Bongaree Jetty

Bongaree Jetty sits on the Pumicestone Passage side of Bribie Island, about 2 km south of the bridge, where the full tidal flow between Moreton Bay and the passage runs past the end. That current is the reason to fish here: it carries bait past the jetty and keeps bream, flathead, tailor and squid moving through on every tide. Bribie is the only island in Moreton Bay with a bridge to it, and this is the island's easiest structure to fish. The passage also has a reputation for producing a big mulloway on the right night, which keeps a few locals going after dark long after the families have left.

Fish the change of tide, when the current eases enough to hold a bait near the bottom. Bream and grunter take a prawn, a yabby or a mullet strip on a running sinker cast slightly up-current and allowed to drift down. Flathead respond to soft plastics hopped along the sandy edges either side of the jetty. Squid move in after dark in the cooler months, and tailor can be caught with ganged pilchards on winter mornings. Mulloway are a night-time, live-bait exercise and need patience more than talent.

Bream are the most reliable catch, peaking in winter. Flathead are on the sand flats all year and best in spring, whiting move in through summer, and grunter are a warm-month bonus. Squid and tailor are cooler-month targets, and mulloway are occasional. Bream 25 cm (possession limit 30, combined with tarwhine), dusky flathead 40–75 cm (5), whiting 23 cm (30), tailor 35 cm (20), mulloway 75 cm (2), tiger squid 20.

The jetty sits in the Bribie Island (west) habitat protection zone, but the channel just beyond it is the Pumicestone Channel–Godwin Beach conservation park (yellow) zone: maximum 2 rods or handlines and 2 hooks in total per person once your bait lands out there. The simplest way to stay legal is to fish to the yellow-zone limit the whole time. Spearfishing is banned within 100 m of any public jetty in this part of Queensland. The current at mid-tide can be strong enough to turn a light sinker into a very expensive kite.

The jetty is on Welsby Parade, Bongaree, a short drive across the Bribie Island Bridge from the mainland. There is parking along the foreshore, with toilets, cafés and parkland nearby. The deck is flat, but it is a shorter structure that gets crowded during school holidays.

The passage is sheltered from ocean swell, so wind is the main issue. A strong northerly or southerly blows straight up or down the passage and makes the current harder to fish. The water is clearest on the incoming tide from Moreton Bay and dirtiest late on the outgoing, especially after rain in the creeks to the north. Calm, clear nights are best for squid.

The current under the jetty is strong, so never jump or climb in after gear. The passage holds bull sharks and stingrays. Boats use the channel close to the jetty, so watch where you cast. Supervise children at the rails.

Yes. The jetty is a popular fishing spot. The channel beyond the jetty is a conservation park (yellow) zone, so the safe rule is 2 rods or handlines and 2 hooks in total per person.

Around the change of tide, when the current slows. The run-in tide brings cleaner water from Moreton Bay and is usually the better of the two.

Yes, after dark, mainly from late autumn to early spring. The possession limit for tiger squid is 20.