Brad 'Smithy' Smith

Smithy has been working as a full-time professional fishing guide for over 20 years, which makes him southeast Queensland’s and northern NSW’s longest-serving guide. Above all the commitments Smithy has in the charter industry, his overriding passion has always been to pass on his specialist experience to anglers and teach people of all ages and angling abilities the correct techniques required to catch all the Gold Coast’s estuary species on a variety of different lures. Smithy’s unique charter operations guarantees you will catch fish on lures or you don’t pay.

Using vibration lures in estuaries

using vibration lures

G’DAY everyone, as we discussed last month, the fishing was fantastic and it still is thanks to the record rainfall in February. In this month’s article I will pass on some tips for using vibration lures. They are both easy to use and of course highly effective. Three main styles of vibe lures include hollow plastic models with a rattling …

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Top tips for targeting whiting on surface

whiting on surface lure

G’DAY everyone, in this month’s article I will chat about a technique that although has been around a fairly long time, still holds mystery: catching whiting on surface lures. The main reason the whole concept of whiting on surface holds some mystery and disbelief is us older anglers were taught that whiting are only bottom feeders. This is basically correct …

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Exciting time as Gold Coast water temperatures rise

gold coast water temperatures rise

G’DAY everyone, in this month’s article I would like to discuss some options for October and there are plenty, as this month can be very exciting for us anglers. The reason this month can be a lot of fun is it’s the start of our summer period and our more common winter fish, the likes of flathead and bream, will …

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How to choose the right lures for fishing the Gold Coast

right lures

G’DAY everyone, in this month’s article I thought I’d mix it up and not discuss how to target a specific fish but how to choose the right lure to catch more fish. Selecting the right lures these days is very overwhelming, with a huge variety of models and colours available in tackle shops. And to make it more confusing, they …

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Brad Smith’s tactics for targeting flathead – part 2

brad smith targeting flathead

G’DAY everyone, in last month’s article we discussed locations for finding flathead and this month we will discuss options for targeting flathead with lures. Deepwater jigging or ‘tea bagging’ soft plastics and vibes is a very effective way to target flathead in both deep holes and channels 5m and deeper. In last month’s article I shared a screenshot from my …

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Finding fish in Gold Coast estuaries

estuaries

G’DAY everyone, in this month’s article we will discuss some options for finding fish in our estuaries during November. The water temperature will rise to about 25C, which means the typical winter species including bream and tailor will slow down while mangrove jack and whiting fire up. Mangrove jack are without doubt the biggest bucket list fish targeted in the …

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Anglers’ guide to fishing with the weather – from a pro

IN this article I will talk about how to effectively go fishing with the weather that good-old Mother Nature throws at us anglers. Being a professional fishing guide for over 20 years and being on the water every day has provided a baptism of fire and a staunch learning curve in trying to work with the elements that can change …

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Tips on targeting jewfish

And any hole that contains some structure on the bottom or along the bank is a real bonus. Once you have located the deep holes, the next element to consider is whether enough bait is in the hole to support the jewies. Jewfish are very nomadic in their behaviour and will migrate in schools up and down the rivers, only …

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