Fishing Report – 29th September 2022    

It was good to see plenty of sunshine and light winds earlier in the week giving everyone some nice conditions to get out and throw a line in. It’s also been good to see plenty kids out making the most of school holidays trying their luck at catching a fish. As we head towards the long weekend, unfortunately it looks like we are in for some strong southerly winds and a big increase in swell offshore. If you were thinking about heading offshore it would be best to wait until next week and keep an eye on the weather to ease. With a large amount of fresh water still moving through the local system after last week’s excessive rainfall, finding some clean water to fish in will improve your chances of scoring a fish. Let’s have a look at how the fishing has been this week.

Offshore Snapper

For those lucky enough to have some time off during the week managed to get a few nice weather windows to head offshore for a fish. Ben White did just that and came up trumps with some top-quality Snapper after a great session on the 36-fathom line. Current dependent, both the 36 and 50 fathom grounds have been fishing well. You will still need to have a good search around to locate a patch worth fishing but if you put in the time and effort there are some great quality fish on offer.

The 36 and 50 fathom reefs have been producing a good mixed bag of Snapper, Pearl Perch, Yellow Tail Kingfish, Amberjack, Samson Fish, Trag Jew, a few Cobia and the odd Dolphin Fish can be found hanging around the fads. In closer the 18 and 24 fathom reefs have seen some pretty good fishing in the past week for those keen to get a early start and have a good look around on the sounder. Fishos have reported some nice Snapper, Tusk Fish, Moses Perch, Trag Jew, Maori Cod, Silver Jew Fish, Cobia and the odd legal Pear Perch. As it can get a bit busy in closer, it pays to spend the time having a good look around on the sounder trying to locate the best shows of either bait or fish to drop on. I will normally try not to sit in amongst too many boats, as the extra fishing pressure and sounder noise can quite often shut the fish down. If you are planning to anchor up getting a good burly tail on the go will again increase your odds and landing the better-quality fish in the area. Just make sure you have the latest weather forecast before planning your next trip offshore.

Quality Fishing in the Waterways

The water quality in the Broadwater and Jumpinpin is slowly getting better after the large amount of rain we received towards the end of last week saw a massive amount of run off from the local catchments, seeing the Coomera River and Logan River water levels rise considerably, putting a lot of fresh water into the local area. Finding clean water is often the key to success when conditions are very average. I always try to look for the distinct current lines where you can easily see where the fresh water meets the salt, as this is usually where the predators will be on the hunt. Bait fish that gets washed out of the rivers will tend to school up on the current lines in search of some cleaner water.

The best spots to try your luck are the open ocean entrances of the Jumpinpin Bar and Gold Coast Seaway. Try to plan your trip to fish the last 2 hours of the run-in tide and the first hour of the run-out tide when the water quality will be at its best and you will also get the tide change bite period. Fishos have been landing some great quality Jewfish, Trevally, Tailor and some big Flathead in the deeper water. Either live baits like Pike, Mullet, Herring and Yakkas or soft plastics and soft vibes have been doing the job. Always spend the time to have a good look around on the sounder for signs of bait and predatory fish.

Gold Coast Flathead Classic Competition

The Gold Coast Sportfish Clubs Flathead Classic has been in full swing this week, seeing just over 600 anglers trying their luck and catching and releasing as many Flathead as they can over a 3 day fishing period. There has been plenty of pre fishing going on earlier this week to try to re locate fish, as the rain and freshwater flush would have dispersed a lot of fish that anglers had found before the rain. Most teams spend weeks on the water before the comp trying top work out where the fish are and then follow their movement through the Broadwater and Jumpinpin. A good number of large breeding female fish can be found closer to the ocean entrances in the deeper water lying in wait for an easy feed to swim past. Both the Jumpinpin Bar and Gold Coast Seaway and the adjoining channels will be a great spot to look, especially after the rain, as there should be a good number of bait schools hanging around these areas. The flush has caused a fair bit of snot weed to more around the area. You may have to move around a bit to suit your style of fishing. Try using larger heavier weighted soft plastics and soft vibes to target these areas. Once the water cleans up a bit more the fish will spread out a bit wider again and will be found in the usual areas like Brown Island, Aldershots, Tipplers Passage, Jacobs Well, Cabbage Tree Point, Tiger Mullet Channel, Kalinga Bank, Canaipa Passage and the Logan River to name a few.

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“Well what a change since last week. The water went from being too clear to muddy overnight on Thursday, with a deluge of rain falling over the Nerang and Coomera River catchments. I went for a look yesterday, there was some nice-looking water on the top of the tide, and colour lines which will fish well next week. After flooding I always look for bait fish activity, if they’re there the bigger will be as well. I caught about 30 Whiting yesterday up to 40cm. This changes the game as far as estuary fishing plans go, with the deeper holes and areas near river mouths being the best to target. The Flathead classic is on this week, and anglers can probably expect some dirty water to contend with, especially on run out tides. Stock up on uv and dirty water lure colours like pearl/ white, gold, red, and other dark and flashy shades, and scent will help too. On the high tides the Flathead will get right up on the shallow banks and inside mangrove areas, then on the big run outs they’ll sit in deeper holes and drains out of the main current. We have been catching heaps of fish in the Broadwater on lures and yabbies, with the best areas being along South Stradbroke Island from the Seaway to Browns inlet, and the main channel from the Seaway through to Sovereign island. Flathead, Flounder, Tarwhine, Bream, Winter Whiting, Tuskfish, and Sand Whiting have been widespread from 0.5 metres deep out to 7 metres deep. Best lures have been Samaki vibes in ghost bait and whitebait colours, Ecogear Zx’s in 411 & 440 colours, and soft plastics such as 6th Sense, Gobblers, Ecogear Balt, and Zman. There is plenty of snot weed around now, if it gets too thick to fish just move a few hundred metres and you can find clearer sections. Tricky tides this coming week with bigger run outs, but the rivers will be muddy so find places that don’t run overly hard near the mouths and that have cleaner water, such as on edges of the shallow flats, and along the edges of channels.”

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