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BAIT

Yabbies

Beach worms

Blood worms

Whitebait

Prawns

Herring

Squid

W.A. Pilchards

Pipis

Yabbies are quite possibly the best all round bait to catch a feed, and are especially effective for bream, whiting, and flathead. Kids love pumping yabbies on the sand flats, which are often on the same flats as thousands of soldier crabs. There are two species of soldier crabs - large blue ones, or small brown ones. The small brown soldier crabs are a favourite bait for bream, simply put five or six crabs on the same hook. Yabbies can be threaded on a long shank hook starting from the tail, threading the hook up the intestinal tract through to the upper body. Yabbies can be pumped at half tide to low tide, and at other tides if a sieve is used. Yabbies can be kept alive all day if kept in a bucket of water in the shade, regularly changing the water every 20 minutes. Live yabbies can be purchased from The Bait Shop Gold Coast at Arundel, Aqua Adventures in Southport, Gem Bait & Tackle at Stapylton, and Jacobs Well Bait & Tackle at Jacobs Well.

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Preserved or alive, beach worms are another top bait for bream, whiting, and flathead. SImply thread the shank of the hook up the worm’s intestinal tract and push the barb through the side of the worm. Snap the worm about 1cm past the barb. Threading a whole beach worm onto a hook is fantastic bait for mulloway when beach fishing. Beach worms can be be caught along the surf’s edge along the entire length of South Stradbroke Island, and can be kept alive in wet sand for days if refrigerated. Preserved beach worm can be purchased at most bait and tackle stores. Live beach worms can purchased from The Bait Shop Gold Coast at Arundel, Aqua Adventures in Southport, Gem Bait & Tackle at Stapylton, and Jacobs Well Bait & Tackle at Jacobs Well.

Blood worms are the number one bait for elbow-slapper sized whiting. Blood worms can be caught by digging with a pitch fork or by hand in muddy areas or river banks where mangroves are close by. Prepare to get muddy! Refer to the Queensland Fisheries website for worm digging closed areas, including fish habitat areas, and marine park zones. Rules apply to where digging forks may be used. An easier option is to buy live blood worms from The Bait Shop Gold Coast at Arundel.

Whitebait sold in frozen packs from Tweed Bait, are a reasonable bait for flathead. Using a long shank hook or bait holder hook, pass the entire hook through the eye of the whitebait and pass the barb of the hook through the entire fish just above the backbone, ensuring the eye of the hook lines up with the eye of the fish. Whitebait are sold at bait & tackle stores, and at most service stations. When choosing your packet of whitebait, choose the packet which looks the freshest as whitebait which has been thawed and refrozen will quickly fall off your hook when casting.

Threading a hook through the first tail section or middle section of a live prawn will put you in the draw for a trophy sized mulloway. Live prawns can be caught using a castnet, popular areas include Jacobs Well, Cabbage Tree Point, Macleay Island, and the Logan River. The next best option to a live prawn is to purchased fresh locally caught green prawns off the trawlers at the Seaworld Co-op, Runaway Bay Marina, Hope Harbour Marina, or Sanctuary Cove Marina. Never purchase imported prawns from the supermarket as this poses a serious risk of spreading white-spot disease. Frozen Tweed Bait prawns are the 3rd option, simply thread a baitholder hook from the tail up the intestinal tract up into the prawn head. Frozen prawns can be purchased at all bait and tackle stores, and most service stations. Frozen prawns are reasonable bait for bream and small flathead.

Live herring are a superb bait for golden trevally, mulloway, and large flathead. Thread a hook just below the dorsal fin but above the lateral line. Herring can be caught using a castnet or a bait jig on the down current side of pilons of bridges, jetties, and around pontoons. Bait jigs will result in a better survival rate for herring. Hard to keep alive, an aerator in your live bait tank is a must, as is discarding any dead herring and regular water changes. Dead herring can be used as a dead bait for flathead, or chopped up into tiny pieces as a fantastic burley trail.

Live squid as bait could bag you a record sized snapper or mulloway. Squid are caught using a squid jig - arrow squid in the deeper channels, and tiger squid and cuttlefish caught around shallow weedbanks and mangroves at high tide, and along breakwalls. Just be sure to use a landing net to avoid getting inked. Frozen squid aren’t a bad bait either, especially when the pickers are around. Cut into thirds, squid are an effective bait for snapper, bream, and flathead. Cut into 0.5cm squares, or into 0.5cm wide strips about 5cm long, they are great for whiting too. Freshly caught squid can be purchased from the trawlers, and frozen squid can be purchased at bait and tackle stores, and most service stations.

WA pilchards are an excellent bait for snapper, tailor, flathead, and trevally. Cut into thirds, or use whole on a gang. Choose a hook with a gape size appropriate for the width of the pilchard for best results. Floating an unweighted pilchard down through a burley trail can land you a nice fish indeed. WA pilchards are sold in frozen packs in bait and tackle stores and most service stations. Choose a packet which looks the freshest as pilchards which have been thawed and refrozen will become mushy and won’t stay on a hook. IQF (individually quick frozen) packs of WA pilchards are a great choice as you won’t need to thaw out the entire pack to grab a single pillie.

Pipis are the number one bait for dart, and are also very effective for bream. With a firm flesh, they don’t easily fall off a hook, which is especially useful when fishing in the surf. Pipis can be caught by doing the “pipi shuffle” along the surf’s edge all along the entire length of South Stradbroke Island, especially around gutters. They can be kept alive in a bucket of water kept in the shade with regular water changes. Using an aerator will help purge any sand from the pipi if it is destined for the BBQ or marinara recipe, a tasty shellfish when not overcooked. Frozen pipis from Tweed Bait are not commonly stocked by bait and tackle stores or service stations, however Marina Fuels & Tackle at Runaway Bay Marina regularly stock them.

Listed below is some of the best bait to use on the Southport Broadwater. Fresh is always best, so if you can catch your own live bait, or buy fresh bait, the results will generally always be better than using frozen bait. There are several bait and tackle stores on the Gold Coast which stock both live and frozen bait, and will also provide you with expert local knowledge. Click here for a map of bait & tackle shops near you.