Tailor

Tailor size and bag limit in QLD

Min 35 cm. 20 per person. No closed season in SEQ. (K’gari eastern beach, Waddy Point to Indian Head, is closed to all fin fish 1 Aug-29 Sep; outside SEQ.)

Checked 8 Oct 2026 against the Queensland Government pages: size and possession limits and closed seasons.

Limits are possession limits: they count everything you hold, including any at home in the freezer. In yellow (conservation park) zones: max 2 lines and 2 hooks in total per angler. Green zones: no fishing. All QLD fishing rules

When to catch tailor in South East Queensland

• P peak season
• S in season
• – off season
• C closed season for at least part of the month

Tide: Top of the tide and the early run-out, especially bigger night tides; on beaches the deeper gutters on the rising tide.

Time of day: Dawn, dusk and night; schools chasing bait can bite at any time.

Weather: calm or offshore wind and clear water suit them; rain and dirty water put them off.

Seasons partly come from Coastwatch report mentions, not catch numbers.

Tailor by area

Not in our guide for Offshore Sunshine Coast, Offshore Moreton and Offshore Gold Coast.

Around Scarborough and the Redcliffe Peninsula

Our local Redcliffe Peninsula notes come from local fishing columns and reports, and for tailor they differ from the South East Queensland picture. Around Scarborough the best months are April to August, with March and September to December also worth a try.

Scarborough and Clontarf foreshores on high tide at night (better fish than the jetties), the northern wall of Scarborough Harbour, the Newport canal mouth, Woody Point and Redcliffe jetties, the Ted Smout Bridge, reef edges and open water.

Tide around Scarborough: Larger high tides at night: the top of the tide and the early run-out.

When: Night, plus dawn and dusk. Some moonlight helps.

Spots in our local notes: Scarborough Boat Harbour walls, Scarborough Beach, Clontarf – Pelican Park, Woody Point Jetty, Redcliffe Jetty, Ted Smout Bridge platforms.

Where to catch tailor in SEQ

Ocean beaches and headlands on the northward spawning run: Gold Coast beaches (Burleigh to Narrowneck), South and North Stradbroke, Moreton Island, Bribie (Woorim), Caloundra, Point Cartwright/Arkwright and Noosa North Shore. In the bay: Redcliffe/Clontarf foreshores, Cleveland Point, jetties and rock walls; inside the Jumpinpin bar and the Gold Coast Seaway.

Catch Signal forecast areas that rate tailor: Noosa River & Noosa Heads, Laguna Bay & Noosa offshore, Maroochy, Mooloolaba & Coolum, Caloundra & northern Pumicestone Passage, Bribie Island & southern Pumicestone Passage, Redcliffe Peninsula & Deception Bay, Bramble Bay, Pine River & Sandgate, Brisbane River, Central bay & Moreton Island west, Wynnum, Manly & Wellington Point, Cleveland, Peel & Straddie west, Victoria Point, Redland Bay & bay islands, Jumpinpin, Jacobs Well & Pimpama, Gold Coast Broadwater, Seaway & Nerang River, Burleigh to Point Danger, Ocean side of Straddie & Moreton.

Spots to try for tailor

Picked because the water each spot reaches suits tailor (our habitat match), not from catch reports. Each spot links to its place on the area page; tide times are for the place our forecast reads for that spot.

How to catch tailor: best baits, lures and rig

Baits

• Pilchards on ganged hooks
• Garfish
• Whole or live yellowtail pike
• Bonito and mullet strips

Lures

• Chrome metal slugs 20-60 g
• Surface poppers and stickbaits at first light

Tailor rig

Surf: 3-4 x 3/0-4/0 ganged hooks with a pilchard, ball sinker sized to the surf, 15-20 lb mono on a 10-12 ft rod or Alvey. Bay: unweighted gangs on 9-12 lb.

Good to know about tailor

Adults migrate north to spawn Jun-Oct: South Stradbroke fish are in spawning condition from July and K’gari peaks Aug-Sep. Big adults enter Moreton Bay mainly Apr-Aug; some of the largest come off North and South Stradbroke in Oct-Nov ("Christmas choppers" in summer). Runs vary a lot between years.

Open in the forecast

See tailor in the Catch Signal app: seasons for the area you fish, closed-season warnings and the best days this week.