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FNQ Report # 6 - 7th May 2007
The fishing here in FNQ has vastly improved over the past few weeks, with cloudless warm days and those very cool nights the main contributer. Rain has ceased for the moment, however the odd wind phase during the afternoon has been common. A little too late for some who don't appreciate fishing in the cooler months, but for myself and others its a perfect time to fish!
The Bluewater has turned red hot over the past few weeks, and anglers are catching high hauls of mixed bags out on the reefs. Alot of Trout, Nannies and Mack are being boated, and the odd Tuna has been landed. Conditions have been excellent and alot of the anglers are loading up on petrol and supplies and are doing overnighters. Expect this to continue for the weeks ahead, and the freezers to be packed! A location to look out for would definetely be Cooktown... they are doing quite well up there at the moment - as are anglers around Tully.
Estuary wise the Jack have been out in full force, and quite a few have been landed using plastics up tight around the mangroves on a high tide. The conditions around this time every year seem to bring the Jack on the bite, and it's a welcome relief for many who spent hours on end fishing the Inlet's when the weather was atrocious for those few months. Not only will plastics being lobbed around score you a feed, but some of the medium sized hardbaits will definetely get scoffed... such as the Tilsan range of lures, and the Gold Bombers. Prawnstars are all the rave up here at the moment, and for good reason - they are catching plenty of fish! Cheap too!
The Streams are close to prime if you asked me, and the water levels and temps are just about close to perfect! Just enough water to keep them running at a good pace, with large pools of sitting water waiting for a popper to rip right over the top! Expect quite alot of topwater action if your having a go, as in the early mornings the Sooty's and the odd Tarpon and JP will feed off the surface for hours. However fishing in designated time slots (early morning, or dusk) will be a big factor. The Mulgrave is a River that will no doubt be great to fish, as I drove past it a week back and it was unfortunate that I had to catch a plane that morning! Oh well...
To the Dams... Tinaroo will be very quiet in the next coming few months. Why you ask? Because most anglers get the impression that during the winter the Barra just mooch around looking for warmth rather then a feed. Wrong! Impoundment Barra will spend all day in the cooler months in the shallows looking for a feed and at the same time they will be getting the sun light they need to keep warm. Key to success is to find the right water temps, and the way to do that is to fish with the wind. Find a bank that is getting smashed by the surface water and fish it... it might be cold for you with the wind hammering your back, but its dam warm underneathe that wind blown water. Thats a hot tip if your fishing any Barra Impoundments in the coming months... whether it be Faust, Tinaroo, Koombooloomba, or the Dams around Mackay - Its the same for every location and fish! Tinaroo sits at around 92%, whilst Faust is close to 40% and Koomba still overflowing. Location to watch out for would be Faust and also Kinchant Dam near Mackay. Faust has been firing since the day jesus was born, and trollers seem to favour the cooler months and Kinchant is a trollers paradise with all the weed contours and parrallels. Live Baiting is a method also preffered for the cooler months... I hate it but it works when everything else fails! Refer to pic... keeping your livie' moving with a extremely slow movement of the rod tip pointing to the heavens is a gun method!
If your having a fish anytime soon, tight lines!
Theo
