Private night fishing on the Gold Coast Broadwater.
Best night fishing spots, Gold Coast Broadwater
Where we fish after dark, and what is biting when.
Ten grounds, ranked for a mixed group of up to 8. Four of them, Wave Break Island, Crab Island, the South Stradbroke western shore and Currigee, only fish properly from a boat.
Run times below are from The Spit at a cruising speed, rounded, and are about figures. The channels, the tide and the traffic can add to them on the night.
The top ten
| Rank | Spot | Boat only | Night targets | Best tide | About, from The Spit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sundale Bridge pylons, Nerang River | Pylons only | Bream, tailor, mangrove jack, school mulloway | Change of tide, big tides at night | 16 min |
| 2 | Wave Break Island, north side | Yes | Mulloway on the turn, snapper, trevally, kingfish, bream and whiting on the weed | Incoming and the turn | 8 min |
| 3 | Council Chambers reach, Evandale | Mid-river only | Whiting, mangrove jack, cod, flathead, winter jew | Turn of the tide at night | 16 min |
| 4 | Crab Island flats and drop-off | Yes | Dusky flathead, whiting, bream | High for the mangrove edge, run-out for the drop-off | 20 min |
| 5 | Coomera River mouth and bridge pylons | Pylons only | Mulloway on live bait, bream, flathead, trevally | Night, less traffic | 36 min |
| 6 | Sovereign Islands canals | From the water only | Big bream year round, jack in summer, flathead | Shaded side, turn of tide | 28 min |
| 7 | Seaway North Wall and pipeline | Partly | Winter jewfish, tailor, bigeye trevally, squid | Rising tide, within an hour of the change | 5 min |
| 8 | Jacobs Well and Cabbage Tree Point junctions | Junctions only | Mulloway, flathead, whiting, jack, cod | Slack high water | 52 min |
| 9 | South Stradbroke western shore | Yes | Squid on jigs under the boat's own lights, May to October | Not stated | 16 min |
| 10 | Currigee foreshore | In practice, yes | Bream, whiting, flathead, tailor in the gutters east | Small tides, rising to cross the shallows | 20 min |
What's biting at night
- Mulloway (jewfish): peak in winter, July and August. Deep holes and back-eddies at the tide change and the start of the run-out.
- Flathead: year round. Sandy gutters at canal mouths and mangrove edges at high tide.
- Bream: year round. The shaded side of jetties and pylons, on the turn of tide.
- Tailor: cooler months. Along walls and pylons, early, late and at night.
- Mangrove jack: summer. Canal pontoons, rock walls and jetties, tight to structure.
- Whiting: best on the night turn of the tide at Council Chambers reach.
- Squid: May to October, lit water and the western shore under the boat's own light.
- Trevally: under lights at bridges, marinas and jetties on the run-out.
- Snapper (squire): southern Broadwater between Sundale Bridge and the Seaway.
What we're chasing this month
Updated monthly from the season calendar below.
Example for September: squid tapering off, jewfish coming on, the shoulder trip window (5.00 pm to 9.00 pm).
| Month | In form |
|---|---|
| Jan, Feb, Mar | Jewfish |
| Apr | Jewfish, tailor in the channels |
| May | Squid season starts |
| Jun, Jul, Aug | Squid, jewfish |
| Sep | Squid tapering off, jewfish |
| Oct | Squid tapering off, tailor |
| Nov, Dec | Jewfish |
How we fish it
We anchor on the structure once it is dark and stay put, moving every 15 to 20 minutes if nothing bites. Some nights we fish structure that is already lit, like the Sundale Bridge or a canal home. Other nights we make our own pool of light over dark water at spots like Currigee or the western shore.
Check datesWhich of these we fish on your night depends on the best tide for night fishing on the Broadwater, and we leave from one of six night fishing pick-up points.