LATEST FISHING JULY 08

The marlin, sailfish and mackerel action is still red hot from Cairns. On regular mixed light tackle days to the reef I have been getting at least 5 bites a day from marlin and sailfish without even trying. We have been catching 2 & 3 billfish a day, the marlin have been averaging 20-30kgs with the sails ranging from 20kgs to 40kgs. Catching both species on pitch baits as well as lures and skipping gars.

Juvenile mackerel have invaded many spots though there are still some good mackerel amongst them in the 15kg range. We've been fishing for these with trolled lures and gars as well as floating baits on the spinning gear which is a very popular method amongst my anglers.

LATEST FISHING MAY/JUNE 08

The past week of light tackle fishing has been excellent with great weather conditions and calm seas. The Spanish mackerel have been providing good action with some good sized GT's thrown in to make things interesting. We caught a small sailfish yesterday, 1 of a double header with the second one proving hard to hook.

LATEST FISHING MAY 08

These winter months are a great time to be fishing off Cairns. The light tackle action for juvenile blacks, sailfish and Spanish mackerel should be excellent after the big wet season earlier in the year. There are already large bait schools consisting of yakkas, pilchards and gobbers on all of the regular fishing grounds.

There have been blacks hooked in the 20-50 kg range along with sailfish and their numbers will increase as the water temperature cools over the coming months. Spanish mackerel have also been in abundance and have been providing great sport on both spinning and trolling tackle with sizes averaging 7-15 kgs.

With the cold snap now hitting Queensland the pelagic action will certainly hot up. All the way from the inshore islands to the outer reefs will provide great fishing.

Yesterday provided first time anglers with a classic billfish experience, with a small black marlin caught first up for the day followed by this big sailfish (est 50kgs) and another sailfish lost shortly after. Certainly different from fishing off a pier that this anlger Mark had done only once previously.

The "eagle claw" circle hooks are certainly proving their worth on the small marlin and sailfish. Excellent fights and good condition of release.

LATEST FISHING APRIL 08

After a windy month on the reef and the weather on the improve, the fishing looks set to be an excellent light tackle season with good sized Spanish mackerel already on the bite and gathering around their winter time spots.

The bait is everywhere and bodes well for good sailfish and marlin action. I've seen 1 tailing sailfish in the last 2 trips with little searching. Both to the North and East of Cairns, yakkas, gobbers and pilchard schools are thick. Spotted mackerel and roaming Spanish mackerel are biting from the 30 metre contour onwards.

The mackerel range from standard 4kg models all the way to good sized 13-14kg fish. The islands and headlands have also produced some good mackerel so with calmer weather the local fishermen will be happy.

This ANZAC long weekend should be a great time fishing from Cairns although the neap tides may make the mackerel fishing a little tough with some sneaky tactics required.

LATEST FISHING FEB / MARCH 08

With the wet season well and truly upon us, not much local fishing has been taking place. On the occasions I have been out there has been some good fishing for Spanish mackerel, yellowfin tuna and coral trout when bottom fishing.

Have just returned from Port Stephens where I fished the NSW Interclub Tournament on the Calypso. The weather was also pretty ordinary cancelling 2 days of the 4 day tournament.

The fishing was excellent on the days we did get out. The first day of fishing we would have raised at least a dozen fish though they weren't quite in a biting mood. We managed to catch 3 from 4 bites - all striped marlin around the 70kg mark.

On the second fishing day of the tournament after a strong wind warning, it was still quite rough with the seas around 3 metres. I didn't raise as many this day, though we did catch our bites, getting 2 from 2 (1 striped and 1 black). This gave us a total of 5 for the tournament with the winning boat in the tag & release division being "Gorilla" captained by Brett Thomas, catching 7 fish for the tournament.

I did a fun day fishing on the new 63' Bertram and wound a marlin in myself. It's been a good long time (approx 14 yrs) since I caught my last marlin. Great fun as it was 1 of a double header.

Continuing to fish now from Cairns for the rest of the year. Light to medium fishing for mackerel, tuna, marlin and sailfish.

LATEST FISHING FEB 08

Had a great day's reef/bottom fishing yesterday with 7 regular clients from Cairns. The trout were on the bite (along with the damn sharks!!) Managed to catch in the order of 26 trout, a couple of nannygai, bluefin tuna and long nosed emperor. A very comfortable day on the water with 10 knots and intermittent showers.

LATEST FISHING JAN 08

Well the weather followed me down to Port Stephens also, only getting in 2 days of fishing. First day out 2 days after a great bite we did not see a fish! The next day Mike bait & switched a nice striped marlin around 80kgs and saw another fish tailing (see pics). That was our only shot for the day but the fishing was on the improve with good reports coming further South from where we fished that day, so we were hopeful for the rest of the week. However, the following 2 days saw a Southerly of 30 knots blowing - cancelling the fishing. You can only say we tried hard with the options at hand and "should have been there yesterday!!".

Back in Cairns continuing to fish light tackle for Spanish mackerel, tunas, trevally and sailfish.

(Many thanks to Tim & Bec Dean, for the use of the Calypso in Port Stephens and thanks to George Trinkler who rode along and took two great photos, (one featured above!)