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. The southerly wind has been up this week, making conditions a bit tough at times for anyone trying to fish. These conditions are more suited to finding a spot out of the wind up the local rivers and estuaries on the Gold and Tweed coasts. If you are thinking about heading offshore once the wind eases, as of July 15 snapper and pearl perch are on the no-take list in Queensland until August 15 – see link for more information Closed seasons in Queensland
At the time of writing, Sunday was looking like the pick of the days, as the wind was tipped to ease and swing around to the west, also seeing a drop in swell. Let’s check and have a look at what’s been on the bite. Gold Coast Seaway
Bream have once again dominated catches around the Tweed and Gold coasts, with good numbers of solid fish being landed by fishos keen to have a go. Winter is the best time to find larger schools of bigger fish that spawn in big numbers during the cooler months in our local waterways. Bream are a great target for younger anglers staring out and wanting to catch a fish, and are also a favourite of many seasoned fishos who have been chasing a feed for years. A basic light to medium estuary outfit is all you need to get out and enjoy some fishing action. Most shops will sell a combo including rod and reel spooled with line and a small tackle pack ready to go. When fishing land-based, try looking for areas that offer a mixture of structure such as jetties, pontoons, bridges, rock walls and even weed beds will tend to attract bait fish and jelly prawns, which will in turn attract bream that feed predominantly in these areas.
For serious fishos, targeting bream during the cool winter nights will normally produce better quality fish, with catches of fish between an average of 30cm and over. When fishing during the day, you will have to weave your way through a lot more undersized fish, with bigger models a little more wary during daylight hours. My favourite bait for bream are mullet gut, mullet fillet, bonito fillet, white pilchard, blue bait, Western Australian pilchard cubes, squid, prawns and yabbies. To give you the best chance of attracting fish and keeping them in the area you are targeting, I recommend a consistent berley trail consisting of either berley pellets, small cubed fish pieces or berley bombs with minced fish should all work. Some good spots to try are the Tweed River, Tallebudgera Creek, the Nerang River, Broadwater foreshore, Gold Coast Seaway, Runaway Bay canals and canal entrances, bridges around Paradise Point, the Coomera River, Dux, Jacobs Well, Cabbage Tree Point, Kalinga Bank, and Crusoe and Short islands.
At the time of writing, with the wind tipped to ease on Sunday and the swell dropping, it might be worth looking at heading offshore to try your luck. Make sure you have the most up-to-date forecast before heading out though. Some good quality jewfish and cobia should be on offer from the closer 18 to 24-fathom reefs off the Gold Coast Seaway for those keen to make the effort. When it comes to the choice of bait for jew and cobia, live bait such as yakka, slimy mackerel and pike are my go-to options, followed by the humble Western Australian pilchard, mullet fillet and bonito fillet – these will all tempt a bite if you are lucky on the day. When choosing an area to fish, keep an good eye on the sounder for bait schools holding around more isolated rocks and structure. Some fishos will get a GPS mark from a friend and head straight there because they caught fish there a few days before. This may work occasionally, but keeping an eye on the sounder for life is the key to finding better quality fish. I recommend sounding around for as long as it takes to find the best area to fish, rather than fishing a barren area hoping something good might swim past. You should find a bit of a mixed bag on offer including tuskfish, moses perch, teraglin, maori cod and cobia. As you head wider out to the 36 or 50-fathom line, you will encounter bigger yellowtail kingfish, amberjack and samson fish, which will all stretch your arms. Keep in mind that all snapper and pearl perch must be released during the closure, which ends on August 15.
Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports… I only did a few trips on the river this week, as I was helping some friends fix their boats. The charters I did were focussed on the lower reaches of the Tweed River, combining some trolling and deep-water jigging. We caught some great flathead, a few good quality bream and a ton of small chopper tailor. The season is coming to an end for the big tailor, which would normally be in the river for the past few months, but I have a gut feeling that a few might turn up on next week’s tides. Gold Coast Seaway
Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports… I mostly fished the Broadwater this week but also a couple of days in the Nerang River. The Broadwater has not held a huge amount of baitfish but there are flathead, squid, tuskfish and some big flounder to be caught, if you do the miles to find actively feeding fish. The bait is starting to build again in the Seaway, so tailor will return in bigger sizes and numbers. There are a lot of bream and grunter feeding in Nerang and, while not big numbers of flathead, some good quality fish. Best lures have been Samaki Vibelicious in Whitebait and Slimy Mackerel colours, while Knockin Tail plastics in white colours have worked well on flathead and the occasional jewfish.
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
