Gold Coast

Reefs rev up in the rain

GOLD COAST David Green

Summer and autumn had more rain than I ever remember! Floods and rough seas have limited access to the offshore grounds this year, but the rain has invigorated the reefs and, if the weather returns to a more normal pattern, the fishing should be excellent on the offshore grounds this month.

If the water clears up and the westerly winds blow, cobia are a good target species on the inshore grounds this month. Already a few good fish over 15kg have turned up on the artificial reefs just north of the bar, and these great fish should increase in numbers this month. 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 and on light tackle take quite a while to get on board. 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 northeast and Mermaid Reef. The wreck of the Sea Dragon, north east of Jumpinpin Bar, is another good spot.

Out wider on the 36 and 50 fathom line there should be good snapper and pearl perch this month prior to the closed season that commences on the 15th of this month. Snapper fishing has been very patchy over the past few seasons and the water has remained quite warm over most of winter. There are also a lot of smaller 28-30cm fish around which may reflect over fishing in the area. 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. Each season just seems to get a bit tougher, but there are still some excellent fish around. A lot of anglers are moving to wider grounds in the closed snapper season and fish the 200-300m depths targeting flame snapper and bar cod.

At night on the inshore grounds there should be some good mulloway fishing on the 18 and 24 fathom line. Live slimy 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.

For the game fishers 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 should be quite good this month. Blue marlin can be caught in every month of the year off the Gold Coast. RIVERS

AND ESTUARIES

After months of rain and flooding, the Gold Coast estuaries are primed to produce some great fishing. July is a great month to fish the Gold Coast estuaries and there is a lot of fish movement throughout the system as migrating schools of bream, sea mullet, tiger mullet and black bream move towards the entrances in preparation for spawning. Flathead become a lot more active as the water starts to cool down.

Big mulloway are a good target species this month. Most of the bigger fish are 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.

Flathead fishing should improve this month and a lot of 40-60cm flathead should be active in the central part of the Broadwater, from Crab Island through to Tippler’s Passage. Work the draining channels using soft vibes, plastics, blades and small hardbodied lures. Trolling the extensive flats can also be very productive. If the water clears up the fishing should be quite good. If the wind blows strongly from the north or northwest 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 been plenty of big tiger squid around this winter and they make excellent eating and some of the bigger ones are nearly a kilo in weight. I find it is important to change your lure fairly regularly until you find the lure the squid are most responsive to. I like the Yamashita jigs. They are a bit more expensive but last quite well and catch a lot of squid.

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. Be careful of strong westerly winds this month, and hopefully we won’t be subjected to endless rain!

Big mulloway, like this 22kg specimen, are a top target this month.

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A pretty flame snapper found in 200-300m deep water.