Mountains of mulloway

JUMPINPIN

Bo Sawyer

Hope you’ve all had a fantastic month and caught plenty of fish. We are shaping up for a cracker of a winter season and should see plenty of nice fish coming in over June.

Water temperatures have come way down from previous weeks and sitting in the low 20s at the time of writing. Expect these to drop further over the coming weeks and take notice of where the warmer water is sitting (most likely closer to the Pin Bar). Water quality has been great but on the bigger tides the run out can bring some dirtier water along with it as the system gets a good flush with the added flow.

The flathead fishing should go nuts over the coming weeks with the flats being the best option to target them. I prefer fishing for them on sand flats at this time of year over mud flats as sand will hold smack a few of them. Use 10-14lb fluorocarbon leader and 1/4oz weight jigheads with 3/0 hooks. If bait is your preferred method then chuck on pillies, prawns or white bait. You could even soft vibes and 7” plastics, however live mullet and pike are a great option as well. The tide changes are definitely the pick of the tides, as the current slackens that’s when they are the most active.

Plenty of monster bream are making their way around as well. Logan River mouth has been holding a fair few, as well as Kalinga Bank and Millionaires. Lightly weighted yabbies or white bait are a great option and you can never go past mullet strips. Small 2.5” plastics on 1/8oz jigheads with a size 1 hook are an extremely fun way to target these species.

The Gold Coast Sportfishing Club are holding an amazing bream tournament through the QTS competition and I encourage bream anglers to have a crack. It’s a tonne of fun and there are some great cash prizes available.

You can still target whiting in the colder months, however, the numbers will be reduced. The best baits are live worms and yabbies on a lightly weighted rig and long shank hook. Try working the shallow flats and keep your bait moving with the current when more heat- and flathead appreciate this with cold mornings and nights around. This time last year we had multiple sessions of 50-70 fish being caught on 3-4” plastics around the Jacobs Well area. If you can get a low tide lined up with a dawn or dusk period then you should be able to book a charter with us and see first hand how good lure fishing can be on this wonderful species. Places to look are Crusoe Island, Tiger Mullet channel, Pandanus Island and any sand banks around the Jacobs Well area.

Some stonker mulloway have been showing up throughout the whole system. The Pin Bar is your best bet for the bigger models but you’ll get them all the way up the river systems as well. Sound over deep holes or along deep drop off ledges and look for activity. We’ve been getting some nice models on 95mm possible.

That’s it from me this month, please stay safe out there on the water. Good luck to everyone fishing the King of the Pin! Don’t forget to stop off at Jacobs Well Bait and Tackle to stock up on bait and supplies. Tight lines.

• Capn’s Charters have dates available if you’d like to come out and learn how to fish lures or maybe just brush up on some fishing tactics, we’d love to have you on board! Call 0410 590 049 or email bookings@ capnscharters.com.au.