Flathead are all the rage lately with heaps of lizards being caught as they feed up after their spawning season.

There are plenty of them out there, so for your best chance to catch one of these big flatties try drifting from Kalinga Bank to Swan Bay, the sand flats at the top of South Straddie, Little Rocky Point, the Stockyards, Willis Island and Cobby Passage.

Your chances will definitely improve if you move around either trolling hardbodied lures in under 10ft of water or drifting along the drop-offs and shelves.

Big baits mean big fish when lizard hunting, so don’t be shy to throw on a large mullet, big pilchard or big soft plastic as they are very aggressive fish and will have a go at almost anything. If you stick with small lures and baits you will find that you’ll catch a lot more undersized fish.

A few greenback tailor have been caught off the beaches along the coast but the catches are very inconsistent as they can be at a great gutter one night but then gone the next. Choppers have been pretty scarce too with only the odd one or two being caught inside the bar.

There is still a heap of Australian salmon around hitting pillies, small plastics and small metal slugs. They are a great fighting fish but unfortunately not a good table fish. I got one about 2.5kg at the top of South Straddie on a 5” white jerk shad and it jumped six times and took a good five minutes to land. It was awesome fun!

Last month we had a strange catch: a 5kg barramundi in the Logan River by Jackson Ford. About once every two years I hear of one being caught, but this is the first I’ve ever seen weighed in.

Whiting should start to show up in good numbers too as the water temp increases. Some spots that you can try for a feed this month are the Never Fail Islands, Tipplers Island, Alberton Sands and Marks Rocks in the Logan, the Gold and Green banks, near Browns Bay and the Nerang or Pimpama rivers. Stick with worms for bait or try yabbies, prawns or squid.

School jewfish are around in good numbers as well but just remember that the legal size limit for jew is now a minimum 75cm and a bag limit of two. There are some anglers out there who still don’t know the new rules.

Try around Marks Rocks, Little Rocky Point, Giants Grave, Whalleys Gutter, off Swan Bay and Fishermans Channel. We had a huge 40lb jew weighed in from the one of the reefs north of the ‘Pin caught on a live slimey. There should be more of these fish as well as some big cobia on offer if you can get outside.

The muddies and sandies will be on the move now that the water temp is heating up, so be sure to throw the pots in when you head out.

Thanks for all your great reports and fish weighed in and if you’d like to order any bait or up to date fishing info drop us a line at Gem Bait & tackle on 3287 3868 or email --e-mail address hidden--