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. Unfortunately, it seems as though the weather gods are still very upset with another windy and wet weekend on the way for the Gold and Tweed coasts, making conditions no good for offshore and inshore you’ll have to stick to the protected rivers and estuaries to find a spot to hide. For those lucky enough to get out during the week, there was a small weather window on Wednesday to enjoy a break from the wind. Hopefully we’ll see a drop in the swell by the end of next week because this weekend offshore is off limits due to dangerous conditions. Let’s check out a few options for the weekend that’ll be worth a go. Gold Coast Coomera fishing
Chasing a feed of mud crabs will be worth a go with some nice catches coming in over the past week – this option will suit the stronger wind forecasted. You should be able to find some good spots to drop pots in out of the wind on the Tweed, Nerang and Coomera rivers, Paradise Point, Hope Island, and the Pimpama and Logan rivers. Fresh bait is always best – whole mullet, fish frames and fresh raw chicken make the best bait. Try to check the pots regularly and if the bait is getting a bit smelly, swap it out for some new bait because mud crabs will always go for the fresher option over the stinky stuff. Make sure to drop your pots in a few different water depths and areas to give yourself the best chance at finding good numbers. A bait bag is a great addition to the crab pot and will slow down the risk of your bait being wrecked and stolen by fish, eels and small crabs. If you’re crabbing during the day, I recommend not straying too far from your pots when it’s light because there is the very real threat that someone may try to raid your pots and get away with your catch. The ideal time to set the pots is late afternoon slightly before dark, then get back on the water at sunrise to check them after a good soak overnight – they have less change of being spotted by someone else in the dark. Gold Coast Coomera fishing
Targeting a feed of tasty whiting will be worth a go with good quality fish being caught recently. You’ll be able to find some decent spots to hide out of the wind up the Nerang and Coomera rivers, Paradise Point, the Pimpama, Logan and Tweed rivers, and Tallebudgera and Currumbin creeks. Most of these spots will have plenty of land-based options that consistently produce a feed of whiting. Try to plan your trip between tide changes because whiting will feed best when the tide is flowing – a tide change will slow the bite down and you usually end up finding lots of bream getting stuck into your bait. Whiting is a great species for kids to target – Angus Van Latham did well in the Nerang River recently. You’re best to leave the rod in the holder rather than holding onto it and when you see a bite, let the fish eat the bait for about 30-60 seconds. Whiting can take a while to chew bait with their grinding plates and most fish are lost by striking too quickly – the bait pulled out of their mouths before they’ve had a chance to eat. Live bait are the key to finding quality fish, and the best bait are bloodworms, beachworms followed by yabbies. Though remember while you’re fishing, change the water regularly to keep your bait a fresh as possible. A light estuary rod 7-10’ long fit spooled with 6-9lb mono, 6lb fluorocarbon leader and a sized 4-6 bait holder hook should do the job nicely. Gold Coast Coomera fishing
Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports this week started off well with some nice flathead taking vibes and trolled Pontoon 21 Crack Jack lures. We also had luck casting MMD Splash Prawns around the flats and caught a heap of small bream on surface. Even though the bream were small, it’s always exciting watching surface strikes. Unfortunately, our fun was stopped short with rain falling in the catchment on the Tweed River and a few days have been way too windy to fish. Gold Coast Coomera fishing
Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports the Nerang River fished well this week for some decent sized flathead, giant trevally and spotted grunter. Samaki Vibelicious in the new colours of Grey Ghost, Sandstorm and Cleopatra Tiger worked very well when jigging the deeper holes, as were Magbite Snatchbite 4” Shrimps in Clear Holo and Pearl Shrimp colours. The Broadwater is fishing OK for summer whiting, winter whiting, flathead, flounder, squire, grass emperor, tuskfish, tailor, trevally, bream, tarwhine and more using yabbies, Ecogear ZX40 vibes and the above-mentioned lures. This coming week will have good tides for fishing the flats for whiting, and the channels between the Seaway and Sovereign Island.
Gavin from Sea Probe Fishing Charters reports yellowtail kingfish and amberjack on the 50-fathom line for the couple of days of good weather mid-week, and also that there’s plenty of dolphinfish on the fish aggregating devices. A few black marlin still getting around spot X, and along that line working the bait schools mackerel are showing up in close this week. Gold Coast Coomera fishing
If you have any great catches or photos you would like to share, 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 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/
Good luck with the fishing.
Brett
