Fishing Report – 8 December 2022    

We have had an interesting start to summer so far with howling southerly winds and top temperatures of 19 degrees (last Friday), to northerly winds and highs of 33 degrees on Tuesday, making conditions pretty hard to fish on the Gold and Tweed Coasts. It was pretty nice during the middle of the week and at this stage Sunday is looking like the pick of the days over the weekend to get on the water for a fish.

Let’s check out what’s been on the chew this week.

WHITING

With some better weather on the way this weekend it will be worth trying your luck up the rivers for a Whiting. Good numbers of fish have been caught consistently over the past couple of months and as summer kicks off they should start biting well especially around the moon phases with larger tides. The Nerang River is a great spot to fish with shallow banks and corners with good water flow when the tide is running, which is a main ingredient when targeting a feed of Whiting.

The best bait is Bloodworms up the River followed by Beach Worms then Yabbies.

Fishing gear of choice would normally comprise of a 7ft -9ft light estuary rod rigged with either 6 -9lb mono, 6 lb fluro carbon trace and a 4 – 5 ball sinker with a hook designed for the bait of choice, for worms a sized 6 short shank baitholder hook is best. I recommend having a look around and fish a spot for 15 to 20 minutes to try and locate schools of Whiting actively feeding, if the fish are quiet just move onto the next spot until you get consistent hook-ups. Other areas worth a look that produce quality Whiting are the Wavebreak Island, Crab Island, Coomera River (North and South Arms), Pimpama River, Jacobs Well, Bedrooms, Logan River, Tallebudgera Creek, Currumbin Creek and the Tweed River.

School Holiday Fishing

School Holidays are upon us once again, this is a great time to get the kids out of the house and spend some quality time outdoors and go fishing. We have plenty of fishing options around the Gold and Tweed Coasts for kids to try their luck either land based or out in the boat. Some land-based spots that are easy to access are the Coomera River, the foreshore along Runaway Bay and Biggera Waters, Grand Hotel jetty Labrador, Broadwater Parklands, Southport Bridge, Marine Stadium, Paradise Point, Hope Island, Nerang River Tweed River, Tallebudgera Creek or Currumbin Creek. A basic kiddies combo or light estuary outfit with a running sinker rig will normally work well on the more common species you are likely to encounter such as Bream, Tarwhine, Whiting, Flathead and Trevally just to name a few. Yabbies make great bait and are also fun for the kids to pump, they can be accessed on selected beaches on the Gold Coast on the run-out tide, try fishing the same areas you catch your bait in as the tide rises and fish will most likely be feeding in these areas. Prawns, Worms and White Pilchards also make good bait. If you are new to fishing, I would recommend dropping into your local tackle store as they will be more than happy to help you out with the right advice and gear to get you started.

Bull Shark!

Bull Sharks have been showing up in decent numbers lately, as the weather is starting to warm it’s a good time to have a go at targeting them if you are keen. Bully’s can be found throughout all the waterways on the Tweed and Gold Coast with the smaller Sharks being a good target on lighter gear. All you need is a basic medium to heavy outfit spooled with 10 to 20 lb mono or braided line, about 1m of plastic-coated wire trace from 50 to 100lb and either a circle or J hook from size 6 to 9. When it comes to bait, I find a small piece of freshwater eel work well followed by pike eel them mullet fillet or heads. The eel is very tuff and will put up with all the pickers like Bream attacking your bait until a Shark comes along. Some good spots to try are the Coomera River, Saltwater Creek, Paradise Point, your local canals including the Nerang River, Pimpama River, Jacobs Well and the Logan River which will all give you land based options as well and fishing in a boat. Just remember safety first when landing a Shark as they have a serious mouth full of razor-sharp teeth and a bad attitude to go with it. They do make a decent feed if bleed properly and prepped, just make sure you are up to date with bag and size limits in your area.

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“I caught more school Jewfish, and Flathead in the deeper holes that were sheltered from the wind. This coming week is looking much better with improved weather and fill moon lead up. Zx’s and Samaki vibes will work well in the deeper holes for Jewfish, Flathead, Bream, Trevally, and Whiting.”

Brad is usually booked out a few weeks ahead, and the busiest time of the year is approaching make sure to give him a call to book if you are keen.

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“I only did a couple of charters earlier in the week before the wild weather arrived. There were still some good Flathead caught using Zman ST Grubz, Zman Prawnz, and 6th Sense plastics, as well as Flathead, Bream, Whiting, Tailor in the deeper reefy areas on ZX’s. The good news is next week is looking much better, so I should be out fishing most days. We have full moon on Thursday too so we will have some good fishing. Morning high tides will suit fishing the shallow banks with soft plastics for Flathead. The water is still sitting at around 22 degrees and will take time to rise again after the unseasonal cooler weather we have had. This is ideal for flathead, so we may as well make the most of the extended flattie season. They are so much fun to catch; the moment they grab a plastic is so addictive. They often bust up on the surface in the shallows, so always keep an eye out for that. Apart from that, with the water so stirred up by swell and wind, there will be lots of bait fish in the Broadwater chased by Flatties, Jew, Snapper, Tailor, Trevally, Bream, Tarwhine and Whiting. Ecogear ZX’s and Samaki vibes will work well on the last of the run-out tides in the deeper sections from the Seaway to North Currigee.”

Gavin from Sea Probe Fishing Charters reports:

“There have been some great catches of good-sized Mahi Mahi around all the fads and also on the bottom. Some nice Snapper and Yellow Tail Kingfish up to 15kg have been getting caught on live bait. In closer, the odd little Black Marlin are starting to show up slowly, try trolling lures or live baiting for these around the bait schools.”

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