Fishing Report – 13th October 2022    

The Week That Was

Hi Everyone, hope you are all having a nice week, at least last weekend was much better than forecast with Sunday turning out to be a great day to hit the water and chase some fish with lighter winds and plenty of sunshine from lunchtime onwards. Unfortunately, the South-easterly kicked in and made conditions pretty hard going during the week with offshore off limits due to large swell and strong winds. The sheltered rivers and canal systems were the best option to get some respite from the wind and try your luck.

The Week Ahead

At the time of writing my report the wind looks like it may back off for the weekend ahead which would be nice. At this stage Sunday is looking like the pick of the days to get out on the water. Just make sure you have the most up to date forecast before heading out. Let’s check have a look at some options for the weekend ahead.

Fish About

It’s good to see some nice sized Tailor being caught around the Jumpinpin and the Broadwater after the water quality has cleared up a fair bit since the last lot of rain. Majority of the Tailor have been caught on the last 2 hours of the incoming tide when the water quality is at its best. There has been plenty of bait schooling up around the open ocean entrances including big schools of slimy mackerel in the Gold Coast Seaway which is like ringing the dinner bell a hungry school of Tailor. Start looking in the deeper channels around the mouth of the Jumpinpin Bar, Whalleys Gutter, Tiger Mullet Channel, the Gold Coast Seaway and Currigee Channel, keep and keen eye on the sounder for signs of bait. It also pays to keep an eye on the water for fish splashing as they attack the bait and also birds diving pick up bait pushed to the surface. Trolling hard body lures is a great method to cover more area when searching for a school of fish, I recommend using a combination of shallow and deep diving lures to help find the depth of water the fish are active in. Once located you can then target fish using either surface poppers, stick baits or metal slugs of various sizes until you can match the hatch of the size of boat they are feeding on. Tailor is pretty good to eat fresh, just remember to bleed any fish for the table and ice them down as soon as possible.

The Gold Coast Seaway

The Gold Coast Seaway has been fishing pretty well since the last lot of rain we got for Jewfish which is good news if you are keen to put in the time to land one of these great fish. The Seaway has been holding a good amount of bait lately which intern attracts predators like the Jew Fish that frequent the area. The only downside is that sharks can be a big issue if the fish are biting. When you hook a fish you must get it up as soon as possible before the sharks appear on the scene to ruin your day. Live baits are best when targeting jew Fish, Pike, Mullet, Herring, Yakkas or if you are lucky and find some Slimy Mackerel which have been also hanging around the Seaway you should be in with a good chance. The best times to fish are the last 2 hours of the run in tide and the first 2 hours of the run out, this will also allow you to fish the turn of the tide which is usually a good bite window for bigger Jew Fish in the area. Drifting around the pipeline and also the North Wall are the usual areas to find a school of Jewfish, they will tend to move around to feed on the bait schools so remember to always keep an eye on the sounder for sign of life to maximise your chances. A twin hook stinger rig will work for most normal sized live baits rigged on 20 to 40lb mono, you will need a fair bit of weight if the tide is flowing to get your baits into the strike zone.

From The Broadwater to Jumpinpin

Some nice sized Whiting have been caught as the water starts to warm up around the Broadwater and Jumpinpin. You can pretty much have a go for  Whiting on most sandbanks or sandy beaches throughout the above areas, I do prefer to look for yabbie holes or something to attract the Whiting to the area to increase your chances. A light estuary rod will get you started spooled with 6 to 9lb mono, a 6lb fluro carbon trace and a size 4 to 6 bait holder hook, best baits are live blood worms, beach worm and yabbies. Good spots to try are Nerang River, Wave Break Island, Crab Island, Coomera River, Bedrooms, Jacobs Well, Tiger Mullet Channel and the Logan River.

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“Fishing this week for some reason was a little bit tough and although we caught fish every day, I did not get the big numbers of fish on the scoreboard that I am used too. At the end of the day my clients were thrilled and learnt a heap about lure fishing and can’t wait to come again. The good old Ecogear zx40 lures were without a doubt the best lure worked in both the shallows and the deep holes of the river.  The fish caught this week were Bream, a few small Giant Trevally, School Jew and some quality Flatties being the stand out species. ”

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“This week was a bit all over the place, with the weather and fishing inconsistent. We caught some good numbers of big Whiting in the shallows where the water was clean enough, but the channels and edges had a lot of snot weed floating around. The Bream seemed to love the browner water of the run in tides. They were that thick from Sundale bridge to Capri bridge it was hard to catch anything else, and there were many big Tarwhine amongst them. Further upriver there are some Whiting, Giant Trevally, Spotted Grunter, and Flathead. Yabbies were working extremely well as were small soft plastics like Zman ST Grubz and 6th Sense paddletails”

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