QUEENSLAND Gold Coast

GOLD COAST David Green

With the upcoming one-month closed season for snapper and pearl perch beginning this month, anglers will have to change their tactics as two of the most popular species will be off the menu from the 15 July until the 15 August.

So far this season the offshore fishing has been excellent, with a lot of big pearl perch turning up on the wider grounds. The closed season will be a good time to explore other options, such as deep dropping out beyond the 200m line and chasing kingfish, amberjack and samsonfish. It is also a good time to target striped and blue marlin with the chance of catching good yellowfin on the wider grounds.

Cobia are another good target this month and recently a 44kg fish was caught on the close reefs off Southport. Cobia always turn up at the same time the hump back whales arrive off the Gold Coast. To catch cobia on a reliable basis, nothing beats a good berley trail and a large live bait. They aren’t overly fussy when it comes to what type of live bait you use. I’ve caught them on tailor, slimy mackerel, tarwhine, goat fish, snapper and teraglin. The key is to have a sizeable offering that is quite active, and to berley using pilchards or chopped tuna.

Cobia are a great fighting fish on light tackle, as they are extremely strong. They also respond to soft plastics and drifted strip baits. Good areas to try this month are the 18 fathom reef off Surfers, the Blocks (artificial reefs in 23m of water just north of the Seaway), 27 fathoms north-east, and

Big mulloway have been caught at night using live mullet around the eddies in the Seaway. Ross McCubbin with a tasty flathead.

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on the inshore wrecks where they sometimes turn up in numbers. Most of the winter cobia are big, averaging over 15kg.

Out wider on the 36 and 50 fathom line there should be good snapper and pearl perch in the early part of the month before the commencement of the closed season. The best way to get a feed of good snapper is to fish a tide change at dawn or dusk and use good fresh strip baits, pilchards or soft plastics. Already this year some great snapper over 8kg have been landed on the Cathedrals Reef and on the 36 fathom line. Pearl perch are a good target on the 50 fathom reef but there are a few isolated patches of reef in 100-120m that are very productive when the current slows down.

At night on the inshore grounds, there should be some good mulloway fishing on the 18 and 24 fathom line. Live slimy should be quite good this month. If there are schools of slimies or sauris around striped marlin won’t be far away, and Spot X is always worth a look in July using both live baits and lures. RIVERS

AND ESTUARIES

After a good wet season and a long period of good water conditions the estuaries are primed to produce some great fish this month.

The annual mullet run has begun early this year and a lot of fish will spawn this month. Bream, mulloway, luderick and mullet all congregate around the river mouths and entrances this month. Flathead fishing should be great this month. My good mate Ross McCubbin caught 63 flathead today up to 78cm, which is great fishing so early in the season.

Big mulloway are a good target species this month. Most of the bigger are very active. The area from Crab Island through to Jumpinpin should see plenty of flathead action. Work the draining channels using soft vibes, plastics, blades and small hardbodied lures. Trolling the extensive flats can also be very productive. There have already been a few big crocodiles caught this season, and working the flats on high tide with shallow hardbodies, swim baits and big soft plastics should produce quite a few bigger fish. If the wind blows strongly from the north or North West the fishing can be quite tough and it pays to look for patches of cleaner water.

Squid are another good target this month and in the day can be caught by working squid jigs over the top of the weed beds at high tide.

In general the best conditions are a high tide, a still calm day and clean clear water. There have

The author with a decent kingfish. They will be a top target when the snapper and pearl perch closure comes into effect.

mackerel are the best bait and nearly all the action starts after sunset and into the night. Most of these fish are between 100-115cm long and at times it is possible to catch your bag limit very quickly.

Due to barotrauma these fish are almost impossible to release in good condition, but they are a great table fish. Sharks have been a problem this season so it pays to use heavy drag and get them to the boat quickly.

For the game fisher, there will still be a few blue and striped marlin around on the edge of the continental slope with the chance of yellowfin tuna as well. If the water temperatures stay over 23ºC the game fishing fish will be caught at night using live mullet around the eddies in the Seaway and around the mouth of Swan Bay near Jumpinpin. The best time to fish is around the change of high tide. Some of these fish are between 120-130cm long and the bigger fish target the large schools of tiger mullet that school up at night along the rock walls.

A cautious approach is required, minimising noise and light on the water. I’ve been chasing these fish for many years and most of my bigger fish have been caught in July. Both the period around the full moon and the new moon fish well.

Flathead fishing will be great this month. There is plenty of bait and the fish been plenty of arrow squid and a few big tiger squid (northern calamari) around this winter. I find it is important to change your lure fairly regularly until you find the lure the squid are most responsive to.

Overall, July is a fantastic month to come and fish the Gold Coast. There are always plenty of options and the day time lure fishing available in the Broadwater can be quite exciting across a range of species.

If you are passionate about catching your first decent mulloway this is the best month of the year to get out there and do it. Just remember the closed one month ban on snapper and pearl perch comes into effect on the 15 July.