December can be a really good time of the year to enjoy some family time on the Tweed.

Most of our family fishing is done with bait and the good thing about this is that it isn’t dependant on water clarity, which is quite often a bit tricky to predict over the summer months. Fish will usually eat bait no matter what the water clarity.

What we may find this month if the rains do play a bit of havoc with the system is that the fish will often congregate in the lower reaches. There are some good yabby banks around the golf course opposite Fingal. We will usually make pumping the yabbies the focus of the day with plenty of laughs and fun.

Most of the fish in the Tweed River will happily scoff a yabby fished on as light a line as possible. When fishing the river with my two boys I use my light bream tackle. This lighter gear is ideal as it is nice and light for the boys to handle and just about any fish will put up a good show on the soft rods. A running sinker to a swivel followed by a length of mono or fluorocarbon of around 6lb completes the rig. I usually make the length of my hook line about a 50-75cm and use a hook just big enough to accommodate a yabby.

If the fish aren’t biting I will move around until I find a spot with a reasonable depth of water and active fish. Adjust the weight of the sinker to the amount of run in the water. More run will require a slightly heavier weight to ensure your bait is on the bottom.

Once the youngsters have caught a few fish, the yabby races will usually start. At this stage I can focus a bit more on catching a few fish myself and possibly flicking a few lures around.

As we lead into the silly season the river will get crowded and enjoyable fishing may become somewhat difficult. This is unfortunately just how it is and if you are a serious fisho then you would need to be on the water at first light. Once the crowds begin to appear start looking at some of the lesser known arms of the river. It can often pay to do a bit of exploring to find a bit of water that you won’t have to share with a lot of other boaties.

On a more sombre note this will be my last report on the Tweed. I was offered a job in the Gladstone Region and have decided to take it. I will be working for Marine Safety Queensland in the port and looking forward to the new role as well as the fishing challenges that the area will have to offer. I am not actually sure just how long I have been writing the Tweed Report for but it has definitely been a few years. A lot of fish have made it onto these pages and I have made a lot of friends through it. A huge thank you to the crew from NSW and QLD Fishing Monthly, especially to Tony Zann the departing editor, who has been a mentor and friend to me from the first report. I look forward to catching some of you on the water – good fishing and stay safe.

1

Summer can be a great time to get the family out for a fish.

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A good size blue marlin just prior to release.

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Wahoo will be a viable target species this month.