Fishing Monthly - Latest Fishing Reports - Updated Weekly
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COMPILED WEEKLY BY GARRY SMITH IN CAIRNS:
e-mail: lavallesmith@iig.com.au
Gold Coast
The weather has generally been good on the coast this week. While the seas have been a bit lumpy the wind has stayed down most days and the swell has been light to moderate.

Good numbers of boats headed offshore this week both to chase pelagics and also to fish the bottom. There have been plenty of spotty and Spanish mackerel taken on the Palm Beach and Mermaid reefs this week, and it showed as once again both areas resembled the parking lot at Pacific Fair. Spinning metal lures or pilchards in a berley trail was the best way to get amongst the spotties and nail a few reasonable Spaniards. Using small live tuna or tailor was the best way to connect to a big Spaniard or a few of the cobia that have been about. If you would like to avoid the crowds, try the coffee rock along South Straddie, off Burleigh Headland, or any of the wrecks and reefs between the 12 and 24 fathom lines.

Further out on the 36 fathom line, some nice current lines have developed and are holding yellowfin tuna, dolphinfish, black marlin and a few Spanish mackerel and wahoo. Try trolling small to medium sized skirts or Halco and Rapala diving lures. Tweed Nine Mile fished well with some nice wahoo and yellowfin tuna falling to trolled skirts and Halcos.

The bottom has been fishing reasonably well considering the current. The 36s were definitely the place to try and produced a mixed bag of squire, parrot, tailor and trag jew with a few pearl perch thrown in. The best baits were pilchards, squid and fresh strips of tuna or tailor. Yellowtail kingies and amberjack are still about in good numbers for those jigging or live baiting the 50 fathom reefs.

The estuaries have been fishing nicely with whiting making up the bulk of the catch over the past week. These fish were taken on yabbies and soldier crabs around the Broadwater. Further up the Nerang the best baits switched to shrimp and bloodworms fished lightly weighted on the incoming tide. The Council Chambers has been a very popular area but Ross Street, Chevron Island, Campbell Street and Paradise Waters also produced plenty of good fish. The majority of the bigger catches were taken at night but it was relatively easy to score a feed of fillets during the day. Plenty of bream were encountered by those targeting whiting, although the average size wasn’t spectacular. For the better bream try fishing the deep channels or holes if using bait, or around bridges, pontoons and beacons using soft plastic and hard-bodied lures.

While the mangrove jack fishing has not been fantastic there have been steady captures of these fish on deep diving lures and live baits. Most of the fish coming from the Nerang have been taken from Monaco Street and further upstream to the Nerang reach. Trevally and estuary cod have also been turning up while using live baits, diving lures, poppers and soft plastics. The Seaway has been fishing well on the incoming tide for a variety of species. Some good trevally and school jew have been taken in the hole at the end of the north wall on live baits and soft plastics. The pipeline has yielded a few yellowtail kingies and better jew although it is very adept at stealing lures and tackle. Tailor and tarpon have appeared sporadically throughout the week along both walls of the Seaway and in the adjacent channels. Queenies have also been active most mornings on the banks off Wavebreak Island. Casting small metal lures and flies is the go for these fish. For those fishing baits on the south wall, there were plenty of decent bream around as well as the odd trevally or tailor on whitebait.

The beaches have been fishing very well with the kinder weather that we have experienced. Whiting were a popular target and could be taken in the shallow gutters and holes right along the coast on an incoming tide. Beachworms or pippies proved to be the best bait and also accounted for plenty of dart in the same areas. Fishing beachworms or whitebait in the deeper gutters was a good way to score a big bream or tarwhine in the hour around dawn and dusk.

Hinze Dam has fished steadily during the week, with some good bass coming from the deeper water. Slow rolling spinnerbaits and soft plastics as well as working lipless crankbaits has been very effective on these fish that are holding over structure in 8 – 15m of water. Some reasonable bass were also taken on surface lures and flies around the edges of the dam early in the morning. Some quality yellowbelly were taken trolling deep diving minnows around the rocky points and in the upper reaches of the dam.

John Polson & Paul Revie
The Fisherman Pty Ltd
Sporty's Warehouse
32 Strathaird Rd. Surfers Paradise
Gold Coast. QLD 4217
Australia
Phone: +61 7 5531 6511
Mobile: +61 418 751220
www.thefisherman.com.au

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Moreton Bay
The recent Moreton Bay Shark Fishing Classic saw 61 whalers and two hammerheads caught by the 41 anglers who signed on to fish from 17 boats. The conditions were far from favourable, especially on the Sunday but those who persevered all seemed to catch a few. The full results should soon be in the tournament section.

Longtails are still around in numbers but they are difficult to tempt most of the time. This could change any day so it is still worth trying if you come across a school. Plenty of small mack tuna and frigates have also been around and are much easier to tempt with a small 15g to 20g chrome slug than the longtails.

The spotties are still hard to find but the occasional one is being caught on unweighted pillies floated out the back of the boat. Very few have been seen busting bait on the surface.

Some quality whiting have been caught around the Hornibrook area by anglers wading out with baits of live worms. Fishing the shallows from the old bridge at night is also productive.

Plenty of small estuary cod have been caught on lures cast around the rock walls at Newport Waterways and Scarborough Harbour. The occasional jack, flathead and large bream has also been encountered.

The Jumpinpin area has been hot and cold of late but those with a good bit of local knowledge are usually having no trouble getting a feed. Flathead are still being caught in all the usual places with the edges of the banks being the place to troll on the falling tide. A few flathead, bream, school jew, trevally and others are being caught in the main channel between Kalinga Bank and the bar.

Some quality snapper are being caught around the rubble grounds on the eastern side of Mud Island. Those anglers fishing mid week, when the boat traffic is at a minimum, have been getting the best results. Fresh hardiheads are the best bait at present and you shouldn’t have any trouble catching a few in a drop net if you berley with tuna oil and bread crumbs first. The houseboat wreck off Peel is another good spot to try, especially at night.

Plenty of sand crabs have been caught of late with some crabbers getting double figures of quality keepers out of their four pots. The gutters and ledges around the outskirts of the bay islands have been popular areas. Make sure that you don’t set your pots in the main transit areas otherwise they could possibly foul in a boat’s prop if the skipper doesn’t see them, especially at night.

May your bait be nervous.

Gordon Macdonald
Tackle Warehouse
Ph. (07) 3398 6500
masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

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Moreton Bay - Wide
Great weather, and good fishing. Those in the know nibbled in the shallows as the offshore current has been raging through the week, ruling out deep water wreck fishing and most reef structure over 50m. Gold spot wrasse have been in plague proportions, but these little battlers chew so well that there is not a whimper of complaint to be heard. By little I mean fish in the 1-3kg range, with teeth that would make Freddie Mercury proud.

Coral bream, fusilier, cod of a range of species and warm water specials such as coral trout and coronation cod are prevalent in the creels. (Whoever heard of someone taking a creel in an offshore boat, especially the old bamboo kind my grandfather used to sling over his shoulder when heading off for any kind of beach fishing?) Trolling is still producing good fish, however you need to be targeting areas just south of Mooloolaba, which is a long haul from Scarborough.

Just remember your fishery is only as good as your vigilance, and keep a beady eye on our State Government, and our supposed representative bodies such as Sunfish and the B.I.A.Q. Any proposal bleating that five yabbies per person at any one time is the way of the future is surely worthy of our derision, but if you sit on your bum and do nothing, relying on the aforementioned Sunfish and B.I.A.Q. to champion your cause, expect to buy a really small yabby bucket real soon, as this will be all that you need.

Regards,

Keith Hall
INCREDIBLE CHARTERS
20 Courageous Ct,
Scarborough 4020
Tel: 3203 8188
Fax: 3203 8199
incrediblecharters@bigpond.com

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Southern Freshwater

Greenup Weir, just outside Inglewood, has been a favorite spot of mine for years. If the fishing was a bit slow in the creek above the weir, you could generally get some action below it in the afternoons. Not so this time. Coolmunda Dam is at 72% and water is still being discharged into Macintyre Brook, resulting in a fair bit of dirty flow over the weir.

We tried lures and bait down there for no fish. The creek above produced the goods this time with a small cod on a black and gold Stumpjumper. Another cod was taken close to the upper wall on local worms, along with a few spangled perch and small jew. A couple of local boys also trolled up a lone yellowbelly.

With all these fish being caught from 12noon -3pm, I was thinking good thoughts about late arvo fishing. As the day wore on, we had only one good hit which snatched my lure and effortlessly tied me around its home snag.

When this water settles after the discharge it will be worth another fish. For now though, I’m thinking the Dumaresq River at Texas will be worth a go for cod and yellas and the Brisbane River for some bass and XOS jewies around running water.

Rob Clouten & Paul Cass
Fishin Essentials
robdinga@gil.com.au

Peter Taylor
Mullet Gut Marine
Ph (07) 4632 9770
Fax (07) 4639 2543
mullet_gut@bigpond.com

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Lake Boondooma

Lance & Kristy Frahm
Lake Boondooma Kiosk
Open 7 days 8am-5pm.
Ph 07-41689694, fax is 07-41689691,
PO Box 24, PROSTON 4613.
lakeboondooma@wondaishire.com
Stop Tailor Netting - Phone (07) 3284 0043 or 0414 376 217
Bribie Is. & Caloundra
No wind, no swell and a clear glassy ocean, just screaming for fishermen. We managed a couple of trips this past week, the latest being on Wednesday evening and might I add we enjoyed plenty of success.

At the Blinker we caught a trevally of 3.5 kg, stacks of pan sized squire and a couple of good snapper to 5.5kg. Early on we were plagued with happy moments and thought carefully about dropping a few bombs down to break them up a little. As dusk came the small snapper started to hit the lines and a little later the bigger fish starting picking up the floaters.

I was using a 7/0 ‘Gama’ hook with a 40lb mono trace and small pike for bait. The snapper, true to form, just chomped the pike and caused a little grief on two occasions when they managed to bust me off. The trevally was caught on a two hook rig with a plastic jig set to the bottom. The way the boat was bouncing around, the jig must have sent the trevally crazy.

In two trips we only landed two sweeties much to our surprise. The snapper are still running strong in the shallow water and they are a good size to boot. Normally by this time in the season you would be chasing them in the deeper water.

Further out at Murphy’s the fishing has been a little slow but still the occasional big snapper and parrot are being captured. A couple of divers that worked around Pt Cartwright on Wednesday afternoon managed a number of good sized parrot and sweetlip in as little as two metres of water.

Closer to home, along the boardwalk, there are strong reports of trevally and bream being caught on live herring or mullet fillets with the odd flathead on the drift. Whiting around the boat club are reaching 600 grams, with worms and yabbies proving to be the killer baits. Deeper into the reaches of the Pumicestone Passage plenty of jacks are belting livies that are cast into the snags. Even the smallest of jacks give you plenty of fun.

Trevally have found the deeper holes down the back of the passage, with a number being landed in 5-8ft, using live bait such as herrings and sprat. Now there are not too many holes that deep in the back waters so a sounder is a must.

Early mornings saw the flattest seas through the rest of the week. Kicking off around 4am and returning prior to 9.30am is about the best time to tackle them, to not be effected by the wind. It seems that the next week or so should be sensational for fishing, so get out there and get amongst them!

Brad McKendrick
Raine & Horne - Caloundra (07) 5491 3555
Compiled by Brad McKendrick from local fisherman with local reports.
brad@caloundraproperty.com.au
Currimundi to Coolum
I’m back at the computer again after doing a stack of fishing in and around the local area. Most of the fishing has been based around chasing small mac tuna on fly and small slugs. Most of the fish are in that 1.5 - 3kg size, so they’re a lot a fun on very small 3kg spin tackle and light 5 and 6wt rods. It's a great way to get the girls and young kids into fishing because when they’re on there's heaps of them. They see heaps of action and hook stacks of fish.

The slugs that have worked for my customers over the last couple of weeks are the River2Sea Searock slugs in 7 and 14gms. Boy the detail and finish on these slugs is superb - nothing like the flattened barrel sinkers painted white, my dad taught me to use. They have the right density and aerodynamics to chuck a country mile. The flies that have been the killers are the Richard’s Glass Minnows, very small Joe Brook’s Blondes and very small Clousers tied in the new product - DNA. Grey and white seems to be the best colour combination at the moment.

There have also been a number of snapper and squire caught on the fly on the closer reefs. The last bout of rough weather got all the shallow grounds firing. You can imagine if they're catching them on fly then there must be an odd few around. So it's a good time to start fishing the close reefs around sunset and sunrise as these are the best times on the shallow grounds. Remember a good berley trail will increase your success dramatically. You also must make sure your bait is straight and will not spin in the current.


The game fishing out on the 50mtr line has seen a lot of mixed action, with dolphinfish, yellowfin, large mac tuna and the odd black marlin. The blacks and sails should really fire up over the next couple of moons with all the bait that’s around.

The Mooloolaba River has been a little bit dirty but around the fishing boats there are still some nice bream to be caught on both plastics and fly. The main plastics have been the dark orange/brown colours and very light heads (1/32 and 1/16 sizes) twitched very slowly. The fish here are rather educated so you'll have to work hard to get results. Get right into the structure and feel for the touch and fish as light as you dare. The best flies are still dark to black Crazy Charlie style flies with a weighted head. Fish deep when the sun is high and come up shallower when darkness approaches. Once again don't move the fly too fast. Let the bream find it, and keep it in the strike zone as long as you can.

Well guys gotta go catch a few. Hope the pics come through.

Pictures - Judy Glover with a small tuna on the Gneerings and Tim Williams scored this nice snapper (fishing a secret fly he tied himself) in about 40ft of water – a very good catch.

Gavin

Gavin Platz
Tie ’N’ Fly Outfitters - Ph (07) 5444 0611
tienfly@sun.big.net.au
Northern Sunshine Coast

Round two of the Australian Bass Electric Tournament was held last Sunday at Lake MacDonald, with 34 anglers competing despite the wet and windy conditions. Eight bass were presented at weigh-in, after roughly six hours of fishing, indicating how tough conditions were. A 70cm Mary River cod was amongst the catch. It is a protected native fish, which was donated to the local hatchery to be assessed and hopefully used as brood stock.

In the Noosa River, flathead have been in good numbers and size in the lower estuary, especially the river mouth, the Frying Pan and the Munna Point stretch The Munna Point stretch has also seen some good trevally and jewfish action, particularly after dark. Surface poppers and Rio's prawn lures are working well in the Woods Bays for trevally and tailor. In the stretch between Lake Cooroibah and Lake Cootharaba, mangrove jacks have been chasing gold Predatec spoonbill lures.

Over the last few weeks strong south easterlies have made beach fishing difficult, but Teewah on the North Shore has been producing some excellent tarwhine. Also up along the camping ground stretch and down below the first cutting there have been dart and whiting, plus tailor to the 2kg mark.

Fishing off the river mouth rock groyne has also been productive. In the deep channel that leads out through the bar there have been recent catches of tailor to 3kg and quality dart.

North Sunshine and Sunrise beaches are producing quality whiting. Marcus Beach has seen some good chopper tailor and dart, and at Peregian Beach the catches were tarwhine and dart.

Offshore, Sunshine Reef has been a popular and very productive destination producing a variety of species including Spanish mackerel, quality snapper and excellent coral trout, both to the 5kg mark. North Reef has produced cobia in numbers, Spanish and spotted mackerel, sweetlip and scarlet sea perch. Squire, pearl perch and parrot were common to all visited reefs, including quality snapper on all close in reefs.

In Laguna Bay, yellow fin tuna, bonito, spotted and Spanish mackerel, mac tuna and snapper were all on the bite. The local "Perception" kayak anglers have done well of late, with early morning conditions in Laguna Bay ideal. Local girls, Rae McCarthy and Cheryl Lacey, trolling tandem with Yak legends Bill Watson and James Grant, managed a 4.5kg yellow fin tuna and a 6.9kg Spanish mackerel on Jew Shoal.

On the freshwater scene, Lake Borumba and Lake MacDonald are both fishing well, with gold spinnerbaits and "Jackals" lures working well for bass and saratoga. Freshwater fishing licences are available at Davo's Bait and Tackle.

Cheryl Lacey
Davo's - (07) 5449 8099
www.fishingnoosa.com.au

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Hervey Bay

Finally we have had a bit of reasonable weather and many reasonable catches. On the reef scene, the Arti has been fishing well for coral bream, blackall and the occasional blue parrot.

In the rivers, salmon and the occasional barra have been keeping the heart rate up. Mud crab catches have certainly improved since the rain but prawns are still a hit and miss proposition.

Along the beaches, a few whiting are being caught at daybreak and in the evenings. Mackerel catches have generally been coming from around the beacons and around Kingfisher Bay. Schools of tuna are scattered throughout the bay.

For any other info that is required, call the shop and talk to Mad Dog – I’m sure that he will tell you where to go.

Regards
Ray Ozich

Dave Ingrey
Fisherman's Corner - Ph (07) 4128 1022
fishcor@bigpond.net.au

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Bundaberg
A bit of rain saw some fresh come down the rivers and stirred things up a bit, with a good run of prawns and a few crabs. It also fired up the fishing, with reports of big grunter being caught using live prawns and sprat rigged with a running sinker to a swivel, a 30 to 40 lb mono trace and a 3/0 or 4/0 hook. Some other species landed include bream, flathead and some big jacks, with the odd barra.
Mackerel are still around in good numbers. Trolling minnow lures and spoons are the way to go. For the bait fishermen, floating pillies and livies should show results. Local fishermen, Raymond Bates and Todd Sloan, cleaned up recently, landing 10 fish between them, and losing quite a few more. They had a great day out, and you can see one of the the results in the photo.
Bass and barra seem to be on the chew still, with the barra hanging in a bit deeper water. Using 3 and 4 metre diving lures should help. Bass have been taken on Atomic and Slider plastics.
Best breezes,

Tim Mulhall / Matt Costar / Ben Shorten
Salty's Fishing Team
Salty's - Ph (07) 4153 4747
info@saltys.net
Hi Folks,
Due to the surgeons cutting my right arm apart at the start of the week and then telling me I won’t be able to use it for 13 weeks, I'll be back on the water this coming weekend, deckie or no deckie to help me, and I will hopefully have a report for you next week from Monduran. While I have clients to satisfy I will do my best to keep my obligations up and the fish coming in.

For this past week I did the right thing and sat around letting things heal and enjoying the morphine, but it's time to get serious again, except when the old lady is home and the mowing needs doing. You would be amazed at how sore the arm can get at the drop of a hat. Just do not know how long I can play this one for, in between fishing trips.

Until Next Week, Safe Boating.

Brett Jones
Still Water Charters
stillwatercharters@yahoo.com.au
www.stillwatercharters.homestead.com

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Yeppoon

I haven’t heard of any highlights on the fishing front during the past week. The wind has just been a bit much for most offshore fishing.

The old Fitzroy River is giving up a few barra on livies, particularly in the city reaches. The trick is to source livies though. The local creeks and lagoons are the focus of attention for people trying to catch spangled perch and trumpeters. Favoured spots are under the new bridge and the mouth of Moores Creek at high tide. I’d think the barra will bite at night this week while the moon is full also.

The estuaries have been hit and miss for the most part. Some lucky punters got a good feed of prawns in Corio Bay last week, but they are scattered and here one day, gone the next. It doesn’t look a particularly good season for prawns, but maybe things will pick up over the next few weeks.

Of course the Causeway will give up a few barra and jacks this week on the run-throughs as usual. Live bait is best, with feather bream the pick for the diehards. The beaches haven’t delivered anything startling yet and we can only hope some whiting will show up soon.

Good luck!

Kim Martin

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Stanage Bay

Von Ann Ireland
stanagebaymarine@bigpond.com
www.stanagebay.com

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Mackay / Seaforth

Arthur Lovern
Seaforth Fishing Tours
Phone (07) 49590318
Peter Faust Dam / Eungella Dam

Andy Thomsen (Fishing Guide)
www.andysfishing.com.au
0409 466 336

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Airlie Beach / Whitsundays



Andy Thomsen (Fishing Guide)
www.andysfishing.com.au
0409 466 336
Whitsundays - Bluewater
High winds have restricted fishing during the past week and Marlin Blue is still up the slip having the new engines fitted. The Cummins 420 HP fitted with a 2 to 1 ratio gear box should give her a cruise speed above 21 knots. Top end should be in the area of 28 knots in good conditions. The engines will burn 100 litres per hour at a cost of $1.20 per litre. Do the math and you will understand why it is an expensive sport.

Barra season is now open but I say "Who Cares'. There are two kinds of fish in the sea

BILL-FISH & BAIT-FISH.

Capt. Ken Bryant
Marlin Blue Charters Ph 07 49465044

www.marlinblue.com.au

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Townsville
Mixed Bag
Over the last week a number of XOS Spanish mackerel have been landed and some nice sized fingermark have also been showing up in the likely places. These fish find it hard to resist a live squid dangled in front of them. Some blokes are also having success on these species using soft plastics.

Reports of barra, jacks and grunter have been consistent but not excessive. However live bait has been proving hard to come by, so if you are contemplating a live baiting session soon, take some fresh strip bait just in case.

There are some reports of big whiting starting to appear in the Haughton, over the sand flats.

With the full moon approaching the action in the Ross River weirs should start to fire up. Big barra are often hungry around this time and surface or shallow diving lures cast early morning or late afternoon can prove deadly - just hold on, as there are some very nice fish in these weirs.

Crabbing the flats of Cleveland Bay is still producing some quality crabs.

Play Safe

Danny Brooks

Danny & Rosalie Brooks
Tackle World
Ph. 0747251266
tackleworldtsv@beyond.net.au

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Hinchinbrook - Lucinda
Hi Friends,
No cloud or rain over the mountains on Hinchinbrook Island over the past week, with the waterfalls now being reduced to a trickle. It looks like that’s it for the wet season, with a distinct lack of tropical lows. I would have liked to have seen a good flood in the river but it now looks like we may have to wait another year.

The fishing this past week in the channel for the most part has been pretty good despite the big morning tides. The low tide window has been working the best, with some nice barra and jacks being landed on both live bait and lures. Water temp is currently at 29 degrees C - just right for the lure tossers.

The flats along Hinchinbrook Island, between Gayundah and Mt Bowen, have been producing numbers of just legal barra for anglers fishing the drop back after the top of the tide. The Herbert River is starting to clean up now and within a couple of weeks the freshwater sections should start to provide some great fishing. This is fairly predictable when there has been any sort of fresh.

Prawns and crabs have been around in good numbers with the pros out and about working their pots daily, which is a pretty good sign. There have been some humongous golden trevally at the end of the sugar loader recently, with big bust offs the order of the day. One fish, estimated at 20kg, was brought boat side before being released. I have found over the years these large goldens are fairly fragile and an in water release is the best survival option.

Another interesting observation over the past week is the huge amount of blue tail mullet in the channel. Some of the fish are huge and out on the flats can be easily mistaken by excited fly fishers for salmon or queenfish with their high tail swimming action. Over the years we have managed to land only a couple of these mullet by foul hooking and you’d better believe these things can motor. One particular fish, weighing in at around 3.5 kg, would have spooled a Calcutta 250 if we did not quickly given chase with the boat. Blue tail mullet are filter feeders and can attain a size of around 10kg. Imagine that on an 8wt fly rod. Unfortunately they are just about impossible to catch on a line.

There has been much criticism recently, accusing Queensland Fisheries of inaction regarding the tilapia infestation. Seems to me there has been a classic case of buck passing going on as to why nothing has been done. There should at least have been a comprehensive public awareness campaign as to where fish have been recorded and their potential impacts on native environments. It should also be made common knowledge that tilapia are quit a good table fish and are farmed commercially around the world. As I have said before, set a bag limit of 100 and let the freezer brigade loose on them and there won’t be a problem in a couple of years.

Al Goodwin
Crackajack Sportfishing Adventures
Lucinda Ph/Fax 61+07 47778365
crackfish@ozemail.com.au
www.crackfish.com

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Hinchinbrook - Cardwell

Not a lot to report due slow tides and poor wind conditions making for ordinary fishing. The grunter fishos found their fishing difficult, but for those who stuck it out some nice fish were boated from the Missionary Bay area. Fish strips were the go as the pickers were taking the prawns.

Those fishermen who were chasing barra had to wait until the end of the week. The guys fishing out of Dr Hook got onto a nice one metre plus barra in the bay, but apart from that, and a 60cm fish, found the going slow.

We fished the rocky headlands and found some nice fish on the chew. One client lost a nice one metre plus barra when the hooks straightened out.

Next week the top of the tide looks like the best time to fish for that big elusive barra.

Safe boating and I'll see ya on the water. Remember, "Fish for the Future, Practice Catch and Release".

Jim Lee
Un-Reel Sportsfishing Adventures
Ph (07) 40660032
0408 842691
jimlee@qldnet.com.au
www.un-reel-sportsfishing-adventures.com.au
Cairns

Robert Erskine
Erskine's Tackle Shop
51 Mulgrave Rd Cairns
Ph (07) 4051 6099
erskinestackle@bigpond.com
Cairns - Reports compiled by Garry Smith

Higher than expected winds have shut down offshore fishing, while inshore there have been some good catches of barra, in the Cairns Inlet. Crabs have also been around and the lead up to the full moon on Thursday should see them on the move.

Barra and jack fishing will be the focus for many lure tossers this week, while the bait soakers will be chasing grunter on the morning high tide.

Garry Smith
lavallesmith@iig.com.au

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Port Douglas
Fishing in paradise has been put on hold as 15-20 knot winds have hounded the coastline and prevented any serious outside ventures. However conditions have been prime up our local creeks with mangrove jack on the burst. Dead baits and live baits have all done their damage in this department. Morning tides have proven far more productive in the overall scheme of things. There is an amazing array of live bait in our systems at the moment which is a result of solid January rains. Barra are active, still sitting at minor gutters and sweeping sharp bends where there is some current.

Other than this, mud crabs have picked up again on the approach of the full moon and results will only get better in the coming week. The smallest of run off drains and creeks are seeing the crabs going exploring on these tides.
Other river and creek adversaries have include whopping catfish, smaller fingermark and handsome bream.
Again the systems are full of bait and live bait maybe not necessarily the go. A fresh sliced up dead bait such as a mullet or sardine may bring a little bit more attention.

Lynton "Heff" Heffer
Ph (07) 4098 5354
www.fishingportdouglas.com.au

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Cooktown

Leonard Todaro
Reel River Sportfishing.
PO Box 829 Cooktown Qld 4871
Ph 07 4069 5346.
reelriver@hotmail.com

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Karumba

Jason Jesse
Gulf Sportfishing Adventures
P.O. Box 228 Karumba
Phone - (07)4745 9434
gsakarum@tpg.com.au
www.gulfsportfishingadventures.com.au

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Weipa

Barra Dave Donald
Dave Donald SPORTFISHING - Ph (07) 4069 9064
DDSPORTFISH@bigpond.com
www.weipafishing.com

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Archived Weekly Reports

5/1/2004 12/1/2004 19/1/2004 27/1/2004
2/2/2004 9/2/2004 17/2/2004 23/2/2004
1/3/2004 8/3/2004 15/3/2004 22/3/2004 29/3/2004
5/4/2004 12/3/2004 20/4/2004 27/4/2004
4/5/2004 10/5/2004 17/5/2004 24/5/2004
1/6/2004 7/6/2004 15/6/2004 22/6/2004 28/6/2004
5/7/2004 12/7/2004 19/7/2004 26/7/2004
2/8/2004 9/8/2004 16/8/2004 23/8/2004 30/8/2004
6/9/2004 13/9/2004 20/9/2004 27/9/2004
4/10/2004 11/10/04 18/10/2004 25/10/2004
1/11/2004 8/11/2004 15/11/2004 22/11/2004 29/11/2004
6/12/2004 13/12/2004 20/12/2004



1/1/2002
7/1/2002
14/1/2002
21/1/2002
28/1/2002
4/2/2002
11/2/2002
18/2/2002
25/2/2002
4/3/2002
11/3/2002
18/3/2002
25/3/2002
1/4/2002
8/4/2002
15/4/2002
22/4/2002
29/4/2002
6/5/2002
13/5/2002
20/5/2002
27/5/2002
4/6/2002
10/6/2002
17/6/2002


1/1/2001
8/1/2001
15/1/2001
22/1/2001
29/1/2001
5/2/2001
12/2/2001
19/2/2001
26/2/2001
5/3/2001
12/3/2001
19/3/2001
26/3/2001
2/4/2001
9/4/2001
16/4/2001
23/4/2001
1/5/2001
7/5/2001
14/5/2001
21/5/2001
28/5/2001
4/6/2001
11/6/2001
18/6/2001
25/6/2001
2/7/2001
9/7/2001
16/7/2001
23/7/2001
30/7/2001
6/8/2001
13/8/2001
20/8/2001
27/8/2001
3/9/2001
10/9/2001
17/9/2001
24/9/2001
1/10/2001
8/10/2001
15/10/2001
22/10/2001
29/10/2001
5/11/2001
12/11/2001
19/11/2001
26/11/2001
3/12/2001
10/12/2001
17/12/2001
24/12/2001


3/7/2000
10/7/2000
17/7/2000
24/7/2000
31/7/2000
7/8/2000
14/8/2000
21/8/2000
28/8/2000
4/9/2000
11/9/2000
18/9/2000
25/9/2000
2/10/2000
9/10/2000
16/10/2000
23/10/2000
30/10/2000
6/11/2000
13/11/2000
20/11/2000
27/11/2000
4/12/2000
11/12/2000
18/12/2000
25/12/2000

Queensland Tide Times

Bureau of Meteorology