Fishing on the Gold Coast - Where to go, what to catch
Fishing on the Gold Coast - Where to go, what to catch
Undoubtedly the best way to catch fish on the Gold Coast is with a boat. While there are plenty of fish which hang around the shoreline, unless you are prepared to do some serious secret spot hunting you're only going to end up with smallish bream, whiting and flathead.
The competition is fierce among anglers and if you head down to a popular spot (such as the Spit) on a sunny Sunday afternoon in the school holidays you'll need to take a ticket and stand in line if you want to throw your line.
Where to fish
The Gold Coast has a temperate climate, it's located pretty much in the middle of the Australian coastline, and it has a complete range of fishing environments — from the continental shelf to large Freshwater dams, so finding a spot to drop a line and catch something tasty isn't too hard.
If you have a boat the options are limitless, just cast out into the Broadwater, a river, creek or ocean and go where your electronic fish finder tells you.
If you are on land there are still plenty of options. For whiting, bream and flathead, a good tactic is to go fishing at dawn or dusk on a change of tide just inside the mouth of a salt water creek. There are hundreds of spots like this all along the coast and if you time it right you'll come away with a haul. During winter you might want to try fishing for tailor of the rocks or a long jetty using pilchards or a good lure.
Most importantly, don't just go where the crowds are — especially in the school holiday season — just because there are 100 people fishing a particular spot doesn't mean there are any fish there. If you look around for something different you'll be pleasantly surprised — it's common to find sharks and sea turtles in 'estuaries' most people would write off as dirty storm water drains.
What to fish for
If you've got the time, a deep sea fishing charter is well worth a go. Out on the open ocean you'll find huge marlin, tuna, snapper, mackeral and sharks (to name a few), and there are plenty of great guides and boats around to help you make the most out of your time on the water.
Bream, whiting and flathead, of considerable size, can be caught from the beach or in the many estuaries that dominate the Gold Coast shoreline. Snapper and Tailor hang around the rocks in winter.
Baits to use
Most local fish seem to love blood worms, which you can buy for about $2.85 from any bait shop or convenience store. Fresh bait is even better, and yabbies, worms and prawns seem to get the thumbs up from most species. Lures do the trick if you're prepared to experiment with different sizes, colours and textures, but fresh local bait is hard to beat.
More information
Check out BKs Fishing Charters for some great Gold Coast fishing photos and information. Fish the deep charters have some great photos on their site as well.