TIME RIGHT FOR A FEED OF SQUID

HI everyone, hope you have all had a good week. It was great to see some nice weather last weekend and plenty of fishos out and about making the most of the fabulous conditions.

After a bit of rain during the week it looks like we will see the sun return and a forecast of much nicer weather as we head towards the weekend. Saturday looks like the pick of the days so far with the wind picking up for Sunday at this stage. If you are keen to get out for a look, let’s see what’s been biting this week.

With cooler weather on the way, trying your luck at catching a feed of squid is a good option for fishos keen for a feed of calamari. With the water quality getting back to normal now is the time to try. You can target squid during the day or night. I prefer to pick an incoming tide for water quality in the Broadwater closer to the Seaway.

You will tend to find the smaller arrowhead squid hanging in the deeper water closer to the bottom and the bigger tiger squid hanging out in the shallows around sandbanks with weed beds providing shelter and food for the squid.

I recommend an average sized squid jig between 2 to 3 inches long depending on what they are feeding on. Metal blade vibration lures work well in the deeper channels near the Seaway south to Marina Mirage area.

Land-based fishing can be better at night, the key is to find somewhere that has good lighting on the water. Light will attract bait fish which will in turn attract the predatory squid. Some good land-based spots are Paradise Point jetty, Grand Hotel jetty and boat ramp, Sundale Bridge jetty, Marine Stadium jetty and the Gold Coast Seaway rock walls will all produce some quality squid.

The Broadwater is holding plenty of bait at the moment. Bait fish and prawns have been schooling up in the shallows on high tide then making their way into the deeper channels as the tide runs out.

Keeping an eye out for bird activity is a good way to track bait and find predators to target. Some of the species that have been showing up are flathead, bream, tailor, tarpon, squire and trevally to name a few.

A mixture of soft plastics and metal vibes have worked well to tempt a bite.

The Gold Coast Seaway has been fishing well for school sized jewfish. These fish have been continually active the past few months. Unfortunately, sharks (the tax man) have been a constant issue laying in wait to steal your catch before you get a look in.

Mullet schools have started to appear in bigger numbers which is great news as we head towards winter which is their breeding season.

The mullet schools will attract the attention of the bigger jewfish, average size 13kg up to 25kg and you just never know what sized fish can show up.

Try cast netting the larger mullet and upgrade your gear and put in some extra time on the cold nights around the Seaway and Wavebreak Island and you just may land the fish of a lifetime.

If you have any great catches or photos you would like to share, please email us and let us know how you went. brett@coomerahouseboats.com.au or brett@fishotackle.com.au

Good luck with the fishing.