WEATHER BRINGING OUT JACKS
Hi everyone, hope you have all had a great Christmas break.
Unfortunately for those keen to go for a fish, the southeasterly winds have kicked in this week along with the rain and increase of swell offshore, making sheltered waters much more inviting if you are keen to wet a line. As we head towards the new year the winds will ease a bit. Again, this week as we all enjoy new year celebrations, our waterways are extremely busy; put safety first and enjoy your time on the water. Let’s check out some options if you are keen to land a feed this week.
It has been good to see a few nice mangrove jack showing up the past couple of weeks. The strong SE winds earlier in the week may cause them to shut down a bit but as the wind eases and the temperature heats up, they will be on the chew looking for a feed. A prime time is a tide change as a summer storm approaches; this can get them really fired up.
The Coomera River and the Nerang River have been holding some decent-sized jacks so far this season. You just need to put in the time and effort to be rewarded. If you are casting lures whether using hard body, surface lures or plastics you may need to pepper the same snag before you annoy a fish enough to hit your lure.
Live and dead baits have been producing plenty of nice jacks, just a matter of whether you can drag them out of the snags before they dust you up. Bye catch such as estuary cod and trevally are quite common in these areas and great fun if the jacks are playing hard to get. Some other good spots to look at are the Sanctuary Cove and Paradise Point rock walls, Sovereign Islands, Runaway Bay canals and bridges, Logan River, Tiger Mullet Channel, Jacobs Well and Cabbage Tree Point.
If you find structure or snag and there is some bait in the area, you are in the right spot to give it a go.
The Gold Coast Seaway has once again fished very consistently the past week, producing some great catches of school jewfish, mangrove jack, cod and trevally, mainly on live baits. If you are thinking of fishing the area while the swell is up, you will need to be careful especially on runout tide as the swell and waves can be a bit unpredictable at times.
Usually the best time to fish the Seaway is an hour before and an hour after the tide change when the current eases up, making targeting fish on the sounder much easier. A medium to heavy outfit spooled with 20-30lb braid should get the job done matched with 30-40lb leader.
You will have to be a bit more aggressive with landing your fish as the sharks have been a big issue lately, swooping on your catch for a free feed. Best live baits are yakkas, herring, mullet and pike.
Targeting a feed of crabs while the wind is up in the local rivers and estuaries is a great idea, with a few nice feeds being caught the past week. Also some good numbers of sand crabs have been caught around the main channels and river mouths where the water quality and salinity better suits them. Try targeting the Coomera River, Nerang River, Paradise Point, Pimpama River, Jacobs Well, Cabbage Tree Point, Logan River, Currumbin Creek, Tallebudgera Creek and the Tweed River. When it comes to bait fresh is always best; whole mullet, bonito and fish frames work well. Use a bait bag to stop little fish, little crabs and eels from destroying your bait; this will increase your chances of attracting crabs to your pots.