Fishing Report

It was nice to see some great weather over the May Day long weekend that continued to stick around the Gold and Tweed Coast mid-week as well, giving everyone a chance to get out for a fish and have some fun. As we look towards the weekend, Saturday is looking to be the pick of the days, with light E/NE winds before a strong S/SW kicks in mid-afternoon on Sunday, limiting fishing options.

Let’s check out what’s been biting this week.

Marlin Classic

The recent run of good weather coincided with the Gold Coast Game Fishing Clubs Blue Marlin Classic held last weekend off the Gold Coast. Good numbers of Blue Marlin, Stripped Marlin and the odd Black Marlin were tagged and released over the weekend, making it a great success.

Weather permitting if you are keen to chase a Marlin off the shelf, May is a good month to try your luck before the current starts to ease during winter. Boats trolled lures anywhere from 100 to 1000 fathoms from NE of the Seaway, down to the Canyons on the Tweed. Having a couple of boats fishing together can help narrow down the search and is also a good safety practice. The fads on the 50’s are still producing some nice feeds of Dolphin Fish if you get in early. WA Pilchards, Live baits, soft plastics, and surface lures will all be worth a go. In closer, the 18 and 24 fathom reefs have been producing some good mixed bags of Snapper, Moses, Tusk Fish, Trag Jew, Silver Jew, Cobia and Maori Cod on dead and live baits.

Just make sure you have the latest weather forecast before heading offshore.

Whiting

A couple of weekends ago I fished the Pirtek Fishing Challenge for the 9^th year in a row targeting Whiting, it was a tough day out fishing 30 knot winds, but we managed to land a few nice fish. The results were released last weekend and my daughter Jessica managed to win 3^rd place junior for Queensland, which was a great result due to conditions. Whiting is a great target species for a feed, especially if the weather is not great. You can normally find a sheltered spot up on of the local rivers or canals to hide out and chase a feed. Good quality Whiting can be caught all year round on the Gold and Tweed Coasts. Throughout Summer, the better fishing is during the night-time. As we head towards Winter, fishing during the daytime is the best option. Some good spots to try your luck are the Tweed River, Currumbin Creek, Tallebudgera Creek, Nerang River, Paradise Point, Coomera River, Pimpama River, Jacobs Well, Bedrooms and the Logan River. Live bait is the key to success, Blood Worms, Beach Worms and Yabbies are the best options. It’s important to fish as light as possible, a light sensitive rod from 7 to 9 foot is best, matched with a small avley or spin reel spooled with 6 to 9lb mono, a long 6lb fluro carbon leader, size 3 to 5 ball sinker and a bait holder hook from size 4 to 6 depending on the bait of choice. Try to pick an area from 1 to 3 metres in depth with a wavey sandy bottom that gets plenty of tidal flow as the fish prefer these areas to feed.

The Gold Coast Seaway has been fishing quite well after the swell eased, with fishos landing some nice sized Jewfish. As the weather cools down, we should see some bigger Jewfish moving in chasing the winter mullet schools. Live baits are the most productive when chasing Jew, live Yakkas, Mullet, Pike, Herring and Silver Biddies can be caught around the Broadwater and Seaway and work a treat. Best to time your trip around a tide change.

I usually like the top of the tide then fish the run out until it gets too strong to keep a bait in the strike zone. It’s good to drift with the bait. Schools of fish will normally sit near the pipeline and around the tip of the north wall of the Seaway, which offers deep water and structures like big rocks on the bottom to attract bait and fish. Always keep a keen eye on the sounder and try to mark the fish and just keep drifting the line until you get a hit. There are still a few Mangrove Jack, Trevally and Tailor around, which are always welcome bycatch if things are a bit slow.

Quotes from the Boats

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“From now until September at least we can expect some better fishing and weather. Over the last week I have noticed another big jump in Flathead numbers throughout the local system, with the water temperature dipping to around 21 to 23 degrees and higher air pressure. Their average size is increasing too, although many were 39cm. The water is very clear during run in tides and the bigger ones are easily spooked. MMD soft prawn vibes have been catching heaps of school size Flathead, if you want to try catch a massive one then use the soft glides from My Lure Box. With the tides getting bigger as we near the full moon there will be plenty of Arrow Squid around. They go crazy over Ecogear ZX40 and breamer vibe. The trick is to keep jigging when you feel them grab the lures until you are sure they’re well hooked. Then gently wind them to the surface and net them. If you have wind and tide in the same direction it pays to throw a squid jig out far enough to reach the depth you’re drifting in, then just put the rod in a holder. The wash from wind and other boats gives the jigs ideal movement to attract Squid. This coming week I’ll also be looking for Flounder, Tailor and other surprises the Broadwater is renowned for. I don’t know where all the Sand Crabs are but they have been few and far between for the last six months. The main channel North and South of the seaway, and East and West of Crab Island are worth a look this coming week for Squid and fish. There are definitely less Sand Whiting and more Flathead on all the yabby banks and flats now and increasing numbers of Winter Whiting off the edges into the deeper areas.”

Gavin from Sea Probe Fishing Charters reports:

“Some great catches of Mahi Mahi and few bottom fish starting to show up due to the colder conditions coming through now like Snapper and Jewfish.”

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