Weipa still giving it!

Hi guys! The weather has still been pretty blowy, so not a lot to report from offshore. Early one morning though, we did manage a handful of big queenfish, some solid GTs (giant trevally) on 10lb spin gear, and cobia. As mentioned in the previous blog, the creeks were coming alive and this week has proved to be no different. There have been some quality barra around, with Rory catching the 96cm one below. Not bad for his first ever barra!!
Jaiden also caught his first barra this morning. He captured his 68cm beauty on a live mullet.

Creeks coming alive!

The creeks are once again coming to life as the water is warming with summer fast approaching. There has been some good barra and jacks taken on a mixture of live bait and lures, with this 51cm brute (pictured below) nailing a Suruna 110. The fingermark have been thick on the snags and rock bars during the neap tides, with 35- 40cm being the average size. We had an interesting experience while casting poppers for queenfish this week, a 4-5 foot croc (around 1.5 metres) became particularly interested in a pink popper after several attacks and misses from the queenies.

Live Baiting!!

Due to strong south easterly winds, the last few weeks have been spent fishing the rivers.

The live baits have accounted for some quality fish with both Barra and fingermark being pulled from the deep holes. Mullet are generally the live bait of choice, with the odd mud-herring thrown in.

Jack Pot !!!!!!!

The creeks have been producing good numbers of good size mangrove jack, with one morning alone producing over 16 jacks!! Not to mention the barra, salmon, and fingermark. The water has been cool, hovering around the 25 degree mark. This has caused the barra to be a little sluggish, but still with the odd big one kicking around!!!

Bait ball plus

Hi folks!  The offshore fishing has not slowed, producing incredible bait ball action!! With all the usual suspects, Spanish mackerel, long-tail tuna, the odd cobia, and plenty of over-sized bull sharks.

Up the rivers, the barra were a little sluggish in the drains, but there were plenty of good-sized jacks and fingermarks on the snags.

             

Young Gun

This week I was joined by Dan, Amelia and young gun, Ethan Francis. The weather could not have been better with light south-easterly winds in the mornings and glass-outs in the afternoons. The first day was spent up the creeks, fishing the drains for barra. The goal was to put Ethan onto his first barramundi. Once the tide dropped out and the drains were exposed, Ethan was unstoppable. With spin rod and top water lure in hand, he caught 8 barra from the first spot - not bad for an 8 year old!! Dan, who was determined not be shown up by his son, managed not as many, but did catch the biggest - 76cm (pictured below).

Offshore was nothing short of insane, with bait balls filled with tuna, Spanish mackerel and cobia. Ethan sight-casted the cobia shown below, which was loitering off the back of a shark!!  

Off season pics

Hey guys!!! I have had a couple days off so I thought I would post a few pics from time spent in Cairns late last year. Enjoy!!!        

This 1000 pound plus Black Marlin was caught by 14 year old angler
Scott Winkworth!!

Here is the same fish from a different angle. That's me trying to hold on!

            Me enjoying some good visibilty while spearfishing.

Good mates with quality tuskfish.

    Up close and personal with 50lb GT

Nicole and I enjoying a perfect day at the outer reef.