tips for fishing the coomera river

[coomera-champ101]

i have been fishing in the coomera river for almost two years and can never find a good spot to catch jack and bream i also want to start up on catching some good flatty, travelly and whighting. i see "pros":P that i call al the time catching them all throught the river but i can not find out the bait and lures to use. can you please tell me the write techniques, lures and spots to catch them.

what are the best lures for bream and flatyys mainley.

thank you

tom

[Gold_Coast_Chaser]

i have been fishing in the coomera river for almost two years and can never find a good spot to catch jack and bream. i see "pros":P that i call al the time catching them all throught the river but i can not find out the bait and lures to use. can you please tell me the write techniques, lures and spots to catch them

thank you

tom


Yeh, i suffer this problem, especially when im fishing with u, lol, Although, ive learnt that using lures, Soft and hard close to structure should produce bream, as for the Jacks i havent really got a clue, all ive heard is that they are good at snappin ya line. Have u given up of flathead in that river?????? ive read posts that say...USE PINK LURES for flathead..donno if this is true but...worth a try i guess.......i hope our fishing gets better tom....lol it cant get much worse i suppose!!

[coomera-champ101]

yer haha we should go hit up around the marina with some sx40's see what we can find

[Gold_Coast_Chaser]

yer haha we should go hit up around the marina with some sx40's see what we can find


Yeh maybe, not sure how close we can get in there though, i think we should just try the rockwalls near santa babra as ive heard these a full of good size bream!! worth a try i guess.....

[PlasticFantastic]

For Jacks and Trevally in the Coomera try heading up stream where it turns into a lake that's where alot of the guys on here fish myself included.

PlasticFantastic

[coomera-champ101]

For Jacks and Trevally in the Coomera try heading up stream where it turns into a lake that's where alot of the guys on here fish myself included.

PlasticFantastic


have u fished near santa barbra rock walls and whatdo u you use for jacks and trevally?

please help

tom

[coomera-champ101]

Yeh maybe, not sure how close we can get in there though, i think we should just try the rockwalls near santa babra as ive heard these a full of good size bream!! worth a try i guess.....


yer i was thinking about that but there is always alot of skiers around there and it could be a hard place to fish

[marty_z]

yer i was thinking about that but there is always alot of skiers around there and it could be a hard place to fish

The secret to catching good numbers of fish is to try and fish when no one else is on the water. Check out a lot of the Jack photos on this site and a large percentage are taken in the dark. I know you are only young and might be restricted by parents, etc but when I am chasing Jacks I start flicking lures an hour before there is any sunlight. That means 4am in the middle of Summer. By the time the water-skiers hit the water I am pulling the boat out, or at least giving up on the Jacks and chasing Flathead or similar.

The spots you refer to all hold plenty of fish, but just remember we all drive past fish to get to our fishing spots. The Coomera holds heaps of fish and has plenty of structure. If you want to catch fish on lures set yourself up with a few quality lures and two rods ready to go (one hardbody and one soft plastic), leave the bait at home and cast to every pontoon you see (both corners), cast along every metre of rockwall and every overhanging mangrove. If you still struggle, try tolling lures so they bump along the bottom. Troll these along the drop-offs of sand banks and you should find a Flathead or two. Also, when the wind is light throw small (quality Japanese) poppers at similar structure for Bream - very exciting fishing.

You live amongst heaps of fishy areas - if you stick at it you are bound to find a few good fish. The Jacks have slowed down in your area, but the Bream should be getting better as it gets cooler.

Good Luck, and let me know how you go

Marty

[coomera-champ101]

The secret to catching good numbers of fish is to try and fish when no one else is on the water. Check out a lot of the Jack photos on this site and a large percentage are taken in the dark. I know you are only young and might be restricted by parents, etc but when I am chasing Jacks I start flicking lures an hour before there is any sunlight. That means 4am in the middle of Summer. By the time the water-skiers hit the water I am pulling the boat out, or at least giving up on the Jacks and chasing Flathead or similar.

The spots you refer to all hold plenty of fish, but just remember we all drive past fish to get to our fishing spots. The Coomera holds heaps of fish and has plenty of structure. If you want to catch fish on lures set yourself up with a few quality lures and two rods ready to go (one hardbody and one soft plastic), leave the bait at home and cast to every pontoon you see (both corners), cast along every metre of rockwall and every overhanging mangrove. If you still struggle, try tolling lures so they bump along the bottom. Troll these along the drop-offs of sand banks and you should find a Flathead or two. Also, when the wind is light throw small (quality Japanese) poppers at similar structure for Bream - very exciting fishing.

You live amongst heaps of fishy areas - if you stick at it you are bound to find a few good fish. The Jacks have slowed down in your area, but the Bream should be getting better as it gets cooler.

Good Luck, and let me know how you go

Marty

hey marty,

thanks for all your help

i can prob get out around 5 if that so ill definatally try that

im goin out to buy some good lures for these fish can u recomend me some for bream flattys and jack

i live in river links have you heard of it?

there is always people fliking lures pikin up jacks under jetiis in my canal and i want to know the best ways to do this so if you have any more advice please help me

thanks

tom

[marty_z]

Tom,

I know RiverLinks and have fished it before. Like any canal system there are heaps of rockwalls, jetties and boats. There are many ways to fish these systems and they will all catch fish, but the biggest tip is to get your lure as close to the structure as possible. In that sort if structure I find the Gulp soft plastics work well. I would recommend getting some 2in Gulp New Penny shrimp and rigging them on 1/16oz jigheads (TT are the ones I prefer). Make sure you feed the jighead on straight so the lure is straight and does not spin around in circles when it sinks in the water.

With practice you can cast these flat above the water and they will skip across the water (like a skipping stone). This is a good way to cast at jetties and boats - in particular the gaps between jetties and boats. Just let them fall naturally, then once they hit the bottom flick them up a foot or two, then let them free fall again. Repeat this back to the boat and then cast at the next jetty. Obviously an electric motor on your boat helps to move along the jetties and does not spook the fish.

When fishing the rockwalls, either drift or hop your lure down the face of the rockwall. Concentrate on the corners of the canal mouths. And if you see and surface action, shoot a lure on top of that asap.

Other things to improve your catch rate will be the line and leader you use. Braid and GSP are very good to use with light lures - I use 4-8lb Fireline and 6-14lb Fluorocarbon leader - the lighter for Bream, the heavier for small Jacks and Flathead. The dedicated Bream fisho's go even lighter than this.

At the moment the Ecogear VX-35 blades are working well on Bream. These are fished a bit differently as they are mainly for fishing the bottom, but they work well. Can be expensive if you lose a few though ($16+ each).

For Flatties, try 3in Gulp Shrimp on 1/8in jigheads. I like white, but most colours will work. If chasing Flathead, concentrate on canal mouths, drains, sandbank edges and hop the lure along the bottom.

For poppers try the River2Sea BubblePops 35 - these are a reasonable price and work well. Cast these hard against the rockwalls and jetties, particularly at first light. These will catch many different species. I prefer to use mono for my leader with poppers as it floats and makes the popper work a bit better.

All the lures I mentioned will also catch Jacks. If you target Bream close to any structure you will get Jacks as bycatch. If you target Jacks you will get Bream as bycatch, just not as many as if you were targetting Bream. The main difference between targetting the two should be the strength of your line and leader.

Don't be afraid to go and ask the "pros" you refer to a few questions if they are fishing at the back of your house - most are very friendly and always willing to help out a keen young fisho.

Hope this helps.

Marty

[Gold_Coast_Chaser]

If this information from marty doesnt help you tom i dont know what will, He has told u everything you need to know in great detail, now you just need to try it out! Good Luck!

[coomera-champ101]

Tom,

I know RiverLinks and have fished it before. Like any canal system there are heaps of rockwalls, jetties and boats. There are many ways to fish these systems and they will all catch fish, but the biggest tip is to get your lure as close to the structure as possible. In that sort if structure I find the Gulp soft plastics work well. I would recommend getting some 2in Gulp New Penny shrimp and rigging them on 1/16oz jigheads (TT are the ones I prefer). Make sure you feed the jighead on straight so the lure is straight and does not spin around in circles when it sinks in the water.

With practice you can cast these flat above the water and they will skip across the water (like a skipping stone). This is a good way to cast at jetties and boats - in particular the gaps between jetties and boats. Just let them fall naturally, then once they hit the bottom flick them up a foot or two, then let them free fall again. Repeat this back to the boat and then cast at the next jetty. Obviously an electric motor on your boat helps to move along the jetties and does not spook the fish.

When fishing the rockwalls, either drift or hop your lure down the face of the rockwall. Concentrate on the corners of the canal mouths. And if you see and surface action, shoot a lure on top of that asap.

Other things to improve your catch rate will be the line and leader you use. Braid and GSP are very good to use with light lures - I use 4-8lb Fireline and 6-14lb Fluorocarbon leader - the lighter for Bream, the heavier for small Jacks and Flathead. The dedicated Bream fisho's go even lighter than this.

At the moment the Ecogear VX-35 blades are working well on Bream. These are fished a bit differently as they are mainly for fishing the bottom, but they work well. Can be expensive if you lose a few though ($16+ each).

For Flatties, try 3in Gulp Shrimp on 1/8in jigheads. I like white, but most colours will work. If chasing Flathead, concentrate on canal mouths, drains, sandbank edges and hop the lure along the bottom.

For poppers try the River2Sea BubblePops 35 - these are a reasonable price and work well. Cast these hard against the rockwalls and jetties, particularly at first light. These will catch many different species. I prefer to use mono for my leader with poppers as it floats and makes the popper work a bit better.

All the lures I mentioned will also catch Jacks. If you target Bream close to any structure you will get Jacks as bycatch. If you target Jacks you will get Bream as bycatch, just not as many as if you were targetting Bream. The main difference between targetting the two should be the strength of your line and leader.

Don't be afraid to go and ask the "pros" you refer to a few questions if they are fishing at the back of your house - most are very friendly and always willing to help out a keen young fisho.

Hope this helps.

Marty

thanks for all ur info marty i will be sure to take it into consideration ad i will let you know how i go next time i go out.

[coomera-champ101]

i need some good spots if any one is willing to share pleases


thanks

tom

[marty_z]

tom,

will you be fishing out of a boat? and if so, how far are you able to travel?

Marty

[coomera-champ101]

marty,

i can travel any where in the river aslong as i got enough petrol but i only hav a 6hp but sometimes we go in our bigger boat.

[the gecko]

Nothing wrong with 6hp. Do you have a fishfinder on the boat? That will be your next investment.....

The place where riverlinks comes into the river has good fish on the runin tide. If your coming from the M1 bridge, its the first canal entrance, and fish near the rockwall on the left corner.

Go downriver past the railway bridge, and just around the main bend before you get to Riviera marine, on your right is a rocky spot, marked with a Danger/rocks sign. Anywhere within 30-50 ft of those rocks is good. Theres a deep hole there in the middle.

Santa BArbara rocks are also ok, but can be hit and miss.

Near the Tallawood rd ramp is a public jetty that holds good fish. Any of the pontoons opposite Sanc Cove have fish.

That should get you started boys. Its just a matter of putting in some hours at the time the fish are biting.

Marty does pretty good with lures early in the day, I get my fish on mullet fillets at night. Daytime is pretty useless. I fish a lot of other locations as well, like the broadwater and nerang rivers, but I started off learning around those spots near you.

good luck boys, take some pics and post your results.

ANdrew

[Didley]

Boys, Gecko and Marty are right on with their advice. I don't think you'll find a jack fisher that'll put you onto their spot X, especially on an open forum like this anyway. But the important thing is structure ( rocks, fallen trees, jettys, ect), if its any sort of structure it could hold MJ's, so through a few lures at it and don't stop at 1 or 2 try 7-8 before you move on. Get yourself a cheap sounder, it'll help enormously. Even shallow water down to about 30cm.
Persistence is the key, put lots of time in and it'll come good. You'll learn something new every time u go out, so hang in there, it's worth it. As gecko said the season is pretty much over now, so start again in late spring and be prepared to put the hours in, and you'll be one of the local experts yourself.

[coomera-champ101]

Nothing wrong with 6hp. Do you have a fishfinder on the boat? That will be your next investment.....

The place where riverlinks comes into the river has good fish on the runin tide. If your coming from the M1 bridge, its the first canal entrance, and fish near the rockwall on the left corner.

Go downriver past the railway bridge, and just around the main bend before you get to Riviera marine, on your right is a rocky spot, marked with a Danger/rocks sign. Anywhere within 30-50 ft of those rocks is good. Theres a deep hole there in the middle.

Santa BArbara rocks are also ok, but can be hit and miss.

Near the Tallawood rd ramp is a public jetty that holds good fish. Any of the pontoons opposite Sanc Cove have fish.

That should get you started boys. Its just a matter of putting in some hours at the time the fish are biting.

Marty does pretty good with lures early in the day, I get my fish on mullet fillets at night. Daytime is pretty useless. I fish a lot of other locations as well, like the broadwater and nerang rivers, but I started off learning around those spots near you.

good luck boys, take some pics and post your results.

ANdrew

ive fished under the M1 bridge and havnt had a good success there but i will try around rock walls

thanks for the help

[the gecko]

Under the M1 bridge is useless and too noisy, but not far from there in either direction is ok.

Inside riverlinks under pontoons is good too, no need to go too far, just do it in the dark, and dont make too much noise. An electric motor will help sneak up on the fish, but its not essential.

Only Didley would give away the best spot x around.........lol.

[coomera-champ101]

Under the M1 bridge is useless and too noisy, but not far from there in either direction is ok.

Inside riverlinks under pontoons is good too, no need to go too far, just do it in the dark, and dont make too much noise. An electric motor will help sneak up on the fish, but its not essential.

Only Didley would give away the best spot x around.........lol.

ok lol

so u got any hidden spots to share
hahaha

[Didley]

ok lol

so u got any hidden spots to share
hahaha

Don't do it gecko, being helpful is one thing, but spot X is another.:-X

[Gold_Coast_Chaser]

Don't do it gecko, being helpful is one thing, but spot X is another.:-X

C,mon be a sport, hes only 15, hows he ever gonna learn if he cant catch any, lol kidding, but it would be nice to give him a few spots!!

[Didley]

C,mon be a sport, hes only 15, hows he ever gonna learn if he cant catch any, lol kidding, but it would be nice to give him a few spots!!


We told him about spot X by PM, but he's been told not to tell anybody else, so u leave him alone:-X

[marty_z]

Didley,

These two guys fish together so keeping Spot X a secret from Dylan will be hard - perhaps he can fish with a blindfold on ;D . Just kidding fellas.

You two guys have been given a lot of good tips and a few secret spots from some of us that took us years to find. I am sure if you take on board a small percentage of what you have been told you should do well. I know you have a trip planned this weekend and the weather is not looking favourable for lure fishing, but don't be put off. We have all had bad sessions, but it is those bad sessions that make the good ones so memorable. I can still remember vividly all my first and PB fish.

Looking forward to hearing how you boys go this weekend, and also catching up on the water soon.

Marty

[coomera-champ101]

Didley,

These two guys fish together so keeping Spot X a secret from Dylan will be hard - perhaps he can fish with a blindfold on ;D . Just kidding fellas.

You two guys have been given a lot of good tips and a few secret spots from some of us that took us years to find. I am sure if you take on board a small percentage of what you have been told you should do well. I know you have a trip planned this weekend and the weather is not looking favourable for lure fishing, but don't be put off. We have all had bad sessions, but it is those bad sessions that make the good ones so memorable. I can still remember vividly all my first and PB fish.

Looking forward to hearing how you boys go this weekend, and also catching up on the water soon.

Marty


yer the weather isnt looking to good but it won stop us haha

[Gold_Coast_Chaser]

yer the weather isnt looking to good but it won stop us haha

On this subject of lure fishing in wind, is it better to fish in places that are known to have fish but arent protected by the wind much,

or fishing in protected waters even ther unknown fishing areas such as up as many canals as we can??

[coomera-champ101]

C,mon be a sport, hes only 15, hows he ever gonna learn if he cant catch any, lol kidding, but it would be nice to give him a few spots!!

ur 15 aswell

[cammo79]

yer i was thinking about that but there is always alot of skiers around there and it could be a hard place to fish

dont worry about the skiers mate, take a barra rod they are a great fight on lures,

if only bullsharks would take more of them....

[Gold_Coast_Chaser]

ur 15 aswell

I know, i was just trying to get u a couple of spots mate lol, so maybe we could actually catch something!!

[marty_z]

On this subject of lure fishing in wind, is it better to fish in places that are known to have fish but arent protected by the wind much,

or fishing in protected waters even ther unknown fishing areas such as up as many canals as we can??

Try both. Fish are not always predictable and certain winds will change the way fish feed. It may come down to what feels most comfortable, and of course which one gets results.

As previously mentioned, you will struggle to keep your line tight if you are fishing with light lures in the wind. You should be able to find canals that run across the wind direction and that will allow you to fish the protected sides of the canal. Of course if you are planning to cast lures and don't have an electric motor you will get blown around a fair bit, which will make it hard to pepper an area.

Marty

[coomera-champ101]

Try both. Fish are not always predictable and certain winds will change the way fish feed. It may come down to what feels most comfortable, and of course which one gets results.

As previously mentioned, you will struggle to keep your line tight if you are fishing with light lures in the wind. You should be able to find canals that run across the wind direction and that will allow you to fish the protected sides of the canal. Of course if you are planning to cast lures and don't have an electric motor you will get blown around a fair bit, which will make it hard to pepper an area.

Marty

yer thats the one thing we need an eletric motor but we will se wat happens on the day

[Gold_Coast_Chaser]

Try both. Fish are not always predictable and certain winds will change the way fish feed. It may come down to what feels most comfortable, and of course which one gets results.

As previously mentioned, you will struggle to keep your line tight if you are fishing with light lures in the wind. You should be able to find canals that run across the wind direction and that will allow you to fish the protected sides of the canal. Of course if you are planning to cast lures and don't have an electric motor you will get blown around a fair bit, which will make it hard to pepper an area.

Marty


If we are getting blown around shoud we use a small anchor, something that will hold us in place but not too hard to pull up?? or have any other ideas??

[marty_z]

yeah, a small anchor may help in certain spots. If you are going to use an anchor try to keep a reasonable distance away from the structure you plan to fish so you don't spook the fish when the anchor goes in the water.

Another idea would be to try to find an area where the wind or tide (or both) will either work together or against each other to result in a drift parallel to a section of structure you want to fish.

And of course, you can troll. If you troll lures you will be under the outboard power and your lines will be in the water so you will negate the wind to a large degree.

Marty

[coomera-champ101]

yeah, a small anchor may help in certain spots. If you are going to use an anchor try to keep a reasonable distance away from the structure you plan to fish so you don't spook the fish when the anchor goes in the water.

Another idea would be to try to find an area where the wind or tide (or both) will either work together or against each other to result in a drift parallel to a section of structure you want to fish.

And of course, you can troll. If you troll lures you will be under the outboard power and your lines will be in the water so you will negate the wind to a large degree.

Marty

this is dylans idea

wat if we got a big bag of rocks and out it out to try and slow us down??

[Gold_Coast_Chaser]

this is dylans idea

wat if we got a big bag of rocks and out ti out to try and slow us down??

I think, we'll try without anything this time tom..and try to find ways to deal with the wind....if we struggle we'll then have to think about it for next time!!

[coomera-champ101]

I think, we'll try without anything this time tom..and try to find ways to deal with the wind....if we struggle we'll then have to think about it for next time!!

are u sure its a good idea hahaha

wats the idea the first time

[coomera-champ101]

goin out lure fishing tommorow in the coomera river with SX40's and jackall chubby's where should we go and what should we look out for whilst fishing?
where is the best place to fish

help would be highly appreciated

thanks

[marty_z]

don't forget about the spots I already told you about, although they may be affected by the wind a fair bit.

if the wind hangs around tomorrow, you may be best of hiding in the canals at RiverLinks - the ones that run east to west will be reasonably protected from the southerly wind.

Good Luck

Marty

[Didley]

Give Spot X a go, If that doesn't work give it away boys.;D

[coomera-champ101]

Give Spot X a go, If that doesn't work give it away boys.;D


we didnt catch anything haha

[Didley]

we didnt catch anything haha

Your not trying hard enough, haha

[coomera-champ101]

Your not trying hard enough, haha
we were i swear haha