Tide change will lure fish
ANOTHER week of poor conditions on the water has been experienced along the Far North Queensland coast. Blue water fishing has been impossible in the conditions and hopefully we may see an easing in the persistent strong winds, particularly to the south, starting today.
With the estuaries and rivers the only real options, fishing has been reasonable for those putting in the effort. Fingermark and a few king salmon have been feeding in the deep estuary holes of Trinity Inlet, with live prawns working best.
With the neap tides this weekend, they will be well worth targeting again.
Hinchinbrook Channel and the islands off Tully have also produced some quality fingermark on scented soft plastics jigged around the bait schools and rubble.
Mangrove jacks have been in good numbers in most of the Estuary systems with Hinchinbrook the top pick.
The Russell River has fished well on large trevally on both surface lures and live baits over the past couple of days.
The river should clean up over the weekend neap tides and good numbers of trevally should continue to be caught around the mouth and junctions.
Several reports of good barra fishing have filtered in by those who headed bush over the long weekend, fishing the remote freshwater rivers and waterholes.
These three boys pictured above had a ball recently catching barramundi in a remote location in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Plenty of sooty grunters were also caught to the west in the drier conditions with the Herbert Gorge area fishing well.
If the winds do moderate, as predicted, many boats will look to head to the islands, wrecks and reef, chasing both pelagic and bottom fish that have been in good numbers.
Conditions should be best to the south of Cairns for those wanting to hit the blue water. With the neap tides, mackerel fishing may prove tough but will dramatically improve as the tides build.
Targeting large mouth nannygai and reds in the deep water on the rubble patches and deep channel gutter will be the best option for those who do get to the reef. The prime fishing period will be on the tide change, which usually induces the fish to bite.