rockhampton ????

[maxwellson]

might be moving to rocky for 6 months for work and cant remember ever seeing a report or anything from there.......anyone with any info on the place ????
would be gratefully appreciated as i dont have a clue about it.....

Maxi

[davez104]

Do you have a boat? Do you want to fish rivers/creeks, dams or offshore? It's all available close to Rocky.

Dave.

[scottym]

I know there are a few blokes on here from rocky who would able to give you a bit more advice thatn I can. The fitzroy river does produce some good fish but Ive done most of my fishing out of yeppoon in waterpark creek and crio bay. Recently posted some pics in the salwater pictures section of when I was up there last. We had good success working the beaches in corio bay with poppers, prawnstars and soft plastics and also did well working the rockbars and snags in waterpark creek. If you have a boat up there than you will be laughing.

[Nomad62]

Hey Maxi,
Rockhampton and the surrounding areas have got the lot!! For a start the Fitzroy River delta is the most under rated natural barra fishery in Qld, as well there are a number of creeks and inlets in the area that have a healthy supply of barra including all the other noteable tropical species. Travelling 2.5hrs from rocky and you have some fine barra impoundment fisheries like Awoonga and Callide, just a further 2hrs and your fishing Cania for bass, saratoga, yellowbelly. If its offshore fishing you want then try Yeppoon just a 40min drive from rocky, 10kms offshore you have the Keppel Island group of islands, where you can catch pelagics such as Spanish Mackerel, Cobia, tuna, Trevally etc. All the well known reef species are present such as Red Emporer, Red Jew, Jobfish, Coral Trout.
Iam assuming that you have a boat but if you havent there are a number of land based sites worth fishing as well, if you pop in to one of the local tackle stores such as Barra Jacks or Bluefin they could hitch you up with a local that has a boat. There are a number of A grade guides in the area as well,
Hope this has been some help,
Cheers Nomad62

[maxwellson]

thanks very much guys ...i do have a boat but i wont be taking it..( probably a dumb move ).......the info that you blokes have given me has me excited.....some new species and new territory to explore has me goin !!...
the delta especially !!!....
when i know exactly what im doing i will post here again and maybe catch up with an ausfisher up there who is willing to show me around........much appreciated info......thanks heaps....

maxi

[maxwellson]

well its a done deal..im going....be there this weekend......

hope i can catch up with someone to show me around the waters...

cheers Maxi

[Luc]

You might look at contacting the Keppel Bay Sportfishing club.

Luc

[maxwellson]

thanks luc ..ill do that

maxi

[hooknose]

Max you gotta get your boat up there mate, fair dinkum its a must, you will only touch about 5% of the areas potential without it.

Organise to get your boat up there and give me a pm, would be glad to give you some hot tips !!!!

[maxwellson]

the boats coming with me......i have a motor prob but will get that taken care of up there.........i had decided to take it hooknose but your urging sealed the deal ;D;D...will pm you........

Maxi

[davez104]

What size boat do you have? Unless it's a small tinnie, you should have no problems accessing the reef and pelagic fishing around the Keppel Islands. The furtherest island that I fish would be Barren, and its only about 30 k's out. There are plenty of others that are closer and from what I have seen in my few trips out, the fishing is pretty good. I only realy target the reefies, but many fish for mackerel and seem to do allright.

Dave.

[maxwellson]

i have a 4.3 mt savage glassy with a 25 johnson......bit undergunned i know.had it outside before down here, but up there is a different ballgame due to the reef...easier eh ??......
paul

[davez104]

Should be OK on any of the better days up here. There are plenty of productive spots within 15km's of the harbour. It will also allow you to fish up the river and in the creeks. Could even take it to Awoonga for a crack at some of the monster Barra they are getting lately. You won't regret bringing it with you, unless of course the weather keeps to the same pattern it has been following for the last month or two, wind followed by more wind.

Dave.

[laugag]

On exceptional days (ie FLAT), I been over to divided in my 13fter.

Also heard of people going out to barren in similar sized tinnys but to me, thats pushing the friendship

You will find that the water clarity around rockhampton and yeppoon area is not generally not great in close to the shore because of the fitzroy river discharge (MUCH better around keppels though). The upside to this however, is that Rocky is one of the few places wherer there is NO water restrictions ;D ;D

[maxwellson]

no water restrictions is great...dont have any here either.......was wondering about the boat washing scenario.......cant wait to get sorted now ......have to get boat prob sorted first....some stupid electrical thing i suspect.....breaks down under load.....oh well..that will happen sooner or later...have been given the heads up in boating forum as to who to see up there..

thanks again you guys.......much appreciated info !!!!

paul

[hooknose]

Hey Paul.
Give "Terry's Marine" in Musgrave St a call about the problem with the Johnno, they are good fella's and wont rip you off. Got your pm and will get a few tips to you, by the way mate do you have a 4wd vehicle up there with you ? and do you have a sounder in your boat ?

[maxwellson]

im a bit overwhelmed by the help im getting here guys...cant thank you all enough... looks like its my shout for a while if we meet up...;D;D.....will be my pleasure......

no mate, no 4 wd.......falcon wagon.....as to the sounder question yes...i have a humminbird......my little boat is fully rigged for estuary stuff....recirculating live tank, marine radio, etc.....i fish in a comp that runs all year but thats another story..

much thanks again hooknose and look forward to checking your 'secret" spots..

regards Maxi

[hooknose]

Hey Paul,
If you can get out fishing, next Friday or Saturday is a good tide for Barra in Cooraman Ck near Emu Park( 3/4 to 1 hours drive from Rocky on the Cap Coast). You will however need your boat but you dont need to travel far from the boatramp to get good fish. If your boat isn't going by then dont worry about it until next months making tides to the full moon.

There are heaps of Coral Trout around Great Keppel Island and North Keppel Island at the moment as well but again you will need your boat going well as it is 8 to 12 kms to the spots.

Let me know what you want to chase and I'll do my best to point you in the right directions. As you would have noticed the tides are a lot bigger than down your way and this has to be taken into account regarding where you are going to fish and how long you can fish there, particularly in the estuaries with a glass boat.

If you are going to be up there for six months get your boat fixed and take it from there. Good Mackeral, Blue and King Salmon, Black Jewfish as well as your other estuary species will be coming on in that time although April will see your last chance of getting a good Barra as it gets too cold after that.

I know a couple of shore based spots that provide good Bream, Flathead and Estuary Cod if your boat is causing you probs. Get back to me and tell me what you want to chase and when and we'll take it from there.

Cheers !!!

[laugag]

Hooknose

You have a couple of good spots in corio??

I get lippers around the headland and monster lizards around the bars just inside.

G

[hooknose]

Laugag,
There are plenty of spots around Corio but at this time of year you will get better fish, easier at Cooraman !!!

[bli_cos]

Hello all.

This is a great thread, thanks to everyone who has contributed! :)

I've just returned to Rocky after many years away and am very keen to get out and do some fishing. I don't have a boat.

Hooknose, you say you have some good shore spots, could you share one or two of them for the benefit of us non-boaters? Particularly if they are in Coorooman creek, that was my favorite spot when i was a kid!

Anyone else with good tips, don't hold back either :)

Cheers,
Scott

[Eagle]

Hi Maxi
Once you move up here to R'ton you wont want to move away again. The fishing up here is fabulous but we do get our "off" days. Your boat will be perfect for Coorooman Creek, Corio Bay and Waterpark Creek. The Fitzroy Delta will be great but its a haven for sand flies and lousy black mossies. A great spot for mackeral is Iron Pot, AKA Bluff Rock. This small island (big rock?) is only about 700mtrs off the beach and about 2k south of the entrance to Roslyn Bay Harbour. This is a great spot for mackeral, trevally, tuna at times, flathead and some rock cod. Mackeral are the most sought after fish at Iron Pot. Another great spot is at Rita Mada, about another 6 kls south from Iron Pot and about 1kl or so from the beach. If you go to the Fitzroy Delta, make sure you have an up-todate chart. It's very easy for a newbie to get bushed down there. Be very careful of crocs in all these estuaries, especialy the Delta section and everywhere in the Fitzroy River. There is absolutely NO swimming or wading in this river or any part of it. If the crocs (and they're huge) dont get you, the dirty big noahs certainly will. There are lots of safe places for swimming at the beaches at Yeppoon.
If you can get over to the islands, not hard on calmer days, you will find some good deep (for us it's deep) water around 90 feet deep, (South East corner of North Keppel Is.) This spot is also in the Green Zone so check your charts for the boundries. Green Zone charts are free and are available at all sport shops and some newsagents. There is good deep water around Barren, Outer Rock and "Man and Wife".
R'ton is a quiet town (we love it for that reason) but most of everything is available. There are some very good boating shops both in R'ton and Yeppoon which is where I live. With Winter comming on we expect some excellent fishing to be enjoyed around the Keppels and the beaches. Hope to meet up with you when you get settled in.
Eagle

[laugag]

Cooler months means less wind
less wind means less chop
less chop means more good fishing days


Bring on WINTER :D

[flairj]

This is a great thread for me too as I have just moved up to Rocky and brought my boat up to try my hand at wild and impoundment Barra and everything else the Cap Coast has to offer. I used to fished mostly soft pastics for Bream around the Gold Coast and it sounds like the 4lb gear may get a rest for a while.

Maxwellson, PM me if you're looking for a fishing partner.

Josh

[hooknose]

Hey Paul,
Did you get your boat sorted mate ?

There are a few fish around from what my mates are telling me and it sounds like you have a few other lads that are keen to help you out as well.

The black jewies will soon be on the chew and a boat will make the job a lot easier for you( you can get them landbased but it means a few nights on the rocks and a bit of climbing). They get real big up there ( no size limit like on Mulloway )and they are there every year( attaching pic to wet your appetite).