Now is the time when the pelagics, tailor and trevally, are on the bite feeding on the surface and loving live bait. These fish will start to move throughout our canals, mainly around the mouths, where there is more flow and plenty of food! There are also heaps of jacks, flathead, bream, mud crabs and even ludrick on the bite this month.

May is a good month for almost every angler, whether using bait or lure. I've caught some decent painted sweetlip in the past years around bridge pylons on cooked prawns. These fish go hard and in good numbers at times. If you’re taking the kids fishing, make sure you take some bread as the bream love bread and kids will have a ball catching them!

The surface bite is still pretty hot. Best time is definitely very early at around 5-7am or 4-6pm on high tide with little wind. This is when you have the maximum chance of landing a decent bream, mangrove jack, tailor or a good trevally! Don't be afraid to fish deep into canals as I've caught decent fish while trolling, such as tailor and land-based flathead. My mate caught a big land-based flathead around Hollywell on lures a while ago. It was around 80cm caught very deep into a canal where you would have no intention of finding a big lizard! The big breeder was released.

I've heard reports lately there have been some monster giant trevally throughout Runaway Bay, Biggera Waters canals taking surface lures. Best lures for these fish include any Lucky Craft G-Splash, Strada Dancer 70mm and Strada Choas or anything that has a good action. Bream can’t stop resisting a surface popper and the Z-Man GrubZ. At times, fish will fight over the plastic, this is a lot of fun!

Over the next month, we will see thicker schools of tailor in the broadwater and heading into the canals for a feed. Bream will become more common and anglers should be catching more. Mud crabs may not be as common for the next couple of months, although you will still get them in the pot. Prawns will be thicker in Jacobs Well area, and if you've got a prawn net, you'll be getting them in the kilos! Fingers-crossed the winds/weather won't be as bad as they have been in the past couple of months, due to bad weather up north.

My favourite lure for tailor is the 3" Z-Man MinnowZ in opening night. Bait wise, definitely pilchards and white pilchards. Paradise Point is a decent spot to try if you want a tailor! Jacks and bream are very common throughout Nerang River, surface lures is the go for bream at the moment and Z-Man 4" DieZel MinnowZ in pearl doing the damage on jacks. Casting as close as you can to the jetties, with lots of patience and persistence should see some great results.

Coomera, Runaway Bay, Jacobs Well and Paradise Point are just some of the decent spots to go for a jack as I've heard a fair few reports of decent fish pulled from that area! If you’re a bait fisher, try live mullet at night around bridges!

Overall, best times to fish are very early morning with nice and high tide and hardly no wind. Surface lures are best in this situation, although bait is another good option! This month we should see the fish more active and more confident to feed!