The fishing in the north was off to a cracker start this week, with plenty of great catches from across the board. Those who made it out to the reef were rewarded with some good mixed bags of species such as large-mouth nannygai, coral trout, spangled emperor, long-nose emperor, Spanish mackerel and many more. The rivers and estuaries have fired well, with good catches of mangrove jacks, barramundi, fingermark and salmon.
Reef Fishing
This week many anglers had some hot sessions out on the reef and on the rubble patches, fishing with fresh squid and pillies and landing some impressive catches. Fishing the shallow edges of reefs such as Arlington and Sudbury has produced some nice coral trout and, not far from them, anglers have been finding rubble patches and picking up some solid nannygai.
Often caught amongst the schools of nannygai are spangled emperor and long-nose emperor, which pull as hard as a red or nanny and are also fantastic table fish. Some lucky anglers, while fishing for trout, managed to pull up the rare barramundi cod.
A thumping Nose Emperor caught while on a hot bite aboard Exceed Sports Fishing
Check out the size of this Spangled Emperor caught aboard Exceed Sportfishing. These fish pull like freight trains, often caught alongside Nannygai
Another massive Large-mouth Nannygai caught aboard Exceed Sport Fishing
The Green Job Fish is often seen around the reef edges right out to the middle of the paddocks, reeled in aboard Dragon Lady Charters
Game Fishing
While bottom dropping, it is always a good idea to drop a pilchard over the back on a floating line or drift it in the current, as it is a very effective way to find a Spanish mackerel roaming around baits being worked by bottom fish. Trolling deep divers and surface lures has also been very effective, with some great-sized mackerel around.
A nice Spanish Mackerel landed while aboard Dragon Lady Charters off Port Douglas
Also landing a solid Spanish Mackerel aboard Dragon Lady Charters. Floating pilchards along the reef edge can be effective
Rivers, Estuaries & Beaches
For the weekend fishos who fished the rivers, it paid off with some quality fish being caught on the mud flats of the inlet this week. There were solid fingermark moving around with the bigger tides at the start of the week, as well as some large blue salmon caught using live baits such as sardines and prawns, which were caught by throwing the cast net in small creek mouths or along the edges of the mangroves.
A cool day out on the water aboard Fish Tales Charters, fishing the Trinity Inlet with baits and landing this nice Fingermark
Another cracking Blue Salmon fishing with Fish Tales Charters
Weekend Outlook
With some day windows over the weekend looking to be around 5 to 10 knots, anglers should take advantage of these conditions and head out to the reef for some hot bottom sessions chasing nannygai, red emperor, coral trout and mackerel.
For those sticking to the rivers and creeks, be sure to take plenty of water and shade as it will be a hot one if the sun stays out. Forecasts are showing possible afternoon showers, so it may be wise to get out early and head back early. As always, stay safe on the water this weekend.
Not one you see every day: the Barramundi Cod is a no-take. Great for a pic and release
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