With strong wind warnings over the weekend keeping most boats in the shed, and the threat of a cyclone for the northern reaches, most anglers had a quiet week. Fishing the small windows of good weather aboard the larger charter boats still saw some quality catches come aboard.
Reef Fishing
With only a few small windows to get out to the reef this week, some locals and larger reef boats did manage to fish and do some bottom fishing. This saw some good catches of coral trout in the shallows and around reef edges, being caught on fresh pillies. While fishing the open patches and rubble ground, some nice nannygai and spangled emperor were also landed.
Some bottom action for the boys fishing aboard Dragon Lady Charters in Port Douglas landing some nice trout and large mouth nannygai
Corrin Skeene caught this 81cm coral trout near Green Island using pilchards and squid
Game Fishing
Fishing on the open grounds and pressure points of the reefs around Cairns, Spanish mackerel have been caught in good numbers. A new year and open season for mackerel has definitely kicked off with a bang. Trolling shallow and deep diving lures is always a great way to target mackerel, with the old faithful wog head rigger and a fresh gar always producing a good fish.
All smiles for landing this line burn Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel season is back on and plenty of great catches coming aboard Dragon Lady Charters
Rivers, Estuaries and Beaches
Strong wind warnings and a possible cyclone saw mostly bigger boats on the water, but those that braved the rain and wind were rewarded with some nice catches in Trinity Inlet. Local anglers landed some nice mangrove jacks on soft plastic frogs skipped under overhanging mangroves, along with by-catches of barramundi. Fishing the flats of Trinity Inlet with fresh caught prawns produced some nice catches of blue salmon, barred grunter, and some quality queenfish.
Fishing aboard Fishtales Charters in Trinity Inlet has seen some great catches of grunter on fresh prawns
Big smiles for a jumping queenfish also caught fishing the inlet with Fishtales Charters
Creeks and Dams
Walking the upper freshwater reaches of some southern creeks, younger anglers making the most of their school holidays landed some solid sooty grunter, casting lures under the overhangs. Surface lures were most productive, providing some exciting surface action. While the storms are still around, this can really turn on the bite for Tinaroo Dam, and it most certainly did, with some local anglers landing some absolute stonkers fishing at night and early morning right on sunrise.
Fishing into the night young angler Jack Marks landed this cracking 115cm Tinaroo barramundi
Tyreece making the most of the school holidays walking freshwater creeks and nailing this solid 43cm sooty grunter casting lures
This big barra was caught in Lake Tinaroo by DBM Sportfishing
Weekend Outlook
With some better conditions forecast this week, tides are improving and winds are down around the 5 to 10 knot mark, which should allow many anglers to head out on both the estuaries and the reef. The reef should hopefully soak up some welcomed sunshine and the odd shower to cool things off. Reef fishing should see anglers chasing coral trout in the shallows, with nannygai and reds in the deeper water. Tides increasing towards the new moon should see better bite windows in the morning tides, as they are the larger tides and provide more movement on the turn. Estuary fishing should see hot action around snags and mangroves on mangrove jacks with lures, as they are usually very active in the warm water this time of year, with more bait and critters entering the system from rain and runoff.
Need gear, bait or just a bit of local advice?
Swing by Cairns Tackle World at 172 Aumuller Street, Bungalow to chat with your local independent fishing experts.