Fishing Report

Hi Everyone, hope you are all having a nice week, we had some great weather last weekend and to start the week, which was well overdue. The light winds and a small swell give fishos a great opportunity to get out for a fish on the Tweed and Gold Coasts. As the week progresses, the heat has eased a bit with a southerly wind direction. At the time of writing my report, it looks like a few showers will develop and the southerly winds increase over the weekend ahead. Always have the most up to date weather forecast before heading out on the water.

The final Spanish Mackerel Closure for Southeast Queensland ended on the 21/3/2023 giving anglers the green light to chase a feed.

Let’s have a look check out what’s been on the biting this week.

GOLD COAST BROADWATER

The Broadwater has been fishing very well this week with many schools of white pilchards moving through the main channels, making for an easy feed for any predators searching for a meal in the area. I headed out on Monday to fish the morning high tide change in the Broadwater, conditions were pretty good with very little wind. Not much weed in the water and a lot less boat traffic to contend with compared to a normal weekend on the Gold Coast. There was plenty of bait showing up on the sounder, which was a great sign, the edges of current lines seemed to be a good spot producing both bait and predators working the bait schools. The bait was mostly mid water, once a school of hungry Tailor or Trevally showed up it didn’t take long to push the bait to the surface and erupt into splashing and surface action, which is always great to see. I was throwing a mixture of metal slugs and soft vibes that were inhaled as soon as they hit the water. Some of the Tailor were extra large greenbacks that put up a great fight and are not too bad to eat as long as you bleed them straight away and get them onto ice. Most of the Trevally landed were Big Eye and some were a good size, I also found a few Brassy Trevally keen to take a lure. When the soft vibe lure made it to the bottom, I also managed to land a few small Grunter, Moses Perch and Bream making for a good few hours on the water. It always pays to keep an eye om the sounder for signs of life, an eye on the sky for bird activity and an eye on the water for any splashes of indicating surface activity and fish to target.

The conditions were great last weekend with light winds and small swell seeing plenty of keen fishos head out offshore in search of a feed. In close from Palm Beach and Mermaid Reef North to the tip of South Stradbroke Spotted Mackerel were around in good numbers with plenty of happy fishos landing a nice feed. Anglers has success by either anchoring up and getting a burly trail going and fishing with a mixture of WA Pilchards and live Yakka’s. Unfortunately, sharks respond to the burly trail and the struggling fish like a dinner bell and managed to tax their fair share of the catch. Crews had better luck following the bait balls and surface bust ups, throwing a mixture of metal slugs, surface walkers and surface poppers getting good results. Hopefully the shark numbers ease over the next week which will make fishing a bit easier and less frustrating.

ON THE BITE

Both the 18 and 24 fathoms reefs have been fishing pretty well for a mixed bag of Snapper, Moses Perth, Tusk Fish, Trag Jew, a few Cobia and some top quality Jewfish coming onboard. Best baits are WA Pilchards, whole large Squid, Bonito Fillet, Mullet Fillet and live Yakkas.

The bigger tides this week has given the system a bit of a flush out, with a few nice Mud Crabs having been caught by anyone keen to soak the pots. The Coomera River, Pimpama River, Tipplers Passage, The Never Fails, Tiger Mullet Channel, Jacobs Well, Cabbage Tree Point, Russel Island, Karragarra Island and the Logan River have all produced a feed. Whole Mullet, Fish Frames and raw Chicken pieces all make great bait.

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS 

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“What an extremely hot week it was, especially for the clients that I had today who arrived from Canada. It is not only the land temperature that is hot but each day I have completed my trips around midday, the water temperature on my sounder had climbed to just over 30 degrees. We caught Flathead, Bream, Whiting and small School Jew in the deep holes where I suspect that the water was a bit cooler on the bottom. My tip for the week is get on the water early and fish the deep holes and keep hydrated by drinking lots of water and let’s hope this mini heat wave passes soon.”

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“The fishing for me this week has been tough. This time last year we already had massive floods, while this summer has been relatively dry and now hot. That’s Australia! We are approaching cooler months from April onwards, and with that there will be a lot more (and bigger) Flathead, Flounder, Squid, Tailor, Winter Whiting, and many more that I love to target on my charters. This week in the Broadwater there was some ok fishing on the Southern flats for whiting and a few Flathead, while in the channels the better fishing was in the mornings with the run in tide for Flathead, Moses Perch, Tarwhine, Bream. Once the tide ran out the soupy looking hot green water did not produce much. Best bet at the moment is fishing early morning on the high tides, or at night.”

Gavin from Sea Probe Fishing Charters reports:

“There has been plenty of Spotted Mackerel still in close what have been excellent this year with the odd Spanish, catching them on slugs from 15grams to 25 grams. A few Dolphin Fish showing up on the fads, but the current is very strong out there. Some cracking quality Jewfish in the closer reefs.”

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