Winter is finally leaving SOUTHERN GOLD COAST
Mark Ward markward222@bigpond.com
September is another great month for fishing on the Gold Coast. Beach fishing is in a transition phase with plenty of winter and summer species available. In the estuaries the flathead are at their peak as are the snapper for the offshore anglers.
Mile have been the pick of the spots. Land-based and boaties alike have been landing a few from the rocks around Fingal Head and Hastings Point. Local knowledge and excellent weather is an absolute must in these areas, so not for the novice. There have been quiet a few trag jew around as well. Live baits have been working well for the mulloway with strip baits and
Fishing the canals and river mouths will see some of these blokes turn up. Tailor are also keeping beach fishers very happy. OFFSHORE Last month I mentioned that the snapper have been a little patchy – you had to go looking but there were some about. This month they have arrived in numbers. The past few weeks has seen some of the best snapper fishing we’ve seen in years on the southern Gold Coast and Tweed. Fish have been landed from 20m of water all the way out to the 50 fathom line. Paternoster rigs and float lining have both produced some big fish but don’t forget that the shallow reefs can be fished with soft plastics. Some guys have had success dropping a plastic down near the bottom and putting the rod in the rod holder. The swell lifts the plastic up and down putting the action into the lure. I prefer to hold it as the hit and run mentality of the snapper is something I don’t wasn’t to miss. The current has been slow out there so now is the best time to land a snapper on a plastic. Big mulloway have been caught after dark from the close reefs and rocks. Cook Island, the Mud Hole and the eastern edge of the Nine
fresh squid being the pick of the baits for the trag. Out wide there have been some great snapper and pearl perch for the bottom bashers but kingfish have also been smashing jigs and livies on the 50 fathom line. There should even be a few amberjack amongst them. Definitely worth the effort if the weather allows. For something a little sporty, there have been good numbers of school mackerel caught in close to the beach. Fishing around the bait grounds or locating moving schools of bait is your best bet. There was even a confirmed capture of a Spanish mackerel landed by a good mate just recently, so the mackies are still in good form. There have also been reports of long tail tuna being landed further north with some big fish being landed east of the Gold Coast Seaway and Jumpinpin. ESTUARIES It’s all about the flathead at the moment. Bream are also at their best this month as they complete their winter spawn. There is plenty to fish for while the water is cool. The clear cool bait-filled
water of the incoming tides have been working best for flathead and this month will see a lot of bog fish coming towards the entrances of the rivers and creeks to spawn. It’s a great idea to let the big girls go and handle them very carefully at this time of year as they carry anywhere from 294,000-3,948,000 eggs* per fish. That is a lot of fish to place on the BBQ, so keep the smaller males and release the bigger females. Working soft plastics and trolling hardbody lures works well but over the past couple of years vibration baits like metal vibes and the soft Zerek fish traps have also accounted for plenty of fish. The boys that won last year’s Flathead Classic caught most of their fish in deep water working Zerek fish traps, so it may be worth learning how to use them. Good old strip and live baits work very well but once again, the conservationist is coming out in me as I strongly recommend drifting with baits. Majority of the fish will be hooked in the mouth but when fishing from anchor the flathead tend to swallow the hook, and with so many big girls about this time of year we not only have to release them by law but it would be great if they survived as well. Big bream have been landed from the shallows after dark. They can be found around the rocks in Currumbin and Tallebudgera creeks as well as the Tweed River. Most of these fish have finished the annual spawning run but are hungry and chasing prawns, crabs and baitfish around the rocks at night. Fish with some finesse. Light line and light or even no sinker if the current permits. Finesse fishing for bream is light, quiet and gentle right up to the bite and take in the shallows. It is then that all hell breaks loose. The rocky headlands of the southern Gold Coast and Tweed region are also producing some mulloway. Long cold nights can be very rewarding for those patient enough to hang in there. Tweed is also in the middle of a luderick run. Boyds Bay has always been the spot for chasing luderick but any area that has rock or artificial structure with weed growing on it will produce. A good berley trail will get them biting and the greener the weed the better. BEACHES Tailor have been keeping many beach anglers happy and the size has been impressive this year. We had a big run of little choppers early in the season and now the bigger fish are coming through. Spinning with metal lures or using pilchards for
It’s flathead time. Fish such as this will be common during September. bait have always been the best techniques. I have had a lot of anglers talk to me about working gutters that look great but don’t hold any fish. It’s hard when you are on foot to keep moving but fact is they are where they are. They migrate up and down
various gutters until you find one that’s full of fish. As soon as your rod bends it will attract anglers like seagulls to a chip because all the tailor anglers know that these fish move and finding a gutter that is working at the time is the secret to success. It can also be the hard part.
Snapper are about in good numbers at the moment. The slower current makes it ideal for jigging plastics on the shallow reefs. the coast and sometimes the gutter will be loaded with fish and other times it can be frustratingly bare. When fishing from a 4WD on beaches like Moreton and Fraser islands, it’s easy to continually move up and down the beach working
But if you are not mobile, my advice is to keep trying. I can guarantee that if you have a nice gutter on your favourite stretch of beach and you’re persistent, you are going to have some good sessions during the season. A lot of fish usually mean
a big school of choppers or small tailor but catching the odd one here and there will often mean big greenbacks. I do wish I could be more comprehensive than that but after 40 years of tailor fishing, that is all that I have learned. Find the fish and they are the easiest thing in the ocean to catch. Mulloway have been landed along the beaches south of the Tweed. Beaches from Kingscliff, Pottsville and Hastings Point have all been productive but I am told that the bigger fish have been landed around the rocks. Beach worms are fantastic bait for the big mulloway, but unless you have plenty of money you’ll need to learn how to catch them yourself. It can take one big worm or two to three smaller ones to bait up a big hook for a mulloway. Fresh strip baits and fresh squid also work well. I like to cut the bloody strip of flesh that makes up the lateral line of mackerel after I fillet them. This is good bait for mulloway and snapper. During the school holidays, families can get down the beach and enjoy plenty of whiting, bream, dart and the odd flathead from the gutters. Worms and pipis make great all round bait but if it’s dart you are after, the secret is yabbies. Even though you never see a yabby swimming around in the surf the dart go crazy over them. Plenty of options this month and the colder mornings should be behind us.
*Sourced from NSW DPI research. Reference – Gray, C. A., & Barnes, L. M. (2008). Reproduction and growth of dusky flathead (Platycephalus fuscus) in NSW estuaries. NSW Department of Primary Industries. SEPTEMBER 2018
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