jobfish to be caught. Closer to shore, there should be a few mulloway on the inshore reefs at night and teraglin and tailor should be around, as well as a few early season mackerel. However, December is usually a much better month
to chase pelagics rather than bottom fish. ESTUARIES December sees the water in the estuaries warm up and whiting, mud and sand crabs and mangrove jacks become a lot more active. There are
The author with a heap of tasty crabs.
still a few big flathead around on the sand and mud flats and mulloway in the deeper parts of the estuaries. If you like a challenge, it can be a good month to chase the elusive barramundi, particularly after periods of heavy rain. Each year, more and more barra are turning up on the Gold Coast. Whiting bite best on a run in-tide when fishing the central part of the Broadwater. As the water pushes up onto the yabby flats, big schools move up to feed. Casting unweighted yabbies is a very effective method and by casting down wind and using very light line, good numbers can be caught most days. Some of these whiting are over 40cm long and are superb eating. If there are small prawns around, surface poppers and small clear stickbaits are also effective. The key is to wind quickly and don’t pause the retrieve at all. Small assist hooks are often more effective than trebles. My favourite whiting lure is the Bassday Sugapen in a clear colour. Translucent, clear or pale colours tend to work best when chasing whiting on the flats. Mangrove jack will be active this month. The floating pontoons in the south arm of the Coomera have been fishing well for jacks and as the water warms, the
fish become more active. Working minnows and shadtailed plastics close to the edge of pontoons works well, and there is often a fair bit of action on surface poppers in December. There are a lot of trophy jacks in this area and fish over 50cm are relatively common. While December usually marks the end of flathead season, there should still be quite a few big fish up on the shallow sand and mud
banks around the Seaway and Jumpinpin. Large shallow running hardbodies and big soft plastic stickbaits are worth trying this month. The last of the run-in tide is generally the best time to fish these spots, and most of the bigger fish should be over 80cm long. December is a good time to chase mud and sand crabs. There have been plenty of decent sand crabs in the Broadwater
throughout spring and these should continue to be in good numbers this month. Work around weed beds in 3-5m of water. Good spots to try for mud crabs include the Pimpama River and Coombabah Creek. Chicken frames are a very reliable bait. Overall, December is generally a very productive month on Gold Coast waters. It is a busy time, so stay safe on the water.
Chloe, Ryan and Taylah Bigalla had a great time at Maroon Dam catching bass.
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