Fishing Monthly - Latest Fishing Reports


	These reports are updated weekly. Last Edited: Wednesday, 30 March 2005 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

There have been strong winds for most of the last week on the Gold Coast. The swell hasn’t been too bad though, so plenty of fishermen have braved the winds and headed offshore.

Mornings were definitely the best time to head through the bars last week, with some nice fish taken off Southport and Tweed. The mackerel have been very patchy but a few spotties were taken on the crowded grounds at Palm Beach and Mermaid. Trolling small skirts and casting pilchards were the most effective methods. Some nice spanish mackerel turned up on the Tweed Nine Mile, along with yellowfin tuna and the occasional wahoo on trolled Halcos and Mackbaits. A few of the larger boats trolled large skirts or small tuna on the 50s and beyond targeting some large (300kg) blue marlin and a few big yellowfin tuna. Trolling skirts and Halcos between the 36 and 50 fathom lines off Southport accounted for a few dolphinfish, yellowfin tuna and mack tuna. The shallow reefs fished well for some quality squire around dawn. Pilchards and fresh fish strips worked well on these fish, and were also effective on parrotfish and trag jew. The 36s produced a mixed bag of fish on pilchards, squid and flesh baits, with squire, parrot, pearl perch and pigfish taken during the week. Jigging heavy metal jigs along the 50 fathom line east of Southport was a good way to connect to a big kingie or amberjack.

There was plenty of action in the estuaries during the week. The Seaway produced some good fish with plenty of bream about. These fish could be targeted from the walls or in boats using whitebait, yabbies and flesh strips. The hole at the end of the north wall produced trevally, tailor, school jew and sharks on soft plastics and live mullet or herring. Working the length of the north wall with metal lures or soft plastics on a short metal trace was a good way to pick up tailor and a few trevally. There have also been some big mangrove jack busting up anglers fishing livebaits or soft plastics around the pipeline. The weedbeds throughout the Broadwater have fished well for gar and a few reasonable bream. Flathead have been prolific in the Broadwater and further up the rivers. Fishing livebaits, small diving lures or soft plastics has been producing plenty of these fish to around 60cm. There have been a few whiting about for those fishing the channels on an incoming tide with bloodworms, yabbies or shrimp. In the upper reaches of the Nerang a few trevally, mangrove jack and cod have been taking minnows, soft plastics and livebaits cast around rockbars and dropoffs.

The beaches have fished well in the early mornings for a mixed bag of fish. Plenty of anglers have been trying for early season tailor at South Straddie, the Spit, Narrowneck and the southern beaches. A few of these fish did turn up just prior to dawn and were landed on pilchards and metal lures. Some reasonable bream and tarwhine were taken in the same areas on pilchards, whitebait and beachworms. The shallow gutters at the Spit and Broadbeach have been producing some good catches of whiting and dart on beachworms and pippies.

Hinze has been fishing very well during the week with some good bass landed. The afternoons and early evenings preceding the storms we experienced were a great time to cast small poppers and surface lures to bass in the inlets and grass fringes. Some great fish to 48cm were landed after smashing lures on the top of the water. Some reasonable Yellowbelly were also taken in the mornings by anglers trolling deep diving lures around the rocky points and steep banks.

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