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June fishing is jumping CAPE YORK
Tim O’Reilly wildrivercompany@gmail.com
Following such a fantastic wet season, Cape York will be in its prime throughout June. It really is a magical time of year
start to this year’s banana prawn season with trawlers recording some epic catches. This has a delayed effect on the fishing for most recreational anglers, however the same food webs that created the prawn bonanza will be busily building fish populations
right the way down the Gulf of Carpentaria coast. Anglers of every persuasion from fly fishers imitating shrimps to those casting baits around the coastal shoals will benefit. Over on the East, the situation can be much more limiting throughout June.
An ultra slow retrieve brought this one undone. of predatory fish will be tracking the contour lines up and down the coast. At times the bait schools get pushed further and tighter into the coast and
Having settled into some consistent feeding pattern by this time of year, they can become quite predictable. By the end of the month however,
winter coats. As an all-rounder month for visiting Cape York, June is about as good as it gets. With cooler weather, less flies,
A healthy upstream model.
See what the bigger barra are coughing up, this one was eating cherabin. and the fishing should be represented by estuaries, bays and blue water all doing their thing. Also being one of the first months where travelling anglers can genuinely access much of the Cape. Especially the creeks, rivers, lagoons and billabongs will be productive with a huge freshwater discharge from every crack and pore in Cape York’s vast interior seeping out towards the coast. It was an amazing 40 JUNE 2023
The annual trade winds are likely to be in full force throughout parts of the month. Simply getting on the water and out into the blue yonder can be so hard at this time the exercise needs to be abandoned all together. The coastal bays and inshore reef areas can be just as tricky and anything exposed to a sou’easterly trade wind might be off limits. Anglers who venture out are often rewarded with good captures this time of year and wind often does little to dampen the enthusiasm of fish and their desire to eat smaller fish. Some of the pelagic species, such as mackerel and tuna will be marauding the bait schools which will have begun settling in many of the Cape York bays. Huge schools
You can find big barra sitting around in shallow water. the feeding melee can be intense only just offshore, usually just out of casting range on foot. But a boat on the west coast of Cape York has little distance to travel to be tackling some immense fish. Besides the mackerel and tuna already mentioned, giant queenfish and giant trevally as well as cobia, bludger trevally, golden trevally and sailfish will be giving bait schools a touch up. The fishing for barramundi can still be red hot leading into June.
A colourful frog-eating toga from the lilies.
There are some thick river fish this time of year.
things are normally starting to slow down a bit. This usually coincides with lower water temperatures and more lethargic fish. The first truly cool southerly breeze for the year is likely and the barramundi will be reaching for their
sandflies, mozzies and snakes, what’s not to like? Access to most places in the Cape should be sorted by now with some severely washed-out roads on the mend. It’s time to get out there and get amongst it! Tight lines
