Bowen, Cooktown & Weipa info

Thinking of a move to one of these places. Have a 6m glass boat. Enjoy offshore fishing, spearing and the kids like to snorkel. What's around Bowen and even Cooktown. Know plenty about Weipa. Thanks for any info.

Bowen is very hard to beat ..... very sleepy town , excellent fishing good port , everything shut by 530 Friday arvo.

Good place to grow old.

BigE

For pure fish awesomeness, Cooktown is the ducks nuts if you have a good boat,
Nothing on this planet fishes better than ribbon reefs. Cooktown woukd have best variety by far. Creek-reef options are endless.
Trade winds can be a pain, but otherwise it's incredible,

Plus your only a few hours drive back to civilisation, unlike Weipa.


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Thanks guys. I have an 06 Haines sig 600f with suz 4 stroke. Usually fish 40nm off sunny coast. How big are the runs at Bowen and Cooktown.

Bowen you are looking at about 40NM to the first proper reefs as well but there is a heap of islands and shoal country much closer to home. Plenty of options. In winter they get monster Macks (30-40+ KG) just a few miles off shore.
Cooktown the closer reefs are only about 10NM offshore . There they get big Macks in the mouth of the Endeavor River. I still remember as a kid fishing off a sandbank on the inside of the Annan River I was casting a metals slice and a big spanish took a swipe at it no more than a meter from my feet. It would have destroyed me if it hooked up but it is an image Ill never forget.

Both great places.

From Cooktown closets ribbons are about 60km. Then run north as far as you like. Lizard island area 90km with camping options.
With a decent boat from Cooktown you can fish the exact same areas that Nomad charters do.


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Cooktown is amazing. We towed a 5.5m half cab there from Brisbane and fished the ribbon reefs and surrounds.

Thanks for the info guys. Looks like I will look at our options for Cooktown.