On those real hot December days there’s nothing better than beating the heat by being out on the water and having a fish. It is best to get out early as storms can blow in pretty quick and really put a dampener on any fishing trip.

The warmer weather has fired the whiting up with some real elbow-slappers being weighed in. The best results have been at night (remember to bring the mozzie spray) just as the tide starts to turn and the run picks up a little. Bloodworms and beach worms have been the pick of the baits. Connor Melenewycz caught a decent whiting that went 580g cleaned. The pick spots have been the Alberton Banks in the Logan River, the Junction, the powerlines, Tabby Tabby and Cobby Passage.

Tim ‘Dunny’ Dunn managed to catch and release a monster lizard that went 88cm. He’s an absolute gun fisherman and I’m sure he’ll be featuring regularly. He got it on a live mullet along the western side of Short Island drifting with small to medium sized pilchards.

Flatties tend to lie in waiting to ambush their prey so drifting allows you to cover more territory and take the bait to the fish. Purple, fluoro yellow, green and white soft plastics along the weed banks of Pandannus Island, the sand flats to the north of South Straddie and in Canaipa Passage to the north of Slipping Sands have produced some gold quality lizards.

A 10.3kg jew was weighed-in recently and was caught on a 5” soft plastic from near Swan Bay by Tim Lyne. He somehow managed to land the jew despite snapping his rod in half under the weight of the fish. There have been a few smaller school jew from the Logan River near Marks Rocks and the Junction on live mullet at night.

The mud crabs are starting to come on for Christmas from the Logan and Coomera Rivers and the Sandies are being caught north of Macleay Island in the Bay, Canaipa Passage, Rocky Point and Tiger Mullet Channel. A few banana prawns are starting to show in small schools in the rivers.

There’s been plenty of bream and small squire about the ‘Pin area with the bigger fish being taken at night. Stick to the deeper holes and snags where they tend to school or along rock walls.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a safe and successful fishing new year. Thanks for all reports and if you have any questions on conditions or what’s biting, drop us a line at Gem Bait & Tackle on 07 32873868 or email --e-mail address hidden-- .