Episode 532: Top Brisbane Landbased Fishing Spots In Winter With Beau Rixon

Beau’s Top SEQ Winter Fishing Spots

#1: Flathead

• Winter is a good time to target school flathead land-based around Brisbane. Good places to try including the Shorncliffe Pier, Nudgee Beach and the mouth of the Pine River. Fish are typically in the 35-65cm size range, although the occasional larger fish can turn up at times.
• Beau reckons that flathead can be caught at any time of day and under most conditions, provided the wind is 12 knots or less. The critical factor is always the tide, with the last 2 hours of the runout tide and the first two hours of the run-in tide preferred.
• On the runout tide, walk across the flats to the main channel and work along the drop-offs. Fish often go a little quiet on the slack water but can fire up again on the run-in tide, when fishing the waters edge as it moves up onto the flats can be productive.
• It’s not a bad strategy to put in 3-4 casts at a spot, then walk 10m or so up or down current and start again.

Tackle:

• A 2-4kg or 3-5kg rod and 2000-2500 size spin reel, 10lb braid and 12-14lb leader will handle most flathead caught in these locations.

Lures:

• A 75mm, 19g Crazy Jighead Swimmer is a soft plastic lure that comes rigged with a pair of treble hooks and has been deadly for Beau on the flathead in recent weeks. It’s best to cast slightly up-current and then either hop the lure back with the current or hold the rod tip high and slow roll it.
• Small Hard Bodies such as Tango Shads, Daiwa Double Clutch or Berkley Flicker Shads can be very effective. Lures with casting weights are good because it’s important to make long casts on the flats.
• Small soft plastic paddle tails, jerk shads or curly tail grubs rigged on 1/8 to 3/8 oz jig heads and fished the same way as the Crazy Jighead Swimmer are also effective

#2 Squid

• Winter brings cool, clear water, hardyheads and in turn quality tiger squid to the shores around Brisbane.
• Look for squid around rocky and weedy shorelines, piers, rockwalls and so on around Wynnum, Manly or Raby Bay, on the south-side or Scarborough, Shorncliffe, Redcliff and Scarborough on the northern side of Brisbane.
• Beau likes to fish at night, using a torch to spotlight the squid, then making casts with a jig. On calm, clear days it’s possible to catch plenty of squid just blind casting to suitable structure.
• Places where baitfish and prawns are aggregated will tend to attract squid, but they are a schooling animal, so it’s important to be prepared to walk some distance and cover plenty of ground until you find a patch of them.
• Slow rolling jigs is the usual technique for Beau, but in deeper water he’ll sometimes use a rattling jig and work it with long sweeps of the rod and allowing the jig to sink between sweeps.
• Use a light drag, soft-tipped rod and sharp jigs that are free of weed and you’ll find that most squid are landed.

Tackle:

• A light, soft rod with 2000-2500 reel and a 6-8lb mainline with 1-2 rod lengths of 8-12lb leader is suitable.

Lures:

• Yamashita Normal and Live and jigs in sizes 2.5 to 3 work well, as do the Daiwa jigs. Beau doesn’t have colour preferences and has used all colours, including glow, both with and without rattles and fins that they all work at times.

#3 Tailor

• During winter you’ll often find quality tailor in numbers around rock walls, jetties and other structures. Early morning and late afternoon are the best times to target them and at these times you’ll often see them busting up on the surface.
• For larger fish, the Seaway at Southport, Redcliff and Shorncliffe Jetties are tops, especially around the high tide.
• If you’re losing lots of tackle to the Tailor, try upsizing your lures.

Tackle:

• A 3-6kg rod with 2000-2500 reel and a 10-20lb mainline with 20-30lb leader is perfect when tailor are around.

Lures:

• Hard body, medium diving hard bodies are the best option for tailor. If you’re seeing them busting up, simply cast right into the middle of the bustup (they rarely spook), then hold the rod tip high and work them back on a constant, medium paced retrieve.
• Small soft plastic paddle tails of 3-4” are a good choice if you’re losing too many hard bodies and are looking for a cheaper option. 1/4 – 3/8 oz jig heads are the usual range.

#4 Impoundment Bass

• In winter the bass in North Pine Dam and Lake Kurwongbah school up in the deeper areas and feed on bony bream.
• Fishing from some of the points in these two impoundments allows land-based anglers to cast lures at the schooling bass in deeper water. Most other storages in SEQ are much harder to access from the shore.
• It’s important to fish shorelines that are receiving the full force of any breeze, or that have received the breeze consistently for several days prior to fishing.
• Bass fishing is inconsistent, so don’t expect to always have a red-letter day. Some days are just better than others. Remember that this is a schooling species, so it’s important to walk around and try different places until you locate a patch of fish.

Tackle:

• A 2-5kg or 3-6 kg spin rod with 2500 size reel, 10-12lb braid and 20lb leader will enable an angler to keep bass out of timber structure.

Lures:

• Jigs such as the Halco Twisty or spoons such as the Hotbite Gangbanger are deadly. Cast them as far as possible and let it sink, when the fish are really active it will get eaten on the drop. Once the lure hits bottom, hold the rod tip up and simply wind at a slow to medium pace. If that’s not working on the day, try working the lure with 2-3 aggressive rod lifts to get the lure off bottom, then allow it to drop back.
• Soft vibes can also be effective for impoundment bass, fished in the same way as the jigs.
• Small soft plastics of 2.5 to 3” fished on oversized jig heads of 3/8oz can also be very effective at times.

#5 Jewfish

• Big tides that are full at around dawn or dusk are great times to fish for school jewfish in deeper holes or bends of rivers in SEQ, from the Sunshine Coast right through to the Gold Coast.
• Use Google Earth to identify likely fishing spots that can be accessed from the shore or from a boat.

Tackle:

• A 3-6kg rod with 2500-3000 size reel and a 12-20lb mainline with 20-30lb leader will work for the size of jewfish encountered in these areas.

Lures:

• The 3.2” Daiwa Bait Junkies paddletails are very effective on Jewfish
• Samaki Vibes in 70 and 85mm sizes are great
• The Holt Production Swim Prawn is a good choice to put in front of jewies.