Seaway Fishing Opportunities after a Flood

Flooding is a regular occurrence these days and there are still opportunities for some top quality fishing in the dirty water.  Fish still need to eat regardless of the visibility and the important thing to remember is that all the fresh water will be in the top layer of water, there will still be salt water towards the bottom especially in deep holes.   Most predatory fish will take advantage of the dirty water by ambushing prey as it is flushed out of canals and rivers.  The seaway itself provides an excellent hunting ground for predators after a flood due to its depth and strong tidal flows.  The deep hole at the end of the north wall is particularly good as it enables fish to rest in the salt water on the bottom and dash up to the surface through the fresh to grab some food.  Fish like Mulloway, Tailor and the various Trevally species have no problem hunting in dirty water but they tend to do so only at a time that suits them.  This may be at the start of a run out or start of a run in tide.

Livebaiting on the bottom usually works very well so as long as you can find some livies you are in with a good shot at some fish.  Lures can work well if you find the fish hunting along the current lines, the most likely area for this would be at the ends of the walls but don't discount the edges of the walls themselves.  Dirty water makes larger fish more comfortable at hunting close to the surface so throwing around a shallow running minnow or popper can sometimes pay big dividends.  Also try a metal such as a twistie or raider along the current lines to see if there are any fish hunting just below the surface.  Plastics can also yield a fish or two on the bottom or midwater.  If there are any well defined dirty water/clean water lines these are well worth a cast with a minnow or a metal.  From what I have seen the flooding on the gold coast was not too bad so it should not take too long for water quality to improve.

For a look at a report made shortly after a flood you can look at this one from last year:    http://seawayfishing.info/2012/02/27/seaway-report-27th-february-2011/