FISHING A BIG PART OF COAST
MOST Aussies think sun, surf and theme parks when asked about the Gold Coast.
But I wonder how many would think “great fishing”?
The diversity offered to fisherman on the Coast, it can be argued, is second to none.
On social media I’ve noted catches of marlin, snapper, mangrove jack, Saratoga, mahi-mahi, barramundi and just fewer than 6000 flathead caught in and around the city.
Cairns is renowned as the marlin capital of our country and I have been lucky enough to fish many seasons up there.
But my best day of marlin fishing was here with my mate Ross McCubbin and my Dad when we tagged and released 11 in a five-hour session.
There is not too many places – if any – in the world that can produce days like that.
And our marlin season offers fisherman the chance to catch the fish of a lifetime from a tinnie, with marlins often very close to our coastline.
It is not just our marlin fishing that is world class; we had nearly 6000 flathead caught and released over three days at last week’s Flathead Classic.
This tournament is effectively the Australian championship and it’s here every year due to our fish numbers.
Our whiting fishing is also as good as any in the country.
A mate of mine, who will remain nameless but is regarded as our city’s best whiting fisherman, thinks Nerang River whiting around the council chambers are the biggest in the country. Why? No netters.
A great snapper season is ending, including some of the biggest fish caught in years, many well above 90cm.
A barramundi catch used to garner great media coverage but it is becoming more and more common that anglers target them.
Another underrated quality of our city is the ability to catch big fish without needing a boat.
Just last week we saw a massive jewfish landed from the sand-pumping jetty, and this week rock fisherman from the seaway have been getting busted off by big Kingfish.
If you walk the beaches and cast into the gutters 90 per cent of the time it results in a decent feed of whiting or dart.
It makes me wonder if we take our incredible range of fishing for granted and if we do enough to market our city not just as a great beach holiday spot but a fishing one as well.
Fishing should be as iconic to the Gold Coast as sun, surf and theme parks.