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Fishing Report
We have seen more hot, dry and windy conditions on both the Gold and Tweed Coats this week making conditions a bit hard at times when chasing a feed.
The Northly winds are not ideal and sometimes turn the fish off biting in some areas. By the weekend we are looking at another Southerly wind change moving through hopefully kicking fishing back into gear.
At the time of writing my report Sunday was looking like the pick of the weekend with lighter winds expected, the swell is tipped to pick up a bit, so be cautious if thinking about heading offshore through the seaway.
Let’s check out what’s been on the biting this week.
Banana Prawns
Reports of a few Banana Prawns being caught around the northern end of the Gold Coast is a welcome sign for those fishos that chase a tasty feed each year. A lack of rain this summer has resulted in a later than normal start to the Prawns showing up around the Gold Coast. Hopefully we will see better numbers as the weather starts to cool off. Last season seemed to go forever but a lot of that can be contributed to an extremely wet 2022.
When thinking about targeting a feed of Prawns a quality top pocket cast net should be one of the most important items on the list. A good net will increase your catch rate when the prawns are on. Bottom pocket nets are best when chasing bait fish or casting the shallows but not ideal for prawns as they take forever to remove your catch from the net. The top pocket nets are designed to be used in water over the depth of the length of the net, when casted the prawns will make their way up towards the top of the nets into a specially designed catch pocket that secures them from escaping and is very easy to unload quickly so you can keep casting. Some good spots to start looking are Jacobs Well, Rudy Maas, Cabbage Tree Point, Powerlines, Salt Works, Logan River, Redland Channel, Russell Island and Macleay Island.
Always keep your eyes peeled for boats casting nets as this is usually a giveaway that they have found Prawns. Keep a keen eye on the sounder for activity mostly hard to the bottom, is saying that when they are thick you can find them mid water and even on the surface if you are lucky. It can be intimidating getting caught up in the middle of 50 to 100 boats all casting and bumping into each other, most fishos know that manners are the key to having a good day.
Offshore Fishing
Depending on the forecast for wind and swell heading offshore might be an option on Sunday. There have still been plenty of schools of Spotty Mackerel mixed in with Tuna and Bonito busting up right along the length of the Gold Coast north to the top of South Stradbroke Island chasing the numerous number of bait schools in the area this week. To locate the schools keep an eye on the sky for birds diving and also an eye on the horizon for water splashing from feeding fish. You can try casting a mixture of different sized lures until you manage to match the size of the bait they are feeding on as it can sometimes be hard to temp them with a larger lure.
Broadwater Fishing
The Broadwater and Jumpinpin have been has been a little slow at times when the Northerly wind has been blowing. At least the winds will tend more Southerly on the weekend. It will be worth a look around for a feed of Whiting, Bream, Flathead and also a few Tailor have been caught again hanging around bait schools. Try fishing around the edges of sandbanks and any deeper holes you can find on the sounder. Wave Break Island, Paradise Point, Aldershots, Jacobs Well, Bedrooms, Tiger Mullet Channel, Crusoe Island and the Logan River are all good areas to have a look. Live Bloodworms, Beachworms, Herring and Yabbies make the best bait. Prawns, White pilchards, WA Pilchards and Blue Baits will also work well on the Flathead, Bream and Tailor.
QUOTES FROM THE BOATS
Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:
“This week I decided to move further up the river and take a look around the mid to far upper reaches of the Tweed River. The results were not fantastic, but it is hard to judge any area when the barometric pressure was as low as it was and has been over the last few weeks. But hard work and good techniques combined with good lure choices and patience will always get a result. Speaking of lure choices I tried the new MMD Prawn Vibe this week and I have to say I was impressed with this little lure and will be using them regularly. I used a Spike It pen and painted the underneath part of the head with orange as I am a fan of having orange under most of my lures and spiced it up with some good old Smithys UV prawn Sax scent. The lure with it’s very fine and controlled vibration produced Flatties, Bream, Whiting and School Jew. ”
Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:
“This week I continued fishing the deeper channels North of the seaway and we caught a mix of fish including lots of flathead, moses perch, small snapper, flounder, whiting on MMD soft prawn vibes, Zman plastics, yabbies, and whitebait. There has been a lot of bait fish moving into the Broadwater chased by tailor and trevally. It’s so much fun casting lures into surface bust ups and getting that savage strike. The water has cooled a bit from offshore current and could cool more after this weekend with the arrival of some rain. The water has been very clear but this rain won’t do much to change that. Nothing like this time last year when we had big floods. Find the bait, find the fish.”
Gavin from Sea Probe Fishing Charters reports:
“There has been plenty of Spotted Mackerel from Palm Beach Reef north to the Pin Bar trolling and also just using just pilchards and live bait. The 24 fathoms have been producing some nice Jewfish on live baits and plastics. ”
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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