MAKE A DATE WITH MACKEREL

HI everyone, hope you have all had a good week. Cooler weather combined with wind and showers for majority of the last week has greeted anglers on the Tweed and Gold Coast.

Tuesday and Wednesday were the best days to hit the water.

If you are keen to get out over the weekend the forecast is looking fairly good with lighter N/NE winds and a drop in swell which will put a smile on offshore anglers’ faces.

Let’s see what’s been on the bite this week.

If the swell drops and the wind eases as per the forecast at the time of writing the report heading offshore in search of a feed of spotted or Spanish mackerel will be on the cards for local fishos on the Gold Coast.

Palm Beach reef and Mermaid reef have both produced some good catches of quality spotted mackerel over Christmas and into the New Year, they are great fun to target and put up good fight on lighter tackle.

An early start is a must. Make sure you sound around and find some bait to anchor up on and start the berley trail to attract the predators. I usually run a combination of baits and throwing metal slugs around to attract the fish to the boat and stir up fish that are not in feeding mode.

Quite often the majority of fish will come on fast retrieved slugs around the 25 to 40 gram mark, just change sizes until you can match the hatch of the bait fish they are feeding on at the time.

For baits I normally run single strand wire around 15lb combined with a 2/0 or 3/0 chemically sharpened bait holder hook baited with a half pilchard will do the job.

Some good size Spanish will be feeding in the same area so be prepared for one of these powerful speedsters to hit at any time. Some other good spots worth a look are the Gravel Patch, Local Bait Reefs off the Seaway and also the 18-fathom line will fish well. Berley is a must and will make a big difference to the day’s fishing.

We have seen a bit of bull shark action again this week in the canals and rivers with a variety of sizes being landed. My preferred rig is a plasticcoated nylon trace of approximately 1 to 1.5m in length of either 50 to 100 pound crimped to a suitable sized swivel on one end then matched with either a size 6 to 8 circle or octopus hook, depending if you are catching and releasing or wanting to keep a feed.

A small piece of pike eel or freshwater eel makes great bait and are a good option, especially if there are a few mud crabs around munching on the baits. The Coomera River, Pimpama River, Nerang River, Logan River and the Neverfails are all good spots to try your luck. Jumpinpin has also seen a few juvenile hammer head and small black tip sharks being caught around the Bar entrance and Tiger Mullet Channel.

The Gold Coast Seaway is still fishing well for schoolsized jewfish and has also been holding some decent schools of Mangrove Jack. Drifting live baits is the most productive method to target these awesome fish. Live yakkas, pike, mullet or herring are the pick of the baits, try to time your trip around the tide change, with the bite time usually around an hour before and an hour after the change being the most productive.