Gold Coast

Autumn changes

GOLD COAST David Green

May is an interesting month to fish the Gold Coast, as the water cools slightly and the current drops a bit. So far summer and autumn have been hampered by strong winds, floods, dirty water and a never-ending succession of East Coast low pressure systems giving us a never-ending stream of strong southeasterly winds.

There have been few fishable days, and when the seas have been ok we have been hampered by floodwater on the inshore grounds. Despite this, the mackerel fishing has been quite good, with plenty being caught from Jumpinpin through to the Tweed. It’s very hard to believe the stock is at 17% of its baseline!

Out on the continental shelf there tends to be a lot of surface eddies in May. It is a good idea to look at the sea surface temperature charts before heading out this month. I think there is a very good chance of finding a blue or striped marlin in May as the current slows down. I find fishing the warmer eddies, as shown on the sea surface temperature charts, is often more productive than the hot straight southbound currents commonly found in summer.

As well as marlin, there is often the odd wahoo, mahimahi and yellowfin tuna in May. I have also found the blue marlin are a bit bigger this month with fish around 180kg turning up quite frequently. For this reason I always troll 37kg tackle in May when fishing wide of the continental shelf. It pays to put out a smaller lure well out the back this month as there is always a good chance of a nice yellowfin tuna. Straight running bullet heads can be very effective.

In closer to shore, both the 50 and 36 fathom reefs should see the fishing improve this month as the water cools down. Snapper, pearl perch, kingfish and amberjacks all increase in numbers over the month and a lot of the local charter boats shift their attention from trolling to bottom fishing. Deep dropping using electric Gold Coast and the Tweed Nine Mile Reef can also be productive this month, and the mackerel and wahoo are generally quite solid. If you can high speed troll metal headed skirts at dawn you are in with a great chance, especially at the Nine Mile. Trolled dead baits can also be very effective. There is quite often a good run of big spotted mackerel at Palm Beach Reef in May. It is thought that this is the ‘return run’ of fish heading north after their southern migration. Some of these fish are around 7kg in weight. Trolling live baits from A decent flathead caught by Sue Sullivan.

The author had fun catching this mackerel from the Diamond Reef.

reels is another good option this month chasing flame snapper and bar cod. Depths between 150 and 350m should produce some good fishing this month.

The southern reefs of the a downrigger is probably the best way to catch a big Spanish mackerel this month. The Diamond Reef on the 24 fathom line east of Southport has produced thousands of mackerel this season.

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The close reefs also fish well at night this month, especially when there is a tide change around dusk. The artificial reefs in 23m of water just north of the Seaway are turning into very consistent producers of mulloway at night with fish averaging around a metre long. There should still be mahimahi around the FADs in 36 and 50 fathoms. RIVERS

AND ESTUARIES

May is a great month to chase a wide range of species in the entrances of the Gold Coast Seaway and Jumpinpin. Hopefully the water from the recent floods will have dissipated and the fishing will improve. When the westerlies start to blow bream, mullet and luderick start to build up in numbers prior to spawning. At the same time that this happens there are usually big schools of white pilchards moving into the estuaries, and these plus white bait attract plenty of tailer, small queenies and on the sand flats flathead become very active. The mullet schools attract big predators such as sharks, mulloway and dolphins.

If you love your flathead fishing May is the first month to get really serious about it. Clean clear cool water and plenty of bait make good conditions for chasing flathead on lures. Most of the fish are between 40 and 60cm and can be caught on trolled lures, plastics, metal vibes and soft vibes. Bream are a very common form of by-catch. It will be interesting to see if we can find a few big fish up on the flats this month by working large unweighted stick baits this month. This method caught quite a few 70cm+ fish throughout the summer months. The key seems to be to work the flats early in the morning when the water is pushing in over the top of flats in about 30cm of water. These fish are chasing big baits such as mullet, eels and whiting and want a big lure.

Garfish are another good option this month, and the weed beds around Crab Island and Wave Break Island are worth a look on the run in tide. Use a berley of bread and tuna oil in a mesh bag and let the berley drift back in the current. A small quill float and a piece of prawn is usually the best method. In May, you will catch a mix of snub-nosed gar and sea gar and both make great troll baits and are good eating.

Other options this month include mulloway on live baits and soft plastics in both the Seaway and Jumpinpin entrances, whiting on poppers and baits, bream in the seaway and canals and there should still be a few mangrove jack around in the Seaway that respond to small live baits. May is a good month to fish Gold Coast estuaries and as the water cools the fishing gets better and better and the weather is generally quite calm.

Tight lines and good fishing.