QUEENSLAND Gold Coast

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 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 Sue Sullivan with an excellent example of a big eye trevally. 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

colour to be very reliable when fished on a 5/8-1oz jighead, depending on the water depth.

Spinning with metal lures, soft plastics and stick baits in close to shore can be a good option this month. Tailor, mackerel tuna and bonito should be around in reasonable numbers. There will also be the occasional longtail tuna just off the surf line, especially just to the south of the Jumpinpin Bar. ESTUARIES

Flathead are a major target species this month. Unfortunately, due to Covid, the Flathead Classic will be a virtual tournament this year but the flathead fishing has been very good so far this season. Up on the flats, particularly on high tide early in the morning, there should be quite a few big fish over 70cm long. These are quite susceptible to swim baits, shallow running hardbodies and large long soft plastic stick baits such as Sluggo’s and Silstar Slapsticks. The secret is to use minimal weight and work the lure in a series of long sweeps. It is important that the lure maintains a horizontal lie.

Another great lure to try is the Storm Jigging Eel fish on a 10/0 worm hook. Trolling is also very effective in the feeder channels and up on the flats. Lively lures Micro Mullets and Zerek Tango Shads are both very effective troll lures. In deeper water try the smaller Bomber Long A deep diver, Jonesy’s lures or the Tilsan Bass. These get down to in excess of 4m and it is important to have your lure close to or on the bottom.

Mangrove jack become increasingly active in October as the water warms and there is increased baitfish activity up in the canals. Casting suspending hardbodied lures such as Lucky Craft Pointers, Tango Shads in the medium size or some of the Atomic range can be very effective, as are 4” paddle tail plastics in white. Surface poppers are another useful lure in the canals, particularly early in the morning. In October both the Nerang and Coomera rivers can fish very well. Quite a few fish around 50cm can turn up this month.

As well as jacks, expect

Kord Luckas with a bar cod and flame snapper. Deep dropping your lures to about 250m has really produced good results this month. giant and big eye trevally and a few estuary cod. There is also a chance of catching a barramundi, which seem to becoming more common every season.

Whiting become increasingly active this month and there should be a few mud crabs and sand crabs starting to show up. It is a good month to start throwing a few small poppers and stick baits over the flats. Catching whiting on poppers is a fun way to fish between checks of your crab pots. A few fish around 40cm in length turn up early in the season. My favourite surface lure for whiting is the Bassday Sugar Pen.

Due to Covid it is hard to predict what our fishing will be like this month. Hopefully the restrictions in NSW will start to ease off and life will hopefully start to return to normal, but I think that is a long way off yet. Please get vaccinated!

Chaydon Jay and Jack Booth caught this great snapper while float lining off the Gold Coast with Avenger Fishing Charters.

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