With fresh bait, fishing at the right times and tides, charter operator Eddie Riddle said anglers can catch an array of fish – some highly prized on the table.

The Townsville Bulletin fishing columnist said knowing the characteristics of the fish people wanted to catch went a long way to having a successful time wetting a line.

Some fish such as mangrove jack, cod and barramundi tend to sit tight to structure and snags, whereas other species such as grunter, whiting and flathead can be found on sand flats.

“It’s very much a strategic operation fishing in the city mostly because of the tidal variants,” Mr Riddle said.

Mr Riddle said anglers should make the most of low tides to get a sense of where fish-holding structure could be and note where bait congregates.

“On those really big low tides, those areas can be exposed,” he said. “Get an idea of the terrain and explore structure.”

Mr Riddle said this would not only be advantageous in helping find fish but could save angler’s plenty of money by identifying where tackle-stealing snags lurk.

He said low tide also presented a good time to gather bait, be it fish or yabbies found in mud flats.

Mr Riddle said gathering bait during low tide and then casting out as the tide rose was particularly effective, with larger fish often following the rising water line in search of food.

“Cast nets are very handy. If you learn to throw a cast net you’ll make your money in two trips,” he said.

Mr Riddle said it paid off to keep a close eye for larger fish pursuing fleeing fish when bait gathering and to fish close by.

“So many people can be seen throwing a net in, catching heaps of bait and then moving 5km away,” he said.

Prime land-based spots where livebaits work well include Cape Pallarenda around the rocks and on the beach, the mouth of the Ross River and Captains Creek in Rowes Bay.

“Live bait is the key to catching big fish there,” Mr Riddle said.

“In particular in that area (on Pallarenda beach) you will get grunter and shovelnose shark – the taste is very nice.

“Captains Creek – the mouth of that you will get salmon, grunter and some barra.”

Mr Riddle said anglers should use the urban landscape to their advantage, with bridges and breakwaters providing shelter and bait-luring light.

“Land-based fishing in and around the city has huge benefits, around Victoria Bridge mainly because of the lighting,” he said.

Mr Riddle said people fishing from the shore should be wary of crocodiles and stingers however.

“They’re (land-based anglers) more at risk than boaties,” he said.

The Fishing Warehouse co-owner Dale Welldon said headlands along The Strand were another good option.

He said Cleveland Bay was largely shallow and featureless, but the headlands created a bit of structure with wind and tides carving deeper holes near the shore and the rocks creating extra fish-holding structure.

“The main rule really to go by is the tides, looking for the bigger tides. You need that depth of water into those rocks even around the harbours,” he said.

“If we can fish those bigger making tides, it’s always better. Fish are smart, they don’t want to get caught (in the low tides).”

When there is current pushing onto these headlands, Mr Welldon said anglers could expect to hook into hard fighting queenfish and trevally, while in winter they stood a chance of hooking into some tasty blue salmon.

Mr Welldon said the headland on the southern side of Strand Park was a spot where lures were particularly effective for fish such as barramundi during the open season.

The barra season will remain closed until January 31 on the Queensland east coast.

Strand jetty a Townsville land-based fishing hot spot

JUTTING out off The Strand, the jetty offers land-based anglers the chance to hook a variety of fish from the iconic barramundi to pelagic speedsters like mackerel.

Rupertswood’s Brad Mikic, 35, has been frequenting the fishing hot spot for 18 years.

One of his most prized catches is a huge 2m Queensland groper, which he said was a “fish of a lifetime”.

Mr Mikic said fish could be caught around the jetty during most conditions.

“I get a mixed bag of estuary fish. We do get trevally and mackerel, but that’s during the winter time,” he said.

“We do get sharks and stingrays of good sizes too. I’ve caught them around the 2m mark. I’m not jumping off there.”

He said the spot appealed to him because it offered a social side too, with people often wandering down and asking what he had caught.

Mr Mikic uses a few simple rigs, including a paternoster rig, where a bait is fished near the bottom by being anchored with a sinker, or a running sinker rig.

When conditions are right, he also uses a float to suspend a bait in the water column, appealing to fish such as mackerel.

The jetty is also a hot spot for teen angler Coree Summerville, 15, who got into the pursuit two years ago.

Using prawns as bait, Coree has caught species such as grunter, sharks, stingrays and even a doggie mackerel, otherwise known as a school mackerel.

“I just love fishing. It just gets me out of the house,” he said.