Stoked

[marzoe]

I've just acquired a new tinny and have been really keen to target bream around the Gold Coast canals. This morning I headed down to the boatramp at the Convention Centre at first light to try my luck. I have reasonable gear but unfortunately didn't really know where to go. The tide had just turned and was starting to run in. I stuffed around for awhile at the mouth of the canal just past the TE Peters Drive bridge with no sucess so thought I would try a couple of drifts past the Convention Centre. I was using 2" Gulp prawns in banana prawn colour and the new ecogear bream prawn which was recommended to me.
Got a good hit along the front of the convention centre but didnt catch it.
Things were looking up at least I got a bite!
Anyway to cut a long story short I caught my first legal bream along in front of Cascade Gardens. Then got another bigger one straight away. Yeeha!!
I got a few hits after that but no more in the boat.
By this time it was about 7.30 and the sun was starting to come up over the trees and the bites pretty much stopped.
The current was becoming stronger and as I don't have an electric motor it was a struggle to control my drifts.
After this I was left wondering about a few things:
Do bream go off the bite when the sun is higher up?
Is there better places to fish around that area when the current becomes too strong in the main canals?
Am I better off anchoring and trying to fish in one spot for awhile?
Would love to hear from anyone who knows about this kinda stuff!!
Cheers

[tunaticer]

From my experience, I think bream target certain areas at certain times of the tide, especially when it is shallow reefy type of structure. Pay attention to water entering areas that have been dry during the low, then look at the food sources that could be getting covered and what height of the tide is needed to give the bream access. Nut out that and you will find the bream will frequent that section at that stage of the tide each time. All that being said though, bream schools do move on after feeding in an area a while, seasonal migration I guess.
I know of few locations where the bream are thick for more than an hour a time. Every different stage of the tide is delivering a new food source somewhere.

[Deadstick]

Marzoe

It is a bit hard with out an electric but bream will bite throughout the day most of the time. You could try drifting the main channel in the nerang itself & try to get out of the wind so that you drift at the same speed as the current as this is the key. Float you line down at 90Deg to your drift & try & hop it on the bottom with out getting snagged. The channel that runs up river after the Bundal bridge would be a good place to get you started there are some patches of reef & grave lup there that can hold fish at times. Work the area from the bridge upto the cotton trees which is where the canal entrance to sorento is. I would generally fish a 1/12 jighead here but you may have to go upto a 1/8 without electric or untill you get used to it.

Cheers hope this helps get you started.

[nick-o83]

That's a good area to fish for toothy critters in the warmer months mate!!!

[chaspion01]

I too have a tinnie and love to hit the estuaries and rivers, look for rocky structure and mangroves and always cast your plastic toward your drift rather than dragging it behind where youv'e come from. Mind you, you can't beat chucking a line in on the surf side of the coast where the bream are damn sight more aggressive and larger, never know your luck with a possible jew, tailor etc as well, look for a gutter late in the arvo, you can't beat it!

[Dodgy_Back]

If you want to be targeting Bream in canals , you really should be looking at getting an electric motor. Then you can just sneak around the canals all day.
As for when to get fish in a canal. For me ,,the higher tide the better, if it's sunny go for the shadows, if it's coudyy the bream can be more widespread and can be easily tempted on some little top water lures, alot of fun.

With out an electric you can always drift some banks in the broadwater for some flattys (I know nothing about flattys so can't help you there) Or for bream alot of guys drift the shallows around crab island ,throwing hardbodies or topwater.
Hope that helps a little.