Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
Hi Everyone, hope you’ve all had a great week, a bit of rain is a welcome surprise on the Tweed and Gold Coast. Falls have varied depending on location but any rain is good for fishing and well overdue for our dam levels. Some nice Mud Crabs have been stirred up so now is a great time to get those Crab Pots in the water. Let’s have a look at some options this weekend.
Rain last weekend combined with some showers during the week is welcome and long overdue for the Tweed and Gold Coast catchments and it looks like this weather pattern may hang around next week. When it rains is the perfect time to get those crab pots into the water as the bit of fresh water in the system gets them on the move and into feed mode. Locals have done well this week in the Coomera River, Pimpama River, Logan River, Neverfails, Tiger Mullet Channel and Canapia Passage producing a great feed of quality Mud Crabs. Whole Mullet and fresh fish frames make great bait. Here is the link to the rules for anyone new to crabbing in Queensland waters https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries/recreational/recreational-fishing-rules/crabs-lobsters
Mangrove Jack have been liking the hot weather lately with plenty of good sized fish hitting a mixture of lures and baits on the Gold Coast and Tweed. Local have been doing well landing some fantastic Jacks using live Mullet, Herring, Pike, Garfish or Mullet Fillet is also a great option if live bait is hard to get. When bait fishing it pays to have a fairly heavy drag set as they will hit like a freight train and try to drag you back into any nearby structure in the blink of an eye. Good fish have been showing up the Coomera River, Nerang River, Logan River, Jabiru Island, Sovereign Island, Ephraim Island and Tweed River.
We have seen plenty of Bull Shark action again this week in the Gold Coast canals and rivers with a variety of sizes of sharks being landed. I use a trace size of around 1 to 1.5m of either 50 to 90 pound nylon coated leader crimped to a suitable sized swivel on one end then matched with either a size 6 to 8 circle or octopus hook. Mullet have been great bait and also Pike or Fresh Water Eel are a great option, especially if there are a few Mud Crabs around munching on the baits. The Coomera River, Pimpama River, Nerang River, Logan River and the Neverfails and all good spots to try your luck for some bull shark action. Jumpinpin has also seen quite a few baby Hammer Head and small Black Tip Sharks being caught around the Bar entrance and Tiger Mullet Channel.
Smithy from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports on the Tweed the middle to upper reaches of the river continues to be the best place to look for fish. With the prospect of some rain in the coming weeks, we should see the Mangrove Jack and Whiting fishing improve, and the Mud Crabs will get moving. Jacks caught on our charters this season are averaging over 50cm in size. Whiting are still taking well-presented surface lures over the shallow sand banks, with MMD splash prawns one of our favourite lures to use. There is also some trevally around way upstream.
Clint says to head over to Brad Smith Fishing Charters Facebook page for a bushfire fundraising relief auction we are running, you can bid to win a spot on a mangrove jack fishing charter with a sporting legend. This week once again the Mangrove Jacks were around, with the bigger fish feeding aggressively at times. These fish often have small bite periods and it pays to be patient and wait for them to switch on. The Broadwater has fired up with a few nice Flathead, lots of Squid, Squire, Tarwhine, and Whiting. We have been boating 10-15 squid a day and these tasty critters are absolute suckers for Ecogear ZX40 and Samaki Vibelicious lures. Smear some Sax scent goldprawn on the lures and lift and drop them in water 4-8 metres deep.
Hope you all have a good weekend and get out for a fish, if you have any great catches or photos you would like to share, please email us and let us know how you went.
New fishing regulations now effective fisheries Queensland http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2019/9/1/new-fishing-regulations-now-effective
Fisho Tackle and Coomera Houseboat Holidays now have Hire Tinnies 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/
If you have any great catches to report or fishing photos please email them to brett@fishotackle.com.au Good luck with the Fishing. Brett bull shark action
