What a perfect start to the day……….the
drive up the coast from Cairns was just magic. Not a cloud in the sky, the
fringing rainforest (the oldest in the world) looking splendid as it hugged the
mountains. Signs of a good wet season and probably no recent cyclone damage I’d
suggest.
My 4m CCC @ Daintree Ramp / pontoon |
What a magic day! |
Conditions would not stay like this for
much longer however, with predicted strong SE winds in the order of 25 – 30
knots, and a maximum day time temp. predicted at 24C, it was going to be a cool
day by our standards. Thankfully there was no hint of rain so anywhere out of
that persistent wind would be quite pleasant still!
These conditions are just ideal for those
big lizards too!
As the tide receeded, it was a low of .5
metres at midday, any exposed mud or sand bank out of the wind and in full sun,
would be a sunbathing opportunity too good to pass up by the resident crocs.
And boy, were they making the most of it. Just by cruising around, looking for
likely looking fishing spots to toss our lures, saw us encounter 15 of these
prehistoric creatures…….imagine how many we may have seen if we had really
tried to find them.!
Add caption |
But in conditions such as these, sightings
are a real bonus and you never cease to be amazed at what life is actually
hiding in the waters of the Daintree. We
were here for the fishing, not the croc spotting!
My Debbie works in Real Estate (RE/MAX Cairns – the #1
real estate company in the world, TRUE) so weekends are usually her busiest
time. Working 7 days a week is the norm for Debbie, but I was fortunate enough
to encourage her to come and fish with me on this day, she will not get another
day off until after October she confessed…..make the most of it girl.
Readers will know that Debbie & I are
extremely competitive with our fishing; I just love it! And so it was that I
chose a couple of lures while Debbie took out about her usual 6-8 lures in
various sizes / colours / diving depth etc etc……….she must have been nervous
eh!
First for the day |
There was a friendly chap anchored up
nearby, but he was bait fishing and waiting for the action. The Daintree can be
very productive as a bait fishing destination also, but I’m a lure fanatic so
politely passed him by……….”You’ve just caught my fish he exclaimed”……….”nar,
you’r fishing out in the open while she came from way back under the trees” I
explained. We moved on!
We left him in peace & tranquility |
Not long after, the predicted winds arrived
and sent a shivering blast up the river. Thankfully we had come fully prepared
and I always wear a few layers of clothing to stop the piercing blast under
these conditions. Lets look for some more protected water I suggested, and off
we zoomed upstream to a nearby creek junction. Zilch!
Protection from the wind - but not much else! |
At least Deb was relaxing! |
Now readers will know all too well that I
have had a little fixation on a particular lure lately, the mighty “Flat Jak”
from Bransfords.
And I have done particularly well on them for quite some time now. Being a
relatively buoyant lure, swimming to about 2 metres on a long cast, they are
not the “bees knees” in all fishing situations. Every now and again
circumstances will come along where a different approach is required. And so it
was the Debbie & I found ourselves tucked out of the wind in a little
backwater surrounded by thick cotton wood trees. Barra just love hiding under
cotton wood trees (another tip!) but a shallow lure just does not get down to
where the fish are at.
Then it hit me like a bolt from the
sky……..during my recent trip to Lakefield, Ali had caught quality barra on
another of Bransfords tried and tested (by yours truly several years ago) lures,
the exclusive“F111’s”. They are a brilliant lure to cast, are a slow sinker,
but when worked enticingly with a slow jerky retrieve, they dance all over the
place like a wounded mullet. Get it……….injured or sick fish get eaten by
predators, right!
I chose a bright green and gold model,
after all it is the Olympics, and I should support the Aussies. On my very
first cast I let the lure sink down in the 2metre + water I was fishing in,
jerked it slowly back to the boat and there it was, a nice silver flash down
deep. There’s barra down there babe, get your lure in there. Refer back now,
Debbie likes to try a hundred different lures in a day, but this time she was
reluctant to change whatever she was tied to. But I can assure you that after
my fifth little barra, Deb thought that there just might be something in this
drop technique after all, so reluctantly tied on a bright shiny pink and bronze
model.
Unfortunately Deb had no luck, she had a
strong hit from one down deep that failed to hook up and missed a couple of
flashes. I didn’t think she allowed the lure to sink far enough but you try to
tell a headstrong Kiwi girl that she is not fishing right……….competitive, you
bet ya!
Time to head back downstream and fish the
incoming tide………..unfortunately the area I chose was just not firing today. The
tide was racing in, stirring up the mud and whether this had anything to do
with it I could not be certain but I was bitterly disappointed.
We flogged my river bend for naught……..time
to get an early exit I thought, lets go home babe and have an early roast (its
traditional on Sunday’s in our household).
Deb's first and last for the trip! |
Now I really don’t like to gloat, but what
was that tally count darling………..Oh yes!
7 barra to Les and 1 barra to Deb. Yes, we
are competitive!Green & Gold - go Aussie - F111 |
And as for those “new” lures, the
“Bransfords F111’s”……….I’ll certainly be using them more often when conditions
are right…….they come in a great range of modern, well finished eye catching
colours too.
Catch you on the water
Regards, Les
www.fishingcairns.com.au
Farewell my friend........see you next time! |