An impressive metre plus barra caught with Northern Heli-co fishing a remote Gulf river out of Karumba
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Tackle World Cairns Weekly Fishing Report.
The flooding rain made conditions tough this week, with rivers running hard and the blue water choppy. But anglers who snuck out during late last week’s calm spell found the fishing red hot, with reef, island and estuary species all firing. Here’s the full wrap:
Reef Fishing
The reef lit up late last week, with crews finding fast and furious Spanish mackerel action around Dawson Reef off Cooktown, along with Sudbury, Thetford and Eastern Patch off Cairns. Bag limits were filled in no time, though sharks were aggressive and quick landing of hooked mackerel, along with heavy tackle were essential to beat the taxman. Spotty mackerel were thick off Cairns with anglers complaining of constant bait chop offs while light tackle fishing for billfish.
On the bottom, coral trout were thick on bommies and ledges, with strip & pilchards baits producing plenty of solid fish feeding up before spawning, Sudbury Reef produced well on trout and other assorted reef species. The deeper rubble grounds fished strongly for large and small-mouth nannygai, red emperor, spangled emperor and cobia, while painted sweet lip and trevally added plenty of variety.
This young angler was super excited to catch this small-mouth nannygai recently with Cairns Reef Fishing
Reef Runner Charters has been landing some great eating Robinson Sea Bream on recent charters out of Cairns
Coral trout have been in great numbers on the local reefs off Port Douglas for anglers fishing with Dragon Lady Charters
Islands & Headlands
Spanish mackerel have been reliable around island drop-offs and current lines holding bait schools, with trolling garfish and high-speed lures both effective. A few spotty & school mackerel have been in the mix also. Surface action was highlight earlier in the week, with queenfish and GTs smashing stick baits and poppers off the headlands and river mouths, an adrenaline rush for anglers casting light tackle.
Spanish and spotty mackerel continue to be caught around the islands and reef edges
Rivers & Estuaries
Heavy rain has swollen most rivers, leaving many systems dirty and fast running. Despite this, barra and mangrove jacks remain an option in clearer creeks and drains, flushing bait into the main river systems.
Before the downpour, the Daintree River, Cairns Inlet & Mourilyan Harbour produced solid barra, fingermark and jacks on live mullet, soft plastic prawns & paddle tails and hard-bodied lures. Cooktown Wharf was buzzing with life, with queenfish, trevally and barra crashing through bait balls right under anglers fishing platform, producing great fun for those fishing from the shore.
Barramundi were taking soft plastics aggressively before the recent flooding rain for Fish Hunter Charters FNQ
Local angler Kai Swan with a solid mangrove jack caught on a soft plastic prawn in Mourilyan Harbour
Light Tackle Billfish
The Cairns Bluewater Light Tackle Billfish Tournament concluded on Saturday after three days of fishing the local grounds east of Fitzroy Island. Seventeen boats tagged & released 29 billfish on 10 kg line trolling rigged baits & lures. Champion boat over 7.5m was awarded to local game boat Miss Nic while The Edge was crowned in the under 7.5m category. Many crews were busy replacing baits chopped by regular interactions with spotty mackerel.
This black marlin was one of 29 billfish tagged and released during the Cairns Bluewater Billfish Light Tackle Tournament
Weekend Outlook
The forecast is looking kind for blue water anglers, with winds easing back to around 10 knots Saturday morning and holding through to Monday. Check the latest forecasts and observations before heading to sea. With the rain finally clearing, boat ramps are sure to be busy as crews chase both pelagics and reef fish.
Spanish mackerel will be the hot target thanks to the building run in the tides, and bag limits should come quickly on floating pilchards while bottom fishing or trolled lures & baits worked along bait-rich reef ridges. Bottom fishers can look forward to trout and nannygai action on the bommies and deeper rubble, while cobia, red emperor and trevally should add extra weight to the eskies.
Estuary options will be trickier with swollen & dirty systems, but clearer systems such as Hinchinbrook should still see a few barramundis caught casting the flats and creek mouths on the favourable tides. With the big influx of freshwater mud crabs will be moving and worth setting some pots in most of the estuary systems including the Cairns Inlet & Hinchinbrook Channel.
Coral trout will be another popular target species this weekend with Fish Tales Charters
Large-mouth nannygai will be a target this weekend for Exceed Sport Fishing small boat owners
Spanish mackerel should be on the bite this weekend with good conditions and ideal tides combining
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.