GOLD COAST ESTUARY FISHING REPORT by Clint
14 May 2026
Another week of rain and wind across the Gold Coast and we still haven’t fully settled into those classic calm Autumn and Winter patterns yet. The upside is all this fresh water movement is fantastic for the estuary system and should lead to some excellent fishing over the next few months, especially for sand whiting, flathead, tailor, and even a few quality squid sessions once the weather settles down.
Despite the conditions, there has still been plenty happening on the water. Recent catches have included good numbers of winter whiting, flounder, dusky flathead, tuskfish, tarwhine, bream, and a few squid mixed in. The broadwater has been fishing best around Currigee, Runaway Bay, Crab Island, and Carter’s Reef during the smaller neap tides where there has been a little more current flow and cleaner water pushing through.
The water temperature is slowly dropping week by week which is exactly what we want to see this time of year. As the cooler water settles in, expect the flathead fishing to really fire up along the channels, drop offs, and shallow yabby banks. The sand whiting fishing should also continue improving with some excellent daytime sessions coming up in the river and broadwater. Bigger tailor have already started appearing at night around the broadwater and deeper channels, especially around tide changes.
The lighter tackle fishing has been excellent fun lately. Fishing light lines with yabbies, beach worms, and small soft vibes has produced a great variety of species. Samaki Vibelicious and Ecogear ZX40 style lures continue to catch just about everything in the broadwater at the moment including flathead, flounder, tailor, winter whiting, tarwhine, bream, trevally, tuskfish, and more. On most charters we catch from 20 to over 100 fish per day.
Looking ahead to the coming week, there are still a few showers about but the mornings are looking fishable with lighter winds forecast. The new moon falls this Sunday which means early morning high tides followed by some nice run out tides through the middle of the day. These conditions should be ideal for chasing garfish in the southern broadwater early before moving into the river systems and yabby banks for whiting and flathead as the tide falls.
This quieter time of year on the waterways is one of my favourite times to fish. Less boat traffic, cooler weather, comfortable conditions, and plenty of quality fish around. If you’ve been thinking about booking a trip, now is a great time to lock one in. I still have a few spots available next week and the following week.
To book a charter with Clint
SMS 0432 990 302 anytime.
Charter options this coming week:
Gold Coast estuary fishing charters targeting:
- Sand whiting
- Flathead
- Winter whiting
- Tailor
- Squid
- Flounder
- Tuskfish
- Bream
- Tarwhine
- Trevally and more
Private charters available for 1 to 4 people.
For wading charters SMS Clint 0432 990 302 anytime.
Or book instantly here:
Useful links:
Subscribe to YouTube channel:
Gold Coast River Charters YouTube Channel
Gold Coast Seaway tides:
Gold Coast weather forecasts:
BOM Gold Coast Marine Waters Forecast
Rain radar:
Finally, a huge shout out and thanks to our sponsors, preferred brands, and suppliers:
Watersnake
Ark Corp
Step Outside with Paul Burt
Samaki
Sporty’s Fishing
S Tackle
Holt Productions
Yamaha Motor Australia
Gomexus
Tackle Tactics
Rapala
Crush City
Zman Australia
JML
Ecogear
MMD Fishing
My Lure Box
Sax Scent
Cheers
Clinto
SMS 0432 990 302 to book your charter adventure!
