Soft Plastics In The Broadwater & Santuary Cove

[dcoop]

I am new here & this has proably been covered before.

I have never used soft plastics & i was looking at getting some. So what i would like to know from you knowledgeable fisher people is what i should buy to catch myself some good fish.

I will be fishing in the broadwater & in the river area around Santuary Cove.
I would like to catch bream,flathead, whiting, & hopefully some mangrove jacks. Also what sort of fishing line should i use etc. I will be fishing from a boat.

Any help would be muchly appreciated.
Thanks

[TheSaint]

What type of rod & reel have you got to start your SP career with?

[dcoop]

What type of rod & reel have you got to start your SP career with?

Nothing special just an old shimano spin reel (custom ex3000) & just spin rod...nothing special.

so i guess any advice on a rod & reel would be good too. Probably up to about $300

Thanks for reading

[TheSaint]

$300 on rod/reel combo nice..

Go a 7ft Shimano T-curve XL & match it with Shimano Symetre 1500 or 2500. If you shop around you should be able to pick them both up for under $300..

Then put some 6lb Berkley Fireline in hi vis green, fluro pink or new Crystal(can fish with no leader). You need a good leader also so i would start with 8lb-12lb maybe in Vanish or Seaguar.. My range is 4lb-12lb

SP's.. well there is heaps & if you do a search in the tackle section under 'soft plastics' you will get heaps of results & answers as well..

I personally like using Berkley powerbaits in 2" powergrubs & 3" minnows...

I hope that helped alittte?

[Scalem]

dcoop,

To your original question, the #1 and 2 best Plastics at the moment would have to be the Berkley Gulp shrimp in 2" and 3" and the Gulp worm in pumpkinseed. For bream I would go the more natural colours in the shrimp, and newpenny would be OK too.

For gear, I think one of the 1st investments I would make is an electric motor or canoe when chasing bream in the canals if you can afford it. You really have to sneak up to them quietly in the shallows, and the leccie helps you hold position out in the open. I'm not convinced spending a lot of money on a rod is going to make a big difference to a light bream rod around 7ft, but having a good quality reel makes all the difference. My Penn applause 4000 is a fantastic reel for the money, I paid $125.00. If you unscrew the main drag nut completely out from the spool, you'll see the design is very different to standard drag washer setups. You have to fish light for bream, which is where an ultra smooth drag becomes essential when fishing 4lb for snodger bream. I mostly chase snapper in the bay these days, where principals are similar, but I have a very close mate who fishes an occasional pro tournament, and paddles around in his canoe chasing bream in canals. Last time he lost count how many fish he caught on SP's and hard bodys. (Ecogear SK40 is a good one )

Scalem

[dcoop]

Thanks for that The Saint & Scalem

[BeeCole]

with the current being so strong in the broadwater - what sort of weight do you use in the jig head.

I try to go as light as possible - 1/8, 1/16 but once you cast in, it ends up 30m behind the boat and only 2-3 ft under the water, within 5 seconds.

Is there a technique for fishing plastics in places of high current like the broadwater and the rivers south of the braodwater down to the tweed?

If you use a heavier jig, then I'm thinking it won't swim properly?

[yellahunter]

make sure you fish around structure,
ie edge of weed beds, pylons, rocky outcrops, deep drop offs etc

this is particularly important in the broadwater as there is so much area to cover

[king_fisher_nick01]

the broadwater is the worst place in the world to go fishing i just came back camping from there did not get much. if uwant to catch a good fish try getting some live bait and going out in the seaway or close to wave break island. my brother caught a little kingfish land based and a 36cm bream but the was all we got

[frankgrimes]

the broadwater is the worst place in the world to go fishing i just came back camping from there did not get much.

Have to agree - Nerang river seems far better atm.