A great way to spend time on the Gold Coast, Queensland is to take a fishing trip on a charter boat. Gold Coast fishing charters operate from the Nerang River estuary known as the Broadwater at the northern end of the Gold Coast and the Tweed River at the southern end of the Gold Coast. So what can you expect to catch and experience during your Gold Coast fishing charter given that no two days are the same when it comes to fishing?

There are two types of Gold Coast fishing charters: deep sea, which is the most common and calm water.

Calm water fishing, such as that undertaken in the Broadwater by Gold Coast fishing charter operators, generally use small boats that transport up to six passengers. The kind of fish they target include bream, flat head and whiting. Light tackle is used. It’s not unusual for deep sea fish such as snapper to be caught in such shallower waters.

Mostly Gold Coast fishing charter operators take people deep sea fishing. Out there, it is not uncommon to catch big game fish such as marlin. Aside from fishing ,there are other unique experiences to be had such as viewing dolphins and whales as well as the tremendous view of the Gold Coast coastline with it’s majestic background of the mountainous hinterland.

The types of fish caught when deep sea fishing varies from summer to winter seasons. Gold Coast fishing charter operators therefore make daily plans based on the seasons.

During the summer season, warm water currents flow from the north which can make fishing the deeper reefs (60-90 meters) for bottom dwelling fish quite difficult. On the upside though, the warm currents bring with them many fast pelagic fish such as black marlin, wahoo, mahi mahi and various species of tuna. The other alternative in the summer employed by Gold Coast fishing charters is to target the reefs closer to shore where snapper, teraglin, tailor and a variety of other bottom dwellers are typically caught.

Pelagic fish, meaning the fast swimming larger fish that occupy the upper reaches of the ocean are caught using live baits by Gold Coast fishing charters. For reef fishing, various baits such as squid and pilchards are used.

Winter is the time for Gold Coast fishing charters to seriously target bottom dwelling fish at all depths. The fast moving pelagic fish have moved on. Good catches of snapper, pearl perch, teraglin, amber jack and king fish are possible. On the closer reefs, large cobia seem to follow the northward migration of the humpback whales.

During the winter season, Gold Coast fishing charters become surrogate whale watching charters. Also during this season, more birds such as gannets and albatross appear, probably assisted by relatively less storm disturbances. Whatever your choice or time of year, your Gold Coast fishing charter experience will be unique with the ever changing ocean views, different types of fish caught and opportunities to witness whales, dolphins and turtles and other creatures of the wild.