New moon to stir whiting
The southerly winds and showers have stuck around this week unfortunately making conditions pretty average for getting out on the water for a fish. Unfortunately, as we look forward to the weekend, we are in for pretty much the same with strong south-easterly winds, rain and a big increase in swell offshore at the time of writing my report. I always recommend having the most up to date weather forecast before heading out. Let’s check out what’s been biting this week.
It will be worth heading up the rivers and sheltered waterways in search of a feed of whiting. With the salinity levels on the improve there should be some nice fish on offer. Fingers crossed we don’t get too much rain.
Some good spots to have a look for a whiting are the Tweed River, Tallebudgera Creek, Currumbin Creek, Nerang River, Coomera River both south and north arms will offer some protection from the wind, Pimpama River, Jacobs Well and the Logan River.
With the new moon on the way this Monday, we will see some big tides over the weekend which are perfect when planning to chase whiting. The more tidal flow the better to stir up the bottom and help expose the natural food sources. Best baits are a mixture of live bloodworms, beachworms and yabbies.
The daytime fishing has been improving the past few weeks with some great catches coming from the Broadwater and Jumpinpin. Fishing at night will still give you the opportunity to target better numbers of quality fish during March. Once the weather starts to cool down the fishing during the day will get better.
Be prepared to move around a bit if fishing is a bit quiet. I usually try an area for about 15 minutes. If it’s quite sometimes just a small move is all you need to do to find fish.
The best gear to use is a long sensitive rod matched with a small spinning reel or Alvey side cast spooled with 6 to 9lb mono, a long length of 6lb fluoro carbon leader, at least a 3 to 5 ball sinker depending on the run in the tide and a small baitholder hook to suite your bait of choice. Be patient when you get a bite, leave the rod and let the fish take the bait, if you strike too soon you will lose the fish, basically just let the fish hook themselves.
Weather windows for heading offshore have been very limited, but fishos that managed to get an early start and headed out last weekend were rewarded with a good mixed bag of reef species. Just a reminder that the second Spanish mackerel closure for southern waters has commenced and finishes on March 21.
Once the wind and swell eases it will be worth heading south to Mermaid Reef, Palm Beach Reef and also The Gravel Patch in search of a feed of Spotted Mackerel. Hopefully the bait schools will still be around after moving through the past week not too far offshore. They were holding a mixed bag on tuna, mackerel and sharks.
The 18 and 24 fathoms reefs have been fishing well lately seeing some big Jewfish hitting the deck, also a mixed bag of snapper, trag Jew, Maori cod, Moses perch, spangled emperor and tuskfish.
The 36 and 50 fathom grounds, current dependant, have also been fishing well for snapper, pearl perch, tuskfish, trag Jew, yellow tail kingfish, amber jack and also dolphin fish from the fads. Best baits are WA pilchards, whole squid, mullet fillet, bonito fillet, live yakka’s and slimy mackerel.
Chasing a feed of mud crabs will be another good option for the weekend. The combination of big tides from the new moon and a bit of fresh water in the system from the rain moving through should stir the mud crabs up. You should be able to find a few good spots out of the wind to drop the pots. Depending on your location you can try your luck in the Tweed River, Tallebudgera Creek, Currumbin Creek, Coomera River both south and north arms, Pimpama River, Jacobs Well, Tiger Mullet Channel, Cabbage Tree Point and the Logan River.