Tailor
Excellent
The main run. Fish the gutters and headlands into the evening; ganged pilchards, metals, and a wire-free trace only if you accept the bite-offs.
Gold Coast Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
Surf beaches, the Seaway, the Broadwater and a network of canals: a city built on water that fishes from the sand, the rocks and the jetty in the same afternoon.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 12:15 pm model
Air / High
19 °C / 22 °C
Wind
E 9 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Gold Coast rewards patience today, with cool water and short feeding windows. Today brings cloud cover, wind E around 10 km/h, steady pressure near 1031 hPa and a high of 22 °C. Tides: high 6:22 am and 6:27 pm, low 12:15 pm: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 18 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM: the windows to build the day around.
Bream
Fair
Slow the retrieve right down: blades and lightly weighted plastics along the deeper rock walls and drop-offs, or unweighted bait drifted into the snags.
Flathead
Fair
Fish the deeper channels and the last of the run-out; slower hops with a heavier jighead, and a bait on the bottom as back-up.
Mulloway
Fair
The estuary fish move to the deeper reaches. Long, quiet sessions on the bottom with fresh bait across the top of the tide.
Tie on: Blade or vibe, slow hops · Lightly weighted plastic · Whole pilchard or squid on the bottom · Suspending hardbody. Prime windows: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Similar at 22 °C with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Queensland has no general fishing licence, but rules and permits apply. Queensland fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing bream here? Check the size and bag limits with Queensland DPI before you keep anything; the Bream page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Gold Coast today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:33), sunset (17:43), the moon and today's score, with the modelled tide changes in the panel below. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM; minor 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Full Moon, 99% lit.
Water and weather
A modelled tide curve for these coordinates and the forecast for the day.
Tides (modelled)
Modelled sea level curve from Open-Meteo Marine for these coordinates, datum mean sea level. Fish the moving water either side of each change.
A model, not the official prediction: times can drift by tens of minutes inside bays and estuaries. Check the Bureau of Meteorology tide predictions for the exact times before you rely on them.
Fri
HIGH6:22 am0.70 m
LOW12:15 pm-0.41 m
HIGH6:27 pm0.99 m
Sat
LOW12:52 am-0.54 m
HIGH6:55 am0.80 m
LOW12:53 pm-0.49 m
HIGH7:05 pm0.96 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp19 °C
High / Low22 °C / 16 °C
WindE 9 km/h, gusts 18 km/h
Pressure1030.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain62% cloud, 80%
Sunrise / Sunset05:33 / 17:43
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~18 °C est.
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Gold Coast
The best day on Gold Coast this week looks like Thursday 1 Oct, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today. Every day is scored by the same engine as the report above: pressure trend first, then wind, sky and season. Pick a species and the plan for that day changes with it.
Best day this week: Thursday, 1 Oct — good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
Today, 25 Sept — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 05:33 to 17:43
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 16 km/h
- Rain chance
- 80%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Gold Coast: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Bream
Year-round; summer and autumn in the estuaries, winter at the mouths
Yellowfin bream on the east coast, black bream in the southern estuaries. Structure fish: rock walls, jetty piles, oyster racks, snags and pontoons. Slow the retrieve right down: blades and lightly weighted plastics along the deeper rock walls and drop-offs, or unweighted bait drifted into the snags.
Flathead
Best: November to April
Dusky flathead in the eastern estuaries, sand flathead in the southern bays. An ambush predator lying on sand and mud edges waiting for whatever the tide brings. Fish the deeper channels and the last of the run-out; slower hops with a heavier jighead, and a bait on the bottom as back-up.
Mulloway
Best: summer and autumn, especially after rain
Jewfish. The big silver prize of the estuaries, breakwalls and surf beaches: nocturnal, tide-driven and unforgiving of noise. The estuary fish move to the deeper reaches. Long, quiet sessions on the bottom with fresh bait across the top of the tide.
Tailor
Autumn and winter on the east coast; August to September on Fraser Island
The surf and rock fish of the east coast, running north in autumn and winter. Fast, toothy and best at dawn, dusk and into the dark. The main run. Fish the gutters and headlands into the evening; ganged pilchards, metals, and a wire-free trace only if you accept the bite-offs.
When to come: the Gold Coast calendar
Activity by species and month for the southern year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
Species activity by month
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Bream
Flathead
Mulloway
Tailor
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 18 °C (estimated, not a reading).
Angler reports
Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. Nothing here is copied from a shop or a charter. The water log below tracks each day automatically.
No angler reports yetBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Gold Coast today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataThu, Sep 24
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 22 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 23 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 24 °C, wind to 26 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Queensland has no general recreational fishing licence; permits apply on some waters and the limits and closures do. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and marine park zones are set by Queensland DPI and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Queensland licence page before you keep anything.
Access
Queensland has no general fishing licence; the size and bag limits, closed seasons and the Moreton Bay Marine Park zoning at the northern end apply, and the Queensland Government pages are linked from the sources below.
About this water
Gold Coast is a coastal town in Queensland, Australia, covered from the Queensland reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Gold Coast: the full guide
How the Gold Coast fishes
The Gold Coast is a long strip of surf beach from Coolangatta to South Stradbroke Island, with the Tweed, Currumbin, Tallebudgera and Nerang rivers cutting through it and the Gold Coast Seaway opening the Broadwater to the sea. That gives it four kinds of fishing within a few kilometres: the beach gutters and the headland rocks at Burleigh and Currumbin, the rock walls of the Seaway and the river entrances, the calm water of the Broadwater and the canals, and the offshore reefs and the shelf for the boat fleet. Most of what a Gold Coast fishing report covers is the first three, and the Seaway walls are the single most fished structure on the coast.
Species by season
Tailor and dart are the beach fish, tailor best in the cooler months at dawn and dusk in the gutters; whiting fish the beaches and the Broadwater sand in summer; flathead lie on the edges of the Broadwater and the river drop-offs in the warmer months and bream work the walls, the canals and the pontoons all year. Mulloway are the prize of the Seaway walls and the river mouths at night, mangrove jack the canals and the snags of the rivers in summer, and the Seaway itself turns up trevally, tailor and school mackerel on the tide. Offshore, snapper in winter and pelagics in summer, but that fishery depends on the bar and the swell more than anything this report scores.
Reading this report for the coast
The score is built from wind, pressure and sky over these coordinates, and on this open coast the swell and the wind together decide whether the beaches and the walls are fishable; a south-easterly stirs the surf and a westerly flattens it. The tide panel is a modelled curve for these coordinates and says so; the Seaway and the rivers are tidal to the last metre, so use the curve for the run-in and run-out and the Bureau of Meteorology page for exact times. The planner shows which day of the seven lines up.
Rules and access
Queensland has no general fishing licence; the size and bag limits, closed seasons and the Moreton Bay Marine Park zoning at the northern end apply, and the Queensland Government pages are linked from the sources below. Access is public: the beaches, the Seaway walls from The Spit, the rock platforms at Burleigh Heads and Currumbin, jetties along the Broadwater and ramps at the Spit, Runaway Bay and the river mouths.
Common questions
Do I need a fishing licence on the Gold Coast?
No. Queensland has no recreational fishing licence; size and bag limits, closed seasons and marine park zones apply, as our Queensland licence page explains.
What can I catch at the Gold Coast Seaway?
Bream, tailor, trevally, flathead and, at night, mulloway are the regular Seaway wall catch, with school mackerel and kingfish in season on the tide.
Are the tides on this page official?
No. They are a modelled curve for these coordinates and are labelled as such; the Bureau of Meteorology has the official prediction.
Is fishing good at Gold Coast right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Tide curve (modelled)
- Open-Meteo Marine, sea level height including tides
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on How our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.