BARRA ARE ON THE BITE
THE official barramundi season opening last Saturday was tough with anglers having to work real hard to jag their first barra for 2020.
While the Cairns district has received plenty of rain the southern systems have received very little and water temperatures are very high in the 30C plus.
I fished the Hinchinbrook region over the opening few days and found most areas marking very few barra.
Casting lures on the shallow flats was unproductive and the area we marked most fish was in the deep channels and holes which, would be expected with the 30C-plus water temps.
However, there were still some nice fish caught trolling and casting the Machan’s Beach rock wall and headlands.
All Tackle Sport Fishing owner/guide Justin Gibbins had a great season opening last Saturday, fishing the Cairns Inlet with local client Kourtney (above) landing several quality barra on live prawns.
The upper cooler freshwater sections of the major rivers like the Russell and Tully Rivers produced a few barra with Ethan Zonta landing an impressive 118cm fish in the Tully River.
Tinaroo Dam fired back into action again on barra on Wednesday morning after being a little slow, with good fish caught early morning casting surface lures. Fish Hunter Charters FNQ lady clients enjoyed a hot bite with one of the fish caught in the brag board photos.
Fingermark have been on the bite in the Cairns Inlet and along most of the rocky headlands with live prawns, herring and fresh squid the top baits. Grunter have been running on the estuary flats and the creek mouths and with king tides this weekend will be worth targeting on the Cairns Hospital flats and areas like Mourilyan Harbour and Hinchinbrook.
Reef fishing has continued to be patchy in the hot weather but anglers prepared to search for productive areas as still catching reasonable numbers of coral trout, nannygai, red emperor and trevally. Sharks continue to be a major problem in most reef locations.
With flat, calm conditions forecast for the weekend and into next week many fishers will be planning reef and island trips. The big tides will suit targeting coral trout on the bommies holding bait.
Inshore grunter will be a popular target in the estuaries on the flats as the water drains off. For those looking to target a barramundi, best options will be to fish the rocky headlands and the upper freshwater sections of the major rivers. If looking to fish the estuaries like the Cairns Inlet casting the gutters and drains around the low tides will be best with prawn imitations and shallow minnows. Tinaroo Dam will be a hot spot for big barra on the ideal full moon phase.