Fishing Redland Coast & Canal Estates
Tidal flows are the lifeblood of this fishery, with powerful currents funneling oceanic water past Cleveland Point and flooding the expansive sand flats of Wellington Point. Seasonal shifts bring highly diverse target options, with winter welcoming outstanding spawning runs of yellowfin bream and tailor, while the warmer summer months trigger explosive mangrove jack and giant trevally activity. Flathead and sand whiting 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 Cleveland and Wellington Point. Wading the shallow flats directly facing the western channel 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
- Wellington Point: Cast unweighted live yabbies on a size four long-shank hook directly into the current lanes during a rising 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.
- Cleveland Point Rocks: Cast metal spoons or whole pilchards on ganged hooks directly into the active foaming wash. Retrieve with an aggressive high-speed burn to trigger active tailor feeding in the surf. Let the lure sink for three seconds before cranking to locate the school.
- Raby Bay Foreshore: Wading the sandy beach gutters 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.
- Oyster Point Wall: Slow-roll three-inch soft plastic paddle tails parallel to the rock transitions during the last of the run-out tide. Let the jig head bump the bottom to kick up visual puffs of silt along the drop-off. Focus your casts around the isolated weed clumps where flathead wait.
- Wellington 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
- Raby Bay Canals: Slowly troll deep-diving hardbody minnow lures parallel to the canal walls at three knots. Select lures that dive to three meters to bounce along the muddy bottom transition. Watch your sounder for large arches holding near the private pontoon structures for mangrove jack.
- Wellington Point Gutter: 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 flathead.
- Peel Island Reef: Drift the low-lying gravel patches in fifteen meters of water casting seven-inch soft plastics on light jig heads. Work the plastic with a slow lift and drop retrieve close to the bottom to target snapper. Use light fluorocarbon leaders to fool the wary fish in this shallow water.
- Cleveland Deep Gutter: Anchor your vessel just outside the main current run and cast weighted squid baits down-current. Use a heavy pyramid sinker to keep the bait pinned securely along the muddy channel floor. Focus your fishing during the twilight periods of dawn and dusk.
- Cleveland Point 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.
Hot Spots
- Wellington Point: Rocky headland offering outstanding land-based casting access to deep current channels.
- Cleveland Point Rocks: Rocky ocean platforms and current eddies holding tailor and winter bream.
- Raby Bay Canals: Extensive canal network holding quality bream and mangrove jack.
- Cleveland Deep Gutter: Deep river channel dropping to eight meters holding resident flathead.
- Peel Island Reef: Low-lying rocky structure renowned for shallow-water snapper and emperor.
Local Bait Tips
- Yabbies: Pumped using a stainless steel yabby pump on the Wellington Point sand flats (leading toward King Island on low tide) or the sandy pockets near Raby Bay. Hook them through the tail and up the body for whiting.
- Poddy Mullet: Cast-netted along the shallow mangrove margins of the Cleveland creeks 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 Cleveland Point bridge on high tide. Pin them through the nose to keep them swimming naturally in the current.
Boat Ramps
- William Street Boat Ramp, Cleveland:
William Street Boat Ramp: Located at William Street in Raby Bay, this multi-lane concrete ramp features central pontoons and ample parking, providing protected all-tide deep-water access.
- Main Road Foreshore 4 Lane Boat Ramp, Wellington Point:
Main Road Foreshore 4 Lane Boat Ramp: Located at Main Road in Wellington Point, this four-lane concrete ramp features a well-marked channel out over the flats and reef rubble ledge which drops off into bay waters around the 4 to 5 meter mark. It is located south of the jetty with an adjacent public boarding jetty.
Bait and Tackle
- BAYSIDE BAIT & TACKLE: Shop 10, 127-131 Colburn Avenue, Victoria Point QLD 4165 | Phone: (07) 3820 9581
- BAYSIDE BAIT & TACKLE CAPALABA: Unit 5, 17 Tombo Street, Capalaba QLD 4157 | Phone: (07) 3841 7027
- MOSSOPS BAIT & TACKLE: 30 Shore Street E, Cleveland QLD 4163 | Phone: (07) 3821 1240
Emergency & Safety
- Volunteer Marine Rescue Raby Bay: 17 William Street, Cleveland QLD 4163 | Radio: VHF 16, 67 | Phone: (07) 3821 2244
