Cooktown

Humidity high, fish firing

COOKTOWN

Justin

Coventry The conditions have been humid to say the least but the uncomfortable conditions have had the fish fired up. The upper reaches of the rivers have seen some nice mangrove jack smashing soft plastics and they seem to love the run in the water at the moment. rain has fallen down south but that could all change in an instant, as the wet season isn’t considered over until the start of May. We have had some pretty big falls in May some years back. I can remember a local fellow woke up in the middle of the night to a banging sound on a wall of his house and when he went to investigate he put his foot down off the bed to find water into his bedroom. you have to be mindful of rapid changes.

However, rivers need a good flush out and the fish can travel large distances in these systems when levels are high. Fishing the runoffs can be so much fun as fish are travelling and very hungry. Finding the right area at the right time is the key. The first flush is so much fun here and kids can have a ball chasing small barramundi

A nice stormy weather barramundi caught by Vikki Jackson.

Barramundi have also put in a show and some nice fish have been landed up stream in the bigger river systems where access is available at the moment. The roads are holding up well as most of our wet season The noise was the freezer floating on floodwaters hitting the wall. That was from a thunderstorm that occurred late May and dropped over 250mm in few hours. The weather can be a little unpredictable and heading downstream across our river causeways but that has already past so better to concentrate on the flows in the river and hit those barriers where feeding fish wait in ambush.

Rock bars and

From page 46 the moment to produce these special moments. Rain and a bit more rain is what they are requiring to pick up the pace and just cool things down.

As you can gather we are wanting some much needed rain to improve the fishing but we don’t want a catastrophic system to spoil the much anticipated tourist rush coming to the Far North in the weeks ahead. It will be a balancing act to pull it off! Dave and Dale with a double hook up on Spanish mackerel.

intersecting rivers can produce well at this time of the year and as rivers drop the bigger holes will provide some hungry larger specimens that have found new homes along the snags. With water temps high, travelling fish settling down feeding will be a priority for them and they will be quick to chase anything. So it’s a great time to target some larger barramundi in the bigger holes and expect some terrific action as they will be hungry.

The westerly winds of late have caused a shut down on the reef fishing but there has been some great catches of mackerel about. One local had multiple strikes on a recent outing and came home with some nice specimens.

As I have previously mentioned, Spanish mackerel are on the cards to have some tighter regulations put on catch rates and there is even talk about closing it. I know there are quite a few meetings with fishing groups about it so make sure you go along and, not only be informed about the management options, but also to have your say. Communication is key and having an open mind to learn is always helpful. We all want a sustainable fishery so working together and making sure all voices are heard can force government departments to make more informed decisions.

The high humidity around at the moment can make it very hot out to sea and the storms have been quite fierce in the afternoons with some strong winds and pelting rain. I had some crab pots in the river and left late one afternoon and the rain descended with so much force that it was hard to see and I had to hold up a little esky lid in front of my face to combat the stinging rain and have any chance of seeing what was up ahead. I would not have liked to be out at sea with that coming as the storm front had some very strong wind gusts.

Those venturing offshore have headed out early and returned early. Smart advise for this time of the year.

Staying close to the shore is also a good option when the westerly winds are blowing as it is usually calm and the further out the rougher it gets. Also the wind tends to move around to the north in the afternoon and the storm clouds start to form and weather conditions can turn ugly.

The wharf has been slow as floodwaters have had an impact on the bait schools and the fishing is hard without bait around. However, if conditions clear and bait returns there should be some nice fish to follow and large barramundi can be expected to be looking around for an easy feed. Right time, right place as they say.

Fishing around the low tide would be the best at the moment. Night fishing also seems to do well and luring around the lights at night can get results. Still plenty of options available and some hot sessions to be had at the right times.