Just picture perfect
happy about his mid-week fishing efforts, given that offshore options are rendered almost an impossibility this weekend with strong winds and big seas forecast for local waters.
Neill’s report confirms others that landed in my inbox this week, several telling of good mackerel numbers wide of the cape and Magnetic Island and mostly schoolsize fish of 6-10kg.
Charters back in business
Fishing charters are now permitted following the Stage 2 Road to Recovery date (originally June 12) being brought forward to June 1, Monday of this week.
Although still restricted in passenger numbers by socialdistancing requirements, most fishing guides and charter operators are just happy to be back on the water doing what they do best, treating punters to some of the best fishing experiences found anywhere in the world.
Andrew Mead of Aussie Barra Charters says he is keen to put anglers on to quality barramundi when fishing local creeks and rivers, the well-known guide finding fish to a metre long regularly throughout the early part of the season before pandemic restrictions kicked in.
He said the barras were still there in numbers, recent exploratory trips finding plenty of 80-90cm barras within Cleveland Bay creeks and the Haughton River.
“They became a little harder to catch after the cold snap a couple of weeks back but really, it was the rain that shut them down for a while,” Mead said.
“They’ve settled down again now since the rain and are again becoming more predictable and easier to catch.”
Mead, somewhat of an authority on barramundi behaviour, said it was likely most catches throughout the cooler months would be made using live prawn baits, although large live mullet baits might still tempt the largest of barramundi.
Whale watch is on
The first humpback whales of the season have been sighted within Cleveland Bay and, while a spectacular sight, anglers must remember their responsibilities when within proximity of such incredible creatures.
With the annual winter and spring northern migration now under way, both humpback and minke whales are likely to be encountered by North Queensland boaties as they find their way to northern Barrier Reef waters, where they will mate, calve and socialise.
Rules are in place to protect whales and their calves from undue human interaction, including that of boat strikes.
Vessels are required to remain at least 100m away from whales within Great Barrier Reef Marine Park waters and 300m away when in the Whitsunday Whale Protection Area.
The 300m requirement also applies to whale calves.
Experts believe that a calf may stop feeding and even leave its mother when disturbed while the mother, if she feels her calf is threatened, may become aggressive.
Advice extends to not blocking the path of travelling whales and when using modern technologies like drones, considering rules that prohibit the operation of a drone within 1000 vertical feet and 300m horizontal distance of a whale.
Understandably, water travel during the dark evening hours of the whale migration can be particularly risky and anglers are asked to factor the possibility of a whale encounter into their trip safety considerations.
People can also call 1300 ANIMAL (1300 264 625) to report sick, injured, stranded or dead whales.
Lake systems offer thrills
Giant herring and milkfish might provide thrills for sportfishingminded anglers this weekend when they fish the lake systems near either Castletown shopping centre or Fairfield Waters. Both species rate poorly on the plate but are revered for difficulty of capture and when hooked offer sizzling runs.
Gerry Manuel said he caught and released both species in the lake beside Castletown shopping centre last weekend using a bready berley to attract the fish and then the smallest of soft plastic lures – colour white – to entice a bite.
Manuel said he had less trouble hooking the giant herring and landed a hat-trick in as many casts while he enjoyed just the one encounter with the milkfish, although it was a bruising fish of about 3kg. Meanwhile, giant herring also outweigh the milkfish in numbers when anglers cast miniature-size soft plastics and minnow-type lures in the Fairfield Waters lakes immediately behind the Bunnings Warehouse complex.