How did my recent trip to Cairns go?
It was fantastic to catch up with my beautiful daughters, to take them to the movies (I love the movies - I watched 6 in total. Two on the plane over, two while in Cairns and another two on the return journey), to go to a magic restaurant at Palm Cove and to have a lamb roast with the family and friends....sort of!
Oh...almost forget, had a private viewing of the brand new REMAX office in Cairns. It was an old church...and now its been renovated into the state of the art real estate office. Congratulations Tony Williamson, Asta and staff...you will all love working there. (Couldn't find my desk!)
As
for the fishing :
Monday
- Daintree – it was a pleasure to go with a guide. Will from Fish Hunter is a good guy
and I certainly have no problem recommending him to potential
clients and have conveyed that to Pam (Fishing Cairns). I would love to fish
with him again.
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| Launching at Daintree Ferry Crossing |
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| Guide - Will from Fish Hunter FNQ |
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| Cruising up the Daintree |
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| Will Pritchard - Guide |
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| Keith Graham - Bransfords Tackle Shop |
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| That's me....1st Barra! |
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| The boys |
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| Pick me....Pick me....alright Keith, settle down! |
Tuesday
– Russell – it was a dog of a day. Fished with Brett. We went a fair way
upstream and did the sooty drift. We saw hundreds of fish, darting out from the
logs, bankside and weeds – but they just wouldn’t hit our offerings. We tried
poppers, SR5’s, minnows etc. I only caught 2 fish for the day while Brett
landed 6.
Wednesday
– Russell – After much deliberation and consideration of the tides and
potential for rain, we reluctantly decided to go back to the Russell. Mainly
because that shallow patch above the Innisfail township would have meant that
either a very early exit of around noon, or a very late return after 5pm would
have been on the cards if we fished the Johnstone. And I had commitments for dinner at Palm Cove at
6.30pm.
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| Launching - Bellenden Kerr - New Ramp Too! |
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| Is that the smallest Trevor? |
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| That's better...a reasonable barra on light spin gear |
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| Pretty little JP on Bomber lure |
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| Sooty!!! |
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| liquid silver....tarpon |
What
a difference a day makes!
Upon
launching at Bellenden Kerr it was obvious that they must have had a fair bit
of rain overnight down that way. The river was noticeably higher and a bit discoloured – not
dirty, but the colour of weak coffee. The previous day the water was gin clear!
We
were able to motor right up under the highway bridge – quite a rare feat I
might add, and start our drift. We both hooked on poppers and immediately we
were having success. My first fish was a lovely little (very little) trevally, then came the
sooties and every now and again that bright silver flash from a tarpon excited
us. At the mouth of Eubenangee swamp I was smashed by a
feisty little barra…whoo hoo! By lunch we had landed 20 fish….we were stoked.
And
after lunch, the hits kept coming. I decided to experiment a little and clipped
on that little gold / black bomber 6cm shallow lure and was instantly
rewarded….again and again. I gave it to Brett as he was so impressed.
We
even pulled the pin early as I had to get to that dinner engagement (got stuck
in the highway road works on the way home and just made it in time)
And
the tally for the day was a very respectable 43 fish….WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY
MAKES!
On
reflection there were two main differences between Tuesday & Wednesday’s
fishing;
1. There
was a rain event overnight which made the river rise a foot or so – just enough
to traverse higher upstream.
2. The
water clarity – this I believe was the crucial factor. Monday’s water was too
clear - if that’s possible? As they say, “If you can see the fish, then they
can see you” These fish live in their river and are very aware of what’s
happening in their environment. They can probably see / feel your presence
bobbing downstream way before you arrive at the casting location. On Wednesday
we hardly saw a fish before they struck our lures – they were actively hunting
food today.
There
you have it…did I enjoy it?
You bet I did!
I
love our tropical rivers, and just being there is amazing. It does wonders for
your soul …being amongst the green, the rainforest, the grass, the water…and
dodging crocs too is thrilling. I LOVE IT!
Hold
on Keith, Will & Brett…I’m already planning my next trip.
