Fishing Brisbane River & Wynnum
Tidal flows are extremely strong through the lower reaches, pushing clean oceanic water past the river mouth and flooding the deep residential canal networks. Seasonal shifts bring a diverse range of target species, with winter welcoming outstanding yellowfin bream, tailor, and schooling Mulloway, while summer triggers explosive mangrove jack, giant trevally, and threadfin salmon action. Flathead remain highly consistent year-round residents, shifting their feeding positions along the shallow drop-offs in response to the changing lunar cycles.
Land-based anglers are incredibly well catered for with extensive parklands, boardwalks, and public fishing platforms along Shorncliffe and Sandgate. Wading the shallow flats surrounding Shorncliffe on a falling tide is a highly productive way to target trophy whiting and flathead on light tackle. Anglers must exercise extreme caution when wading near the main channels, as deep drop-offs and fast-flowing currents can easily sweep a footing away.
For boat and kayak anglers, the deep current lanes, bridge pylons, and rocky revetment walls provide endless tactical options. Navigating the canal entrances and current seams requires a high-quality fishfinder to locate the baitfish schools pushed up against the stone structures. The deep-water junctions drop to over ten meters, holding schooling Mulloway that feed aggressively during the brief slack water high tide window.
Top 10 Species
Landbased
- Wynnum Jetty: Cast unweighted live yabbies on a size four long-shank hook directly into the current lanes at high tide. Retrieve with a slow, continuous twitch to target sand whiting feeding along the sandy drop-offs. Use a three-kilogram fluorocarbon leader to maximize your bite rate in the clear water.
- Wynnum Foreshore: Wading the shallow sandy flats directly in front of the parklands on a rising tide is highly productive. Walk quietly on the sand to avoid spooking active schools, casting ultra-light fluorocarbon leaders and live yabbies. Focus your efforts on the small channels where the current accelerates.
- Boggy Creek mouth: Cast fresh mullet strips on a light running sinker rig parallel to the mangrove roots on a rising tide. Let the bait drift naturally with the run-in current to target quality yellowfin bream. Focus your casts during the twilight periods of dawn and dusk when baitfish concentrate.
- Pinkenba Wall: Slowly roll three-inch soft plastic paddle tails on light ten-gram jig heads along the deep rock wall. Let the jig head bump the bottom to kick up visual puffs of silt along the drop-off. Run a thirty-pound fluorocarbon leader to survive the sharp barnacle-encrusted basalt rocks.
- Luggage Point Groyne: Cast heavy chrome spoons or weighted soft plastics directly into the deep rip currents draining off the concrete wall. Work the lure with a fast, erratic hopping retrieve to trigger aggressive strikes from giant trevally. Target the twilight periods of dawn and dusk when baitfish concentrate close to the wall.
Offshore
- Brisbane River mouth: Position your boat up-current of the deep muddy channels and use a GPS-lock motor to hover. Deploy live poddy mullet on heavy running sinker rigs using a size four-zero circle hook. Target the brief thirty-minute window of slack water high tide for trophy threadfin salmon.
- Port of Brisbane Ledges: Slowly troll deep-diving hardbody minnow lures parallel to the stone revetment walls at three knots. Select lures that dive to five meters to bounce along the deep bottom transition. Watch your sounder for large arches holding near the pylons for big Mulloway.
- Boggy Creek Deep Hole: Anchor your vessel just outside the main current run and cast weighted squid baits down-current. Use a heavy ninety-gram pyramid sinker to keep the bait pinned securely along the muddy channel floor. Focus your fishing during the twilight periods of dawn and dusk.
- Wynnum Creek Gutter: Set up a slow drift with the wind, dragging live yabbies close to the bottom sandy transition. Keep your reel in free-spool with your thumb on the line to detect whiting taps. Run a ten-pound fluorocarbon leader to maximize your bite rate.
- Gateway Bridge Pylons: Position your boat up-current of the deep concrete bridge pylons and use a GPS-lock motor to hover. Deploy live herring on heavy running sinker rigs using a size four-zero circle hook. Target the brief thirty-minute window of slack water high tide for schooling Mulloway.
Hot Spots
- Wynnum Jetty: Timber jetty offering outstanding land-based casting access to deep current channels.
- Wynnum Foreshore: Expansive sand flats offering highly productive wading access for sand whiting.
- Port of Brisbane Ledges: Deep-water stone revetment walls holding active giant trevally and mangrove jack.
- Brisbane River Mouth: Deep muddy river channels holding threadfin salmon and schooling Mulloway.
- Gateway Bridge Pylons: Massive concrete bridge pylons creating current eddies holding giant trevally.
Local Bait Tips
- Yabbies: Pumped using a stainless steel yabby pump on the sand flats near Wynnum Creek at low tide. Hook them through the tail and up the body for whiting.
- Poddy Mullet: Cast-netted in the shallow mangrove margins of the river banks on a rising tide. Keep these hardy live baits in an aerated tank to attract flathead.
- Live Herring: Cast-netted around the vertical concrete structures near the bridge pylons on high tide. Pin them through the nose to keep them swimming naturally in the current.
Boat Ramps
- Port of Brisbane Boat Ramp, Whyte Island:
Port of Brisbane Boat Ramp: Located at Port Drive on Whyte Island, this dual-lane concrete ramp features a boarding pontoon, grass overflow parking, and continuous video surveillance. The small southern sandy area completely dries out to expose a sharp rocky shoreline at high tide, and the site is highly exposed and hazardous when a southerly wind is blowing, requiring vertical clearance monitoring for the nearby railway bridge.
- Colmslie Boat Ramp, Morningside:
Colmslie Boat Ramp: Located at Col Gardner Dr in Morningside, this dual-lane concrete ramp features a deepwater toe drop-off and a central floating pontoon. The ramp is exposed to regular wakes and localized congestion from an adjacent passenger ferry terminal, and has a western sandy beach and trailer parking that suffers from limited maneuverability due to recreational vehicles occupying trailer-only lanes.
Bait and Tackle
- THE TACKLE WAREHOUSE: 436 Old Cleveland Road, Camp Hill QLD 4152 | Phone: (07) 3398 6500
- JONES'S TACKLE: Shop 2, 473 Stafford Road, Stafford QLD 4053 | Phone: (07) 3350 2054
- WATER TOWER BAIT AND TACKLE: 10 Ernest Street, Manly QLD 4179 | Phone: (07) 3396 1833
- MR. BAIT: 42 Violet Street, Hemmant (Brisbane) QLD 4174 | Phone: 0431 222 721
- THE RODFATHER: Unit 19, 1631 Wynnum Road, Tingalpa QLD 4173 | Phone: (07) 3348 9314
- THAT FISHING SHOP: 76 Curragundi Road, Jindalee QLD 4074 | Phone: (07) 3376 6288
Emergency & Safety
- Volunteer Marine Rescue Brisbane: 95 Allpass Parade, Shorncliffe QLD 4017 | Radio: VHF 16, 67 | Phone: (07) 3269 8888
