Coombabah Creek Jetty (Turana Street)

The council's concrete jetty on Coombabah Creek sits at the northern end of The Esplanade, next to the public boat ramp, opposite the mouth of Saltwater Creek and just downstream of Coombabah Lake. Both the lake and Saltwater Creek are protected fish habitats and among the most important fish nurseries in South East Queensland, so this stretch of creek gets a steady supply of fish moving in and out. The mangrove-lined banks hold mangrove jack, estuary cod and bream, with flathead and whiting on the sand. It is a quiet suburban spot that fishes well above its postcode.

Fish the last of the run-in tide and the run-out, when water drains off the mangroves and bait flushes past the jetty. A light running sinker rig with a yabby, herring, squid strip or mud worm fished near the jetty pylons finds bream. Flathead sit on the creek bed and take soft plastics or small whole baits worked slowly. For mangrove jack and estuary cod, cast a live herring or a soft plastic tight to the mangrove edges and snags on a warm evening. Trevally and queenfish push in with bait in summer and take small metal slugs or poppers.

Bream, flathead and whiting are the staples, with mangrove jack, estuary cod, trevally and queenfish in the warmer months. Mud crabs and squid round things out. Bream are 25 cm (possession 30, combined with tarwhine); dusky flathead 40–75 cm (5); sand whiting 23 cm (30); mangrove jack 35 cm (5); estuary cod 38–120 cm (5, combined with all cods and groupers); queenfish 50 cm (5); trevally have no minimum size, with 20 combined. Mud crabs are 15 cm (7 per person), and female mud crabs are no take.

Coombabah Lake and the tidal part of Coombabah Creek upstream of the lake are closed to all fishing, and the lake is also a marine national park (green) zone — fish at the jetty and downstream only. The jetty sits in a Moreton Bay Marine Park habitat protection zone, where line fishing, crabbing and bait gathering are allowed under normal fisheries rules. The creek is a declared Fish Habitat Area, so a hand yabby pump is the only digging tool allowed. Bivalves and gastropods other than pipis are no take in Moreton Bay Marine Park. Crab pots and dillies are limited to 4 per person, tagged with your surname and address.

Turn into Turana Street off Oxley Drive and follow it through to The Esplanade, then turn north to the carpark at the end next to the boat ramp. You can also walk in through Daisy Elms Park from Coombabah Primary School, or along the creek-side promenade from Paradise Lake and the Coombabah Lakelands boardwalks. The jetty is concrete and level. Boat ramp traffic is heaviest on weekend mornings.

The last of the run-in and the run-out are the best tides here. Warm, humid summer evenings on a run-out tide are prime for mangrove jack. After heavy rain the creek runs dark, which suits bream and flathead. The creek is sheltered from most winds.

Keep clear of boats launching and retrieving at the ramp beside the jetty. Bull sharks use Gold Coast creeks, so don't wade or clean fish at the water's edge. The mangrove mud is soft and deep, and midges and mosquitoes are fierce at dusk.

No. Coombabah Lake and the tidal part of Coombabah Creek upstream of the lake are closed to all fishing, and the lake is a marine national park (green) zone. Fish the creek at the Turana Street jetty and downstream.

At the northern end of The Esplanade, Paradise Point, next to the public boat ramp. Turn into Turana Street off Oxley Drive and follow it through.

Bream, flathead, whiting, mangrove jack, estuary cod, trevally, queenfish, mud crabs and squid.

Yes. The creek at the jetty is in a Moreton Bay Marine Park habitat protection zone, where line fishing, crabbing and bait gathering are allowed. The lake upstream is a green zone and closed to fishing.