COOL TIME FOR VISIT TO TAILOR
AFTER a great weekend on the Gold Coast the cool winds have shown up this week dropping the night time temp.
The cooler weather has been great for anglers chasing tailor with reports of good numbers showing up.
Light winds and no swell last Saturday was ideal for those heading offshore to and chase a feed of reef fish off the Gold Coast and Jumpinpin.
I was lucky enough to head out with my mate Wayne and my daughter Bec for a look around the 18 fathom area off the Gold Coast Seaway.
We found a bit of bait and a show of fish on the sounder so we anchored up and started a burley trail, not long after Bec hooked and landed a cracking 1.23m jew fish.
Wayne was next landing a big jew fish and I caught one too, making a great start to the day. We also caught quality moses, squire a few small pearl perch and some large morwong that put up a great fight.
We found whole WA pilchards worked well on the jew fish over live bait and we also used a mixture of whole large squid and mullet fillet.
We also enjoyed seeing whales travelling north.
My mate Scott fished offshore off the Tweed on Saturday and caught some great spangled emperor and squire.
Reports of good tailor being caught from the surf beaches is also pleasing news.
Locating a good gutter is the key to success off the beach. Try to time your fishing around the last three hours of the incoming tide, even better if the high tide is just after dusk or before dawn.
Using a set of three gang hooks and a whole WA pilchard is a traditional method and will also account for a few nice jew fish as bycatch.
Another popular method is to throw metal slugs and retrieve them at a fast pace and the tailor usually can’t resist if they are in feed mode.
Matching the hatch is important which means finding the right size and weight metal slug to use, usually you will have success on either a 20, 40 or 60g lure.
Hopefully the swell should drop for the weekend and the beach fishing will be great.
You can try the beaches around Burleigh Heads, Narrow Neck, Main Beach, and Mirage north to the Seaway pumping jetty.
Houseboat customers have also caught some nice tailor around Jumpinpin during the week. Tiger Mullet Channel, Crusoe Island, Bedrooms and Canaipa Passage have fished well on the incoming tide.
Keep an eye out for birds feeding on bait fish and the tailor should be in the area.
We had a few houseboats spend some time around the Huts at Short Island during the week. They managed plenty of quality bream which is a great sign as we head into prime time for bream on the Gold Coast.
Fishing at night produced good numbers of larger fish. You could try Tiger Mullet Channel, Jacobs Well, Cobby Passage or the Logan River.
Land-based anglers need to fish around structures like bridges, rock walls or jetties. Luckily we have lots of these around the Gold Coast.
The Nerang River is a good spots for land-based anglers to explore the many public parks that back onto the river.
Brad Smith Fishing Charters have reported another good week landing plenty of nice flathead around the Southern Broadwater, Nerang River and Tweed River.
Hope you all have a good weekend and get out for a fish.
If you have any great catches or photos you would like to share, please email us and let us know how you went.