Southern
OLD
School migrations move north GOLD COAST
David Green
In June the water temperature drops on the inshore grounds and a lot of the pelagics start to move north to warmer waters. As the water cools a lot of the fish that migrated south in summer move back north. June is a good time to target big mackerel and wahoo, with big fish
mackerel. Tuna, bonito, tailor and doggie mackerel all make great baits for big Spanish mackerel. Bottom fishing improves this month and snapper, teraglin, parrot fish and pearl perch start to show on the 36 and 50 fathom reefs. Float lining, soft plastics and live baits are all effective. Fish dawn and dusk for the best results. Mulloway start to turn up in numbers on the inshore grounds at night and
Bream will start to show up in decent numbers. over 20kg being quite common. Trolled baits from a downrigger is the best method to catch big
live slimy mackerel, tailer, yellowtail and tarwhine are all effective baits. Cobia are a common
catch in June and the 20 fathom reef is a good place to look for these fantastic fighting fish. Cobia like big soft plastics and large live baits. A lot of berley also helps and it pays to be patient and wait for the fish to come to you. Cobia around 30kg are common in June, although the seasons tend to be quite variable from year to year. The artificial reef located in 23m of water northeast of the Seaway also commonly holds cobia. In general cobia arrive on the Gold Coast at the same time as the migrating pods of whales. The area just east of the Jumpinpin Bar is worth a look on the last of the run in tide. This area holds long tail tuna, some big Spanish mackerel and this year has seen huge numbers of spotted mackerel. Look for the birds and bait schools and cast metal lures, stick baits and large soft plastics. If the water is blue and warm the fishing can be very good in this area. Trolling bibbed minnows or garfish is another good alternative to try. The long tail tuna can sometimes be just at the back of the surf line. Keep your distance and make long casts. A highspeed retrieve is essential, and these tuna are fantastic fighters that can take a long time to wear down. Out on the continental shelf the water generally remains warm throughout the month and it is a good month to chase blue marlin, with increasing numbers of striped marlin showing up as the water cools down a bit. Most of these are caught on trolled lures. These fish are a great challenge from a small boat but for best results invest in a few 37kg trolling outfits. On 24 or 15kg gear it can be nearly impossible to
get the fish up to the surface when they go deep. The most productive depth is generally between 200-400m. As the current slows down deep dropping the wider grounds in depths between 250-500m will produce flame snapper, bar cod, nannygai and blue eye trevalla. There have been quite a few broadbill swordfish hooked as well on bigger baits. ESTUARIES AND RIVERS The change in seasons brings with it a lot of fish movement throughout the estuary. Big schools of mullet start to move towards the entrances. As the water cools and the westerlies start to blow the fishing generally improves. Flathead and bream start to show in numbers and increasing numbers of big mulloway start to move into the estuary at night to feed on the big schools of tiger mullet. If you are targeting flathead, work the central areas of the estuaries and up the creeks. The fish are yet to start their downstream movement in preparation for spawning and most are feeding actively. There are usually quite a few white pilchards in the estuary in June and these attract a lot of attention from tailor and flathead. The water is generally pretty clean in June and this makes for excellent lure fishing. Work the tops of the flats on high tide and the draining channels as the water runs back off. I generally mix trolling and casting at this time of year. While you may catch the odd big flathead, most of the fish encountered are between 40-60cm in length. Trolled Micro Mullets and Zerek Tango Shads are very reliable and catch flathead of all sizes. For casting I like to
Flathead are a great target in the winter months. use a mix of soft vibes like the Fish Trap, small prawns, soft plastics and blades. It pays to experiment as the tastes of our local flathead seem to vary from day to day. I particularly like the Gulp Nemesis 4” model in the fire tiger colour. Mulloway are a good target species this month, and tend to bite best on tide changes in the Seaway and Jumpinpin entrances. Live mullet and live pike are the preferred baits. I like to fish a high tide change between 7 and 10pm and most of the bites come as the water slows down. I prefer to use mono to braid for this type of fishing as the bigger fish are easily spooked and
I’ve noticed that they often drop the bait on braid. The mulloway action increases towards the end of the month and generally peaks in July. During daylight hours the entrance of Swan Bay is a great place to try using live pike or big soft plastics. A lot of mulloway over a metre long are caught here. Use a long trace between your sinker and hook and keep your bait in the eddy if possible. June is very much a month of transition when it comes to fishing on the Gold Coast. Conditions are generally good with calm seas and not much rain. There are plenty of good options this month.
PROVEN WORLD LEADING
ANCHOR DESIGNS
The SARCA EXCEL and SUPER SARCA are certified type approved Super High Holding Power Super Sarca
Sarca Excel
Stick with convex design and leave the mud behind
Designed and manufactured in Australia Check out the holding power figures on www.anchorright.com.au www.anchorright.com.au | 03 5968 5014 18 JUNE 2023
This nannygai was caught while deep dropping in 250m.
