Estuary fishing on fire

Paul Wilshire with a quality Spanish Mackerel from a recent trip offshore on the Gold Coast.
Rodney Taylor caught and released this awesome Jew Fish in the Broadwater
A great Jewfish landed aboard Sea Probe Fishing Charters.

Hi Everyone, hope you have all had a good week, looks like a bit of swell hanging around off the Gold and Tweed coasts making the offshore grounds difficult to access. Combine the swell with a few showers makes sticking to sheltered waters a great choice for fishos keen to get out and have some fun. With light winds on the forecast for the weekend let’s see what’s been on the chew.

Mud Crabs are always a great option to chase after a bit of rain, this week has seen a bit more activity which is good news. Coomera Houseboat Holidays customers managed to catch a feed during the week. Catches are a bit inconsistent at times with a mixture of small and female crabs to pick through until you are lucky enough to score some good-sized bucks. Try the Coomera River both arms, Pimpama River, Logan River, Cabbage Tree Point, Tiger Mullet Channel, Cobby Passage, Jacobs Well, Canaipa Passage, The Neverfail Islands, Brown Island and Tweed River.

Trevally have been harassing bait schools in the Coomera River around River Links, West of the Highway Bride and Sanctuary Cove Arm of the river. Other good spots to look for Trevally are the Runaway Bay, Paradise Point and Nerang River canals and bridges. Most bridges on the Gold Coast are pretty well light up at night making them a great spot for bait to school up and predators to be ambushing a feed. Surface poppers stick baits and metal slugs will work well.

The Gold Coast Seaway has produced some great catches of Jew Fish and Mangrove Jacks again this week. Schools of Jewfish and Jacks have been hanging around the North Wall and the Pipeline area of the Seaway. Try to pick a time to go fishing around a tide change, live baits are the best way to temp a bite.

Bream have been around in good numbers after the rain, they seem to get ravenous and feed on just about anything you throw at them. They are a great option for the kids to chase with plenty of land-based spots to choose from on the Gold Coast. Try your luck at the Paradise Point Jetty, Jabiru Island Jetty, Boykambill Jetty on Hope Island, Coomera River Highway Bridge Platform, Canal entrances along the Esplanade at Runaway Bay, Broadwater Parklands, Sundale Bridge, Nerang River and the Jacobs Well Jetty. Try using Prawns, White Pilchards, Mullet Fillet or Yabbies should do the trick.

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports this week we had some early starts to utilize the tide changes around the lower reaches of the river. The locations I was looking for on the tide changes were very pronounced spots where there was a distinctive current line with clean ocean water meeting the dirty water. These spots are ideal feeding areas for all fish that are present at the moment as there is still dirty water coming down from the Tweed catchment after recent heavy rainfalls. We could not keep a lure in the water without getting double and triple hook-ups from mass schools of Bream but unfortunately although it was fun there was not a lot of size in them. We also mixed it up and combined some deep water jigging and deep water trolling and caught some Flatties and nice Mangrove Jacks. The water is getting clearer by the day and provided we do not receive any more rain the surface fishing will be right back on track next week.

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports a crazy week of mangrove jack fishing with 14 caught and released in his boat in five charters. This is peak season around here until March. He’s been fishing 29 of the past 30 days, and while the water has been busy there’s always somewhere to get away from the crowd. The Whiting fishing has been ok but should pick up over the next week. There was plenty of Tuskfish, Flathead, Whiting, Flounder, Tarwhine and Bream on the reef surrounding Crab Island. The Whiting have copped a serious flogging over the holidays at council chambers and need time to recover. Even the best anglers are only getting small bags. Same for the crabs. This week the big full moon tides drop off which will suit flats fishing nicely. The upper river reaches are best on the bigger tides for Jacks and Trevally.

Gavin from Sea Probe Fishing Charters reports plenty of Marlin along the 50-fathom line trolling using live bait and lures. Still Dolphin Fish on the 36 and 50 fathom fads and Spotted Mackerel and Spanish Mackerel in close at Palm Beach and Mermaid Reef. Bottom fishing still Trag Jew, Snapper and Silver Jew biting in the close reefs.

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 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

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