Fishing Articles

Chasing Cape York sailfish

cape york sailfish

SEPTEMBER is a great time of year to target western Cape York sailfish. As well, we get a few more decent weather windows, the temperature is warming and so is the fishing. The Hay, Mission and Embley rivers are also holding good numbers of barramundi and blue salmon. These fish are hanging around bait drains and adjacent dirty water lines, …

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Bucket list fishing trip in far north Queensland

bucket list fishing trip north queensland

I RECENTLY had the pleasure of taking a keen angler on a bucket list fishing trip in tropical north Queensland. He had set himself up with a couple of trips arranged through Fishing Cairns, one out to the reef to chase GTs and the other up the river with me to chase jungle perch and sooty grunter. The trips were …

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Drought-breaking rain changes the game

drought-breaking rain brunswick heads fishing

WELL the drought’s over on the Northern Rivers! Twenty-four inches of drought-breaking rain in four days will do that. All those fish that were above Mullumbimby in the Brunswick River aren’t there anymore. We really needed a good flush of the system like this to get things moving both in the river and offshore. Offshore was stagnant, with cold water …

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Expanded FAD program reeling in fish and fishers

expanded fad program queensland

A PROJECT to boost the world-class fishing experience in southeast Queensland waters has been expanded with the installation of 15 new fish-attracting devices off the coast in early March. Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said the FAD program involved floating buoys tethered offshore to attract fish. “We’re creating a world-class fishing experience by investing $1 million …

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Fishing the western watershed streams

western watershed streams

WHILE penning this piece relating to fishing the western watershed streams during the grip of one of the most prolonged droughts in living memory, just for contrast, rain is falling across the region concerned. Here too in the southeastern corner of the sunshine state we’ve been blessed with liquid sunshine, albeit in lesser amounts than those of us in rural …

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Dirty water in southern bay makes fishing tricky

dirty water flathead

WE had a reasonable run of weather for the start of the year and then it turned and we’ve copped heaps of rain and subsequent dirty water. We’ve had fewer days on the water and unfortunately my dud back has decided to play up again. For some reason it seems to do it at this time of year. One recent …

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Rain and small weather windows prove tough but rewarding

small weather windows river to reef fishing charters

SUMMER is quickly coming to a close, but it certainly doesn’t feel like it. With consistent rain and lighter wind around central Queensland, fishos have been waiting for the small weather windows between the rain to get out and fish the blue water. These weather windows have become increasingly uncommon in recent years, so it has been a welcome change. …

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Tactics for fishing Tin Can Bay

fishing tin can bay

G’DAY crew, I hope the silly season treated you well and you were able to get out and wet a line! We got a good run of weather from Christmas right through to the middle of January, which allowed plenty of fishing in Tin Can Bay. We even got a few good downpours to top up the tanks and green …

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Rockhampton net-free zone back online

rockhampton net-free zone fishing

IT has felt like an eternity since the saltwater barra season closed, but from February 1 barramundi will be back on the radar throughout the Rockhampton net-free zone and elsewhere in Queensland. I did a run a few weeks back during the closed season looking for big king threadfin salmon in the top half of the Fitzroy River. I checked …

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Bli Bli Barra Park – challenging and fun

bli bli barra park

FOR many years, my impression of the Bli Bli Barra Park, based simply on some false assumptions, was it was another ‘fish farm’ where the fish would just jump on the hooks. Where was the challenge and fun in that, I thought. I’d heard that about a barra farm up north where you can keep the fish you catch, so …

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