SPORT Junior and senior cricketers back in action

Maria Girgenti

AFTER frustrating washouts marred the start of the 2023 cricket season, junior and senior cricketers were back on the pitch last weekend.

On February 2, Mission Beach junior cricketers Nollie Uitenweerde, Shaun Riley, Jack Fischer, Chase Frumento and Archie Walker participated in the Cassowary Coast Southern Zone cricket trials held in Tully.

These trials for Boys aged 10 - 12 attracted 22 aspiring young cricketers. The five Mission Beach boys made up the 13 named in the Southern Zone team to play Northern Zone this Friday, February 10, at the Kurrimine Beach cricket fields.

From this game, a Cassowary Coast team will be selected to compete at the Peninsula Championship trials on February 19 - 20 in Tolga, with players vying for selection in the Peninsula team.

Results:

Jimmy Maher Cup

Round 10 - February 4 - Innisfail TAFE Oval

Cassowary Coast El Nino 9/105 (33.6) (Troy Singh 19; Daniel McAvoy 12) def

Norths 9/104 (35.0) (Kade Corby 2/5 (5); Archie Walker 3/15 (5); Jack Valeriano 1/3 (2; Rohan McDavitt 4 catches))

Cassowary Coast El Nino won by 1 wicket.

February 4 - Innisfail TAFE Oval

Cassowary Coast La Nina 10/92 (29.5) (Riley Berge 44; Michael Spataro 12) def by

Atherton 8/175 (30.0) (Johnathan Singh 2/14 (4);

Alexander Greenwood 2 catches; Aiden Getejanc 2 catches)

Atherton won by 83 runs.

James Hopes Cup Cassowary Coast

Round 9 - February 4 - Marcs Park, Mission Beach

Innisfail Thunder 8/69 (26) def by

Mission Beach 8/77 (21)

Mission Beach won by 8 runs.

Goondi Bend Sports Reserve

Innisfail Monsoons 8/47 (23) (Seb Di Mauro 4/3 (3); Jonah Wilcox 2/8 (2)) def by

Tully 6/85 (23) (Seb Di Mauro 18* not out; Clay Chappel 13)

Tully won by 4 wickets.

1st Grade 50 Over competition - Round 14 - February

4 - Griffiths Park

Cassowary Coast 7/136 (50) (Luke McAvoy 33; Usop Drahm 28; Rhys Camilleri 25) def

Rovers 103 (37.1) (Austin Stuart 4/15 (4.1); Jasran Kalkat 3/8 (4); John Gillett 3/31 (10))

Cassowary Coast won by 33 runs.

2nd Grade 40 Over competition - Round 13 - February

5 - Borzi Park Oval, Mareeba Cassowary Coast 40 (25.3) def by

Mareeba 71 (28.5) (Wade Henderson 4/16 (4); Andrew McFadden 3/8 (6); Justin Walker WK 3 catches)) Mareeba won by 31 runs.

4th Grade 35 Over competition - Round 15 - February

5 - Innisfail TAFE Oval

Cassowary Coast vs Douglas Muddies - Cassowary Coast won by forfeit.

Ladies 30/30 - Round 2 - February 5 - Walker Road Sports Precinct, Edmonton

Cassowary Coast vs Mulgrave Cairns - Mulgrave won by forfeit.

After trials in Tully, Mission Beach cricketers Nollie Uitenweerde, Shaun Riley, Jack Fischer, Chase Frumento and Archie Walker were selected in the Boys’ 10 - 12 years Cassowary Coast Southern Zone team to take on Northern Zone this Friday.

Any parent can train for free with their children in the children's classes from 4pm to 4.45pm Mondays to Thursdays.

THE weather forecasters got it correct last weekend with excellent boating conditions through most of the day, with anglers only having to contend with a late afternoon north-easterly.

Despite the tides being very good (lead up to the full moon), catches were down, with most boats managing only a few Coral Trout and mixed reef fish. This was probably a result of the unstable weather conditions. However, another factor could have been the timing of the tides, as most boats wisely wanted to be back at the ramps by early afternoon in case of storms. This meant they would have missed a change in the tide unless they were out early.

Several boats went out Spearfishing, with most boats reporting similar results, a few Trout and Crayfish and the rest of their catch being made up of various Emperors.

I have yet to hear from anyone fishing the various rubble patches and wonky holes; however, they usually fish well at this time of year.

Closer in around the islands, the fishing has been a mixed bag. The pelagic species such as Queenfish, Trevally and, to a lesser extent, the various Mackerels have all been caught over the last week despite the dubious water quality. This is due to the large schools of bait flushed out of the rivers during the wet season. The bait schools are there; as soon as the water clarity improves, these species move closer to the coast.

There have also been good reports of Grass Sweet Lip, Gold Spot Cod and the odd Coral Trout. There has been the occasional Grunter and Fingermark caught from the close-in reefs and rubble patches.

This time of year, anglers can enjoy some quality land-based fishing along the Cassowary coast; the clump point Jetty has large schools of herring at the moment, and other structures such as the Mourilyan, Cardwell and Lucinda jetties all fish very well over the next few months.

If you can get an early morning high tide, there can be some excellent beach fishing for species such as Barra, Salmon and Grunter. There are several top spots along the beaches between the Tully river and Cardwell. During flooding, anglers can also do well on the mud crabs and prawns in these areas.

The estuary fishing in the coastal rivers and creeks has not been good due to all the fresh. Just the odd Barra, Salmon and Flathead. This will improve as soon as the water quality improves.

The Hinchinbrook Channel and Mourilyan Harbour offer opportunities in these conditions and are worth the drive. Most of the Barra caught in the saltwater came from the mid and northern Hinchinbrook areas.

As predicted last week, most of Barra captured over the last week were caught around the mouth of the feeder creeks and drains that run into the major rivers such as the Johnstone, Liverpool, Maria, Tully and Murray. So far, indications are that it may be a good season; however, we are still waiting for that big wet that will really get the Barra moving.

Most anglers concentrated on Barra in the middle freshwater sections of the rivers, so I have yet to hear any reports from those fishing the Gorge country.

With the full moon tonight, I expect plenty of anglers to be fishing Tinaroo dam; hopefully, I can comment on this next week.

As I write this report on a Monday, I am looking well ahead at the forecast for this weekend. At this stage, they are predicting winds between 8 and 15 knots; hopefully, this will allow anglers to get out, fish the islands, and close in reefs.

Looking at the tides, the early morning run in the tide will be ideal for fishing for Barra and Mangrove Jacks in the coastal creeks or, even better, the creeks flowing into the Hinchinbrook Channel.

Either side of the evening tide will suit those wishing to fish for Fingermark around the islands, headlands and Hinchinbrook area.

Depending on the water quality we are left with after the cyclone has moved through this early morning, making tide will hopefully allow some great fishing around the islands.

Good Fishing, Roly Newton, Tackle World Tully

Lucinda February

Johnstone River

Hull Heads March