Croc puts bite on fisho’s night

EVERYONE’S after a good barramundi haul and an Innisfail resident found that out the hard way when he was refused entry to one of his regular spots on Wednesday.

Keen fisherman Clancy Wone was greeted by an estimated 4m-long saltwater crocodile when he “went for a look” near Fitzgerald Creek along Pernase Rd, north of Innisfail and the North Johnstone River.

“We were there about 10pm because there’s usually good barra there with the high tide and that’s when we spotted him,” Mr Wone said.

“It was a bit of a shock, no barra that night.”

The area is a well-known barramundi hotspot, but the Cassowary Coast Regional Council civil construction trainee who spends most of his spare time on the water, said lately it was becoming more well known for crocodiles instead.

“I’ve seen a few crocs there. I’ve seen a little 1.5-2m one there a few days before this one.

“We spear in most of the little creeks in the area and lately I’ve been spotting a lot.

“In the last week I’ve probably spotted six or seven.”

The area where Mr Wone made his most recent sighting is several hundred metres from the nearby North Johnstone River and Innisfail police Senior Constable Jane Moran said police and locals were aware of an “annual croc” that would bask near the river’s bank every winter.

“It would be quite unusual to have ones that far in, but it is Far North Queensland, so it’s not surprising,” she said.

“We urge everyone to use their common sense if they come near a crocodile and report it to (the CrocWatch hotline at 1300 130 372).”