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12/12/13 - 18/12/13
December 12 - 2013
Fishing Report: Whiting catches have been consistent in all rivers and creeks. The Nerang River is easily producing a feed for those fishing the run out tide at night using blood worms but anglers trying during daylight hours won’t go home empty handed. At Jumpinpin there has been good catches opposite Slipping Sands, Tabby Island and the southern end of Russell Island. They have also been caught at Ageston Sands in the Logan River and further north at along the Manly foreshores, King Island and in Pumicestone Passage. Just about any sloping sandbank in three to six metres of water will hold whiting over the Christmas holiday period. We have seen an increase in mud crabs over the past few weeks. The better catches have come from Jumpinpin and the northern Broadwater at night but you need to sit with your pots as pot raiding and crab theft has been at an all time high as it usually is leading up to Christmas. Sand crabs have not faired quite as well but those persevering have caught a feed. The better catches have come from 10 metres of water on the eastern side of the Bay and along the foreshores of Moreton and North Stradbroke islands. There has also been sandies caught at the northern end of the Gold Coast around the Never Fail Islands and from top of Russell Island south to Jacobs Well. Mulloway catches have been good over the past few weeks. The estuary anglers have had the most fun. Top baits that have caught the smaller fish include yabbies, beach worms, and fresh fillets however to land the bigger fish you need a live bait fished in a deep hole within site of a bar entrance. The better locations include Pin Bar, Southport Seaway and deeper holes close by. There has also been plenty of mulloway on our beaches, especially close to headlands or bar entrances. Top bait for them has been a big bunch of beach worms, fillet of mullet or a live mullet. Warmer weather has produced a few mangrove jack. Best results have come from the bas of mangrove trees throughout the Pin. Look for undercut banks or gnarly roots rining into the water. On the Gold Coast the jacks are around man made structure like rock walls, bridge pylons and marinas. There has been consistent catches of mackerel, longtails and snapper in the Bay. The mackerel continue to be on the eastern side of the Bay, usually within site of the eastern end of the Rous Channel or South Passage Bar. Longtail tuna are in the northern Bay with the biggest numbers in the channels east of Bribie. Snapper have been on the artificial reefs, including the Ammo Barge, Harry and any hard bottom reef area. There has also been good catches of smaller snapper in the shallows around the Bay islands. Peel Island has been one of the hot spots this week, especially the northern side from the Lazarett Gutter east but watch the green zone boundaries. Offshore fishing has turned up snapper to six kilo and a mixed bag of smaller
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reef fish at Square Patch and out to 80 metres of water. There has also been good reports of wahoo and Spanish mackerel around exposed reef areas, particularly Hutchies and Sevens Reef. Spotty mackerel have been caught on the shallow reefs off the Gold Coast, the coffee rock down Moreton Island and off the Pin Bar but they are not in any numbers as yet. The Sunshine Coast’s shallow reefs are producing the best catches. This is a great time of year to head west to fish the freshwater impoundments around SE Qld. Somerset, Wivenhoe and North Pine dams are producing some great catches of bass at the moment. Doesn’t seem to matter what technique you use, most anglers are reporting excellent results on soft plastics, hard bodies, jigs and bait. Trolling the steep drop offs and rocky points with hard body lures has been productive as has finding fish mid water with your sounder and dropping jigs through the school. Land based anglers walking the shoreline peppering casts out have also had success especially late in the afternoon just before dark.