The Mighty Hinchinbrook

My good mate, and arguably one of the finest fishing guides in North Queensland, Terry Holman, had asked Debbie and myself to accompany him to Port Hinchinbrook for the weekend. You see Terry had a repeat client, Toshi from Japan, plus another fishing “guru” Kevin (refer my previous Daintree blog) to entertain and it was an opportunity too good to miss.

Debbie works in Real Estate, it’s a 7 day a week commitment and to have the opportunity to fish the Hinchinbrook region during the pre Christmas period, be guided by not one but three “experienced guides”, stay in a modern fully air-conditioned three bedroom town house right on the Marina, with our very own floating pontoon to boot – well, we just could not say no.

Terry, Kevin & Toshi left town early on Friday morning, they were to fish the channel that day and suss out the situation. Debbie & I had to work until mid afternoon, she is the boss after all, and we departed Cairns around 4pm. The drive down was uneventful apart from having to wait at the Aumuller St / Southern Access Rd intersection for over 15 minutes – it took 5 sets of lights before we went through…………Grrrrrrr, man I was cranky.

We arrived at approx. 7pm with all the excitement of a couple of school kids on vacation, checked out the fabulous apartment and helped Terry set up the BBQ for dinner. Our home for the next couple of days was to be the magnificent “Ripples on the Marina”. It had much more to offer than we expected, our very own floating pontoon with running fresh water to wash down our boat & gear, electricity to plug in our battery charger each evening, fully carpeted, only 5 minutes boat ride from the huge ramp and right outside our door. Oh, the inside was very comfortable too.

Ripples on the Marina

Sunrise from our bedroom

The alarm went off at 5:30am, we jumped out of bed, had a hearty but hurried breakfast of bacon & eggs and scrambled down to the boats and headed off. Terry, Kevin & Toshi in his 5m Cairns Custom Craft punt, Debbie and myself in our little 4m twin.

Terry, Kevin & Toshi

Leaving the Marina

The channel was as flat as a pancake and the trip across to the top of the island a breeze in the conditions. Terry had fished the rocky shoreline on the falling tide the day before and was quite successful, why not give it another go. It was decided that Terry, having the larger more comfortable boat, would fish the far bay while Debbie & I concentrated on the near shore.

No joke, on Debbie’s very first cast of the trip, a feisty 60cm barra crashed her lure amongst the stunted mangroves but failed to hook up – if we weren’t excited beforehand we sure were now. Conditions were ideal for lure tossing but we sensed that it was going to be a very hot humid day by mid afternoon.

Things became a stale mate for the next hour or so with no real fishing action at all, we were waiting on the morning high tide to start to drop, knowing full well that that would ring the dinner bell.

Juvenile barra

Fishing the rocky points

Estuary cod



Typical barra













Using shallow running Leads highjackers we started to account for a few small estuary cod, then a juvenile barra, then another……….more cod and the pattern was set. By mid morning we could feel the heat, the water was 34.8C, almost hot enough to cook in and that, as Kevin explained, was the reason for a lack of mangrove jacks. Too warm for them. We persisted around the rocks and it started to fire up and by lunch time the tally had mounted to about a dozen cod and 9 barra.

Turtle

Barra

What really surprised us was the number of sea turtles……..they were everywhere gliding through the shallow waters. Sometimes surfacing right alongside the boat and scaring the wits out of us……….they confused us too…….was that a fish swirl or just another one of these magnificent creatures.



It was too hot to stop fishing, and we couldn’t find a shady spot on this side of the island anyway, so we ate egg and bacon pie (with tomato sauce of course) on the run and got straight back into it.



By mid afternoon the north easterly was in……..man was it hot, and humid but the fishing had slowed anyway so we worked our way back to the channel side of the island. We found a rocky outcrop in about a metre of choppy water and began to cast our lures around the slop. I landed my best barra of the trip here and at 63cm it wasn’t a big fish but sure gave a good account of herself amongst the oyster covered rocks. I also lost two lures here, busted off on those very same oysters.

63cm barra - my best

Barra

Back to the channel and we worked our way along the mangrove lined shore. By now the tide was making and the window of opportunity would not last long. Casting amongst the heavily timbered bank, amongst the tangle of mangrove roots and fallen trees we found active fish again. It was Debbie’s turn to have some good luck and she out fished me three to one that afternoon.











Not to worry, it was two very happy and weary anglers that headed back across the channel to the Marina entrance that afternoon. We must have landed about 30 fish that day but not a jack in sight.

A hearty meal, the exchange of fish tales tall and not so true, a few beers and the swapping of lures amongst friends soon had us seeking the comfort of our huge queen size bed. I was asleep in no time.

Here in the tropics you get to know a few things about how nature works. During the day old sol shines brightly, sucking up all that moisture from the warm seas and taking it high into those puffy dark clouds. Sure its hot and sticky, the sweat runs down your backside and you reach for another ice cold beer or six – and that’s why we love it up here. But we also know that after the sun goes down, the air temperature drops a few degrees and guess what – all that moisture just can’t be suspended anymore and with the crack of lightning, the heavy roll of thunder, the heavens open up and down she comes.

Well at 1.20am I was rudely awaken but one the most spectacular “light” shows I had ever seen. Lightning flashed across the dark threatening sky, thunder rolled right through you and the rain pelted down. My poor little tinny……….she was safely tied up to the Marina pontoon BUT what about the electrics. I had the 240V battery charger connected, what would happen if my boat filled up with water just enough to short the whole thing out?

Climbing out of my comfortable bed I quickly dressed, went out back to my vehicle to find my umbrella and gingerly walked down to my boat. I had better disconnect all power first I calculated, then I could safely disconnect the leads, check the water proofing cover that I had rigged over the charger and even run the battery powered bilge pump. No dramas, it was over in a few minutes, all was safe and I went back to bed to watch the light show.

But guess what, my mate Terry awoke a while after me and had the same idea. He found my umbrella, scurried down to the pontoon and RECONNECTED the power to my charger. Thankfully all was well and by morning I awoke to clearing skies and a boat and electrics all intact and a fully charged battery to boot. Thanks Terry!

Happy anglers

Flat out fishing!

This second day saw the trip across the channel even calmer, the water was like glass and the mountainous backdrop of Hinchinbrook Island was a real treasure to behold. This is the largest Island National Park in Australia and offers truly stunning scenery, superb camping, fishing and even an Island resort for those so inclined.

We decided to fish the inside channel on the last of the making tide, it was too high to fish the rocks anyway and we really intended to kill some time for a while. If we landed a fish or two it would be a bonus. Terry cast his deep diving shad towards the mangrove stand at the mouth of a small creek, bait fish were scattering everywhere when BOOF!..........he was on to a barra of well over 90cm. It was sheer pandemonium as he tried desperately to control her direction but she charged back into the structure, around a stand of drowned timber and back out again. All Terry could do was glide on the electric to the dead tree, have Kevin position the boat and gingerly he tried to untangle his stretched line. It was so comical to watch him pass his baitcaster round the first trunk, then the second and oops…….almost lost the rod and then Terry into the drink. I did say almost and eventually the line was free of this obstruction and they headed back into open water.

But wait, there’s more…………the monster had found another drowned snag right out where the boat was first stationed. She crashed the surface and made a resounding BOOF. Man I love that sound. And it was all over, she had managed to snag the lure on a thin twig of a branch and swam to freedom.

Barra are amazing creatures. They are a magnificent looking animal, hit lures with gusto and offer a spirited fight on the right tackle. Their take can be spectacular and put grown men into a quivering mess……….they are as adapt at self release as they are at hooking up and many angler is left mouth agape at how they free themselves. How they found that hidden snag, rock or weed bed. You’ve got to admire them and remember the challenge. This is what fishing is all about, its not catching.

At this stage Terry and his band had decided to head back to the rocks. Debbie & I decide to stay and try our luck along the mangrove bank.

Did I tell you that just after the boys left Debbie had an almighty strike in the same spot…….unfortunately her drag was just not set for a monster of this size and she was free in a moment. But the memories remain and she will be back.

We decided to bolt up the channel and fish the island on the falling tide, casting lures to the mangrove forest and occasionally hooking up to hungry barra. It was great fishing but it had its frustrating moments too. Like the 200th time that I hooked up to the tree roots, like the time a metre long barra materialized under my shad but did not take that extra step to strike, like the lack of action on other species. There is not wall to wall barra anywhere, you have to take them when they come, find them where they are at various stages of the tide cycle and be thankful for being able to fish in such wonderful places like far North Queensland has to offer.

My only jack - nice one!

I don’t know how many fish we landed, we were too absorbed in our surroundings to seriously take a count but suffice to say that we had an absolute blast. If I had to have a calculated guess I would say that we landed about 30 barra for the 2 days, about 15 cod, 1 jack and a flathead. And I sure can remember that one lone jack……that’s another story.

  

Flathead

So if you ever get the chance to get to Port Hinchinbrook, want a quality stay in fabulous self contained accommodation look no further than "Ripples on the Marina". And if you want spectacular fishing, with a great guide, do I have a deal for you.

I trust all my readers have a truly WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR.

There are strange things happening up here in FNQ, our economy is in pretty bad shape and a lot of people and families are struggling big time. Christmas can be a joyous time for many…………it can also be a trying time for the sad, broken and downhearted. Share a thought for them too an pray for better things to come in 2011.

Good fishing, Les

http://www.fishingcairns.com.au/

Did someone say Rain Forest!

The pre wet season built up can be a fabulous time to fish our tropical rainforest rivers and even though the tides were not the best (a low at 6:00am and a slow run in until 3:00pm) Kevin and I decided to head to the mighty Daintree anyway.

Daintree Boat Ramp - A beauty!

Our plan was to head downstream from the boat ramp and toss lures under the overhanging mangrove trees before the making tide pushed up too far and disbursed the bait. It was a good plan and before long we hand glided to a standstill, clipped on my favorite Lead’s highjacker and dropped the bow mounted electric into the briny.

It was Kevin’s turn to take his boat this day, a beautifully finished off 4.3m Cairns Custom Craft punt, and as his electric is mounted on the bow, I still had my favorite stern position to cast from. Its not often that I get a chance to be the “client”……..being an ex guide and a fussy angler, I usually take my own boat and gladly guide my fiends / guests. Kevin is an expert river fisherman, we share the same fishing philosophies, have the same preferred angling styles etc so it was indeed a pleasure to be towed along this way.

Note – The bow mounted electric worked a treat. I was constantly amazed at the increased efficiency of the motor being in this position as the energy needed to “pull” an object through the water – pointy bit first – rather that “push” it from the stern, was dramatically shown in a positive light throughout the day. Food for thought there, maybe I should make some modifications to my punt as well.

Back to the fishing.

We were greeted by conditions that were not ideal. You see, we had had heaps of rain this past few weeks and the water was the color of black tea. Thankfully it wasn’t like tomato soup so we were fairly optimistic. It was warm, it was humid, it was as still as could be and the sun was sucking up the moisture making for uncomfortable conditions. Even at this early hour the sweat was dribbling down my back – it was going to be a hot day.

We had just settled into fishing and had no more than a few cast each when a flash zoomed up from the gutter…….barra we exclaimed excitedly. Back in went to Leads…….. boof………. and I was on to a feisty little barra around the 50cm mark. Kevin landed an archer fish and a couple more barra came from this one section. Hmmmmm, maybe we would have a good day after all.

Barra from mangroves - check that water color!

Archer Fish

Drifting further downstream we worked the thick horizontal mangrove trunks that jutted out from the heavily timbered bank. Quite a few barra were laying on the downstream side of these structures and a well presented lure brought instant results. We also worked the edge of the “prickles”…….at half tide these aerial roots of the humble mangrove tree provide shelter for skittish baitfish and guess what. Where the food swims the predators follow. The tally was mounting.

Barra - note dark coloring, a fresh water fish

About 10:00am we entered a small side creek. There was a snag sitting in about 2m of water so we clipped on deep diving lures to get down to the structure. On my first cast there was another barra flash……missed it. Next cast I let the lure sink a few feet first, twitch, twitch and bang…..I was on to a nice fish. But the hooks pulled after a brief encounter so we left the snag to get back into the river proper, away from the mozzies and have a cupper.

By now the tide had pushed in too far for this “under mangrove” approach so a journey upstream past the main ramp was the order of the hour. It was now time to work the “prickles” and again we found more willing fish however the bite had definitely slowed from the mornings peak. Drifting along on the electric we cast right up to the bank, slowly twitching our lures past the swaying mangrove roots and occasionally catching a barra. This was fun.

Man it was still, it was as hot as hell and the trickle of sweat had become a torrent down my back………lets head upstream and turn on the air-conditioning I mused. We pulled up near a bend and started to work a nice weed bed.

What the hell was that?

About 100 metres further upstream there was a real commotion going on up under the cotton wood trees. We could hear the splashing of a large animal near the rivers edge and the actual breaking of branches. And then we saw it, a huge croc of well over 5 metres glided out from under the trees. Its head was massive, almost a metre and a half from the nose to its eyes. Next came a huge hump that was the main body of this beast followed well behind by a trailing tail. I could feel fear swelling up inside me, the sheer size of this living dinosaur made the senses sharpen and the pulse quicken………we were far enough away to feel relatively safe in the boat BUT would not want to hang around that location for much longer. The beast made a 180 degree turn and crashed back under the trees.

Whether this monster was mating or defending its territory, we are well into the croc's mating season, we did not want to hang around to find out and a hasty decision was made to give that area a wide berth.

Up around the next bend we could see quite heavy rainfall blanketing the valley, the skies were as black as and thunder started to crack above the hills. Time to put on the wet weather gear just in case.

Just in case………within a few minutes the heavens opened up, the skies closed over, thunder rumbled around and through us so we quickly took cover in Barrett’s Creek to ponder our next move. It was lunch time anyway so we were quite happy for the relief from the heat and humidity while we ate a hearty meal.

It took about 1.5 hours for the storm to move further north-east and clear our way to continue fishing. Next stop was the weed beds where we encountered more juvenile barra and we both landed another each.

Juvenile barra - from the prickles

Barra from weeb beds

Further upstream we travelled, past the Daintree township , past Stewarts Creek that was spewing coffee colored water from the recent downpour and up to a nice backwater. I pulled another barra from the weeds here too. It was my lucky day.

The further upstream and the further into the tide, the barra activity was definitely on the decline, time to pack it up and head off home.


The tally for the day:

• Barramundi x 16

• Jacks x 4

• Flathead x 1

• Archerfish x 1

Two very happy anglers made our way back along the Coral Coast to Cairns that evening and conversations turned to next week’s adventure. WE ARE HEADING OFF TO THE HINCHINBROOK FOR A FEW DAYS………..hope to have a great weekend!



MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY FRIENDS AND READERS.

Good Fishing, Les Marsh

http://www.fishingcairns.com.au/

Last Day For Barra!

Can you believe that its November already........its almost Christmas, and that the barra season has closed for another year.


Grrrrrrr!..........all I want is a legal barra to take home to my family.

It was with much anticipation that my mate Keith Graham and I headed north to the Daintree River. We had not fished these waters for several months now and seeing as the weather God's were smiling and we had actually had some beautiful sunny weather for almost a week......expectations were high for a great day on this magnificent tropical waterway.

Launching at the public ramp near the ferry crossing is an absolute breeze these days. There is even a floating pontoon to assist with the launch / retrieve process and we were soon on the river, readying our tackle and applying the sun block / insect repellent / gloves / broad rimmed hat and sunnies. No sooner had we putted out into the middle of the river when bait and fish exploded all around us. G.T.'s we shouted and it was a mad panic to open our tackle boxes, sift through the hundred or so lures that we tend to carry (just in case) and searched for that favorite popper.

Trevors just love surface lures and when they are smashing bait like that, are relatively easy targets with a small 3" popper worked erratically across the surface. No sooner had we had our gear ready (should have clipped on a popper at the outset to the 4kg spin outfit) and the trevors had all disappeared. BUT WAIT..........there's more. Another feisty school soon erupted 20 metres away so we motored over on the electric and cast in the direction of the surface action.

In no time we were both hooked up and after a spirited fight the G.T.'s were quickly photographed and sent on their way back downstream.

It was a low tide at approx 11am that day, so we decided to have a cast around some mangrove prickles before the water became too low. We landed a small barra, had a couple of half hearted follows and a flash from a jack but not a lot was happening.

Time for a cuppa........head upstream to the weed beds and see what old bucket mouth was up to.

We began our drift, fighting the elements and trying to work out which was the dominant force - the wind or the tide. We usually use the tide to slowly push us downstream, using the electric to position us within casting distance of the swaying ribbon grass. But sometimes up here the south east "breeze" is a bit too strong and you sort of get stuck in the one zone having to fight for territory all the way down – today was one of those days. It was a bit slow but a few juvenile barras were being landed on the leads and F1-11's (One of Keith's special lures imported by Bransfords Tackle Shop).

Let's head upstream I stated, I want to see how much water is coming down and we were soon zooming up past Barrett’s Creek, past the township and into a shallow sandy straight. Shallow........did someone say SHALLOW!

Luckily I could see the skinny water but even after powering down we came to an abrupt stop / Keith crashed to the forward casting deck and landed firmly on the fleshy part of the anatomy called your "rear end". Man was he going to have a big bruise tomorrow I mused. Just goes to show how careful and well prepared you must be at all times........you see, we always stow our rods carefully next to the gunnels when travelling, all spare lures are put out of harms way and the deck in orgaised with esky, tackle bags, knife, pliers and boga's in their place. A sudden stop like that could easily have resulted in broken tackle, hooked anglers or much worse. Thankfully it was only bruised pride (sorry Keith).

The real problem however is that small outboards can't propel you through sand, they can't plow on and tend to suck up the "hard stuff" when the prop is revved in this fashion. Hmmmmm.....the tell tail is supposed to squirt water, not steam. We did manage to clear the tubing but there must have still been an obstruction (read dirty big lumps of sand) further up the cooling system so it was decided to head back downstream on the electric, fishing on our way and think of plan "B" to get home.

We did manage a few more barra however and the pictures hereabouts attest to our success;

• 8 barra in total

• 2 river G.T.'s

• 1 jack

But time was ticking by and who knows how long it would take to get way back down to the ferry / ramp. So it was two "slightly" unsatisfied anglers that packed up the gear and putted slowly down stream on the outboard. My neck was crooked to the right every 30 seconds to ensure that some H2O was trickling out of the tell-tale...........I kept a constant watch on the water temp too, I didn't want to cook the motor and thought that a damaged impeller would be a lot less expensive that a new outboard - agreed!

By about 4pm we had made it back to the Daintree township........how about we pull in here?

I could get a ride with "someone" from here to the ferry, drive the car and trailer back and it would not only be quicker, it could save the engine. What a great idea we mused.

It wasn't long before a very generous Mexican (Victorian) offered to take me back and I was more than grateful for their assistance. In only a half hour or so I had been dropped off at the ferry, driven back to the town ramp, loaded the boat and off we headed home. Probably saved me a couple of hours and a few dollars to boot.

And I still didn't have that last legal sized barra for the season, what would the family eat from now until February next year? Mangrove jacks / fingermark / queenfish / mackerel / tuna / emperor / trout.......OK, we'll survive.

Great fishing, regards Les

http://www.fishingcairns.com.au/

A Picture Tells a Thousand Words!

Hi all,

I thought I'd let the following pics tell the story of my last trip to the Johnstone River at Innisfail.
I took my partner's son Sam, for a lure fishing day to the fresh and we had a ball landing;

• 3 barra
• 12 monster sooties
• 3 jacks
• 5 jungle perch
• 1 trevally

(Note - double click to enlarge images)

Check them again - I even landed a double header!

The lure of choice for the day was a Leads 3" Jack Lure - and they worked a treat.

I also lost a big barra of well over 80cm..........had it on for well over 2 minutes so was dead lucky to loose her in the end.

Great Fishing!
Les Marsh
http://www.fishingcairns.com.au/

A River Somewhere!

My good mate Keith Graham (Bransfords Tackle Shop) hasn’t been fishing much lately……..you see he had a total knee reconstruction several moths ago and it has been giving him hell on the rehabilitation trail ever since. No point in taking him out in my 4m tinny if he can’t stand up and cast for hours at a time / pull up the lead blob used to position the boat / reach down and get his lure out of the cotton wood tree, mangrove root etc etc…………well, is it!


Last Sunday however was going to be a new adventure for us. Keith’s knee had “come good” – about 85% anyway and the persistent rain had eased off for a few days. We decided to head south and see what happened.

You see, within about a 2 hours drive south of Cairns lies some of the prettiest sweet water fishing available in these parts. There are literally a dozen rivers / creeks to fish if conditions are right and this is the main positive – there is nearly always a back- up plan should your chosen destination be unfishable due to dirty water conditions. It’s a simple matter of taking note of the water conditions as you cross the rivers on the highway and back track if necessary.

We arrived at our preferred location at approx. 8:00am and were pleasantly surprised to see the water clarity was quite good. The high tide at 6:00am had long gone and with a low at midday, but a high low of just on a metre, it should give us plenty of water to travel way upstream without fear of being left stranded in the shallow reaches so prevalent upstream from the ramp.

Like intrepid explorers we pushed on and upwards, past mangroves and cottonwood trees, past swaying ribbon grass, under bridges and over drowned log piles – I had never seen the river so high without being in flood – and after a morning cuppa under a beautiful overhanging rainforest tree, we decided to explore this new territory.

Keith and I are seasoned anglers, we have fished our local rivers for many years and know some of them like the back of our hands. But this was different, I have never been able to access this river “zone” before and it was two very excited anglers that decided to keep pushing upstream just a few more k’s……….just to see what lay behind the next bend. When we decided that we had come far enough, we knew that there was a lot of water between us and the boat ramp some several hours downstream. It would not matter how many fish we caught, it was such a buzz to “just be in the moment”………..at a new destination exploring new waters.

As we drifted downstream we both realized quite quickly that this would be a difficult trip and for a strange reason for this time of year.

Our region has had heaps of rainfall this past few weeks / months. In fact I don’t think that we have had more than a few days break from nightly rain all year. The ground is saturated, the run off is constant and our rivers are running much higher than normal for a “pre” went season period. This meant that even though there was only about a metre tidal drop, the fresh was pushing constantly downstream making our passage quite a fast one and therefore casting to likely looking spots, quite challenging.

We soon realized that a slow measured drift, casting to likely barra holding backwaters and eddies was not going to be possible but for the few wider / shallower reaches. Not to worry, adjust your thinking, switch to smaller lures and target what might be there instead of singularly focusing on the barra.

This approach brought fairly instant results as Keith latched on to a feisty little JP from the grassy edges. They are such a pretty little fish and offer a spirited fight in the fast flowing water. Drifting along we had a couple of half hearted boofs from juvenile barra but our lures were swept away from the strike zone far too quickly. Not to worry, the jacks and JP’s were cooperating quite nicely thank you and the tally was slowly mounting.

 

These offer great sport on light spin or baitcaster tackle and in the terrain are quite challenging. We had lunch under a shady tree and were happy to sit back and take it all in………what a beautiful little river.

By now we were back downstream to where I was more familiar with the rivers course, snag piles and grassy verges which usually held barra, I advised Keith. We drifted along and cast to the “spots”, but again the journey was all too fast to really do it justice so we accepted the inevitable and just kept catching jacks. Not that there was anything wrong with that.

By mid afternoon we were back in the tidal zone, the tide had actually started to push back in and slow the “flood” and it was here that we landed a couple of small barras from the snags. And the tally for the day;


• 10 mangrove jacks

• 8 Jungle Perch

• 3 tarpon

• 2 barra

Two very contented anglers decided to “pull the pin” early and head back to Cairns………..not only content with the days catch but more satisfied that we had been to new waters and fished, what was for us, a brand new experience. There is something in this that is good for the soul don’t you think?


Good fishing, Kind regards Les
http://www.fishingcairns.com.au/

PS – Closed season for barra commences at midday on 1st November. Only a couple of weeks left this year to land a legal barra!