Coomera Jack Advice

Hi all

For those who are familiar with the coomera.....I have a huuuuge favour to ask.

I have 1 year left in Brisbane and I am desperate to catch a jack. Yep, just one is fine!
So having never been on the river, I'm going to start investigating it with the planning of getting to know it before 'jack season' opens next year.
All I would like to know is if I put in at the ramp at the park just up stream of Sanctuary Cove, in search of my quest should I turn left or right? As in, should I head up or down stream of that area.
I'm not expecting anyone to tell me their favorite jack snags or rock bars, but I'd really appreciate some advice like 'from the ramp head upstream for a few km's and keep an eye out on your left' for example. I prefer to throw lures as a general rule of thumb and predominately release my fish as I would rather my young boy experience catching fish rather than me feeding him.
Any help, advice or tips will be greatly appreciate.

Cheers, Rhet.

Rhet, makes little or no difference, the Coomera has Jacks from the weir to the mouth, find structure and you'll find the jacks. Different areas fire at different times of the tide, put the time in and you'll work an area out. Good luck

From that ramp I would head upstream, or take the south arm and head downstream. Concentrate on any structure that provides a Jack somewhere to ambush prey. Rock walls, jetties, pylons, etc. All the man made structure that exists in any river is the perfect habitat for Jacks - there is some natural but nowhere as much.

I have never caught a Mangrove Jack from the mangroves on the Gold Coast - almost all come from man made or natural rock (ie. concrete, etc).

Marty

You could always put in at the ramp beside the M1 and just putt up to the hi way bridge. fish livies around the pilons. if you do no good there head up river and maybe 50m the other side of the ramp theres a storm water pipe that runs from the same side as the ramp. better on the high tide...livies or slabs of fresh mullet will do the trick...

cheers

Thanks guys.

I know that live mullet are a popular choice, but I prefer to throw lures, mainly hardbodies.

I might go for a recce on Monday and see what I can work out.

I've caught them both ways from that ramp, but I'd head upstream.

So many private marinas and canal areas up there, that you can't fish, its very frustrating, but still lots of good spots.

Fish the low tide changes, around dawn and dusk,

good luck,

Matt

Well my quest will continue, for quite some time no doubt.
Spent the day on the Coomera yesterday, put in next to the M1.

It was 2 hours before the low and I attempted to head upstream not knowing how shallow it would be. Luckily I was doing the sign posted 6 knots and was able to idle back and forth to find a way through. Unlike the donkey in about a 5.5 plate boat towing a jet ski on the plane that used his outboard leg as a speed brake.

Anyway, no luck was had in that end. Went all the way to the weir and saw a lot of prospective areas but didn't get a scale off them.

Headed back towards Hope Island and started flicking again one we found likely territory. If the target species was Moses Perch I would have found nirvana. Would have pulled about a dozen from various snags, pylons and rocks, all very small.

Apart from a couple of bream and a flathead that all went back, my first time on the river was quite hard work.

I can see the potential with livies at all hours of the night down there, but I will persist with the lures. It seems more like "fishing" to me rather than waiting for something to come along.

Most fish were caught on 65mm Warlocks in Guns 'n Roses.

Hooked what I thought looked like a 40cm tarpon on a 2" shrimp but didn't get a hook set firmly before he spat me. I didn't realise Tarpon frequented this area.........could I have been wrong?

Cheers, Rhet

Keep going Rhett.

Fish Gladiator Prawns, Prawnstars, Zman plastics SLOWLY over the rock bars around the high tide change, hour either side or so, and see what happens.

Both up and downstream are good for jacks. I've caught tarpon there to 65 cm. Keep at it.

yeah tarpon are all over the gold coast, last time i was there a 37cm tarpon smoked the 1-3kg rod with 6lb braid, eventually got it in, but there all around there. i have got a few on the other side of the rock wall in the coomera on plastics.