Fishing Report

With the addition of the unusual warm weather, fishing enthusiasts along the Gold and Tweed Coasts have been making the most of the favourable conditions. The mornings have gradually gotten cooler along with the weather this week, light winds most mornings this combined with a run out tide has given fishos some great conditions for chasing Flathead inshore or heading offshore for a feed of reef fish. Saturday is looking like the pick of the days for heading out on the water with light SE/NE winds forecast and a smaller swell. From Sunday onwards the Southerly winds kick along with showers on rain forecast making conditions harder.

Flathead Fishing

The morning runout tide has proven to be the prime time for targeting Flathead. Look for areas with several drains running off a sandbank, as these are ideal spots for Flathead to ambush passing baitfish. Use your sounder to locate baitfish or observe splashing in the general area as indicators of potential fishing hotspots. Drifting or trolling around the area is an effective way to cover more ground and find active fish. Soft plastics, sift vibes, hardbody lures, and drifting baits such as Pilchards, Mullet Fillet, Herring, or Yabbies have all yielded successful catches. If you encounter weed in certain areas, don’t hesitate to move to deeper waters where weed is less prevalent. Recommended spots for Flathead fishing include Wavebreak Island, Crab Island, Brown Island, Sovereign Island, Neverfails, Tipplers Passage, Aldershots, Jacobs Well, Bedrooms, Kalinga Bank, Crusoe Island, Tiger Mullet Channel, Cabbage Tree Point, and the Logan River.

Offshore Reef

The local offshore reefs have been productive, offering a variety of species for anglers venturing out. Snapper have been particularly abundant off the Gold Coast. Starting early to catch the sunrise bite time is advantageous, and thorough sounder readings are crucial for locating fish before casting lines. Anchoring up is recommended when the fish are concentrated, while drifting over the area works best when they are more spread out. Float lining is an effective method, allowing you to control the sink rate of your bait for a more natural presentation. The 18 and 24 fathom reefs have yielded great catches of Snapper, Cobia, Jewfish, Moses Perch, Spangled Emperor, Tusk Fish, Trag Jew, and Maori Cod. Meanwhile, the 36 and 50 fathom grounds have seen good numbers of Snapper, Pearl Perch, Trag Jew, Cobia, Yellow Tail Kingfish, Amberjack, Tusk Fish, and Samson Fish. Whole large Squid, WA Pilchards, Mullet Fillet, Bonito Fillet, live Yakkas, and Slimy Mackerel are highly recommended as bait options.

Remember to always check the most updated weather forecast before planning your fishing trip. With these tips, you’ll be well-prepared to make the most of your fishing adventures along the Gold and Tweed Coasts. Tight lines and happy fishing!

Quotes from  the Boats

Brad from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“Here we are again at the end of another week and the perfect weather that comes with this time of the year just keeps coming. The scenery of the volcanic mountain ranges that surround the Tweed were so pronounced with the clear blue skies. Match this with some astounding fishing and the resident dolphins often playing around my boat always reminds me how good my office really is. Well once again it was Flatties and more Flatties queuing up to take our lures with deep jigging the Samaki vibelicous and Ecogear ZX 40 vibes, and trolling Pontoon 21 crackjacks and Slam minnows that were achieving fantastic results. The other species caught were Bream and Tailor and a few hard fighting School Jew.”

Clint from Brad Smith Fishing Charters reports:

“I love this time of year. Every season has highlights but there’s a few things very special about winter on the Gold Coast. The weather is often perfect, cool mornings turn into comfortably warm days. The fishing is good a lot of the time. This week once again there was plenty of Flathead on the chew, the shallows get better as the water warms through the days. They are all through the deeper water too, as always vibes being the best lures there and soft plastics on the shallow flats. Squid, Flounder, Winter Whiting, Tailor are all also around. Although I’ve barely tried for Squid this week with so many fish available to catch. This coming week we have morning run out tides which is great for Flathead fishing, and full moon is on Monday 3 July. The lead up to that will see some exciting fishing. There will be some Westerly winds which are ideal for Tailor fishing at the beaches. Best lures have been Zman plastics, Ecogear ZX40, and Samaki Vibelicious. Natural colours work best as the water is clean and weather calm. A new lure I’ve been fishing this week is the Marker 54 prawnlet. These incredibly natural looking products come pre rigged and in a four pack, and in seven different colours. They are best on light braid connected to 6 lb leader. I smear some Sax scent UV prawn on them then flick and pause, or just throw out and leave the rod in a holder and they get aggressively grabbed by fish. “

Gavin from Sea Probe Fishing Charters reports:

“Fishing on the 50-fathom reef has still been great with Snapper, Pearl Perch plus Kingfish and Amberjacks. Live bait and pilchards working the best using bottom bashers or float lining. Also, the close reefs still producing nice size Silver Jew.”

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