Cairns Fishing Report | 4th December

It was smiles all round when this happy angler ripped up this stonker coral trout.

With another cracking start to the week for the north, the weather turned it on with some flat conditions that allowed many anglers and boats to head out on the water and reel in some great catches. Despite the mackerel and barramundi closures, many fisho’s managed to have some good sessions on other species like large and small mouth nannygai, coral trout, Rankine cod, spangled emperor, red emperor, tuna and the awe inspiring sailfish and black marlin from the blue water and reef. While fishing the creeks and estuaries, casting lures has been red hot with mangrove jacks.

Reef Fishing

With reasonable tides and light winds, many fishermen took advantage of the windows and hit the bottom for some excellent numbers and catches of coral trout and spangled emperor while fishing close to the reef edges. Fishing bommies, ledges or large rock structures around the inshore reefs are some of the most common areas for trout to hang out. Using fresh squid, reef bait and pilchards on a dropper rig has been most effective, landing anglers some quality trout. Using small jigs in the same zone has been just as effective for those who prefer to jig.

Nannygai and red emperor have also fired well. Fishing fresh squid bait on dropper rigs around rubble patches and wonky holes in open areas and channels with good current flow is ideal. As the old saying goes “no run = no fun”. Around the tide changes you usually get the best bite for nannys and reds. Fishing inshore wrecks and structures has also been good for the guys jigging or casting slugs, landing some solid cobia and good size school and spotty mackerel.

Game Fishing

Game fishing off Cairns and Cooktown has still been producing quality marlin, sailfish and yellowfin tuna on the wide grounds. Linden Bank Reef remains one of the local favourites, with the deep drop off to the outer shelf creating a predominant pressure point of current for the large predators to hang out and hunt. Trolling skirted lures and stitched swimming baits has been the most effective method for the giant billfish.

Big dogtooth tuna also call this area home. Dropping large knife jigs has been effective for getting the hookup, but the elusive dogtooth tuna has massive power and more often than not they pull drag like no other. Rarely do the big ones get landed, but those that do are smiles all round.

Rivers, Estuaries & Beaches

The creeks have still been firing really well on mangrove jacks for local anglers as we move into the hottest and most tropical part of the year. A big natural food source for jacks and mangrove dwellers are the mangrove frogs, so this time of year they are honed in on surface style feeding patterns. Knowing this can help increase your catch rate, as switching over to surface lures or skip casting frog lures right into the back of the overhanging mangroves is very effective for targeting them.

Throwing a cast net or learning to throw one can also be a great back up or go to for bait fishing. Live mullet, sardines or prawns are all fantastic baits for chasing mangrove jacks, grunter, fingermark, queenfish and trevally either on the edges of the mudflats or drifting baits into the bigger mangrove snags along the edges.

Local legend Frank Aquilina skip cast soft plastic frogs deep into the mangroves and was rewarded with quality jacks.

Freshwater & Dams

Walking the freshwater streams has been tons of fun for the kids chasing jungle perch and sooty grunter, with many good fish taking surface lures and poppers. This time of year we often get afternoon storms and showers that knock down bugs and insects from the tree canopies and grassy edges, allowing us to imitate that food source with small soft plastic frogs and bug imitations on the surface, providing some amazing visual strikes.

When heading up to Tinaroo Dam, fishing land based as well as casting from the boat, barramundi are still allowed to be targeted during the closed season because they are stocked impoundment fish and legal to be fished for. So for those who need a barra fix, this is the best way to do so. Anglers who have fished the dam have done very well as the water has warmed up, getting the fish to feed in schools laying on the edges and timber structures around the dam. Large soft plastic paddle tails along with slow trolled or suspending hard bodies are also very effective.

Geoff backed up the session aboard DBM Sportfishing with a solid metre plus barramundi.

Sally fished Tinaroo Dam with DBM Sportfishing, landing this monster barra. Well done, Sally.

Weekend Outlook

Fishing over the weekend may be a little bumpy for those looking to head out the front or offshore due to the winds picking up around 10 to 15 knots, which may restrict smaller boats from running the gauntlet to the reef. But a little bit of choppy water can also bring on the bite from the predators. One to keep an eye on will be the Women’s Ribbons Game Fishing Tournament, which will have a best dressed boat competition that can be seen from the Marlin Marina wall as the boats exit Trinity Inlet to head out to target marlin and other game fish. Be sure to cheer them on.

For those heading to the creeks and estuaries, the expected rain around the northern areas at the moment will bring a pressure drop in the barometer with the storms around. This can push dirty water into the rivers, creating feeding zones for jacks chasing frogs and prawns being washed in from the hard to reach mangroves. Soft plastics and shallow diving lures will be most effective in the poor conditions, with bright white or chartreuse being the standout colours in the dirty water.

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.