Excitement Offshore on Gold Coast Reefs

There has been plenty of excitement on Gold Coast reefs from fishos snagging amberjack, the odd kingfish and samson fish. Our ‘bread and butter’ fish of late have been plate-size snapper and ever-reliable teraglin.

Improved conditions for fishing on the Gold Coast reefs saw all breathe easy and very few charters had to be cancelled due to poor and unsafe weather. Full-day charters are the preference of most anglers ticking fish off their bucket lists. With trag on the bite, the biggest observed in many a full moon were being bagged and a 93cm model was the best caught. It was
taken on live bait and circle hooks.

This particular day also saw the team bagging trophy-size amberjack, once again on live bait. The Anderson group scored across the board with kingfish, rosy jobfish, venus tuskfish, snapper and the very tasty pearl perch. As the last of the season’s kingfish prepare to dive to the depths and move south, numerous big kingies have been snared, photographed, placed on ice and taken homewards for a tasty dinner. One of the kings measured 123cm, which is not a bad feed.

As Gold Coast waters start to warm, mahi mahi (dolphinfish) have begun the summer rush. Praiseworthy fish are being caught on float lines and purple, pink and black skirts. Mahi mahi make for a good day’s fishing with their acrobatic action and fighting spirit.
They are definitely bucket list material.

With the change in season, some of the half-day fishing charters have proved to be hard yakka for one and all. Some days the jackpot is found, with small snapper, trag and pearl perch delivering a pleasant day of fishing. On other days “struggle street” has been the description by anglers, with many kilometres travelled to ensure all have a feed to take home.

As we close another year, most charter operators will have their fingers crossed that summer brings bright sunny days, light winds and plenty of pelagics to sustain a memorable holiday period. During late November and early December the Gold Coast will brace for another Schoolies celebration, so this presents an ideal time to hardstand Careel and devote time to annual maintenance so the rest of the busy summer period can flow along with smiles.

As marlin season approaches, advance bookings for private charters are advised to hook into awesome black and blue marlin.
Last season was the best in years, so optimism is being practised around here.
Happy fishing.