Fishing Report

As we approach winter, the mornings are getting cooler, but we’ve been lucky to experience some great weather lately. Last weekend and early this week, the Gold and Tweed Coasts had a lingering big swell, making offshore conditions more suitable for those with bar crossing experience. However, the weekend ahead is looking promising, with light W/SW winds on Saturday and a dropping swell on Sunday, accompanied by light NE winds. If you’re planning to head offshore, make sure to check the latest forecast.

Let’s dive into what’s been biting this week.

Targeting Flathead in the Broadwater and Jumpinpin

The weather this week has been ideal for targeting Flathead in the Broadwater and Jumpinpin areas. With light winds, casting and trolling lures have been much more enjoyable. The cool weather has brought in good numbers of Flathead, especially feeding on bait schools in the main channels and rivers. May, June, and July are excellent months to catch school-sized Flathead ranging from 40 to 50cm. When covering a larger area, trolling hard body lures is the most effective method, allowing you to target different depths quickly. Remember that Flathead are ambush predators, so trolling with the current increases your hook-up rate. Soft vibes like the Wilson Fish Trap are great for deep water, as they have an irresistible action. Once you locate fish, spot locking with an electric motor or anchoring and casting with soft plastics can yield multiple rewards. Some recommended spots to try include Wave Break Island, Crab Island, Aldershots, Coomera River, Pimpama River, Neverfails, Tipplers Passage, Dux, Jacobs Well, Bedrooms, Tiger Mullet Channel, Kalinga Bank, Logan River, and Russell Island.

Offshore Fishing Update and Best Day to Head Out

At the time of writing this report, Sunday appears to be the best day to venture offshore. The swell is expected to drop off after peaking on Friday and Saturday. As always, I recommend checking the most up-to-date forecast before hitting the water. This week, fishers have enjoyed great conditions with light winds and a smaller swell, providing a favorable weather window to catch a delicious feed. On the closer reefs around the 18 to 24 fathom grounds, a nice mixed bag of Snapper, Spangled Emperor, Tusk Fish, Moses Perch, Maori Cod, and Jewfish has been landed. As winter approaches and water temperatures drop, fishing is expected to improve even further. The 36 and 50 fathom grounds are starting to yield better results, with Pearl Perch, Snapper, Tusk Fish, Trag Jew, Amberjack, Samson, and Yellow Tail Kingfish being caught. The best baits to use are WA Pilchards, Whole Large Squid, Bonito Fillet, Mullet Fillet, and Live baits.

Surf Fishing Tips and Tailor Bite

With the swell easing a bit, it’s a great time to hit the surf gutters. You can expect good-sized Tailor from the Tweed Coast up to South Stradbroke Island. The best bite periods for surf fishing are early morning or late afternoon into the evening. During daylight hours, casting metal slugs and surface walkers is an effective way to cover different areas and locate actively feeding fish. Keep an eye out for birds diving into the water or fish swimming in the waves—they’re always positive signs worth casting towards. At night, try using whole WA Pilchards, Bonito Fillet, and Mullet Fillet rigged on a 3 x gang of 4/0 hooks for optimal results.

Quotes from  the Boats

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“The big news last week was the incredible amount of rain we received with some areas along the coast and the upper catchments receiving over 150 mm in the gauges. This is super exciting as this is going to fire the start of our winter season right up. The Flathead and School Jew should be right on the chew next week and when the water starts to clear up a bit more, we might see the start of some big Tailor moving into the Tweed River. If the Tailor don’t come in the next couple of weeks, the full moon in June should almost guarantee their arrival with some big schools of Sea Bream also coming up the river to spawn.”

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“This week the Arrow Squid continued to spread throughout the Broadwater. Just like fish they are not always easy to catch. The best time to catch them is the last three hours of run-in tides, and first two hours of run out. This week we have caught them at Southport, Marina Mirage, Biggera, and North Currigee. Ecogear and Fish Inc squid jigs work well for me, while Ecogear ZX40 vibes also catch an amazing number of Squid on my charters. Flounder, Flathead, and Winter Whiting are a common bycatch while jigging zx’s for Squid. When the wind has been lighter and drifting has been possible there are lots of Flathead to be caught on zx’s, MMD prawn vibes, and Zman plastics. The rain we had last week has dirtied up the river water and is noticeable on the run-out tides. While estuary fish don’t like these sudden changes at first, we will notice the benefits in coming weeks and months with some great fishing.”

Gavin from Sea Probe Fishing Charters reports:

“Bottom fishing off the Gold Coast is still a bit up and down at times, but we have still been catching some nice Trag Jew, Pearlies, Tuskies, Snapper and some nice Jew around. Dolphin Fish are still around on the fads for maybe another month and they will go a little quiet when the weather cools down.”

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. mail@coomerahouseboats.com.au.

Stay up to date with all fishing regulations in Queensland https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries

Hire a tinnie with your Coomera Houseboat hire to maximise your fishing range on the water:  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