Queensland Fishing Trip

[biglaz]

Hi guys, looking for a bit of information. Mate and I are planning a trip to Northern Qld for approx 6 weeks from mid august next year. Have a new boat - Blue Fin Barracuda with 4 stroke 60 Yammie and enough lures to loose. We want to fish the Great Sandy Strait , Hinchenbrook Channel & Cooktown. Hope to look in on some of the impoundments on our way back home - Melbourne.
What sort of fish are available at this time, best methods & some spots if possible.

Biglaz

[freefish]

Think 6 weeks will be long enough?

[biglaz]

No It Won't Be But It's All The Time We Can Spare As We Are Both Self Employed And Our Busy Period Starts From Oct To Xmas.
Biglaz

[TLRstacker]

Hi Biglaz, i grew up in NQ and fishing the Hinchenbrook channel. depending what you are after and where you launch your bost depends on what you'll get and where best to go. the channel is a HUGE place and if the fish don't want to eat they simply won't! i have been there on days where you couldn't count the number of barra you can see in the water. rangeing from 25-30cm to well over a meter, and you could hit them on the nose with a lure and they would just turn their head. your best bet would be to spend a couple of days up there and get to know a few places. the best place to base yourself would be lucinda. sleepy little fishing village on the southeren end of the channel. a great start tho would be to troll some mid depth lures past the bluff. you'll know the bluff when you see it cause it's the firt most obvious thing you see when you start to head out of dungeness. the massive big cliff that drops into the water. your best bet is to hit it 20mins before either dead low or the very top of the tide. troll back and forth for atleast 40mins to 1hr. there is a creek at either end of the bluff and a great big hole in the mouth of each creek. troll till your lures ar into the deeper water and then turn round. your best bet for either tide is to be using lures that JUST bump the bottom every now and then. and don't be scared to get in close to the rocks. just do a pass out wide first tho to sus out where all the rocks are as ther is a couple at the southeren end that sit out a bit further then the rest. your next best bet is just up a bit further, still on the island side, there are a series of rock bars sticking out onto the mud flats. they are VERY obvious at low tide and they run a LONG way out. troll the 3rd and 4th ones up from the bluff, those 2 stick out further then any of the others into the channel, and they are the first couple that get the currents on the tide change and the only onse that reall get much of a back water effect on them on the incoming tide. they also are best hit on the very top of the tide and the start of the run out. again barra and jacks applenty and more cod then you can poke a forked stick at. :laugh: and if you have been trolling for a while and not getting anything, then you start to get a couple of cod here and there... keep at it. the barra come on not long after the cod start biting! again use mid to shallow depth lures for trollling so they just bump the bottom from time to time. and don't be put off by the fact that there is very little structure to the rock bars. just that little bit of shaley stuff seems to be more then enough for them to sit on. oh and a tell tale that your on the right rock bars is that one of them ( from memory the second one) has the remains of an OLD rock rock jetty just sticking out of the mangroves a bit. you'll have to look for it but you'll know it when you see it. a little to neat to be natural rock piles. :D if you prefer flicking lures then you can either drift and cast or just drop anchor and cast till your hearts content across the middle of the bars at high tide. or right on the top of the tide get RIGHT up into the mangroves and flick lures around. if you have a few spare lures thats bound to sort a few out! :laugh: very exciting and fun fishing when they are chewing. can be expensive tho! :laugh:

i'll type up some more on the channel and around townsville tomorrow when i'm not so tired. hope this little bit helps you some. i know heaps more but it is getting late and i'm tired. :laugh:

[minno]

Look mate! The best advice i can give you is, Watch the sandy strait report by me. Minno is out there and in the thick of it. Put it this way! If it swims, I,ll do my best to know about it. PM me for hot spots.


minno

[biglaz]

TLRstacker & minno thank you very much for your help. Fished the channel about 8 years ago with a guide mostly up the cardwell end. this is the first time on our own. minno will watch out for your reports. Had another talk with my mate and the time table has been pushed forward th april/may 2008. going to fish fraser then the channel on the way up the cooktown and whatever takes our fancy on the way back. going to try for a week in each of the main three depending on weather & success. thanks again.

[poundalead]

Hey mate done extensive fishing in the Sandy Straits. One warning, can be hard to fish at times with current in between tides. If fishing with lures stick to the creeks North of Gary's anchorage ( Buy a chart of the area). I mainly fish lures in summer for Jacks, Cod, Flatties etc. The more remote the creek the better as always. With a boat like that you have endless oppurtunities to explore this area. I had a good run on Mack Tuna at that time last year on small Raider lures, just casting to boiling schools ( look for birds working an area). You might get a late run on Tailor too mainly fishing floated Pillies into a burley trail on the edges of the channels. There are reef fish in the straits but it is a hit and miss affair and it has taken me a long time to get them wired, if you are heading north reef fish up there its a better option. The best bet for you would be to chase flatties on plastics, this area is very underrated as a flattie fishery. I regularly head out with a mate and pull 5-10 each trip the best going 82cm. If you are after accom. I used to live at Poona and the caravan park there is excellent. Good luck lads you will have a ball!!
PM me for further info. if needed
Cheers Benny. 8-)