Jewfish, they will tend to move around to feed on the bait schools so remember to always keep an eye on the sounder for sign of life to maximise your chances. A twin hook stinger rig will work for most normal sized live baits rigged on 20 to 40lb mono, you will need a fair bit of weight if the tide is flowing to get your baits into the strike zone.

From The Broadwater to Jumpinpin

Some nice sized Whiting have been caught as the water starts to warm up around the Broadwater and Jumpinpin. You can pretty much have a go for  Whiting on most sandbanks or sandy beaches throughout the above areas, I do prefer to look for yabbie holes or something to attract the Whiting to the area to increase your chances. A light estuary rod will get you started spooled with 6 to 9lb mono, a 6lb fluro carbon trace and a size 4 to 6 bait holder hook, best baits are live blood worms, beach worm and yabbies. Good spots to try are Nerang River, Wave Break Island, Crab Island, Coomera River, Bedrooms, Jacobs Well, Tiger Mullet Channel and the Logan River.

 

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“Fishing this week for some reason was a little bit tough and although we caught fish every day, I did not get the big numbers of fish on the scoreboard that I am used too. At the end of the day my clients were thrilled and learnt a heap about lure fishing and can’t wait to come again. The good old Ecogear zx40 lures were without a doubt the best lure worked in both the shallows and the deep holes of the river.  The fish caught this week were Bream, a few small Giant Trevally, School Jew and some quality Flatties being the stand out species. ”

 

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“This week was a bit all over the place, with the weather and fishing inconsistent. We caught some good numbers of big Whiting in the shallows where the water was clean enough, but the channels and edges had a lot of snot weed floating around. The Bream seemed to love the browner water of the run in tides. They were that thick from Sundale bridge to Capri bridge it was hard to catch anything else, and there were many big Tarwhine amongst them. Further upriver there are some Whiting, Giant Trevally, Spotted Grunter, and Flathead. Yabbies were working extremely well as were small soft plastics like Zman ST Grubz and 6th Sense paddletails”

 

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 – 5th October 2022    

It was good to see the wind ease and some more sunshine around earlier in the week after a windy and wet long weekend on the Gold and Tweed Coasts.

As we move towards the weekend, it looks like the showers are tipped to hang around, with an expected wind increase from the North Easterly direction bringing a rise in swell. With the forecast in mind, it will be a better option to stick to more sheltered waters if you are keen to wet a line over the weekend, and wait for the weather to ease before heading offshore for a look. Hopefully we don’t get too much rain and the water quality continues to improve throughout the Broadwater and Jumpinpin.

Let’s check out what’s been biting this week.

The Gold Coast Sport Fishing Club’s Flathead Classic

Finishing last Friday, the Flathead Classic was a massive event, seeing 618 anglers, consisting of 250 teams, catch and release a massive total of 7,012 Flathead. Conditions were pretty tuff at times with plenty of wind and a bit of rain around to test everyone skills and patience. We are very blessed on the Gold Coast to have such a great Flathead fishing on our doorstep giving anyone who’s keen to have a go at catching one of these great fish.

Looking towards the weekend ahead at the time of writing my report conditions are looking a bit average so far with stronger NE winds tipped to kick in for the weekend. It will pay to do your research and find some areas out of the wind that are protected from the NE winds if you are keen to chase a Flathead.

Flathead Fishing Techniques

A mixture of techniques are worth a go when you are looking for fish, you can try trolling hard body lures, casting surface lures in the shallows, casting soft plastic lures and prawn imitations or working either soft or metal vibes which work well in the deeper water. Flathead have a very ruff mouth and tend to swing their head from side to side when hooked. I always recommend using a fluro carbon leader to reduce the chance of being rubbed off and loosing fish. I normally use 12lb trace but when working bigger lures, I will tend to change up to 20lb leader just in case you encounter a big fish that eats your lure. The water quality has been on the improve since the rain, snot weed has been annoying in some areas it pays to move around to avoid it.

Flathead Feeding Grounds

Some good areas to look for a Flathead are the Gold Coast Seaway, Currigee Channel, Wave Break Island, Crab Island, Brown Island, Rat Island, Tipplers Passage, The Never Fails, Jacobs Well, Cabbage Tree Point, Jumpinpin Bar Mouth, Kalinga Bank, Crusoe Island, Pandanus Island, Tiger Mullet Channel, Canaipa Passage and the Logan River Mouth.

Coomera Houseboat Holidays customers have had some great fun during the school holiday break catching some nice Bream and Whiting around Jumpinpin and the Southern Broadwater. Yabbies, worms and prawns have been the best baits producing some quality fish. Some good spots are Canaipa Passage near the mouth of Cobby Passage, Short Island Huts, Slipping Sands, Crusoe Island, Gold Bank, Eden Island, Tiger Mullet Channel, Coomera River, both North and South Arms, Paradise Point, Crab Island and Wave Break Island.

Reports of quality Whiting have been coming in this week with local fishos landing some nice feeds of Whiting in the Nerang River, which is great news as we head into summer. The recent rain will be a good thing for the local rivers and estuary systems giving them a bit of a flush out after such a dry spell. Other spots to try will be Wave Break Island, Crab Island, Coomera River, Pimpama River, Jacobs Well, Cabbage Tree Point, Currumbin Creek, Tallebudgera Creek and the Logan River are all known as good producers of quality Whiting. Live Worms and Yabbies make great bait.

 

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“I decided to plan my trips around the entrance of the river on the run-in tides to try and gain some salinity and a bit of clarity in the water. It was also important to produce the goods as I have had kids on board due to the school holidays. As it turned out we smashed some great fish with the pontoon 21 crackjacks trolled around the 2-metre mark working well and the good old reliable zx 40s, performing to perfection in the deeper sections.  To mix things up a bit for my clients, I broke out some MMD Splash Prawns and we cast them around the shallows on the top of the tide and caught some Bream on surface. The species we caught this this week were Flatties, Bream, Whiting, School Jew, Whiting, Grunter and a couple of small Giant Trevally.”

 

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“The annual Flathead classic was held here last week, with over 7000 Flathead caught and released over the three days! Quite amazing what great stocks of fish we have here. Congrats to all the winners, but it will be nice to see less crowds on the water this week (ha ha). The Flathead will be quiet this coming week, so I will chase some big Whiting in the Southern Broadwater. Hopefully the water warms suddenly now, it did get cool after the rain event. It has been a great Flathead season so far, and we have been catching good ones every day on 6th Sense, Gobblers, and Zman soft plastics, and on Samaki vibes, Ecogear ZX40’s, and yabbies. There has also been some nice Tuskfish, Flounder, Sand Whiting, Winter Whiting and Tarwhine in the deeper channel along South Stradbroke Island. Nerang River is clearing quickly after the rain and is now a good colour although still quite dirty on the last of the run out tides. There has been lots of Mulloway around, we caught eight in the last two days, all little schoolies. Full moon is on 10 October, we will see some great fishing leading up to that.”

 

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 – 22nd September 2022    

It’s been a good start to school holidays on the Gold Coast with some nice weather to get the kids out and about to enjoy the great outdoors and some quality time fishing. At this stage, the weekend is looking pretty good, Saturday being the pick of the days with light South Westerly winds on the way, and Sunday is looking ok but will see an increase in the winds from the South around 15 to 20 knots at times. Let’s see what’s been on the chew this week.

September Holidays

September School Holidays are underway here on the Gold Coast – this a great opportunity to get the kids out of the house and have some fun fishing with family and mates outdoors. Kids of all ages should have a fun time learning the basics of fishing, even if it’s their first time casting the rod and waiting for a bite and the looming possibility of catching their first fish. You can also take the kids and try collecting your own bait like pumping yabbies and catching soldier crabs. This is great fun and something the young ones will enjoy doing. Just remember to keep it simple and as fun as possible while the kids are younger. If they’re having a good time they will be keen for the next trip and once they have landed a few fish you can take them on longer trips knowing they will be happy and will enjoy the day.

When it comes to tackle just keep it simple is the key, a basic light estuary outfit will do the job for most of the fish species you will expect to find whilst fishing on the Gold Coast. Try rigging with 9lb main line, 8 to 10lb trace, 3 to 4 ball sinker and a hook size between size 6 to 2 to suit your bait of choice. There are plenty of land-based spots to take the kids with toilet facilities and even playgrounds nearby if the fishing is slow. A few areas to look at are Paradise Point, Runaway Bay, Labrador, Hope Island, Currumbin Creek, Tallebudgera Creek, Nerang River and Jacobs Well and the Tweed River which all offer public jetties, parks or sandy beaches which make good fishing spots. Some of the fish species you may catch are Bream, Tarwhine, Whiting, Flathead, Moses Perch, Tailor, Flounder and Trevally just to name a few. When it comes to bait try Prawns, Squid, While Pilchards, Worms and Yabbies for the above species. Another option is to put on a soft plastic lure on for the kids then wind their rod back in as soon as you cast it out, they will have a good chance at a quality Flathead or Trevally jumping on. If you get any nice catches make sure to email in your photos for me to put in the paper.

Offshore Fishing on the Gold Coast

The fishing offshore has been good for fishos keen to put in the time and effort traveling in search of a feed, both Paul Wilshire and Ben White have done just that scoring some quality Snapper and Samson fish (see photos in report) when sounding around the 36 fathom grounds. The close reefs have been fishing ok, but the fish seem a bit further spread apart than normal meaning you will have to have a good look around on the sounder before finding a spot worth a look on the 18 and 24 fathom reefs. The water temp will be slowly on the increase and the current will also be picking up as we come into Springtime weather pattern so putting in the mile to get the smiles will be the effort for those keen to do so. The 18 to 24 fathoms reefs do see a lot of fishing pressure when the weather is good so I always recommend to fish smarter in the higher traffic areas, basically this means to use lighter gear, lighter and longer traces, good bait presentation and to spend a bit of extra time sounding around to locate the best spots to try your luck. You should find a feed of Snapper, the odd Pearl Perch, Moses Perch, Trag Jew, Silver Jew, Maori Cod and Cobia still hanging around. Out on the winder reefs the current has started to pick up a bit on the 50’s this week, but it is a bit slower on the 36 fathom line. The current speed cab change at any given time in either depths, but when its running too hard fishing can be very painful making it difficult to land your bait onto the fish you can see on the sounder. The wider reefs have produced feeds of quality Snapper, Pearl Perch, Yellow Tail Kingfish, Amber Jack, Samson Fish, Tusk Fish and a few Trag Jew. Best baits are WA Pilchards, Squid, Mullet Fillet, Bonito Fillet and live Yakkas.

Flathead Fishing Around the Gold Coast

The Flathead fishing has once been great once again this week with plenty of lucky fishos landing good sized in the 70 to 80cm range, which are a fantastic fish to hook and land, making for an exciting day on the water. The Gold Coast Sports Fish Clubs Flathead classics gets underway on the 27^th of September, and everyone seem to be out on the water getting in as much fishing time as possible before the comp starts. At the moment the fish are still pretty well spread out throughout the Broadwater and Jumpinpin area, some good fish have been caught and released around the Gold Coast Seaway entrance, north towards Currigee and the Jumpinpin Bar and Kalinga bank have also seen plenty of big breeders lying in wait for a bait fish to swim past. There has been a bit of snot weed around at times which can be annoying, but you just need to move around a bit to avoid the worst of it. A few more spots to look are Wavebreak Island, Brown Island, Aldershots, The Never Fails, Tiger Mullet Channel, Crusoe Island, Jacobs Well, Canaipa Passage and the Logan River and mouth.

 

Gold Coast Offshore Fishing

 

Weather permitting, the offshore fishing grounds have been producing some pretty nice catches of reef fish for fishos who are keen to get out for a session. With the sunrise getting earlier each day as we head into spring, the earlier you get out on the water, the better your chances are of scoring the prime sunrise bite. Try to give yourself enough time to make it to the area you are planning to fish, and have a good look around the area on the sounder until you can find enough life worth fishing on. You will usually know how the spot is going to fish within the first 15minutes, if you are getting shows but not getting the bite, you may have to move on and find another area to try your luck.

 

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports :

“I decided to move well up the river this week and check out some of my old haunts that I haven’t fished for quite a long time. This worked out very well for me and my lucky clients, who were amazed by the surroundings and, of course, the great fishing. Following the deep channels that lead into the deep holes in the upper catchment of the Tweed River produced some wonderful fishing. The species we caught were Flatties, Bream, Whiting, Giant Trevally, Grunter and once again some fantastic juvenile School Jew.”

 

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“I have never seen more clear and blue oceanic water inside the Broadwater. Yesterday we could clearly see the bottom all around the seaway area. This makes it hard for baitfish to hide and they move deeper and out into the ocean, and it seems the fish follow them. Until we get more rain, strong wind, and snot weed arriving, the best time to fish is during the run-out tides or at night. I have been finding Flathead, Squid, Tuskfish, and Winter Whiting, but it does take a lot of moving and covering ground to find them. The day tides this week perfectly suit fishing the shallow banks for Whiting, Flathead, and Bream. Just a couple of weeks until the Flathead classic now, and it is definitely looking like the Jumpinpin area will clearly be the place to find the most and biggest Flatties. The snot weed hasn’t spread yet, but it will come. ”

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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