Fishing Monthly - Latest Fishing Reports


	These reports are updated weekly. Last Edited: Tuesday, 15 June 2004 Quick Jump Links: Gold Coast, Moreton Bay, Freshwater, Bribie Is & Caloundra, Sunshine Coast, Hervey Bay, Bundaberg, Yeppoon, Stanage Bay, Mackay, Whitsundays. Townsville, Hinchinbrook. Mission Beach, Karumba, Cairns, Port Douglas. C ooktown, Weipa, Archived Reports, Weather & Tides.
COMPILED WEEKLY BY GARRY SMITH IN CAIRNS: e-mail: lavallesmith@iig.com.au

Gold Coast

The weather has been reasonable over the last week, though the wind did spring up at times late in the week.

Plenty of boats headed offshore last week to chase fish from the bottom. Not a lot of pelagics were targeted, although down at Tweed there were a few nice mackerel and wahoo taken. Trolling Halco minnows and Hexhead skirts was the best way to cover plenty of water searching for the fish. There are usually plenty of mack tuna about right along the coast but most people ignore these as nuisance fish. They make top bait and are also a great sportfish on light spin gear.

Most anglers fished the bottom for a mixed bag of reef fish. Early morning and late afternoons on the shallow reefs have been producing some very respectable catches. A few larger snapper have been on the move and at least one over three kilos can usually be picked up. Using pilchards on a two hook rig, with very little weight, as well as lots of burley seems to bring the fish in. Plenty of tailor, parrotfish and a few nice trag are also caught this way.

On the deeper reefs there have been some good squire, parrot, trag and pigfish taken, along with the odd pearl perch and larger snapper. The best baits were pillies, flesh baits and live slimie mackerel. Live slimies and yakkas fished on the 50 fathom line produced some excellent sampson fish, as well as decent yellowtail kingfish. Jigging heavy metals like Knife Jigs was also a great way to target these bigger fish.

The estuaries have been fishing very well of late and this continued last week. Plenty of anglers have been targeting bream from the entrances, right up into the brackish sections of the rivers with good success. Casting soft plastics and small hard-bodied lures around structure in the upper sections of rivers and around canal estates has produced plenty of nice fish. Closer to the entrances soft plastics around beacons, pontoons and moored boats yielded some nice fish as did baits. Yabbies, whitebait, mullet gut, flesh baits and small live herring were the pick of the offerings but bream will take almost any bait when they are on the bite.

Some good whiting have been taken around Chevron Island and the Council Chambers on bloodworms and yabbies. They have also turned up in reasonable numbers on the eastern side of Crab Island and at the entrance to Brown’s Bay.

Some nice school flathead have been taken in the Broadwater and further up the rivers. Trolling small hard-bodied minnows like Tilsans, Crawdads and Mann’s Stretch 5+ has been catching plenty of fish, as has soft plastics and live mullet or herring. A few trevally and estuary cod have also fallen to live baits and diving minnows around bridges and holes in the Nerang.

The Seaway has been fishing well for bream and tailor, as well as the odd jewfish and yellowtail kingfish. Jewies and kingfish have been taken from the pipeline and in front of Wavebreak on live mullet, tailor and soft plastics and flies. Bream could be taken spinning whitebait from the walls or fishing small live mullet. Throwing metal lures along the northern rock wall on an incoming tide has produced plenty of chopper tailor, as well as the odd greenback and trevally.

The beaches continued to fish very well last week, with tailor the main target. Fishing in the deeper gutters around dawn and dusk has produced plenty of these fish. Pilchards have been working very well on ganged hooks, as have Raider and Sniper metal slugs. Areas to try are South Straddie, the Spit, Narrowneck, Broadbeach, Burleigh and Fingal.

There have also been quite a few good bream and tarwhine in the deeper gutters and a half pillie or a frogmouth works the best for these fish. Beachworms will also take the odd bream but mainly produce large dart in the deeper gutters. There hasn’t been a lot of whiting about but a few have been taken along the Spit on beachworms and pippies.

Hinze Dam has been pretty quiet for the last couple of weeks, although the persistent and flexible anglers can still score a few fish. Rolling spinnerbaits or slow jigging soft plastics around the shallow bays and weed beds early in the morning has been producing a few nice bass. There has also been a few bass schooling up in the deeper water but a lot of effort has to be put in to entice these shutdown fish. Using live shrimp and garden worms has produced quite a few small bass from the bank adjacent to the boat ramp. A few yellowbelly have been taken on deep-diving minnows in the upper reaches of the dam.

John Polson & Paul Revie
The Fisherman Pty Ltd
Sporty's Warehouse
32 Strathaird Rd. Surfers Paradise
Gold Coast. QLD 4217
Australia
Phone: +61 7 5531 6511
Mobile: +61 418 751220
www.thefisherman.com.au