Southern
OLD
Plenty of optimism for October GOLD COAST
David Green
On the wider grounds the current is unseasonably warm and a surprising number of marlin are being caught from the 36 fathom line east. Graham McCloy fishing from his game boat, Kaboom, recently caught a 740lb blue marlin, an exceptional fish for August. In October there are often
good schools of yellowfin tuna around the 1000m line, and there is always the chance of a blue or striped marlin from the 100m line and beyond. There may also be a few striped marlin on the 36 and 50 fathom reefs with the odd black marlin turning up as well. If the water is blue and there are gannets and sauris leaping out of the water, it is definitely worth a troll. Deep dropping in 250-300m
of water is worth a go this month when the current is slow; there have been excellent catches of bar cod and flame snapper at the time of writing. Hopefully we can stay out of lockdown and enjoy some great fishing this month. Snapper will still be around in numbers on the 36 fathom line this month, although most fish have spawned by this time and the numbers drop off a bit. After
Sue Sullivan with an excellent example of a big eye trevally.
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OCTOBER 2021
the closed season was over in mid-August the snapper fishing has been very good. There should also be good numbers of pearl perch on the 50 fathom line and any isolated pinnacles you find out to 150m will also produce pearl perch. October is an excellent month to chase kingfish, amberjack and samsonfish on the wider reefs using live baits and jigs. Some of the biggest amberjack of the year turn up in October. The high pinnacles at the northern end of the 50 Fathom Reef can be particularly productive in October, with the odd fish over 30kg turning up. Most of the bigger fish fall to live baits. In closer to shore, the water is generally cooler. The 18 and 24 fathom reefs should produce a few snapper, teraglin, tailor and the odd cobia and at night there should still be a few nice mulloway on live baits and pilchards. Anchoring up and berleying is a great method to try, and if you keep a good constant berley trail of tuna, chopped pilchards or any oily fish you will attract fish in from a considerable distance. Mulloway catches on
The author with a nice flathead. They will be a prime target this month. the offshore grounds have been excellent and these fish should still be around in October. A deep live bait and a second fished mid water and a third rig with a slow sinking pilchard is a reliable
way to cover all available options. Soft plastics can also be extremely useful for both snapper and cobia. I have found 7” Gulp Jerk Shads in white or nuclear chicken To page 23
