THIS WEEK’S GOLD COAST AND TWEED ESTUARY FISHING REPORT
23 September 2023
TWEED RIVER by Smithy
G’day everyone here we are again at the end of another week and although the wind was blowing up to 40 kms today we still managed to catch some nice fish.
I moved around the river through the week working the lower to middle reaches. We did some jigging in the deep holes that were holding bait and also cast some pontoon 21 minnow lures over the shallow flats. Both techniques produced fish but my clients got a real buzz watching some of the flatties following and smashing our retrieved minnow lures in the shallow water.
My partner Clint has just sent me some of the newly released Rapala Imposter lures which are a great yabbie slash prawn imitation lure so I am keen to get my clients next week casting them across the shallow flats.
I reckon these lures fitted with a very light jig head are going to work a treat across the flats. I still have a few vacancies here and there on my trips through the school holidays so feel free to contact me on 0419028704 to come out and have some fun.
To book a private lure fishing charter with Brad call him on 0419 028 704 around 4-6pm daily
GOLD COAST RIVERS by Clinto
Dusky flathead again this week dominated the catches, although with crystal clear water around the seaway it was run out tides that fished best. The flathead were taking Zman 3 inch Minnowz, and Samaki Vibelicious 70mm.
There has been a huge amount of sand whiting in the rivers, which is a promising start to the season. In the mouth of the seaway there has been thousands of slimy mackerel, great fun to catch, great bait, and good to eat.
I’ll be fishing in the flathead classic next week in a Bush n Beach team, hopefully we can report some decent catches, my next available charter date is 4 October.
Flathead Classic 2023 preview
Very different set up to what we saw last year with a drought now upon us as far as estuaries are concerned.
As always some good size flathead are around, but numbers are hard to find. My tactic has been to cover a lot of kilometres to find scattered fish. I constantly look for bait on the fish finder too before spending time casting in an area.
Day three of the classic is full moon, which can be tough fishing. Let’s hope the fish are hungry. Natural and more transparent lures are working best, and try other colours if’s it’s cloudy and/ or windy.
My go to lures on flathead lately have been Zman 3 inch Minnowz, Samaki Vibelicious fork tail 70mm soft vibes, and Rapala Crush City soft plastics including The Imposter, The Suspect, and The Creeper. I love using TT Demonz and Bigeyez jigheads for that eye target point.
My favourite rods are Samaki and Tackle Tactics, 2-4 kg for lighter lures, 3-6 kg for bigger lures, and I’ll use Okuma ITX 2500 reels for the classic. 10 lb leader and braid on the lighter set up, 12 & 14 lb leader for the 3-6 kg rod.
The water is a flathead friendly 22 degrees and the snot weed has disappeared from the broadwater. It looks unlikely it will return for the classic with a big Southerly blow coming beforehand.
Although with possible Northerly winds as typical during the classic anything can happen.
Best best I reckon is fish deeper on the run in, shallow on the run out. Find the bait find the fish, slowly hop the lure with pauses to give the fish time to grab it.
Trolling will work well if it gets windy. The Jumpinpin area is due to fire up, this lead up to full moon could be the spark. Whatever happens have fun and don’t cheat.
Sporty’s has all the tackle and lures I love to use, drop in there at 32 Strathaird Rd, Bundall for some expert tips too.
To book a charter with Clint
SMS 0432 990 302 anytime.
Best fishing days this week according to the almanac:
Sunday: 25
Monday: 15
Tuesday: 38
Wednesday: 68- *flathead classic day 1
Thursday: 87- *flathead classic day 2
Friday: 95 🌕- *flathead classic day 3
Saturday: 93
Sunday: 81
(search “fishing and hunting” on app stores to get the full app)
*This is just a prediction. There are many factors when it comes to fishing and fish are unpredictable at times, there are no exact guarantees. We include this just for fun and see how it plays out every week.
Charter options this coming week:
Tweed river:
Call Brad on 0419 028 704 between 4-6pm daily 👍🏻
Gold Coast:
Fully booked until 4 October then the following week.
SMS Clint 0432 990 302 anytime,
Or book instantly here:
SMS 0432 990 302 to book your charter adventure!
Useful links:
Online store:
www.goldcoastlures.com
Fishing tips and secrets books:
Subscribe to our youtube channel:
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UClkPb52-hCxcfI3isXgVLIw
Gold Coast seaway tides:
http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/tides/#!/qld-gold-coast-seaway
Gold Coast weather:
Seabreeze:
https://www.seabreeze.com.au/weather/wind-forecast/qld-gold-coast
Surfers Paradise:
http://www.bom.gov.au/qld/forecasts/surfers-paradise.shtml
Gold Coast marine waters:
http://www.bom.gov.au/qld/forecasts/gold-coast-waters.shtml
Rain radar:
http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDR663.loop.shtml
Finally a huge shout out and thanks to our sponsors, preferred brands and suppliers:
Tackle Tactics
Okuma
Zman Australia
Bush n’ beach magazine
Humminbird Australia
Stones Corner Marine
Yamaha motor Australia
Sporty’s fishing
Spotters sunglasses
Tasline
Searing Tackle
Pontoon 21
Samaki
Pro Lure Australia
Frogleys Offshore
Atomic
JML
Ecogear
MMD Fishing
Sax scent
7newsGoldCoast
Step Outside with Paul Burt
Cheers
Smithy & Clinto
SMS 0432 990 302 to book your charter adventure!
Or book instantly here for Clint’s boat:
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