Fishing Report – 27th October 2022    

The Week Ahead 

We just can’t seem to get a break from the wind and rain lately with the Gold and Tweed Coasts copping another drenching over the weekend with hundreds of millimetres of rain being dumped into the system along with a massive swell offshore. The good news is we are finally in for some great weather with light winds, plenty of sunshine and small swell forecast for the weekend. Just remember to always check the latest forecast before heading out on the water. Let’s check out a few options for the weekend ahead.

With a favourable weather forecast for the weekend at the time of writing my report I’d say the offshore grounds will be very busy with everyone taking advance of a long-awaited weather window to get out for a fish. The closer reefs around the 18 to 24 fathom lines should be

holding some nice fish with very little fishing pressure from the past month or so due to bad weather. As always, I recommend getting an early start and try to be anchored up or drifting in a good area for the dawn bite period. Make sure to have a good hunt around on the sounder keeping a look out for signs of life being either bait schools or predatory fish showing up giving you a good starting point to drop on. Majority of the time I do prefer to anchor up and get a burly trail going which will help to draw fish in from around the general area you are fishing increasing your chances of a successful day on the water.

Reef Fishing

The close reefs should be holding some quality Snapper, Spangled Emperor, the odd legal Pearl Perch, Moses Perch, Trag Jew, Silver Jew, Tusk Fish, Maori Cod and Cobia. Current dependant, out wider on the 36 and 50 fathoms grounds you will find a feed of Snapper, Pearl Perch, Trag Jew, Tuskfish, Yellow Tail Kingfish, Amberjack, Cobia, Samson Fish. The local FADS will be worth a look for a Dolphin Fish now the current will be starting to pick up and the water temperature is on the rise, you may have to try a couple of different methods to get the bite, if you can see fish in the water its worth a go. For Dolphin fish you can troll skirted lures near the FADS, cast soft plastics, metal slugs, surface lures, WA Pilchards pieces or the ever-reliable live baits. When I find fish on a FAD I will always throw a few bits of cubed WA pilchards in to keep them in the area and looking for a feed. Just remember to have the latest forecast before heading offshore.

Gold Coast Broadwater

Thanks to the latest rain fall received water quality is very average is due to the amount of freshwater run-off the past week, bait fish will tend to head to these areas looking for some cleaner water and the predators will be on the hunt no far behind.  With this in mind, try fishing closer to the open ocean entrances and timing your trip to catch the last couple of hours of the run-in tide and the first hour of the run-out tide, to increase your chances of landing some quality fish. Jumpinpin Bar entrance and adjoining channels have been producing some good quality Tailor on trolled hard body lures, metal slugs and surface lures. Just keep your eyes peeled for fish busting up on the surface and birds diving ay the water chasing bait fish and scraps. Some quality Jewfish have been landed on a mixture of larger soft plastics, soft vibes and live baits fished in the deeper water around the bar mouth. There have also been some extra-large Flathead being caught and in the same areas around the pin. The Gold Coast Seaway has also been the go-to place for the same reasons, seeing plenty of bait fish siting on the edges of where the fresh water meets the salt. Try the North Wall and Pipeline for some good sized Jewfish, Trevally, Tailor and also drift the edges of the rock walls for Flathead which have been around in good numbers during breeding season.

If you are going for a fish try dropping in the crab pots and try your luck for a Mud Crab. There should be a few on the move after the rain.

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“It has been a bit of a rollercoaster week with the weather, but I still managed to do a few days on the water. For some reason the best bite periods came on the run-in tides and that was regardless of whether we were fishing the flats or the deep holes. The fish caught this week were Flatties, Bream, Whiting and once again some small School Jew. The best lures this week were the ever-reliable zx 40s in the deep holes and pontoon 21 crackjacks worked across the shallows. I am still puzzled of why the run in tides fished so well in places that normally fire up on the run outs, but that is the intriguing part of being a guide and working in with good old mother nature.”

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“We fished the Broadwater channels on the smaller tides, catching three types of Flathead, Sand Whiting, Winter Whiting, Tarwhine, Bream, Tuskfish. Yabbies as usual scored lots of fish, and I used Ecogear breamer vibes for the first time, catching over 20 fish per session on them. These little lures have an impressive strike rate and I’ll be using them a lot more, in tandem with the ever-reliable Ecogear ZX40’s and Samaki Vibelicious. If you haven’t tried the new Zman 2.5” ST Grubz and 2.5” Prawnz, give them a go. We love small lures because they get a lot of bites from small to big fish. As a charter guide, we try to keep rods bending as often as possible. On all our lures we like to smear some scent on too for added effect, our favourites are Sax scent uv prawn fot prawn imitation lures, and Pro Cure saltwater inshore for minnow and grub style lures. We also fished some of the shallows this week, wading for Whiting. The Whiting weren’t as big as usual, the bigger ones could be in the seaway getting ready to spawn. They should be back on the flats this coming week. There were also plenty of Flathead on the flats this week, I landed a 60cm on 3 lb fluorocarbon line. It put up quite a fight.”

Gavin from Sea Probe Fishing Charters reports:

“The fads have been still fishing well for Dolphin Fish also on the bottom some Snapper and Pearl Perch on the 18s there also have been some nice Cobia and Jewfish using live bait.”

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