We've had an immensely busy week here in Far North Queensland. From the game boats battling it out in the 60th Anniversary Cairns Black Marlin Tournament, targeting black marlin of various sizes, through to big barramundi in the local estuaries, plus all the other quality fish in between, there has been a lot of traffic on and around the water this week. Some prestigious fish from this week have to be a giant black marlin around the 900lb mark and a local land-based barra over the dollar ten mark, both caught by some knowledgeable and skilful anglers. Some better weather came through at the beginning of the week, seeing the charter boats and eager anglers hitting the reef, keeping their clients happy and freezers full with some of the best eating fish from the GBR. Weipa has been another location hot on the cards, with various species captured, from the classic barra through to permit on the flats and even saratoga right up in the freshwater rivers.
Ella with a very nice yellowfin tuna from the deep blue, a quality feed of sashimi from this one I bet! @ellawagneerr
Wild Turkey on leader with a nice black marlin in the 60th Anniversary Cairns Black Marlin Tournament. Photo from Cairns Professional Game Fishing Association FB Page. Thank you, Kelly!
Game Fishing
The start of the 60th Anniversary Cairns Black Marlin Tournament has been full of plenty of scoring fish, plus some absolute giants coming into the mix to spice up the excitement. Fish estimated at the 900lb, 800lb and 700lb mark have all been caught and released during the competition so far, with a 500lb fish coming in to finish the fishing for day 2. The majority of fish captured during the competition have been between 80lb and 250lb, however size does not matter in this tournament. It's all a numbers game, where a quick leader grab is all that counts for a scoring fish. Smaller fish are preferred, so the angler can quickly winch it in and the deckhand can grab the leader as quickly as possible, releasing the fish then getting all the lines set again to increase their time on the water. The longer the fight is drawn out on a bigger fish, the more time is potentially wasted when another bite could have occurred. However, in the spirit of the first grander caught 60 years ago, some boats are just in it for the fun, trolling the biggest baits possible and chasing that potential grander.
A shot of the game fleet gathering before their sail past, kicking off the first day of the 60th Anniversary Cairns Black Marlin Tournament. Shot on board Beluga by staff member Brayden.
Another shot of almost the entire fleet as they line up heading through the Leads.
Day 1 saw 22 black marlin captured across 18 boats, with Askari managing to catch and release 3 marlin, and Shaka and Mauna Kea with 2 fish each. Calypso managed to capture and release the biggest fish of the competition so far, an estimated 900lb black marlin, with Murray Finlayson reeling in the giant.
A quality photo of the crew on board Viking II with a 250lb marlin on the end.
Another shot of the marlin from Viking II, with angler Jeremy Goon reeling in this cracker.
Day 2 was another rippa day, with 21 black marlin caught and released across the fleet. The smallest boat in the fleet, Reel Work, managed to push their way to the top of the leaderboard, catching another 3 fish to take their total to 4. Askari, unfortunately not catching another marlin for the day, are still sitting hot on Reel Work's heels, along with Viking II, both on a total of 3 fish in an even second place. Moana III took out the biggest fish of the day with an estimated 800lb black marlin for angler Fletcher Stasinowsky, and Centerfold reeled in another giant at an estimated 700lb for Bryce Davison. To finish the day, a 500-pounder came in for Big Business, with Mitch Quixley on the rod.
Reel Work with an action shot of them backing down onto their fish. Photo from Cairns Professional Game Fishing Association FB Page.
Within the first 15 minutes of the 3rd day's fishing, a nice 400lb fish was caught by Adventum, racking their tally a little higher on the board. Miss Nic also had a capture and release with a little 60-pounder coming in. It was only a small one, but size doesn't matter and it's still a scoring fish. Viking II also managed to get themselves another fish on the board, pushing them back up a position with 4 fish, with Reel Work remaining in first place on a countback. A total of 20 fish were captured on day 3, pushing the total so far to 63 fish across the whole fleet!
Mood Swings have pushed their way up the board, sitting at 3 fish. Photo from Cairns Professional Game Fishing Association FB Page.
Day 4 is happening right now. All the final results will be available at the presentations on Saturday night, and live skeds will be broadcast throughout the day on the Cairns Professional Game Fishing Association FB Page.
A nice little jump from this juvenile marlin, shot by Ella on board Infinity.
Estuary Fishing
The staff here have been busy on some late-night missions, resulting in some quality captures for the boys. Various methods and techniques have been working for the bigger barra, from hardbody shallow divers to paddle tail and prawn soft plastics. The boys have shown us the barra haven't been fussy this week. One junior angler has been snag bashing through the Inlet, plucking consistent numbers of mangrove jacks from the sticks and the occasional barra, throwing surface frog soft plastics deep into the structure. The Esplanade flats have been productive for barra around all the drains. Soaking live baits has proven effective for the barra on the flats, with some more large grunter and a large flatty even smashing the live baits again this week.
Staff member Atti caught this cracker land-based barra pushing the 112cm mark on the brag mat, a quality fish caught on a shallow-diving hardbody. @atti.3126
Kynan, another staff member, with another solid land-based barra around the mid-80s mark on a paddle tail soft plastic. @outtatheblueFNQ
Young gun Jack with a quality barra from the Inlet on a surface frog soft plastic, pitching it deep into the structure. @jack_fishing1
Brayden with another late-night barra, the boys have been getting stuck into them! @thegreatestoftherod
Reef Fishing
For the seriously keen anglers and charter operators looking to head out and stock up their freezers, it would have been a choppy ride out in the trailer boats and smaller vessels. However, those who did make the effort to get out there managed to find themselves some quality fish bottom bashing the reef. Nice mixed-size schools of nannygai have been on the chew around the flowing wonky holes and isolated rocks. Closer to the reef structure, off the isolated bombies, coral trout have been caught on a mix of lures like the Nomad Squidtrex Vibes and Nomad Buffalo Jigs, convincing these delicious fish to bite.
Wahoo and yellowfin tuna have been on the bite on the outer reefs and shelf, and finding that perfect deep blue water has been the key for the wahoo. Spanish mackerel are still biting inshore on the wrecks and lead poles. Free-floating garfish or pilchards have proven very effective for these toothy critters.
Riley caught this colourful grassy off an inshore reef on a Mintoss Skip Prawn. @rileylindsay321
Another shot of Riley's grassy.
One of the most desirable table fish from the Great Barrier Reef, a delicious green jobfish caught on board Dragon Lady.
And another quality table fish, a deep red coral trout on Dragon Lady.
Cape York
Towards the tip, Weipa has been a popular destination for many anglers this past week. Some exciting captures have been keeping the Weipa locals and regular anglers entertained. Permit are active on the flats for the fly-fishing anglers whipping the wand around, and natural prawn and crab flies have been effective for the persistent anglers. Barramundi have been chewing in the rivers and fingermark have been firing on the inshore grounds off Weipa. Up into the fresh, the saratoga have been hungry, smashing nearly every lure thrown at them. A unique species still high on many anglers' bucket lists, saratoga are found around the more remote parts of northern Australia. They aren't the most accessible species, hence why they are an uncommon capture.
Wusty with a beautiful little permit, how's the colours on this one! @steven_wust_
And Mully with a cracking permit off the flats. This keen angler is starting to crack the code with these incredible fish. @mully_0911
Brittany with a rippa barra in Weipa on the Shimano Tranx/Zodias combo. @Brittnolan
Wusty with a very nice finger.
And this fella once again with a nice little barra from the sticks in Weipa.
Weekend Outlook
Tonight is the start of the Tinaroo Barra Bash, a family-friendly event with a whole range of fishing categories and species to target. The barramundi are split into two categories, one for LiveScope and one for non-LiveScope, leaving a fair playing field between the two. Catfish and tilapia are even target species, a great way to keep the young anglers entertained over the school holidays. It's as simple as throwing out a little worm on a hook and you could be in with a chance to win!
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.