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Pelagics in plague proportions WHITSUNDAYS
Mick Underwood
Winter in the Whitsundays means pelagics, and piles of them at that! The Whitsundays are heaven on earth most of the year round, but through the cooler months when the big shiny speedsters show up there is definitely no other place on this planet that I’d rather be. Going out on the water each day I get to choose whether I want to tangle with a giant trevally casting poppers, witness the blinding speed of a Spanish mackerel, admire the athletic ability of metreplus queenfish, endure the never ending power of a
On any stormy days you can still enjoy some good fishing close to home. The GT fishing in particular has been pretty good.
Queenfish are thick at the moment and clients just can’t catch one under a metre in length. has also started early, and we’ve been lucky enough to encounter a few while targeting mackerel with skip baits. Any heavy weather days haven’t been met with too much doom and gloom as there has been plenty of pelagics to get after on the inshore grounds as well.
A nice trout comes aboard Reel Addiction for Jake.
Reef with a nice large mouth nannygai pulled up off a deep rubble patch. head and shoulder thumping golden trevally or revel at the electric neon colours of a little black marlin dancing
that have allowed for some good offshore days targeting a variety of fish. Out on the deeper rubble
haven’t persisted too much with the reefies, I have put most of my effort into the pelagics as that has been the most consistently vibrant bite on offer. We had a good early start to the Spanish season this year and it is just getting better as time goes on. Out in the same areas the run of juvenile black marlin coming up the coast
Jye with a decent gold spot cod pulled up off a deep patch.
John and had great fun catching this trevally. next to the boat. Throw in a few humpback whales and manta rays, which are currently enjoying a nice winter holiday in the Whitsundays, and this place really is an oceanic winter wonderland. As to be expected for this time of the year, the southeast trade breezes have been pumping away but there have been some good spells in between the blows 30
AUGUST 2021
patches it has been red fish that most anglers have been after and there have been some nice red emperor and nannygai getting caught. One fish that I haven’t seen too much out of the deep so far this winter is grunter, and it’s a bit of a mystery to me at the moment as to where they are. On the days where I have had the chance to get out on my wide grounds I
So far it has been a cracker mackerel season, here’s Mick with a nice specimen.
The golden trevally and queenfish have appeared right on cue. It is usual for Hydeaway Bay that each encountered fish has been a monster for their particular species. I’ve been that spoilt recently with the pelagics that I haven’t even had to put the boat on the plane leaving Cape Gloucester Resort to get after a giant trevally. I’ve been able to actively target 20kg+ fish within sight of guests enjoying cocktails and lazing around the resort pool. Getting into August and I don’t think too much will change for me with regards to target species, it’s going to be pelagics, pelagics and some more pelagics. August is normally where we see
