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5 December 2019 fishing report

THIS WEEK’S GOLD COAST AND TWEED ESTUARY FISHING REPORT

5 December 2019

TWEED RIVER by Smithy

The bulk of the success over the past week has come from finding protected areas of the river out of the constant howling Northerly winds and fishing the shallows. 

Fishing the flats with topwater lures such as mmd splash prawns and Bassday sugapens is a ton of visual fun, as you watch the fish smash these lures on the surface. 

Flatties will also rise off the bottom to take a surface lure

Whiting are the main players when it comes to taking surface lures especially now and all through the summer months and they fight hard on light equipment in only a few feet of water. 

Les with a whiting caught on the surface with a MMD splash prawn
Blake was stoked to catch his first fish on the surface

Flathead and bream are also players when it comes to crunching lures on the surface. We had a session earlier in the week where the flatties dominated the catch. 

It is an awesome sight to see when that big bucket mouth of a flattie comes up form the bottom and devours a surface lure.   

Book your charter:

SMS 0432 990 302

GOLD COAST RIVERS by Clinto

As expected with the hot weather, mangrove jacks are firing up more each week. A lot of bigger 50cm plus fish are getting caught on lures and bait. 

We’ve caught jacks in September, October and November this year so far, and the fishing is only going to get better until April 2020.

The jacks have been rampant

Leading up to Christmas and January expect this trend to continue, Brad runs lure fishing charters at Tweed and Nerang rivers trolling deep diving lures for jacks, an activity he has made an art form of over many years.

I run Gold Coast afternoon/ evening trips for jacks, using bait and livies. For more info on our mangrove jack charters SMS me on 0432 990 302. Our summer dates are filling fast.

Nine year old Brody did well to land a 55cm mangrove jack
Another big jack gets landed

In the Gold Coast broadwater this coming week neap tides will make it easier to fish, look for areas clear of weed then bait on the fish finder and you’ll find some tuskfish, flathead, bream, tarwine, winter whiting, and sand whiting.

Pump some yabbies with the kids at low tide at the big sand banks near the Western shoreline at Southport and Labrador. Then start fishing with light sinkers and no.4 size bait holder hooks, right near where you pumped the yabbies. 

These areas are often overlooked when boats go racing off to fish elsewhere when the fish are right there on the edges of the banks and channels.

The neap tides will make it easier to fish the lower to mid reaches of the rivers for big mangrove jacks. Up the rivers could be slow on the smaller tides with the lack of run.

There are still a lot of trevally getting about, they’ll feed more aggressively on days when a South or South Easterly wind change pushes through.

Whiting are another species worth targeting on live worms and yabbies during bigger tides leading up to the full moon on 12 December.

Message us here to arrange a fishing charter gift voucher for 1-4 people, or if you need a custom order from our shop:

SMS 0432 990 302

Browse our online shop for xmas prezzies:

https://m.facebook.com/bradsmithfishingcharters/shop

Subscribe to our youtube channel:

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UClkPb52-hCxcfI3isXgVLIw

Join our members club for free here for special offers and exclusive tips and news:

https://m.facebook.com/groups/171395506881679

Finally a huge shout out and thanks to our sponsors, preferred brands and suppliers:

Big Hit Fishing

Ecogear

Pontoon 21

Samaki

MMD splashprawns

Sax scent

Strike Pro

Atomic

Stones Corner marine

Sporty’s fishing

Gillz Australia

The Bait Shop at Arundel

Cheers

Smithy & Clinto

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