Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
Hi everyone, hope you are all having a nice week. It was good to see some fantastic fishing conditions last weekend and early in the week – giving fishos the opportunity to get out to enjoy some sunshine and a light wind. Unfortunately, at the time of writing my report, as we head into the weekend on the Gold and Tweed coasts some wild weather conditions are forecast, with extremely strong south-southeasterly wind and rain set to lash the coast and hang around into the start of next week. Given the conditions, it may be a good weekend to spend some time sorting out the fishing gear, servicing the boat or stocking up at your local tackle shop, ready for the next nice weather window to appear. Once conditions are better and if you’re thinking about heading offshore, keep in mind that as of July 15, snapper and pearl perch are on the no-take list in Queensland waters – see this link for more information. Let’s see what’s been on the chew this week. Gold Coast Coomera
The cool conditions have done wonders for bream fishos, offering great conditions to get out and chase a feed of the popular bread and butter species. We have seen some nice catches of quality fish recently, which is great news for everyone keen to have a go. Cool nights are the prime time to target big bream around the Gold and Tweed coasts, with plenty of baitfish schools such as white pilchard being a favourite food source for bream. Baitfish will tend to school up around structure – rock walls, bridges, pontoons, jetties, rock bars, natural snags of fallen trees and mangrove-lined banks with drop-offs – this type of environment being a good starting point to look for bream. Once you locate a good spot to try your luck, I recommend getting a consistent berley trail on the go to attract fish feeding nearby and bring them into the area you are casting to. Either a frozen berley block with minced tuna, chopped up Western Australian pilchard cubes or berley pellets will usually get the job done and increase your chances of catching a good feed. Remember to be consistent with the berley – don’t feed them too much – you want to give them only enough to be keen to hit your bait. Gold Coast Coomera
A light estuary combination is a good choice when looking at the best outfit for chasing bream. Either a spin reel or Alvey spooled with 6-9lb mono matched with a 2-5kg 6-8’ rod and an 8-10lb fluorocarbon trace is recommended, because once hooked, bream will tend to head straight for structure and try to bust you off. Match the above gear with a size 4-6 baitholder hook and you are ready to go. The best bait are mullet gut, mullet fillet, bonito fillet, white pilchard, prawns and yabbies. Some good spots to try are the Tweed River rock walls and jetties, Currumbin Creek, the Nerang River, Wave Break Island, Gold Coast Seaway rock walls, Paradise Point bridges, Runaway Bay canal entrances, the Coomera River, Jacobs Well, Tiger Mullet Channel, Whalleys Gutter, Kalinga Bank, Short Island and Marks Rocks in the Logan River. Gold Coast Coomera
Reports of good numbers of quality tailor being caught throughout the Broadwater, Jumpinpin and off the surf beaches from the Tweed River north to Stradbroke Island have been coming through in the past week, which is great news for everyone keen to have a crack. Once the wild weather and swell eases, it will be worth a look at your local surf beach for a feed of fresh tailor. When looking for a spot to try, finding a good gutter is important. When looking for a gutter, basically you are looking for a deep hole close to the shoreline with an entrance at either end for the water to flow in and out, and a shallow bank behind the gutter where the waves will be breaking, leaving you with a smaller shore break in the gutter to content with. It always pays to be able to have a look at low tide before choosing an area to fish and gutters are a bit easier to spot. The best time to target tailor are dawn and dusk, when they are actively feeding or a tide change. If you can time either of these with an incoming tide, that would be the best time to go. Gold Coast Coomera
When beach fishing, I recommend using a set of three gang 4/0 hooks on a mono trace to start with, as this will present your bait much more naturally – if the fish are thick and you are getting bitten off, swap out to a wire trace. Choose a sinker that is big enough to be able to cast into the zone while keeping your bait from washing up on the beach. The best bait are Western Australian pilchard, bonito fillet and mullet fillet. Also, casting metal slugs and surface lures are great to target tailor and very productive during the day or at night. When fishing inshore, keep a look out for birds diving on the water because this is a sign of a school of tailor feeding, and trolling hard-bodies to cover ground is a good idea. Once you have located fish, try casing metal slugs, surface poppers and stickbaits, which are great fun. Inshore, have a look around the Seaway entrance, Currigee Channel, Paradise Point, Jumpinpin Bar mouth, Bedrooms, Kalinga Bank, Crusoe Island and Short Island.
There have been plenty of flathead around this week with big numbers being landed, if you are lucky enough to find an area holding schooling fish. Working well are 3-4” soft plastics in either curl tail or paddle tails, also soft vibes from 65-90mm worked in deeper water have been getting crunched. Crab, Brown, Rat and Never Fail islands, Tipplers Passage, Jacobs Well, Tiger Mullet Channel, Kalinga Bank, Crusoe Island and Russell Island have all been holding quality flathead.
Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports… It took the same strategy as I have applied all year – finding areas where dirty water met clear water. This clash of currents is around the middle reaches of the Tweed River and, as expected, the fish were there. Lucky for my clients and myself, the area also provided some protection from the wind. The fish caught were a heap of flathead, with some very good quality specimens in the mix, as well as some tailor and beautiful little school jewfish, which I have been catching for months now and are a wonderful sign for the future of the river.
Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports… The southern end of the Broadwater, which usually provides lots of fun at this time of year, has been quiet and lacking baitfish. I’m sure as the water clears more, white bait and yakka will move in, followed by tailor, mackerel, and other fish. I did have some good catches of squid near Seaworld before a school of giant trevally seemed to spook them. The rest of the week, we searched north of the Seaway for a mixed catch of arrow squid, flounder, flathead and winter whiting. I also fished at Jumpinpin one day and we caught flathead on Samaki Vibelicious and Knockin Tail and Gobbler plastics, with the more transparent coloured lures working best.
Gavin from Sea Probe Fishing Charters reports… Weather permitting, the 50-fathom grounds have been good, providing quality tuskfish, samson fish, amberjack and yellowtail kingfish. The 36s have also been decent, resulting in a mixed bag of tuskies, yellowtail, teraglin and moses perch, with the 18s and 24s offering nice big silver jew. Gold Coast Coomera
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 Tinnies follow the link to view https://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
