Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
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 combine with species that thrive in the warmer months. These species that spike in their feeding habits through summer are mangrove jack, whiting, trevally and the much sought-after jewfish.
As the Gold Coast water starts to warm, I put great emphasis on sounding the deep holes in our rivers in search of any bait schools or fish markings on my sounder. These deep holes are an excellent place to find bream, flatties and are especially favoured by jewies as the slightly cooler water along the bottom of the holes suits these species.
Deepwater jigging, or tea bagging as I call it, is best done around the tide changes with metal and soft vibes or standard soft plastics. Early morning sessions fishing in and around areas that hold seagrass beds, particularly when there is an early morning high tide, can also be very productive.
Fish move from the deep water in the cover of darkness to feed in these areas before they recede back to the deep water with the rising sun and run-out tides. Flatties, bream and whiting flourish in these surrounds as they search and feed on the small prawns and baitfish trying to hide in and around the seagrass.
There are a few techniques you can deploy to fish these areas successfully, like trolling small hard-bodied minnows through the channels that run between the seagrass, or drifting and casting hard-bodies and plastics in the same areas.
Casting surface lures like stickbaits and poppers over the seagrass is a tonne of fun and also a very productive method for catching flatties, bream and whiting. This is also the time of year to really focus on surface fishing the shallow flats, particularly if there are some yabby beds as this is the place to have some fun on the whiting that like to smash surface lures.
October is also the time to start focusing on our most sought-after estuary species, the mighty mangrove jack. From now and right through the summer months, this fish will be targeted by anglers with a combination of lures and live baits in anticipation of their ferocious striking ability.
Early morning, late afternoon and night sessions in very heavily structured areas around the tide changes will give you the best chance of success.
I look forward to chatting again next month.
