Fishing Report – 22nd September 2022    

It’s been a good start to school holidays on the Gold Coast with some nice weather to get the kids out and about to enjoy the great outdoors and some quality time fishing. At this stage, the weekend is looking pretty good, Saturday being the pick of the days with light South Westerly winds on the way, and Sunday is looking ok but will see an increase in the winds from the South around 15 to 20 knots at times. Let’s see what’s been on the chew this week.

September Holidays

September School Holidays are underway here on the Gold Coast – this a great opportunity to get the kids out of the house and have some fun fishing with family and mates outdoors. Kids of all ages should have a fun time learning the basics of fishing, even if it’s their first time casting the rod and waiting for a bite and the looming possibility of catching their first fish. You can also take the kids and try collecting your own bait like pumping yabbies and catching soldier crabs. This is great fun and something the young ones will enjoy doing. Just remember to keep it simple and as fun as possible while the kids are younger. If they’re having a good time they will be keen for the next trip and once they have landed a few fish you can take them on longer trips knowing they will be happy and will enjoy the day.

When it comes to tackle just keep it simple is the key, a basic light estuary outfit will do the job for most of the fish species you will expect to find whilst fishing on the Gold Coast. Try rigging with 9lb main line, 8 to 10lb trace, 3 to 4 ball sinker and a hook size between size 6 to 2 to suit your bait of choice. There are plenty of land-based spots to take the kids with toilet facilities and even playgrounds nearby if the fishing is slow. A few areas to look at are Paradise Point, Runaway Bay, Labrador, Hope Island, Currumbin Creek, Tallebudgera Creek, Nerang River and Jacobs Well and the Tweed River which all offer public jetties, parks or sandy beaches which make good fishing spots. Some of the fish species you may catch are Bream, Tarwhine, Whiting, Flathead, Moses Perch, Tailor, Flounder and Trevally just to name a few. When it comes to bait try Prawns, Squid, While Pilchards, Worms and Yabbies for the above species. Another option is to put on a soft plastic lure on for the kids then wind their rod back in as soon as you cast it out, they will have a good chance at a quality Flathead or Trevally jumping on. If you get any nice catches make sure to email in your photos for me to put in the paper.

Offshore Fishing on the Gold Coast

The fishing offshore has been good for fishos keen to put in the time and effort traveling in search of a feed, both Paul Wilshire and Ben White have done just that scoring some quality Snapper and Samson fish (see photos in report) when sounding around the 36 fathom grounds. The close reefs have been fishing ok, but the fish seem a bit further spread apart than normal meaning you will have to have a good look around on the sounder before finding a spot worth a look on the 18 and 24 fathom reefs. The water temp will be slowly on the increase and the current will also be picking up as we come into Springtime weather pattern so putting in the mile to get the smiles will be the effort for those keen to do so. The 18 to 24 fathoms reefs do see a lot of fishing pressure when the weather is good so I always recommend to fish smarter in the higher traffic areas, basically this means to use lighter gear, lighter and longer traces, good bait presentation and to spend a bit of extra time sounding around to locate the best spots to try your luck. You should find a feed of Snapper, the odd Pearl Perch, Moses Perch, Trag Jew, Silver Jew, Maori Cod and Cobia still hanging around. Out on the winder reefs the current has started to pick up a bit on the 50’s this week, but it is a bit slower on the 36 fathom line. The current speed cab change at any given time in either depths, but when its running too hard fishing can be very painful making it difficult to land your bait onto the fish you can see on the sounder. The wider reefs have produced feeds of quality Snapper, Pearl Perch, Yellow Tail Kingfish, Amber Jack, Samson Fish, Tusk Fish and a few Trag Jew. Best baits are WA Pilchards, Squid, Mullet Fillet, Bonito Fillet and live Yakkas.

Flathead Fishing Around the Gold Coast

The Flathead fishing has once been great once again this week with plenty of lucky fishos landing good sized in the 70 to 80cm range, which are a fantastic fish to hook and land, making for an exciting day on the water. The Gold Coast Sports Fish Clubs Flathead classics gets underway on the 27^th of September, and everyone seem to be out on the water getting in as much fishing time as possible before the comp starts. At the moment the fish are still pretty well spread out throughout the Broadwater and Jumpinpin area, some good fish have been caught and released around the Gold Coast Seaway entrance, north towards Currigee and the Jumpinpin Bar and Kalinga bank have also seen plenty of big breeders lying in wait for a bait fish to swim past. There has been a bit of snot weed around at times which can be annoying, but you just need to move around a bit to avoid the worst of it. A few more spots to look are Wavebreak Island, Brown Island, Aldershots, The Never Fails, Tiger Mullet Channel, Crusoe Island, Jacobs Well, Canaipa Passage and the Logan River and mouth.

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. 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.

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports :

“I decided to move well up the river this week and check out some of my old haunts that I haven’t fished for quite a long time. This worked out very well for me and my lucky clients, who were amazed by the surroundings and, of course, the great fishing. Following the deep channels that lead into the deep holes in the upper catchment of the Tweed River produced some wonderful fishing. The species we caught were Flatties, Bream, Whiting, Giant Trevally, Grunter and once again some fantastic juvenile School Jew.”

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“I have never seen more clear and blue oceanic water inside the Broadwater. Yesterday we could clearly see the bottom all around the seaway area. This makes it hard for baitfish to hide and they move deeper and out into the ocean, and it seems the fish follow them. Until we get more rain, strong wind, and snot weed arriving, the best time to fish is during the run-out tides or at night. I have been finding Flathead, Squid, Tuskfish, and Winter Whiting, but it does take a lot of moving and covering ground to find them. The day tides this week perfectly suit fishing the shallow banks for Whiting, Flathead, and Bream. Just a couple of weeks until the Flathead classic now, and it is definitely looking like the Jumpinpin area will clearly be the place to find the most and biggest Flatties. The snot weed hasn’t spread yet, but it will come. ”

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