Fishing News

RoLy Newton

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info@wettropictimes.com.au PO Box 1100, TULLY, 4854 70 Butler Street, TULLY nice Grass Sweet Lip. There has also been Queen Fish, Golden Trevally, and a few Doggy and Small Spanish Mackerel caught.

New Nomad Squidtrex Vibe Has Arrived

ALTHOUGH last weekend the sea conditions looked perfect from the beach, the westerly wind resulted in sloppy conditions out wide, especially in the morning. The larger boats would have had no problem, but the smaller vessels found the sea conditions quite sloppy once you got wide of the islands.

Most boats reported good catches, although the fishing was challenging at times. Yields of 5 or 6 Coral Trout and a few mixed reef fish were typical.

The spear fishers fared better, with good numbers of Coral Trout, Tuskers, and some nice Crayfish speared.

The deep water rubble patches and wrecks did fish well with Small and Large Mouth Nannygai, Cobia and even the occasional School and Spanish Mackerel.

Large schools of bait were present in the shipping channel, with both Blue Fin and Mack Tuna feeding on them.

Closer around the islands, I found the fishing challenging, struggling with undersized Nannygai and Grass Sweet Lip. The few positive reports were made by boats fishing very early in the morning, with the bite shutting down once the sun came out. There were also schools of Mack and Blue Fin Tuna feeding around the coastal and island headlands. I struggled big-time, going to the smallest metal slug I could cast. I then proceeded to pull out the two fish I managed to hook. I was starting to think that I am losing my touch and, at times touching on depression. This, of course, is part of the game of chasing Tuna; they can sometimes be very frustrating.

Those that were successful around the islands managed to find some just legal Nannygai and some

Most coastal river estuaries are still recovering from the rain, with the water being too dirty for good fishing. With the smaller tides we are experiencing this week, the water will clear; however, this will only give some estuaries a brief window as we expect more rain and larger tides by this coming weekend. There has been some nice Barra caught along with Tarpon and Flathead.

The Hinchinbrook region fishes better in these conditions and is worth the drive. The fishing was still slow due to the small run in the tide; however, those that put in the effort have been rewarded with some nice Barra, Grunter and Fingermark over the last week.

At this early stage of the week, the forecast for this weekend is around 15 to 20 knots of wind and rain. They are forecasting the worst of the rain should have passed by Saturday, so hopefully, there will still be some fishing opportunities. The early morning high tide will suit those that would like to fish for Grunter around the edge of the sandbars and rubble in the Hinchinbrook area. These tides are also ideal for landbased fish for Barra, Grunter and Salmon along the sheltered foreshores in areas between the Tully river and Lucinda.

The middle and upper regions of rivers, such as the Johnstone, Tully, Murray and Herbert rivers, are fishing very well at present for both Barra and Sooty Grunter. Fish around the entrances of the feeder creeks into the main river or around the various backwaters. If the rivers are flooded, anglers then go on to fish the feeder creeks and drains. This can be very rewarding; however, be extremely careful of crocodiles and ask for permission before entering private property. Wrecking a farmer's headland in muddy conditions will result in closures.

Good Fishing, Roly Newton, Tackle World Tully