Gold Coast & Dams Fishing Report

Moreton Bay, Gold Coast & Dams Fishing Report for April 2016

Anglers have been spoilt for choice over the last few weeks. From the pelagic action off the Sunshine Coast to bass in the upper reaches of the Brisbane River the options are there.

The pelagic action off the Sunshine Coast has been exceptional over the past few weeks with huge schools of tuna and mackerel making the most of the inshore bait schools. If you want to get stuck into these tuna and mackerel the most successful method is to wait and watch the birds follow the pelagics around. When the birds begin to dive into the water the predators are pushing the bait up to them. This is when you would cast metal slugs, soft plastics or even flies into the action. These fish are hard fighting and heavier gear is recommended but they can be a lot of fun on light gear and fly.

You may need to be patient and try your hardest not to get to close with your boat as this will spook the fish and they will disappear. You can also down size your lure as the sun gets higher or if they are feeding on smaller baitfish.

Brisbane River has also turned on the fishing in the upper reaches after the recent rains. The bass are hitting a wide variety of lures from surface lures early in the morning with the Megabass Dog-X being a consistent performer. A few of our customers had a great day last weekend catching over 20 bass between the 3 of them using spinnerbaits and diving lures. They focused on the river between Twin Bridges and Burtons Bridge down stream. Baits will also work and with the school holidays here it’s a great way to spend time with the kids and get them out of the house. A small float will help and baits of freshwater worms cast towards the snags can be a great way to catch bass.

Snapper have already started to show up in the bay in numbers. Reports of good snapper are coming from the deeper reefs like Harry Atkinson and the artificial reefs of the western side of Peel Island. Harry Atkinson is a large reef system made up of many smaller reefs, you will need to find which reef system is holding bait for you to succeed here. A good quality sounder is key here. Make sure you get there early as it can get very busy on weekends.

Soft plastics like Gulp and Keitechs can be highly successful here, you will need a heavy jig head to combat the tides and depth. The snapper and jewfish here tend to be better quality fish and it can take a bit of skill to extract them from the reefs.

Peel Island’s artificial reef is a little shallower and small micro-jigs and plastics have been working here for a few of the Charlton’s customers. The average fish has been just under 50cm however there a lot of them to make up for the lack in size. Drifting with the current seems to be the preferred technique and allows you to stay vertical with the lure and cover more ground.

If you want to try bait out there anchoring is more successful and starting a berley trail as soon as you arrive will pay dividends later. Once you attract the smaller baitfish the larger predators will move in. Baits of pilchards and squid are popular but strips of bonito or mack tuna are also great big snapper baits.

I hope everyone can get out and wet a line these school holidays. If you have any pictures of your adventures remember to post them to Charlton’s Fishing’s Facebook Page.

Matthew Osley.