Cape York

CAPE YORK Tim O’Reilly

wildrivercompany@gmail.com The Cape will often experience a few cracking storms somewhere late in the dry season, typically late October or I have found this year to be consistent with bouts of brilliance thrown in. A good solid wet this year should cement excellent fishing and some early storms might really fire things up into Nov-Dec.

With the barra season now closed on both sides of managing fisheries resources for all stakeholders. I think many forget what a golden age this is for recreational fishing in Australia. Never before have as many young people been exposed to the sport and had such easy access to learning from people they admire and respect. This will not last forever if fishers find themselves at odds with restrictive interest groups who fail to grasp what true custodianship look like.

Moving on and offshore, November is set to offer the blue water brigade myriad opportunities to chase their favourite quarry well offshore. I miss most Melbourne Cups each year, preferring to be somewhere out in the blue yonder chasing fish in calm conditions. Windless mornings throughout the Cape are often characterised by the continuation of calm condition well offshore throughout the day. Being away from the influence of land help prevent onshore breezy afternoons. minnows as well as trolled baits for the doggies are effective ways to target big tuna, remembering a bit of speed might help get the bite from these speedsters.

In closer to shore, the shallow shoals and reefs receiving decent current flow should fish well in the mornings. An early morning high tide should aid this and the fishing for all manner of species will be excellent through until midday. The onshore sea breeze most afternoons will usually dirty the water and send the fish down.

In the creeks, rivers and freshwater environments, November will present plentiful opportunities, with mornings once again the pick of the fishing window. Water temperatures can actually heat up too much, making fish either lethargic or too uncomfortable to bother feeding. Dawn and dusk presenting the other major bite times as we head into summer. November is a brilliant month when all factors are considered, but requires careful crafting to make the most of it.

You never know what you’ll catch next up here! Like this beautiful blubberlip snapper.

November. But 2022 has been no ordinary year for many parts of Australia with plenty of places receiving record levels and unseasonal deluges. It was a late wet season for much of Cape York this year, with rains persisting through until May at least. If the La Niña predictions are correct, we might expect an early onset of the wet season this year which typically doesn’t properly commence until Christmas. the Cape, anglers are forced to consult their bags of tricks to focus on other species. The inclusion of fin fish closures and Spanish mackerel closures over the new moon period is set to limit fishers massively in coming years, effectively ruling out barra fishing, reef fishing and trolling for many iconic species around Oct-Nov.

I am sure everyone looks forward to a better relationship between fishers and those charged with

The run of giant black marlin will be making their way from bottom of Cape York down towards Cairns. The bolstered food chains this year might see a good run of giant blacks smacking trolled baits, with that elusive 1000 pounder somewhere amongst the melee. Other bruisers of the deep will include yellowfin tuna, striped tuna, mac tuna and bonito. The small versions of each are sure to make up some of the marlin diet this time of year.

Larger yellowfin and dogtooth tuna will be hunting the outside reef entrances and terrorising baitfish schools as they make their way through passageways on the incoming tide. Trolling skirts, poppers and diving

Nannygai and red emperor are always a welcome catch.

Chinamanfish pull like freight trains.

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