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Gold Coast Boat Hire Fishing Fishing on the Gold Coast Yellowfin Bream Summer Whiting Winter Whiting Dusky Flathead yellowfin bream summer whiting winter whiting dusky flathead dusky flathead tail Tailor tailor Mangrove Jack mangrove jack Mulloway mulloway Trag jew trag jew Squire squire Golden Trevally golden trevally Moses Perch moses perch Swallowtail Dart swallowtail dart Estuary Cod Size limit: 25cm min Bag limit: Combined limit of 30 of yellowfin bream, pikey bream, and tarwine. Size limit: 23cm min Bag limit: 30 Size limit: No size limit Bag limit: 50 Size limit (dusky flathead): 40cm min, 75cm max Bag limit (dusky flathead): 5 Size limit (all other flathead species): 30cm min Bag limit (all other flathead species): Combined limit of 5 in total for all species (except dusky flathead) Size limit: 35cm min Bag limit: 20 Size limit: 35cm min Bag limit: 5 Size limit: 75cm min Bag limit: 2 Size limit: 38cm min Bag limit: 5 Size limit: 35cm min Bag limit: 4 with no more than 1 over 70cm, 8 per boat with no more than 2 over 70cm (with 2 or more people on board). CLOSED SEASON APPLIES Size limit: No size limit Bag limit: Combined limit of 20 in total for all members of the trevally family Size limit: 35cm min Bag limit: 5 Size limit: 30cm min Bag limit: 30 estuary cod Size limit: 38cm min, 120cm max Bag limit: Combined limit of 5 in total for all cod and grouper species Yellowfin bream are one of the most commonly caught fish species in the entire Gold Coast Broadwater and estuary systems, particularly throughout Jumpinpin which is famous for its winter bream run when the bream are spawning. Bream will take a vast variety of baits including yabbies, prawns, whitebait, worms, pipis, mullet gut, and small brown soldier crabs. When targeting bream, try around: • Oyster beds at Browns Island, Aldershots, Pimpama River, and Dux Anchorage • Rock walls such as the southern breakwall of the Gold Coast Seaway, northern breakwall of Wavebreak Island, and the rock walls at Jabiru Island. • Areas of Jumpinpin including Five Ways, Tiger Mullet Channel, Whalley’s Gutter, and the eastern tip of Crusoe Island • The Deep Hole in the Broadwater at Runaway Bay • Under bridges such as Sovereign Island and Ephraim Island at Paradise Point, and Gold Coast (Sundale) Bridge at Southport. • Under and around jetties and pontoons in the Gold Coast canal systems Summer whiting are a 5 star table fish, and can grow to a whopping 51cm. Just like their smaller cousin, the winter (or trumpeter) whiting, summer whiting favour baits of yabbies, bloodworms, and beach worms. Tiny pieces of squid cut into 0.5cm squares are also effective. Use a very light leader (2 lb) of length 1 metre, a tiny ball sinker, and an inch of red tube above a longshank hook. Drifting over or alongside yabby banks and weed banks is a very effective method to catch whiting. When targeting summer whiting, try around: • South western edge of Carter's Bank • Western side of Wavebreak Island • Evandale council chambers • Paradise Waters canals • The Junction on the southern arm of the Coomera River • Coombabah Creek • Tipplers Passage • Shallow areas of Jumpinpin including Gold Bank and the lagoon at the northern tip of South Stradbroke Island Winter whiting are another superb table fish. Otherwise known as trumpeter whiting, they grow to a maximum of 30cm. Winter whiting can be distinguished from summer whiting by the presence of dark blotches along their sides. Winter whiting are generally caught much smaller than summer whiting, however it only takes 5 or so small winter whiting for a decent meal - just scale, butterfly, and quickly shallow fry. Apart from the backbone, no need to remove the bones as they are very fine. Winter whiting can be caught in the same locations and using the same method as summer whiting, especially over shallow sand banks. Dusky flathead are arguably the most commonly caught species of flathead on the Broadwater, distinguishable from other species by a single large dark blotch on its tail. If you are unsure about the species of flathead, assume it is a dusky which has a minimum legal size of 40cm. Large dusky flathead over 75cm are female breeders and must be released. Flathead will take baits such as yabbies, whitebait, prawns, WA pilchards, and beach worms. Large flathead are commonly caught using live baits such as herring, whiting, and poddy mullet. Flathead are ambush predators, often waiting at the entrance of creeks, gutters, and drain offs on a dropping tide. When targeting flathead, try the following areas: • Northern breakwall of the Gold Coast Seaway • Perrys and The Timbers on the southern end of South Stradbroke Island • Shallow weedbank area north of Crab Island • Both entrances to Wasp Creek • Mouth of the Pimpama River • Entrance to the lagoon on the northern tip of South Stradbroke Island • Entrance to Swan Bay on the southern end of North Stradbroke Island (but outside the green zone!) Tailor are predominately caught during the cooler months and are an exciting fish to catch, often schooling in their hundreds when a feeding frenzy is on. Tailor will take baits of WA pillies, strips of mullet, squid, garfish, and being cannibalistic - fillets of tailor themselves. Once caught, tailor should be bled and chilled immediately to retain their excellent eating quality. They don't freeze well. If you are fishing and are constantly being bitten off, check for teeth serrations up your leader - if so, this is a sure sign tailor is your culprit and you should change to a heavy leader (20lb+) and consider throwing a WA pilchard on a gang hook. Metal spoons are another excellent choice. When targeting tailor, try the following locations: • Gold Coast Seaway • The sand pumping jetty • Jumpinpin Bar area • Eastern tip of Crusoe Island • All along the surf side of South Stradbroke Island Mangrove Jack are predominately caught on the Gold Coast during the warmer months, and are a prized catch with superb eating qualities. Given their name, it is unsurprising that they are commonly caught around steep sided mangrove lined creeks and rivers, particularly around submerged snags. Being an ambush predator, they are also found around rock walls and outflows of weirs. They prefer live baits, particularly live poddy mullet, live herring, live squid, and live prawns. When targeting Mangrove Jack, try the following locations: • Northern arm of the Coomera River • Jewel Creek at Diamond Head • Saltwater Creek • Sovereign Island and Ephraim Island bridges • Canal systems around Paradise Point Mulloway, also known as Jewfish, is a trophy catch and can grow to an impressive 2m in length. They are generally caught in deep holes at the entrance to river mouths, in deep channels, and in deep gutters in the surf. Live baits of tailor, mullet, prawns, herring, squid, whiting, and whole beach worms are best. Dead baits include WA pilchards, slimy mackerel, and fillets of tailor or mullet. When targeting Jewies, try the following locations: • Gold Coast Seaway • Jumpinpin Bar area • Kalinga Bank • Mouth of the southern arm of the Coomera River • Mouth of the Pimpama River • Surf side of South Stradbroke Island Teraglin, or commonly known as Trag Jew, are mostly caught offshore but are also caught inside the Broadwater. Trag Jew will take baits of WA pilchards, squid, and mullet fillets. When targeting trag jew, try the following spots: • Gold Coast Seaway • Under Sovereign Island bridge • Under Ephraim Island bridge • North eastern tip of Jabiru Island Squire, or juvenile snapper, are a 5 star table fish. Squire are generally targeted offshore, however they are also frequently caught inside the Broadwater and tributaries. Small squire caught in the Broadwater are often misidentified as bream, they are often a pale pink colour and have iridescent blue spots along their body. It is fairly uncommon to catch a legal sized squire inside the Broadwater, as they head out to sea once they become bigger. Squire will take baits of WA pilchards, squid, mullet, yakkas, and slimy mackerel. When targeting squire, try the followng locations: • Gold Coast Seaway • Emphraim Island Bridge • Sovereign Island Bridge • Mouth of the southern arm of the Coomera River • Mouth of the Pimpama River Golden trevally are a powerful fish and exciting to catch. They are also a fine table fish. Live baits such as herring work best. They will also take dead baits of WA pilchards and squid. They frequent the Gold Coast Seaway, all rivers, canals, and salt water lakes. Moses Perch, also known as Fingermark, look similar to Mangrove Jack except they have a large black dot on the side of their body. Moses Perch will take baits of WA pilchards, whitebait, and strip baits of most fish. They are a nice fish to eat, and are found in similar areas to Mangrove Jack, including under bridges, next to rock walls, and areas of the Broadwater with a cunjevoi reef bottom. Dart are a fantastic fish to catch when beach fishing. Large schools of dart are often seen from the shore swimming down the waves. Dart can be caught in abundance, and are also a fine fish to eat. If you like eating tailor, you will certainly enjoy dart. As with tailor, dart should be bled and chilled immediately upon capture to retain their eating quality. The best bait to use are pipis, which can be dug easily using your feet using the "pipi-shuffle" on the water's edge. Dart are found in both the surfline and gutters on surf beaches, and can also be caught off the sand pumping jetty at the Spit. The surf side of South Stradbroke Island holds great numbers of pipis and dart. The surf side of the island is only a 5 minute walk across from the Broadwater at South Currigee Campground, North Currigee Campground, and The Bedrooms. Estuary Cod are a fine table fish and grow to 1.5m in length. They will take baits such as WA pilchards, squid, prawns, and mullet fillets. Live herring work well. Estuary Cod are generally caught along rock walls and the entrance to weirs. HIRE BOATS AND PRICES WHAT TO CATCH WHAT TO SEE WHERE TO CATCH WHAT BAIT TO USE CRABBING CAMPING CONTACT US Listed below are some of the more commonly caught fish in the Southport Broadwater and its tributaries. Fish sizes and possession limits on this page are current as of July 2024. As fish sizes and possession limits regularly change, it is highly recommended to stay up to date with the latest rules as listed on the Queensland Government’s website: https://www.qld.gov.au/recreation/activities/boating-fishing/rec-fishing/rules/limits-tidal Alternatively, download the QLD Fishing 2.0 app by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries via the App Store or Google Play. Fish photos on this page are copyright daff.qld.gov.au
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Fishing on the Gold Coast Yellowfin Bream yellowfin bream Size limit: 25cm min Bag limit: Combined limit of 30 of yellowfin bream, pikey bream, and tarwine. Yellowfin bream are one of the most commonly caught fish species in the entire Gold Coast Broadwater and estuary systems, particularly throughout Jumpinpin which is famous for its winter bream run when the bream are spawning. Bream will take a vast variety of baits including yabbies, prawns, whitebait, worms, pipis, mullet gut, and small brown soldier crabs. When targeting bream, try around: • Oyster beds at Browns Island, Aldershots, Pimpama River, and Dux Anchorage • Rock walls such as the southern breakwall of the Gold Coast Seaway, northern breakwall of Wavebreak Island, and the rock walls at Jabiru Island. • Areas of Jumpinpin including Five Ways, Tiger Mullet Channel, Whalley’s Gutter, and the eastern tip of Crusoe Island • The Deep Hole in the Broadwater at Runaway Bay • Under bridges such as Sovereign Island and Ephraim Island at Paradise Point, and Gold Coast (Sundale) Bridge at Southport. • Under and around jetties and pontoons in the Gold Coast canal systems Listed below are some of the more commonly caught fish in the Southport Broadwater and its tributaries. Fish sizes and possession limits on this page are current as of July 2024. As fish sizes and possession limits regularly change, it is highly recommended to stay up to date with the latest rules as listed on the Queensland Government’s website: https://www.qld.gov.au/recreation/activities/boating-fishing/rec-fishing/rules/limits-tidal Alternatively, download the QLD Fishing 2.0 app by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries via the App Store or Google Play. Fish photos on this page are copyright daff.qld.gov.au Summer Whiting summer whiting Summer whiting are a 5 star table fish, and can grow to a whopping 51cm. Just like their smaller cousin, the winter (or trumpeter) whiting, summer whiting favour baits of yabbies, bloodworms, and beach worms. Tiny pieces of squid cut into 0.5cm squares are also effective. Use a very light leader (2 lb) of length 1 metre, a tiny ball sinker, and an inch of red tube above a longshank hook. Drifting over or alongside yabby banks and weed banks is a very effective method to catch whiting. When targeting summer whiting, try around: • South western edge of Carter's Bank • Western side of Wavebreak Island • Evandale council chambers • Paradise Waters canals • The Junction on the southern arm of the Coomera River • Coombabah Creek • Tipplers Passage • Shallow areas of Jumpinpin including Gold Bank and the lagoon at the northern tip of South Stradbroke Island Size limit: 23cm min Bag limit: 30 Winter Whiting winter whiting Winter whiting are another superb table fish. Otherwise known as trumpeter whiting, they grow to a maximum of 30cm. Winter whiting can be distinguished from summer whiting by the presence of dark blotches along their sides. Winter whiting are generally caught much smaller than summer whiting, however it only takes 5 or so small winter whiting for a decent meal - just scale, butterfly, and quickly shallow fry. Apart from the backbone, no need to remove the bones as they are very fine. Winter whiting can be caught in the same locations and using the same method as summer whiting, especially over shallow sand banks. Size limit: No size limit Bag limit: 50 Dusky Flathead dusky flathead dusky flathead tail Dusky flathead are arguably the most commonly caught species of flathead on the Broadwater, distinguishable from other species by a single large dark blotch on its tail. If you are unsure about the species of flathead, assume it is a dusky which has a minimum legal size of 40cm. Large dusky flathead over 75cm are female breeders and must be released. Flathead will take baits such as yabbies, whitebait, prawns, WA pilchards, and beach worms. Large flathead are commonly caught using live baits such as herring, whiting, and poddy mullet. Flathead are ambush predators, often waiting at the entrance of creeks, gutters, and drain offs on a dropping tide. When targeting flathead, try the following areas: • Northern breakwall of the Gold Coast Seaway • Perrys and The Timbers on the southern end of South Stradbroke Island • Shallow weedbank area north of Crab Island • Both entrances to Wasp Creek • Mouth of the Pimpama River • Entrance to the lagoon on the northern tip of South Stradbroke Island • Entrance to Swan Bay on the southern end of North Stradbroke Island (but outside the green zone!) Size limit (dusky flathead): 40cm min, 75cm max Bag limit (dusky flathead): 5 Size limit (all other flathead species): 30cm min Bag limit (all other flathead species): Combined limit of 5 in total for all species (except dusky flathead) Tailor tailor Tailor are predominately caught during the cooler months and are an exciting fish to catch, often schooling in their hundreds when a feeding frenzy is on. Tailor will take baits of WA pillies, strips of mullet, squid, garfish, and being cannibalistic - fillets of tailor themselves. Once caught, tailor should be bled and chilled immediately to retain their excellent eating quality. They don't freeze well. If you are fishing and are constantly being bitten off, check for teeth serrations up your leader - if so, this is a sure sign tailor is your culprit and you should change to a heavy leader (20lb+) and consider throwing a WA pilchard on a gang hook. Metal spoons are another excellent choice. When targeting tailor, try the following locations: • Gold Coast Seaway • The sand pumping jetty • Jumpinpin Bar area • Eastern tip of Crusoe Island • All along the surf side of South Stradbroke Island Size limit: 35cm min Bag limit: 20 Mangrove Jack mangrove jack Mangrove Jack are predominately caught on the Gold Coast during the warmer months, and are a prized catch with superb eating qualities. Given their name, it is unsurprising that they are commonly caught around steep sided mangrove lined creeks and rivers, particularly around submerged snags. Being an ambush predator, they are also found around rock walls and outflows of weirs. They prefer live baits, particularly live poddy mullet, live herring, live squid, and live prawns. When targeting Mangrove Jack, try the following locations: • Northern arm of the Coomera River • Jewel Creek at Diamond Head • Saltwater Creek • Sovereign Island and Ephraim Island bridges • Canal systems around Paradise Point Size limit: 35cm min Bag limit: 5 Mulloway mulloway Mulloway, also known as Jewfish, is a trophy catch and can grow to an impressive 2m in length. They are generally caught in deep holes at the entrance to river mouths, in deep channels, and in deep gutters in the surf. Live baits of tailor, mullet, prawns, herring, squid, whiting, and whole beach worms are best. Dead baits include WA pilchards, slimy mackerel, and fillets of tailor or mullet. When targeting Jewies, try the following locations: • Gold Coast Seaway • Jumpinpin Bar area • Kalinga Bank • Mouth of the southern arm of the Coomera River • Mouth of the Pimpama River • Surf side of South Stradbroke Island Size limit: 75cm min Bag limit: 2 Trag jew trag jew Teraglin, or commonly known as Trag Jew, are mostly caught offshore but are also caught inside the Broadwater. Trag Jew will take baits of WA pilchards, squid, and mullet fillets. When targeting trag jew, try the following spots: • Gold Coast Seaway • Under Sovereign Island bridge • Under Ephraim Island bridge • North eastern tip of Jabiru Island Size limit: 38cm min Bag limit: 5 Squire squire Squire, or juvenile snapper, are a 5 star table fish. Squire are generally targeted offshore, however they are also frequently caught inside the Broadwater and tributaries. Small squire caught in the Broadwater are often misidentified as bream, they are often a pale pink colour and have iridescent blue spots along their body. It is fairly uncommon to catch a legal sized squire inside the Broadwater, as they head out to sea once they become bigger. Squire will take baits of WA pilchards, squid, mullet, yakkas, and slimy mackerel. When targeting squire, try the followng locations: • Gold Coast Seaway • Emphraim Island Bridge • Sovereign Island Bridge • Mouth of the southern arm of the Coomera River • Mouth of the Pimpama River Size limit: 35cm min Bag limit: 4 with no more than 1 over 70cm, 8 per boat with no more than 2 over 70cm (with 2 or more people on board). CLOSED SEASON APPLIES Golden Trevally golden trevally Golden trevally are a powerful fish and exciting to catch. They are also a fine table fish. Live baits such as herring work best. They will also take dead baits of WA pilchards and squid. They frequent the Gold Coast Seaway, all rivers, canals, and salt water lakes. Size limit: No size limit Bag limit: Combined limit of 20 in total for all members of the trevally family Moses Perch moses perch Moses Perch, also known as Fingermark, look similar to Mangrove Jack except they have a large black dot on the side of their body. Moses Perch will take baits of WA pilchards, whitebait, and strip baits of most fish. They are a nice fish to eat, and are found in similar areas to Mangrove Jack, including under bridges, next to rock walls, and areas of the Broadwater with a cunjevoi reef bottom. Size limit: 35cm min Bag limit: 5 Swallowtail Dart swallowtail dart Dart are a fantastic fish to catch when beach fishing. Large schools of dart are often seen from the shore swimming down the waves. Dart can be caught in abundance, and are also a fine fish to eat. If you like eating tailor, you will certainly enjoy dart. As with tailor, dart should be bled and chilled immediately upon capture to retain their eating quality. The best bait to use are pipis, which can be dug easily using your feet using the "pipi-shuffle" on the water's edge. Dart are found in both the surfline and gutters on surf beaches, and can also be caught off the sand pumping jetty at the Spit. The surf side of South Stradbroke Island holds great numbers of pipis and dart. The surf side of the island is only a 5 minute walk across from the Broadwater at South Currigee Campground, North Currigee Campground, and The Bedrooms. Size limit: 30cm min Bag limit: 30 Estuary Cod estuary cod Estuary Cod are a fine table fish and grow to 1.5m in length. They will take baits such as WA pilchards, squid, prawns, and mullet fillets. Live herring work well. Estuary Cod are generally caught along rock walls and the entrance to weirs. Size limit: 38cm min, 120cm max Bag limit: Combined limit of 5 in total for all cod and grouper species HIRE BOATS AND PRICES WHAT TO CATCH WHAT TO SEE WHERE TO CATCH WHAT BAIT TO USE CRABBING CAMPING CONTACT US