Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
Hi everyone, August is known as the month of the westerly wind, which isn’t too bad for fishing in the Gold Coast Broadwater and beaches because there are areas that provide good shelter.
This is the month I fish a lot in the area from the Seaway to Sovereign Islands.
I often call it ‘calm water reef fishing’ as there are actual live coral reef areas.
South Stradbroke Island is about 10,000 years old.
Before it existed, the area we now know as the Broadwater would have been part of the ocean, with shallow reef in 3-8m water depth.
Using lures and fresh bait such as yabby and beachworms will catch a large variety of reef and estuary species, including tuskfish, snapper, grassy emperor, three types of flathead, three types of whiting, flounder, squid, tailor, mackerel, cod and many more.
We’ve even encountered fish that normally only exist in far north Queensland!
This time of year is especially good because the water is clean and cool and lots of baitfish pass through the area.
The best way to find reefy areas in the Broadwater is by keeping a close eye on the fish finder when drifting in the channels, the bottom looks slightly rougher instead of flat.
By GPS marking the areas, you’ll work out where these patches start and finish.
Some of them stretch for kilometres and are 100m wide.
You’ll find the bottom is quite snaggy too and you’ll hook lots of shells.
My favourite reefy areas exist along South Currigee, Runaway Bay, between Ephraim and Sovereign islands, and on the eastern edge of the main channel, north of Wave Break Island.
Drifting these areas and jigging blades such as Ecogear ZX and TT Fishing SwitchPrawn+ on the bottom will get heaps of attention from a lot of fish and squid.
I like a drift speed of about one knot or 1.8km/h.
Any faster or slower and we adjust where we fish – either closer to channel edges or further away from them.
As with many types of fishing, if there’s a heap of bait patches showing on the fish finder, there’s a good chance the fishing will be productive.
Anchoring also can work well with bait, though remember not to anchor in the channels between the red and green markers.
Sometimes all the bait and best fishing is a lot shallower.
If the deeper reef areas aren’t working, it may pay to switch to the sand and weed areas along the edges of islands and foreshores.
We still jig the blade lures here with a more horizontal presentation, plus soft plastics come into play as well for flathead.
At the moment, the new pre-rigged Fish Craft Dr Prawn 3” lures and the new Z-Man 3” MinnowZ colours are getting great results.
Always remember, slowing the lure retrieval down and pausing works well.
Flathead are fast moving over short distances but have their limits.
Particularly when drifting at speed, working the lure back to the boat too quickly reduces the catch rate.
Often when drifting, I leave soft plastics 20m out without winding at all, simply lifting and dropping the rod tips, with pauses in between.
While doing any fishing in the Broadwater, keep an eye out for birds diving – there will be fish feeding nearby too.
Also look out for tailor busting up, the larger fish make big splashes.
They will hit almost any lure that moves, though keep a rod rigged with a 14lb leader and a Samaki metal slug – they cast a mile, helping you reach feeding tailor.
When you get a hit, strike hard and keep the rod tip up to stop them biting you off.
Have a great month and get out there and catch a beautiful feed!
To book on a charter with myself or Brad, or if you have any fishing related questions, visit goldcoastrivercharters.com, SMS 0432 990 302 or email fishingwithclint@gmail.com, or find us on Facebook at Brad Smith Fishing Charters.
