Fishing Report – 16th September 2022    

Tt was good to see a bit more sunshine this week with just the odd shower of rain around, which has been a nice start to Spring. Looking to the weekend (at the time of writing), we will see some stronger northerly winds on Saturday which will ease off by Sunday afternoon. Fingers crossed the northerly winds don’t hang around too much as they tend to ruin the water quality and cause the snot weed to increase, which are the two things we don’t want before the Flathead Classic.

Let’s check have a look at what’s been biting this week.

The Flathead Classic

With the Gold Coast Sport Fish Club Flathead Classic getting close (starting on the 27th and finishing on the 30th of September), all keen Flathead fishos have been spending as much time on the water as possible chasing these great fish. The water quality has been pretty good this week with some nice clean water on offer to target Flathead on the incoming tide with the better-quality water pushing a fair way into the Broadwater and Jumpinpin. Fingers-crossed the dreaded northerly winds predicted don’t hang around as it doesn’t take long to reduce the water quality, making it quite murky, and also tends to push snot weed around most people’s favourite fishing grounds.

How to fish for Flathead on the Gold Coast

Flathead seem to pretty well spread out throughout the Gold Coast waterways at the moment with some big fish being landed in both deep water and extra shallow water, depending on the area you are fishing. Fishing the shallows on the incoming tide when the water quality has been at it’s best has been very productive, throwing a mixture of hard body surface lures, large unweighted soft plastics and lightly weighted prawn imitations along the edges of mangrove islands and the tops of sandbanks. Always keep an eye out for baitfish activity in the shallows as the Flathead will usually be feeding nearby, it is always worth a cast near any activity you spot.

The deeper areas such as the Gold Coast Seaway and Jumpinpin Bar have been producing some great sized female fish, with plenty of smaller male fish hanging nearby as we head towards spawning season. Fishing the deeper water can be quite challenging with a strong tidal flow to contend with. For deeper water make sure you adjust the size of the jig head you choose when working soft plastics, and also a heavy soft vibe is recommended to keep contact with the bottom as much as possible to attract a hungry predator. When fishing the average water depth from 1.5 to 4m metre a 1/4 or 3/8 jig head matched with a 3-to-4-inch plastic is a great match, or a 12 to 20 gram soft vibe will also work well in those water depths.

Flathead normally feed head into the current, I always recommend if you are trolling hard body lures, to troll with the tidal flow to increase your chances of hooking a fish.

Where to fish for Flathead around the Gold Coast

Some good spots to try your luck are Wave Break Island, Crab Island, Currigee Channel, Brown Island, Rat Island, Aldershots, Tipplers Passage, Never Fails, Pandanus Island, Bedrooms, Crusoe Island, Jumpinpin Bar, Kalinga Bank, Tiger Mullet Channel, Russel Island and the Logan River.

Gold Coast Offshore Fishing

Weather permitting, the offshore fishing grounds have been producing some pretty nice catches of reef fish for fishos who are keen to get out for a session. With the sunrise getting earlier each day as we head into spring the earlier you get out on the water the better your chances are of scoring the prime sunrise bite window. Try to give yourself enough time to make it to the area you are planning to fish, and have a good look around the area on the sounder until you can find enough life worth fishing on. You will usually know how the spot is going to fish within the first 15minutes, if you are getting shows but not getting the bite you may have to move on and find another area to try your luck.

Both the 18 and 24 fathom grounds have been fishing well with local fisho getting stuck into some great quality Snapper on a recent trip. Bait presentation is always very important on the shallower reefs, along with trying to use the lightest gear possible, but that will still get the job done if you hook a decent sized fish. The more natural you can make the bait look as you drop the line, the more chance you have of getting the bite. Float lining is the best option in my books. Anglers have been catching a good mixed bag of Snapper, Tusk Fish, Trag Jew, Moses Perch, Jew Fish, Cobia and Maori Cod.

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports :

“This week was not much different to my usual week. I worked around the middle reaches of the river working and exploring the deep holes and channels of the river. When I work the deep holes I always use a mixture of deep water jigging lures with Samaki and Ecogear ZX 40 vibes which are my go to lures. When working the channels, I drift fish with these lures combined with a switch of techniques, trolling some slam and pontoon lures to mix things up, which my clients love as they are gaining knowledge. The species caught were Flatties, Bream, Trevally, Tailor and a heap of gorgeous little Jewies that were carefully released for the future.”

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“Another varied week with some trips to Jumpinpin and the Gold Coast Broadwater. We had some challenging conditions, but the weather is warming up now. The Arrow Squid numbers are now tapering off as the water suddenly warms. They are present all year around here, but not in the same size and quantity as the cooler months. Flathead seem to be widespread everywhere right now, it’s just a matter of moving until you find actively feeding fish. They are gorging themselves on small bait fish in the shallows, so cast and hop no bigger than 3 and 4 inch paddle tail plastics rigged on 1/6 or 1/4 oz TT jigheads with 2/0 and 3/0 hook sizes. Use soft plastics such as ZMan, Ecogear, Knockin Tail, Fish Arrow, and Gobbler. White is a go to colour in most conditions. When drifting areas three metres and deeper, use Samaki vibes and Ecogear ZX’s to jig. Best areas have been the Southern end of South Stradbroke island, the Eastern side of Curlew island, and Whalleys gutter, Pandanus island, Dux, Tipplers areas. The snot weed has not turned up in mass yet, but that could change very quickly as soon as we get warmer weather and Northerly winds.”

Gavin from Sea Probe Fishing Charters reports:

“Fishing has still been very good with plenty of Mahi Mahi on the fads. Also plenty of Snapper, Kingys , Ajs, Samson Fish, Pearlies on the 50 fathoms. On the 36s still Snapper, Trag Jew, Tuskies and Dolphin Fish also around the fads. ”

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