Gold Coast Fishing Platforms 2026: Where the City’s Fishing Platforms Are, What Bites and the Best Tides (QLD)

The City of Gold Coast runs eight fishing platform pages, and each gives a location, the fish to expect, the best bait, the best tide and the right gear. Barney Street is at Southport and Chevron Island is on Stanhill Drive, while Nerang, Pizzey Park and Yatala are under or near the M1 further inland. The City’s advice on tides is broadly the same everywhere: fish the end of the outgoing tide and the incoming tide.

Everything below comes from the City’s own pages as of 9 November 2026, which do not give opening hours, fees or parking rules for the platforms. Fishing rules, size limits and bag limits come from the Queensland Government, which the City links to, so check those before you keep a fish.

Where are the City’s fishing platforms?

Platform	Where the City says it is	Waterway
Barney Street	River end of Barney Street, Southport, near the Gold Coast Highway crossing of the Nerang River (Sundale Bridge)	Nerang River
Chevron Island	Korman Family Park, 183 Stanhill Drive, Chevron Island, just downstream (north) of the western Chevron Island bridge	Not named on the City’s page
Coombabah	Concrete jetty at the northern end of The Esplanade, next to the public boat ramp	Coombabah Creek
Currumbin Creek	Two platforms on a boardwalk in Beree-Badalla Reserve, from the Thrower Drive boat ramp car park to the Gold Coast Highway underpass	Currumbin Creek
Labrador, Marine Parade	A series of platforms on the esplanade between the Grand Hotel and Whiting Street, opposite the Gold Coast Seaway	Across from the Gold Coast Seaway
Labrador, Burrows Street	Near the western end of Burrows Street, facing north to Biggera Creek, opposite the Biggera Waters shopping centre	Biggera Creek
Nerang	Nerang River parklands under the M1 at Nerang, reached from Arthur Earle Park	Nerang River
Pizzey Park	Off the access road into Pizzey Park, just downstream of the Bond University weir	Pizzey river
Yatala	Albert River Parklands, under the M1 bridge at Yatala, off the Old Pacific Highway	Albert River

The City also offers a downloadable Public fishing platform locations map (PDF) on its boating, fishing and jet skiing page.

What can I catch at each platform?

Platform	Fish the City lists
Barney Street	Whiting, bream, trevally, flathead, mud crabs; school jew on pylons at night; squid in cooler months
Chevron Island	Whiting (summer), bream, flathead
Coombabah	Bream, flathead, whiting, mangrove jack, trevally, queenfish, estuary cod, mud crabs, squid
Currumbin Creek	Whiting, flathead, occasional flounder, squid in cooler months, occasional sand crabs
Labrador	Luderick and squid in cooler months; bream; whiting and flathead in warm months
Nerang	Bream, mud crabs, flathead; whiting, mangrove jack and shark on summer nights; trevally in the early hours
Pizzey Park	Whiting, large trevally, mangrove jack, bream, flathead, small sharks, crabs, tarpon, oxeye herring, queenfish, giant herring
Yatala	Bream, mud crabs, flathead; whiting, mangrove jack and shark on summer nights; trevally in the early hours

What are the best baits, tides and gear?

Platform	Bait	Tide	Gear
Barney Street	Yabbies, herrings, bloodworms	Last of the run-out and during the run-in	Light 7 to 10 foot 6 inch estuary outfit, 2 to 5 kg line
Chevron Island	Yabbies, herrings, bloodworms; small shrimp and prawns from the rocks beside the platform	Last of the run-in and during the run-out	Light 8 foot estuary outfit, 2 to 4 kg line
Coombabah	Yabbies, squid, herring, mud worms	Last of the run-in and during the run-out	Light estuary outfit of about 7 feet, 2 to 4 kg line
Currumbin Creek	Pippies, yabbies, beach worms	Last of the run-out and the first few hours of the run-in; fish when the water is murky	Light 8 foot estuary outfit, 2 to 4 kg line
Labrador	Yabbies, herrings, wrigglers, bloodworms, mullet fillet	Last of the run-out and during the run-in	Light 8 to 10 foot 6 inch estuary outfit, 2 to 5 kg line
Nerang	Yabbies, herrings, live mullet, mud worms	Last of the run-out and during the run-in	Light to medium estuary outfit, 2 to 4 kg line; up to 10 kg line with an 8 foot medium-tapered rod for larger fish
Pizzey Park	Yabbies, herrings, mud worms	Last of the run-in and during the run-out	Medium 8 foot estuary outfit, 2 to 5 kg line
Yatala	Yabbies, prawns, mud worms	Last of the run-up and during the run-out	Light estuary outfit, 2 to 4 kg line

Which platforms have seating and shade?

The City lists comfort features on four sites:

• Chevron Island: seating and a shade sail.
• Currumbin Creek: each of the two platforms has a shade cover and a seat.
• Labrador, Marine Parade: each platform has seating and a blue shade sail.
• Labrador, Burrows Street: a concrete platform with a stainless-steel railing; the City does not list seating.

It lists nothing about shade or seating at Barney Street, Coombabah, Nerang, Pizzey Park or Yatala.

How do I get to the less obvious platforms?

The City gives directions for three of them.

Nerang. Take exit 71 off the M1 at Nerang and travel west along Nerang-Broadbeach Road. Turn right into Arthur Earle Park, leave the car in the car park and walk downstream (east) along the river bank for about 500 metres. Cross underneath the M1 into Burchill Park. The platform is on the bank at the far eastern end of the parklands.

Coombabah. Turn into Turana Street off Oxley Drive and continue to The Esplanade. Turn north (right) and continue to the car park at the end. The City also suggests walking through Daisy Elms Park from Coombabah Primary School, or along the creek-side promenade from Paradise Lake, Cable Ski World and the Coombabah Lakelands boardwalks.

Currumbin Creek. The boardwalk connects the Thrower Drive boat ramp car park to the Gold Coast Highway underpass on the northern bank. The platforms are about one kilometre upstream of the creek’s tidal entrance, across mangrove flats near Palm Beach-Currumbin High.

Is any platform in a protected area or under a fishing restriction?

Two notes from the City’s pages matter if you plan to keep what you catch.

Coombabah’s jetty is opposite the mouth of Saltwater Creek and just downstream of Coombabah Lake. The City says both areas are protected fish habitats and some of the most important fish nursery areas in South East Queensland.

The Yatala page opens with a notice headed “Albert and Logan River area fishing restrictions in place from December 2016”. It says an outbreak of white spot disease in wild prawns from the Logan River was confirmed by Biosecurity Queensland, and that restrictions were placed on the commercial and recreational take of crustaceans and marine worms from the Albert and Logan River areas. The notice carries a 2016 date and the City does not say whether it still applies, so check the Department of Primary Industries website before taking prawns, crabs or worms there.

What does the City ask anglers to do?

• Dispose of all rubbish, bait bags and tangled fishing lines thoughtfully.
• Practise catch and release, or keep only the fish you need.
• Observe bag limits.
• Report any sightings of noxious fish such as tilapia, carp and gambusia to the Department of Primary Industries.

For fishing permits, rules and regulations, the City points to the Queensland Government’s recreational fishing web pages.

What about boat ramps and the locks?

If you have a boat, the City’s page links to maps of its public boat ramps, jetties and pontoons. The live boat ramp camera trial has ended and the City says it is reviewing the trial and the feedback. The City also runs two navigation locks, at Boobegan Creek and Monterey Keys, which operate 24 hours a day but shut down automatically during floods. A remote-control access key is applied for in person at the Helensvale or Nerang customer service centres, and a fee applies.

Sources

• City of Gold Coast — Boating, fishing & jet skiing (checked 9 November 2026)
• Barney Street fishing platform
• Chevron Island fishing platform
• Coombabah fishing platform
• Currumbin Creek fishing platform
• Labrador fishing platform
• Nerang fishing platform
• Pizzey river fishing platform
• Yatala fishing platform

Featured image: Sundale Bridge over the Nerang River, near the Barney Street platform (photo: Rodney Topor / CC BY-SA 4.0) (text added)

OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with the City of Gold Coast. Platform details are the City’s and can change; check the Queensland Government’s fishing rules and the tide before you go.