Golden Beach & Military Jetty

South of Caloundra the Pumicestone Passage widens over sand flats and yabby banks, and Golden Beach is where the locals wade them. The Military Jetty pokes into the passage at the southern end and gives a dry platform over the channel edge. Whiting and flathead feed on the flats on the rising tide, and bream hang around the jetty and the rock edges. It is quieter than Bulcock Beach and a better bet for a family morning with a yabby pump.

On the flats, wade out on the rising tide and cast lightly weighted yabbies or worms up-current so they wash along the edge of the gutters. Whiting like a bait kept moving; a slow retrieve or a small surface popper works on warm, clear days. Off the jetty, a running sinker with a yabby or prawn fished on the bottom finds bream, and a soft plastic worked along the drop-off picks up flathead. Pump your own yabbies on the banks at low tide with a hand pump.

Sand whiting (23 cm) and yellowfin bream (25 cm) are the main targets, each with a possession limit of 30 (bream combined with tarwhine). Dusky flathead lie on the edges of the banks and must be 40–75 cm, possession limit 5. Silver trevally and tarwhine school around the jetty, and the deeper channel holds the odd mulloway (75 cm, possession 2).

Pumicestone Passage is part of Moreton Bay Marine Park, and every bivalve and gastropod except pipis is no take in Moreton Bay waters. The deeper channel is a conservation park (yellow) zone: max 2 rods or handlines and 2 hooks in total per person there. Yabby pumps are fine on the foreshore for bait, but in the passage's fish habitat area no other digging tool is allowed. The jetty carries one of Maritime Safety Queensland's tide gauges, which is about as official as a fishing spot gets. This coast from Caloundra south is a white spot movement area: raw prawns, yabbies and marine worms, including bait, must not be taken out of it unless cooked.

Park along the Esplanade at Golden Beach, where there is foreshore parking, picnic shelters and toilets in the parks. The Military Jetty is at the southern end of the Coastal Pathway, a flat walk or ride from the foreshore. The flats are a short walk across the sand from the path. Sunshine Coast Council is rebuilding the Diamond Head seawall, from Lamerough Canal to about the Military Jetty boat ramps, from late 2026, so expect fencing and detours on the foreshore south of the jetty. The jetty itself stays open.

The passage is sheltered from ocean swell, so this is a fallback when the beaches are blown out. A fresh northerly or southerly runs down the length of the passage and puts a chop on the flats, which makes sight-fishing hard. The clearest water comes in on the flood tide from the bar. Rain colours the passage from the creeks and pushes bream and flathead toward the jetty.

Wade only on the rising tide and keep an eye on the channel edges, which drop away suddenly. Stingrays bury in the sand flats — shuffle your feet and wear footwear. Boats run close to the jetty and the channel, so keep lines clear of them. The jetty boards can be slippery after rain.

Yes. Recreational fishing is allowed from the jetty, which sits in Moreton Bay Marine Park waters. Normal fisheries limits apply near the shore, and the deeper channel is a conservation park (yellow) zone with a limit of 2 rods or handlines and 2 hooks in total per person.

Pump them on the exposed sand banks at low tide with a hand-held yabby pump. Yabbies have no possession limit, but in the fish habitat area you may not use any digging tool other than a hand pump.

Sand whiting must be at least 23 cm, with a combined possession limit of 30. Queensland uses possession limits, which include fish you already have at home.

No, except pipis. All bivalves and gastropods other than pipis are no take in Moreton Bay Marine Park waters, which include the Pumicestone Passage.