Reef Fishing
For those managing to head to the inshore reefs between rain squalls, coral trout continue to dominate catches, with spangled & long nose emperor and trevally also in the mix. Spanish mackerel remain a consistent target, with good numbers taken on floated pilchards and live baits.
The sheltered reefs like Arlington and Sudbury have been the best options in the moderate conditions. With moderate winds, more opportunities should open over the weekend for those in bigger boats to target bottom & pelagic species.
Coral Trout have been on the bite on the shallow to mid depth Bommies.
Trevally have been common catches on the reefs off Cairns & Port Douglas.
Long-nose emperor have been another common catch for reef fishermen.
Rivers & Estuaries
Recent heavy rains have made river & estuary fishing tough, with fast-flowing, muddy waters dominating the region. However, dedicated anglers are still landing barramundi, particularly in back-eddies and runoff areas. The Barron River has rewarded those fishing floods back-eddies with paddle tails and prawn imitations working well.
In Cairns Inlet, a standout 1.02m Barra was landed using a Panic Station 5” Mullet while several other fish have been caught on lures & live baits. Most of the southern rivers are in flood but still seeing good numbers of barra coming off the run-in swamp drain mouths casting plastic prawns and surface lure.
Matt Powell with an impressive 1.02m barramundi caught in the Cairns Inlet this week on a 5" Panic Station Mullet.
Coastal Headlands!
Barra action has continued to be strong along rocky headlands and beach foreshores where soft plastics and prawn imitations have been the go-to lures. Some fish have measured up to 80cm, providing exciting action for those braving the conditions. Another hotspot has been the Cardwell Rock Wall again with several quality barra caught during the week on live mullet and lures.
Weekend Outlook!
After a week of torrential downpours, the flooding rain is expected to ease & as water levels stabilise and clean, expect the rivers and estuaries to fire up on Barra & mangrove jack action. While still in flood, continue to target the drain mouths.
With a building moon from Saturday, we should see fingermark back taking live baits & plastics like Gulp fished on the deep water rough bottoms of the Cairns Inlet & Mourilyan Harbour. As the tides build grunter & salmon will again be targeted fishing the mangrove flats as will mud crabs that should still be on the flats escaping the freshwater. The rocky headlands and beach foreshore should see more quality barramundi caught.
Moderate conditions of 10-15 knots will see the bigger boats fishing the reef and ideal tides and moon should see plenty of coral trout & Spanish mackerel caught on the reefs offering shelter from the swell.
Hopefully, next week we are all fishing under blue skies and sunlight.
The local rivers will see plenty of barra action as the levels drop and clean up over the coming weeks.
Spanish mackerel have been readily taking floated pilchards while bottom fishing.
Tip of the Week
The brand-new Panic Station Mullet has been making waves on social media – and for good reason! This revolutionary lure has already been responsible for landing multiple giant barramundi.
Available in 4, 5, 6, and 8-inch models, there’s a size for every Barra fishing scenario, from river systems to coastal headlands. We just received more stock since it flew off the shelves last week so get in quick before it sells out again!