Fishing Report – 9th September 2022    

It has been a bit of a wet start to September on the Gold and Tweed Coast with a few showers persisting throughout the week. The wind has finally eased a bit also giving everyone some nicer conditions to get out on the water. Good news as we head into the weekend at the time of writing my report with Saturday tipped to be the best day with light winds and plenty of sunshine on the way making it a great day to get out on the water for a fish.

Looking at the forecast for Saturday at the time of writing my report the weather is looking good for fishos that are keen to head offshore and chase a feed. Anglers that were lucky enough to find a weather window to head out the past week were rewarded for their efforts like Ben White (see photo in report) who had a good day out on the 36 fathom grounds land some great quality Snapper for the table. It’s always a bit of a gamble when planning a trip as to what water depth will be best worth targeting on the day. September is a good month for chasing the popular species Snapper for a feed, both the 18 and 24 fathom reefs off the Gold Coast have fished well over Winter and should also be holding good numbers of quality fish to target during September.

EARLY STARTS

Getting an early start will increase you chances of finding the better-quality fish, I always recommend allowing yourself enough time to have a good sound around and try to mark a show of bait or fish feeding to target your efforts on. I do prefer to anchor up and get a burly trail going when fishing the closer reefs as this will help to attract any fish from the surrounding reef and then keep them active in you strike zone. A burly trail will also tend to make the fish rise in the water column and this is great when float lining as you will quite often get hit halfway down on the drop which is a great feeling when reef fishing. As well as Snapper you will have a good chance a finding a feed of Tusk Fish, Moses Perch, Maori Cod, Spangled Emperor, Trag Jew, Jewfish and Cobia. The 36 and 50 fathom reefs have also been producing some great catches of the past couple of weeks current dependant. Fishos have reported good hauls of Snapper, Pearl Perch, Trag Jew, Tusk Fish, Cobia, Amber Jack, Samson Fish, Yellow Tail Kingfish and even a few Dolphin Fish have been taken off the local fads. Best baits are WA Pilchards, Whole Large Squid, Bonito Fillet, Mullet Fillet, live or dead Yakkas and Slimy Mackerel.

WHITING

Now that the days are getting longer, and the weather is starting to warm up chasing a feed of Whiting will be a great option. Good quality Whiting are on offer pretty much all year round on the Gold Coast including Winter with the warmer months generally producing better numbers of bigger fish. Whether you are fishing from a boat or land based there are plenty of spots to try your luck. Basically, you are looking for an area with a sand or mud bottom or mixture of both with a few undulations in the bottom that gets a fair bit of tidal flow running through to stir the bottom-up which intern attracts schools of Whiting to feed in these kinds of areas. A light estuary outfit is all you need, I recommend a rod around 7 to 9 ft in length, with the reel spooled with 6 to 9lb mono, a long trace of 6lb fluro carbon leader and usually a size 4-ball sinker to keep your bait on the bottom where the fish feed and a size 6 bait holder hook. Best baits are live blood worms, beach worms and smaller sized yabbies. If you are land based you can try your luck along the Broadwater foreshore around Southport, Labrador, Biggera Waters, Runaway Bay, Paradise Point, Hope Island, Jacobs Well Cabbage Tree Point, Tallebudgera Creek and Currumbin Creek. If you are fishing from a boat, try the Nerang River, Wave Break Island, Crab Island, Coomera River, Pimpama River, Jacobs Well, Cabbage Tree Point, Bedrooms, Gold Bank, Tiger Mullet Channel and the Logan River.

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports :

“Once again we had some great weather and some good fishing through the middle reaches of the river. Combining a mixture of trolling Pontoon 21 and Slam minnows and jigging with Samaki vibes produced a variety of nice fish. The species caught were Flatties, Bream, Whiting, School Jew and a couple of nice Giant Trevally. It appears that the GT’s might start moving around the river a bit earlier this season which is great as they are so much fun on light gear. It is important to note that there is still a lot of logs and debris floating around the Tweed River and I witnessed a boat smashing into a floating log and doing a fair amount of damage so take care and always keep an eye out.”

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“We had some really good fishing at the Gold Coast Broadwater this week. Plenty of Squid, Flathead, Flounder, Tuskfish and Whiting kept us entertained. Best areas were South Currigee and Southport, best lures were Samaki vibes in whitebait and uv squid colours, Ecogear ZX40 in 440 colour. The water has suddenly got crystal clear and warmer on the run-in tide so it now pays to find slightly dirtier water to find the better fish and even the Squid. The snot weed that had started to appear has gone again but I’m sure it’ll be back in force with the next Northerly winds. Flathead are plentiful in the shallows out to the deep, feeding hard on baitfish. Soft plastics in pearl colours are working well. There were also good numbers of Sand Whiting up to 40cm on the Southern Broadwater banks this week.”

Gavin from Sea Probe Fishing Charters reports:

“There has been plenty of Snapper still getting caught on the 50 fathoms line also with some Pearlies, Tuskies, Amberjack and Yellow Tail Kings and also Dolphin Fish still hanging around on the 50 fathoms taken on pilchards.”

LINKS & INFO

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  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