Gold Coast Coomera – weekly report

March 10, 2022

Hi everyone, hope you are all having a good week. It was nice to finally see some sunshine over the weekend after the terrible weather we’ve been enduring on the Gold Coast and the Tweed region lately. Hopefully we see less rain during the week to give everything a chance to dry and get some better-quality water through the open ocean entrances. Let’s have a look at some options to check out this weekend if you’re keen to go for a fish. Gold Coast Coomera fishing

The recent flooding rains gave the local rivers and estuaries another massive flush, pushing plenty of quality mud crabs into the main Broadwater and Jumpinpin area. Local fisho Ben White had a great trip landing some top-quality rusty bucks for a fantastic feed. After the amount of rain we’ve had, it will take at least two weeks to restore any sort of normality to the inshore fishing system – this means you will have to be versatile when you head out. Gold Coast Coomera fishing

I recommend targeting the edges of all main channels throughout Jumpinpin and the Broadwater because mud crabs will be on the move in search of better water quality and a feed – until the salinity makes its way back up the river and creeks, along with the majority of crabs. When setting test pots, try to vary the depth of water when locating the bulk of the crabs – this is a good way to find the best area to concentrate on. Try targeting the deeper channels around Runaway Bay, Paradise Point, Aldershots, the Never Fail Islands, Jacobs Well, Tiger Mullet Channel, Canaipa Passage and along Russell Island. The best bait are whole mullet, fresh fish frames and fresh chicken pieces. I always recommend a bait bag to help look after your bait and to keep it from being stolen by small fish, eels and crabs. Gold Coast Coomera fishing

Reports of a few nice bream being caught after the rain was to be expected, but the good news are the nice whiting that have also been showing up in the Broadwater, which is great to see. Try fishing the edges of the sandbanks around the southern end of the Broadwater using live yabbies that can be pumped off the sandbanks you’re fishing. Schools of whiting and bream can move around a bit while feeding, if you’re lucky when the bite is on you can land multiple fish but they can stop feeding as quickly as they start. I recommend if you have not caught any fish for about half an hour, move around and try another spot close by and see how you go. The best tackle to use is a 6lb fluorocarbon leader and either no sinker in the shallows or a 4-5 ball sinkers on the deeper edges to keep the bait in the bite zone – worms and yabbies are the best bait. Some good areas to try land based are Labrador, Paradise Point and Runaway Bay esplanades – these can produce a great feed. In the Broadwater, try Wave Break Island, Crab Island and opposite the Aqua building. If you are fishing around Jumpinpin, have a look around Pandanus Island, Tiger Mullet Channel, the Bedroom and Jacobs Well shoals. Gold Coast Coomera fishing

Depending on the swell rolling through, fishing the open ocean entrances of Jumpinpin Bar and the Gold Coast Seaway will be your best bet of finding good numbers of quality fish that are pushed out of the rivers and estuaries when following the bait fish. These open ocean entrances also provide the best quality water on the incoming tide, with most predators preferring the higher level of salt these areas provide. The Gold Coast Seaway has been fishing very well over the summer months and this is a great spot to search for a variety of species, including jewfish, mangrove jack, trevally, squire, the occasional snapper, grass sweetlip, spangled emperor, estuary cod, flathead, tailor, dart and bream, to name a few. The best time to fish will be the last two hours of an incoming tide and the first two hours of a run-out. Make sure you keep an eye on the swell at all times when fishing the above areas.

Gavin from Sea Probe Fishing Charters reports that there have been good numbers of dolphinfish around the fish aggregating devices, with plenty of current up to three knots too. And bottom fishing on the 50-fathom line was red hot, when you could get through the bar. Be careful going through the bar with a big swell! Plenty of good-sized snapper, amberjack, yellowtail kingfish, pearl perch and a few spanish mackerel have been caught on the 24s on pilchard and mullet.

If you have any great catches or photos you would like to share, 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/

Good luck with the fishing.
Brett