Looking Forward To Spring In the Seaway

Now that winter is behind us, its time to start looking at what changes spring brings to the seaway and broadwater areas.  Water temperatures should increase slowly over the next few months leading to an increase in surface feeding activity especially towards  the start of Summer and edge fishing with poppers, stickbaits and shallow running minnows should yield some good fish at dawn and dusk.    Weather will get increasingly erratic with lots more strong Northerly and Southerly winds making the north wall unfishable for a few days a week.




The dreaded snot weed will make an appearance in September(if it hasn't already) and make lure and bait fishing difficult on the run-out tides but hopefully should be gone by mid October.

Fishwise, Bigeye trevally should start to show up in bigger numbers and sizes with 50cm+ fish becoming more prevalent as we head towards summer.  Poppers and minnows around the walls and slugs/microjigs/plastics near the pipeline on early morning run in tides.  Vibs and Microjigs dropped down deep around current lines should also pick a few good specimens.  At night look( & listen!) for them around the pipeline on the first hour of the run-in and run-out tide and throw poppers and skitterbaits at them.

The large schools of Giant Trevally should head further upstream in  late September and only be sporadically caught between October and March. You should still be able to pick up a few on trolled lures, plastics and Microjigs though.  Keep an eye out around December and January for a brief reappearance when the bait schools are thickest.

Tailor numbers should increase with the biggest fish showing around the north wall in mid October, November and December.  Poppers, Skitterbaits, big Minnows and live pike will catch the bigger fish, Slugs & Slices will catch plenty of the smaller fish, look for surface feeding anywhere in the seaway, the broadwater or just off the shore break of south straddie.  If fishing during the day try casting along the North wall on the first hour a run-in tide with a skitterbait for quality fish.  Try dropping a microjig to the bottom as well, these fish are usually smaller but good to fill in a bit of time.

Most of the Tarpon will head upstream as the waters begin to warm and you should be able to find them in the channels around Crab Island, up past Sovereign Island to Couran Cove and up the Coomera and Nerang Rivers.  There still might be the odd fish or 2 around the Seaway Rock walls for anyone luring after dark.

Yellowtail kings should show up in increasing numbers between now and the start of summer though they can show up anywhere at anytime.  The pipeline is a given but there should be some hanging around the north and south walls which are easier to land. Also keep an eye in the Northern Y, Canyon and Northern Channel up to the Cross Channels.  Stickbaits, Poppers and livies work well for the larger fish, Skitterbaits, twisties and plastics work fine for smaller fish feeding on surface.

Mulloway are always around and will be able to be caught at the tide changes with vibs, plastics and livies.   If you really want a big Mulloway go out to the bait reefs at dawn, dusk or during a night with no moon and put a live Yellowtail down near the bottom. Flathead should show up briefly as they spawn in the seaway in large numbers in September and October, plastics on the bottom or live Herring are best for these fish.

Hairtail will show up sometime between now and summer for those fishing at night, look for them around the ends of the walls on a runout tide or in slower areas like Hairtail Reach during run-in tides. They will take livies or dead baits, as well as plastics and trolled minnows fished slow.  Expect to lose tackle if you don't use wire when these are around.

Offshore, Mack Tuna numbers should increase, we may see a run of bonito and frigate mackerel as well.  Mackerel should show up towards the end of spring but won’t really get going until we are into summer and Autumn.

Towards the end of September but possibly as late as November we should see large schools of frogmouth pilchards enter the seaway and broadwater, this is the cue for the beginning of the summer surface season and will see some top quality surface action with Trevally, Tailor, Queenfish and Kingfish all busting into big schools of bait, keep an eye out for this as it can happen at any time.

 

Proven lures for the Spring Season.

•  20 Gram Halco Twisty
• Rapala Skitter Pop 9
• Skitterbait
• Megabass Vision 111
• Rapala XR10
• Bolt Omega
• Storm 30gm Microjig