The Gold Coast is just one that comes to mind. A tourist orientated city, most visitors come in their droves to experience the glitz and glamour of "the coast", the hair-raising thrills and spills of countless theme parks and to lie back and relax on Australia's best surf beaches.

As anglers, we are extremely lucky that most of these visitors rarely hit the water except to sightsee.

And although the Gold Coast waterways are very popular with the boating fraternity, they are also a real attractant to anglers alike.

The Southport Broadwater is an estuarine system that harbours all kinds of piscatorial delights. Bread and butter species such as flathead, whiting and bream predominate the catches although garfish, mangrove jacks, estuary cod, queenfish and trevally can also be caught.

The Broadwater is protected by the land masses of South Stradbroke Island and the Southport Spit ("The Spit").

The labyrinth of canal systems harbour most species with man-made fish holding structure of jetties, rocky retaining walls and bridges providing fish with an ample habitat.

Located between "The Spit" and South Stradbroke Island is the Southport Seaway. The Seaway gives anglers a reasonably safe passage from the Broadwater to offshore reefs where marlin, tuna, cobia, mackerel, mulloway jew and the most sought after of all, the snapper can be caught.

For the freshwater enthusiast Hinze Dam offers a variety of choices when it comes to fishing the sweetwater.

Estuary Fishing

Hooked up and having fun on Garfish

Although outrageously hectic during the summer months and periods of public and school holidays, the Gold Coast can certainly produce some outstanding results for the angler.

Two rivers flow into the northern section of the Broadwater, the Pimpama River and the Coomera River. The Pimpama is the smaller and shallower of the two though still produces some great bream and flathead captures on trolled lures. Over the summer months, mudcrabs are regularly caught by those using crabpots in the area's creeks and drains.

Further up river, salt meets fresh at the Kerkin Road Weir. Above the weir, sports fishermen can target tarpon with fly rods, the most successful method in which to catch them.

The Coomera River and Coombabah Creek are a flathead and whiting mecca and is once again a productive area for those trolling lures. Mudcrabs make an appearance over the summer months as do mangrove jacks. Trolling lures is usually the most productive way of targeting jacks but those who persist with casting lures are often rewarded with quality fish.

In the Broadwater proper, plenty of options are available to the angler. With a multitude of sandbanks and man made structure, it's a reasonable bet that you will go home with a feed of fish in the icebox.

The bridges joining Sovereign Islands and Ephraim Islands to the mainland are a good place to start if targeting the likes of mulloway jew, mangrove jacks and trevally. Those using live baits will produce the best results, particularly if fishing during the evening when most of the boat traffic has dispersed.

Further south, Crab Island is a very productive area for those who love trolling, especially small shallow diving lures. Flathead, pike, bream and whiting are the species most regularly encountered whilst on the troll.

Anchoring and berleying with bread will attract the local garfish population. These poor man's marlin are exciting to catch using a float and light lines of 2kg. These fish are fantastic fun as you watch their little beaks make their way up the berley trail. Once hooked, they display all the qualities of a billfish, they jump and they run awfully hard for such a small fish.

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Wavebreak Island is another popular fishing spot with the species caught here a little different to what one can catch along the edges of the sandbanks.

This land mass was built to protect the opposite side of the Broadwater from swells which make their way through the Seaway. The rock walls and deeper water located at the northern and southern ends of the island are a favourite haunt for tailor, luderick and trevally fishermen and fishes well over the winter period.

As well as offering safe passage to boats fishing the offshore reefs, the Seaway is a great angling destination in its own right. Livebaits gathered on the bait grounds offshore or from under the Gold Coast Bridge can be used here to catch a plethora of species. Mulloway Jew, big bream in season, flathead, mangrove jack and even trevally, cobia and snapper. These are often caught along the pipeline that runs between South Stradbroke Island and The Spit. Signage on both banks will reveal the vicinity and the use of a sounder will show the exact location. Anchoring or drifting over this pipeline with livebaits is a great way of hooking up to some full on action.

Another area well worth working is towards the end of the north wall (at the mouth) where a deep hole is located. Fish are often concentrated in this area.

Placing rods on the transom is a technique used by whiting fishermen.

The Seaway is renowned for its huge Flathead during Spring. Large breeding females congregate in this area to spawn and as such, it is an area where anglers are not permitted to fish during one of the Gold Coast's most well-known fishing competitions, the Flathead Classic. Morally to allow these big fish to breed, anglers should try and fish elsewhere over spring. However because they are almost a sure bet, jigging soft plastics on heavy lead headed jigs in the deep water of the Seaway is extremely popular because of the success rate of this method.

Small queenfish are another possibility and can be caught on small chromed lures. Due to the fact that they are often feeding on quite small baitfish, these fish will readily respond to a fly.

Mention the Nerang River and images of 40cm whiting are often conjured.

That's because this river is well renowned for its whiting captures over the years which have been well documented in the press.

Local fishing clubs often hold club trips to the river, particularly around the full and new moons.

Live worms, yabbies and soldier crabs have been the downfall of many fish with just some of the places to target these fish being Budds Beach, the Council Chambers and just up river from the Gold Coast bridge on the starboard side (upstream from the highrise jetties).

A maze of canal systems can be found leading off the Broadwater and Nerang River. These areas are home to estuary cod, mangrove jack and bream. Probably the easiest way of chasing these fish is by lure casting. Rods and lines left out by owners of canal front real estate usually make it hard to successfully troll the canals without fouling up on their lines.

The Fish

Mangrove Jack are an increasingly popular target over summer

Mangrove Jack are the most aggressive force to be reckoned with in the rivers and creeks. In the Gold Coast area, these fish are commonly caught in the 2kg to 3kg range with the odd larger fish being accounted for. They have a tendency to hit baits and lures hard and once hooked, will quickly make their way back to the snags, often "busting" the angler off.

Live baiting areas of structure with mullet and herring is a productive form of fishing. Heavy leader material is called for though. Otherwise trolling the likes of Mad Mullet, C Lures and Tilsan Bass lures will account for fish.

Mangrove jack usually can be caught over the summer months where hot steamy nights signal the start of the season.

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Flathead are by and large the easiest of the fish to catch and one of the more regularly encountered species. A renowned scavenger, they are regularly caught on trolled and cast lures, flies and a variety of baits in a multitude of areas.

They respond well to a variety of baits including small live fish (whiting, herring), yabbies, flesh baits and prawns. When using baits from a boat, the best way of covering ground and increasing the chances of catching a fish is by drifting.

Flathead are one of the most targeted species in the waterways

If trolling lures, it is important to have the lure bumping the bottom as this is generally where these fish sit. Small shallow diving lures worked over the sandflats will account for fish. Pink, gold as well as green and chartreuse lures are popular in the Gold Coast waterways.

For the fly fisherman, the shallow sandbanks can be fished using clousers and pink things.

In deeper areas such as the edge of a sandbank, use deeper diving lures such as the Tilsan Bass and Bomber lures. If using fly, use a quick sinking flyline to reach the depth where the fish will be lieing.

Generally, the best time to target these fish is two hours either side of low tide.

Whiting

Although this little fellow was released, it goes to show that Whiting can be caught on lures.

Sand Whiting or summer whiting are probably one of the most favoured of the fish species in the estuaries due to their delectably sweet fillets.

These fish are mostly caught over a sandy bottom, hence the likes of the Nerang River, Tallebudgera Creek and Currumbin Creek are a favourite haunt for whiting, and the fishermen who target them.

A 10ft rod coupled with either a 600B or 625B Alvey side-cast reel is the preferred outfit serious whiting anglers use. Rods with a soft tip allow whiting to hook themselves without feeling any weight from a stiff rod.

In Queensland, there is no bag limit on the number of fish that can be taken however a minimum size of 23cm is in place. Fish over 40cm are a trophy fish though any fish over 500gms is considered to be a good size for the species.

Whiting are a year round proposition with numbers dramatically increasing during the months of September and October.

Bream

The quality of Bream caught on the coast is generally better over the winter period. These fish can be caught on 2kg-4kg line and as with whiting, longer rods used in conjunction with a side cast reel is preferred.

Bream caught along the beaches are often of reasonable quality

The best fishing for bream using baits usually occurs during the evening hours when the waterways are quieter. Baits can either be live or fresh but the ones that tend to be "on the nose" appear to work best. Mullet and chicken gut, mullet flesh, tuna and tailor flesh all will account for bream. You can also use the likes of worms, yabbies and soldier crabs.

Lure casting has become popular in the last couple of years with anglers targeting areas of structure such as jetties, mangroves and rocky retaining walls for their fish. Attack lures, Halco Scorpion 35's and soft plastics in the 1-2inch range have accounted for plenty of fish.

If chasing a fishing guide on the Gold Coast who charges minimal rates, try Brad Smith's Guided Fishing Tours. Bookings and enquiries can be made on 0419 028 704 or 07 5534 6380.

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Surf fishing

The beaches of the Gold Coast are prime areas for targeting whiting, bream, tarwhine, flathead and tailor (in season). The biggest drama is to find an area to fish without having a surfer or swimmer in the water with your bait.

Gathering beachworms along the beach at Southport. Eugaries (pippies) are reasonably rare along here so you may want to bring along yabbies (nippers) for bait.

That's where fishing the beaches of South Stradbroke can offer the surf fishermen a little solitude. It is practice to gain access on the western side of the island and walk across the island to the ocean beach. A lot of anglers use Currigee on the western side of the island as a base to leave the boat before walking across to the surf. The walk along the sand vehicular track takes approximately ten to fifteen minutes.

The beaches of the Gold Coast are not accessible by 4WD though with ample parking close by to all beaches, this really doesn't pose a problem.

Where you fish will be highly dependent on the structure located in the vicinity on the day. I personally have driven from the Southport Spit through to Currumbin before finding a suitable gutter to fish.

Areas that are very popular, especially during the height of the tailor season are the Southport Spit (Phillip Park), Narrow Neck, Mermaid Beach, Burleigh Heads Beach, and Currumbin Beach. The groynes and rocks situated on these and other beaches are well worth fishing.

As structure is important in an estuarine environment, so to is it along the beach. To the untrained eye, or the thousands of holidaymakers who frequent the beaches, the beach is just surf and sand. To the experienced angler though, these beaches are a fish haven.

Structure in the way of a spur, hole or gutter is important when searching for fish. A gutter is a channel which has a back sandbar with a entrance and exit. A spur is similar to a gutter though hasn't an exit. A hole is quite self explanatory.

A handful of worms. Enough for a session in the surf along the coast

Small baitfish often congregate in these formations for protection though they will also attract larger predatory fish. Predatory fish will also feed on eugaries (pippies), worms and crabs which have been dislodged from their sandy home by wave action.

Mulloway Jew and tailor generally prefer deep gutters with the minimal of sand kicking up on the back sandbank. Whiting on the other hand don't mind a shallow, low tide gutter.

The winter period generally heralds the run of tailor, bream and tarwhine along the beaches where summer species include whiting, flathead and dart though all these fish can be caught on a year round basis. The great thing about fishing the surf is that all the fish captured tend to put up a better fight than their estuarine cousins.

To be able to cast further distances from the foreshore, it is beneficial to use a longer rod of around 12ft-14ft.

A great deal of consideration should be taken when choosing baits to fish the surf. Live or ultra fresh baits are without a doubt the best baits to choose. Whiting and Swallowtail Dart find it hard to go past a yabby or worm.

For tailor, bream and jew, fresh tailor or bonito fillets are hard to surpass. For those seriously looking at catching a large jew or tailor, live mullet are definitely the way to go.

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Offshore fishing

Before heading offshore, a large number of anglers will stop at the baitgrounds out through the Seaway before venturing to deeper waters. One of the most recognized sites to jig baitfish is at the Scottish Prince, a ship that ran aground in 1887. The wreck is marked on charts and can be easily located on the sounder.

Running parallel to the mainland, the reefs located offshore from the Gold Coast are pretty much named after the depth of water they are found in - the 18's, 24's, 32's, 36's etc. These reefs are fished reasonably hard as they are all easily accessible through the Southport Seaway. Fish caught on these reefs usually comprise of snapper, trag jew, mulloway jew, sweetlip, tailor and even flathead.

What offshore angler dreams of-a beautiful Snapper capture

The fishing offshore from the Gold Coast is mostly good though the snapper numbers which had been caught in abundance in years gone by are quickly diminishing. A few die-hard snapper fishermen have taken it upon themselves to make the public aware of the snapper's fate. At the present time, these fish have an unbelievably high bag limit of 30 fish per person. Most anglers won't even catch that kind of number in a month. Their slow growth rate has been detrimental to their survival rate and if the relevant authorities don't bring in a more realistic bag limit on these fish, fish stocks will dwindle even further to serious levels.

Mermaid Beach Reef and Palm Beach Reef are shallow reefs located off the mainland from the beaches of the same name. Both fish reasonably well for spotted mackerel over the summer months. Tuna and Cobia can also turn up on a regular basis. Palm Beach Reef is accessible through Tallebudgera or Currumbin Creeks but local knowledge is a must when crossing these bars, particularly with the forever changing sandbanks located in the area. If in doubt, a lot of boaties have travelled from the Seaway to fish these areas.

When fishing the reefs with baits, the most effective appear to be pilchards, squid, flesh baits of oily fish such tuna as well as live baits of slimy mackerel or yellowtail scad (yakkas).

As well as bottom bashing, or fishing the reefs, trolling is another option open to anglers offshore. Gamefishermen in pursuit of pelagics - tuna, wahoo, marlin, sailfish, dolphinfish and the like will often catch their quarry on skirted lures (Pakula, Hexheads and Top Gun lures are very productive). Other lures worth towing behind the boat include the Rapala CD14's, CD18's, Halco Tremblers and Laser Pros and last but not least, "C" Lures "Outsider" range. Purple lures tend to attract a lot of bites and lures in the Qantas colours (red head, white body) are also used a great deal.

For an offshore charter, contact Sea Probe Fishing Charters who operate from Southport. Their contact number is 07 5531 2333.

Fishing the Freshwater

Impoundment fishing has become increasingly popular over the last couple of years with anglers being able to catch more and more from the dams.

Hinze Dam is located less than a half hours drive from the Gold Coast. The dam, also known as Advancetown Lake, does not fall under the Queensland freshwater licence scheme but a permit needs to be purchased before fishing upon the dam. This can be obtained at the rangers office or the kiosk near the dam wall. A few bait and tackle shops in the Gold Coast region also sell the permit.

Fishing Hinze Dam is an attractive proposition for those anglers who enjoy the peace and tranquillity the Australian outdoors has to offer.

Boats on the dam are permitted to use electric motors only (petrol motors must be removed from boats prior to launching).

Bass caught on a bibless lure in Hinze Dam.

The dam is home to many native species and has a good stock of Australian Bass in its waters. Other fish which can be caught include the Mary River cod, yellowbelly, Saratoga and silver perch. Unfortunately, banded grunter have been illegally introduced to this impoundment.

Most anglers opt to use lures and fly over the summer months though the guides will change tactics and use baits during winter. This will ensure that their clientele catch a fish.

Australian bass respond well to trolled lures and until you can work out which lure will produce the best results, it's a good idea to use a diverse range of lures, ones with different actions, colours and swim to differing depths.

Lures are often said to catch the angler before they can catch a fish. Favourite colours include blacks and purples though fluros, white and green lures have caught their fair share of fish.

As well as trolling, anglers have the option of casting lures and flies. Spinnerbaits, soft plastics, bibless lures and metal lures can all be used.

If chasing Golden Perch (yellowbelly), lures with a wide swimming action trolled slowly seem to produce good results. They aren't a fish renowned for their eating qualities due to the fat deposits found on the fillets. If anglers choose to take a fish for the table, it is best to take home a smaller specimen rather than a large fish as the fat content increases with the size of the fish.

Although you can usually fish from the shore at Hinze Dam, anglers fishing from a boat have many more options available to them. If you haven't a boat, get in touch with professional fishing guide Des Charles of Fish N Freshwater. Des can be contacted on (07) 5533 2238 or mobile 0417 646 533.