Trevally (giant, bigeye, golden)

Trevally size and bag limit in QLD

No size limit; 20 in total across all trevally. Exceptions: giant queenfish 50 cm/5, yellowtail kingfish 60 cm/2, amberjack and samsonfish 50 cm/2 combined, swallowtail dart 30 cm/30.

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 trevally in South East Queensland

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

Tide: Local reports favour the run-out at night around bridges; other tides are not specified.

Time of day: Dawn, dusk and night around lit bridges.

Weather: not fussy about wind; rain makes little difference.

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

Trevally by area

Not in our guide for Southern Moreton Bay, Moreton Island, 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 trevally they differ from the South East Queensland picture. Around Scarborough the best months are November to March, with April, May, July and August also worth a try. For tide, our local notes give no clear preference; across South East Queensland the best tide is the run-out.

The Newport canals, the Pine and Caboolture rivers and their mouths, and deep estuary structure.

Where to catch trevally in SEQ

Estuary bridges, walls and deep holes: Noosa River (very consistent), Maroochy and Mooloolah rivers (bridge pylons, trawler moorings), Gold Coast Seaway and rivers, Pumicestone Passage, Jumpinpin; also the Pine and Caboolture rivers and the Newport canals.

Catch Signal forecast areas that rate trevally: Noosa River & Noosa Heads, Laguna Bay & Noosa offshore, Maroochy, Mooloolaba & Coolum, Caloundra & northern Pumicestone Passage, Bribie Island & southern Pumicestone Passage, Redcliffe Peninsula & Deception Bay, Jumpinpin, Jacobs Well & Pimpama, Gold Coast Broadwater, Seaway & Nerang River, Burleigh to Point Danger, Ocean side of Straddie & Moreton.

Spots to try for trevally

Picked because the water each spot reaches suits trevally (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 trevally: best baits, lures and rig

Baits

• Live herring, mullet or prawns
• Fresh strips

Lures

• Soft plastics and small hard-bodies
• Surface poppers at first light
• Metal slugs in the Seaway

Trevally rig

15-30 lb leader depending on structure.

Good to know about trevally

Reported all year in the Noosa and Sunshine Coast rivers; strongest Nov-Apr elsewhere. Often a by-catch when chasing jacks and flathead.

Open in the forecast

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