Fishing Report

It’s been a mixed bag of weather so far this week on the Gold and Tweed Coasts, with hot days due to Northerly winds at the beginning on the week, and a Southery change coming through bringing with it a cool change with much milder conditions, making spending time on the water much nicer. At the time of writing my report the swell was looking ok for the weekend, but we have a bit of rain on the way by the looks of it. Let’s have a look at some options for the weekend ahead.

Offshore Fishing

Ben White with a good sized Wahoo he landed off the Gold Coast recently.The fishing offshore the past week has been great with some nice catches reported, Ben White (see photo) had a great trip coming up trumps landing a good-sized Wahoo recently. The pelagic action of the Gold Coast has been fantastic the past few weeks and it hasn’t slowed down yet. Wahoo are the speedsters of the ocean and are on many fishos target list. When they first hit the run is electric, flying off at top speed, dumping a heap of line off the reel in seconds. Trolling either metal heads, resin heads or diving lures anywhere from 6 to 12 knots will usually attract a strike if they are in the area. They like good quality clean water and will also hang around fads.

Schools of Spotted Mackerel have been showing in great number again this week, with keen anglers getting out amongst the action and scoring a great feed. Once again, the Mackerel are widespread anywhere from Mermaid Reef north, to the Jumpinpin Bar in depths from 13 fathoms out to 24 fathoms depending where you choose to have a look. Keeping a keen eye on the surface for water splashes from feeding fish, on the sounder for show of fish mainly mid water, and an eye on the sky for birds diving on bait fish pushed to the surface by the predators.

You will also find a mixture of Long Tail Tuna, Mac Tuna, Striped Tuna and even a few Yellow Fin Tina feeding with the Mackerel. The best way to target fish when they are feeding on the surface is casting metal slugs 25 to 45 grams depending on the size of bait, also try surface poppers and stick baits. The reefs have also been producing some nice Snapper in close, like the trophy sized one Geoff landed last weekend (see photo). There has been plenty of bait around the 18 to 24 fathoms grounds off the God Coast, have a good look on the sounder when choosing where to fish. Float lining will always produce the better-quality fish as the bait is presented more naturally. You will also find a general mixed bag of Moses Perch, Tusk Fish, Trag Jew, Maori Cod, Silver Jew and few Spanish Mackerel still showing up.

Banana Prawns

A few Banana Prawns have been caught during the week. No big numbers yet, but as the temperature start to ease and we get a bit of rain, they should start to come on in better numbers. The smaller tides last week are also not ideal, they seem to respond better on the bigger tides. The best time to look is an hour before and an hour after a tide change as they tend to pop during this time. Depending on pressure from anglers they can be active for few hours each tide. Try looking in the usual areas like Jacobs Well, Cabbage Tree Points, Little Rocky Point, The Power Lines, Logan River, Redland Channel, Karragarra Island and Macleay Island. A top pocket net is a must, a maximum length of 12ft is allowable and worth getting, as when the net drops it slowly closes making the diameter that reaches the Prawns a lot smaller especially in the deeper water.

The Broadwater and Jumpinpin was a little slower than normal due to small daytime tides. The fish tend to respond and bite better when there is more tidal flow. The bait schools of whitebait didn’t push up as far in the Broadwater during the week. It’s best to look for the colour change where the clean water meets the dirty water as this area will often produce better fish. There was still some nice Bream, Whiting, Flathead, Tarwhine, Mangrove Jack, Estuary Cod, Tailor and Trevally landed.

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS 

Geoff with a trophy sized Snapper he caught off the Gold Coast last weekend.Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“Here we are again at the end of another week on the Tweed. I have to be honest, I had to work hard again this week to produce some fish, with the water temperature still very high up around the 28-to-30-degree mark, and a fluctuating barometer. But as guides we work hard and keep our composure and trust our experience to get the job done for our valued clients. The key was very similar to last week and that was to fish deep on the bait schools holding in the holes and to cover some water trolling through the channel contours of the river. The best results came from jigging the holes with Ecogear zx 40 and Ecogear breamer vibes, and when it came to trolling the Slam, hard bodied minnow worked very well. The species caught were Flatties, Bream, Big Eye Trevally, Whiting and small School Jewies.”

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“Fishing in the Broadwater has been steadily improving this week. We are nearly at my favourite months of the year, April to December. There have been tons of small bait fish coming in, a slight drop in water temperature, and a nice bit of rain. It is coming alive big time. The December to March king tides are over until later in the year thankfully! Daily catches have included Sand Whiting, Winter Whiting, Dusky Flathead, Bartail Fathead, Flounder, Tuskfish, Snapper, Tarwhine, Bream, Tailor, Moses Perch and Yakka. MMD soft prawn vibes and Ecogear ZX40’s have been catching the most fish. Best areas have been the deep hole, Southport West channel, Wavebreak West channel, Runaway Bay channel.”

Gavin from Sea Probe Fishing Charters reports:

“There are still lots of Spotted Mackerel schools to target in close It has been excellent this year with the odd Spanish as well – catching them on slugs 15grams to 25 grams, also Dolphin Fish on the fads.”

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