WHITING RUN HOT ON ‘INSIDE’
WITH the atrocious weather we had for most of last week and the early part of this week most anglers were forced to stay in the estuaries to get their fishing fix.
It is quite often a case of good and bad news when we get the big seas here on the Gold Coast.
The bad news is we can’t get out to our favourite spots. But the good news is nobody else can either, so it gives the reefs a chance to breathe without being hammered by hundred of fishermen.
In short, fishing straight after a big wind and rough seas can be exceptional.
Just because offshore was off limits didn’t mean you could’t get among some big fish.
Social media was abuzz with a photo of a big bullshark taken near Jumpinpin Bar by an angler fishing from his modest tinnie. Also inside the bar itself plenty of anglers had an awesome session of spotty mackerel.
The smartest fishermen, however, put away their big game gear and got stuck into the quality whiting on our sandbanks at the moment.
Fish over 35cm were common and you’ll be hard pressed to find a better eating fish anywhere in the world.
Although whiting, flathead, mangrove jack and the odd jewfish dominated the catches, one species not common in the seaway but worth targeting when the seas get really big is snapper.
The wave rider buoy off Tweed Heads on Sunday registered a wave just short of 5 metres.
When the seas are massive like that the large snapper from the closer reefs are known to come into the seaway itself.
Nobody knows for sure why, some say it is for protection, but what we do know is that there are massive snapper caught in the seaway when we get a few days of big swell like we had last week.
This opens up snapper fishing for those Gold Coasters without a boat.
Fishing from the rock wall is a great option, and although I didn’t hear of any caught this time, it is definitely worth a shot next time we get the big swell.