With the warmer weather starting to roll in, we are starting to see some great signs of solid fish. Plenty of big bait schools are scattered in the canals, mainly around the mouths, although don’t be surprised to find decent bait schools deep in canals. Look for signs of life up on retaining walls, where GTs will push bait up and feed.

Lately most of my fish have been coming from jetties and pylons in quite fast-flowing water. Stick to the back of the jetty where the calmer water is, as a lot of fish will sit there waiting for anything to swim or float by. A Z-man 2” CrustaceanZ rigged on a light Hidden Weight System jighead is a nice lure to cast halfway up the jetty, or even to the end, and let it sink past the whole jetty. By the time it’s back to you it should be near the bottom. Bream, trevally and jacks will be the three main species caught using this technique.

Jacobs Well is one system that has been fishing quite well, with Coomera, Nerang, Tallebudgera being a bit hit and miss. Flathead, bream, whiting and snapper are in good numbers, taking most natural lures and fresh bait. On social media I have been seeing more and more jacks caught in our local estuaries, and they’re worth a shot with the weather warming up.

Jumpinpin and the Seaway are firing, with bait absolutely everywhere and very thick. A mate of mine went out recently and caught tailor after tailor, with birds working and fish pushing the bait to the surface… That’s something we would all like! The tailor in the Seaway are sticking around the North Wall, mainly at the very end where the white water is, although fish will be found all throughout the seaway.

Plenty of mulloway have been caught in the past weeks, found in deep holes in the Broadwater, Jumpinpin and the Seaway. Sounding up holes and fish will definitely help. Large plastics including paddle-tails, curl-tails and jerk shads will do a great job. Live-bating will also see some good mulloway landed. Night time fishing for these predators is definitely worth a go, just remember to keep your lures and or baits on the bottom, and you’ll be in with a great chance!

Remember to fish the canal walls, jetties and entrances slow and really work them if they are looking good. Large flathead, bream, jacks and trevally will all sit along these walls. Minnow-like hardbodies that represent a mullet or baitfish, unweighted live bait and also all sorts of plastics are worth a shot.

In conclusion, September isn’t only the first month of spring, but it is also one of my favourite months, offering some crazy fishing. The warmer water is starting to excite me, as I love fishing for mangrove jacks, and the other canal action should pick up too! Get out there, fish hard and good luck to all this month!