Strikezone
09-03-2006, 06:06 PM
Weipa Fishing Report
July 2006.
Off shore Giant Herring, Tuna, Mackerel & Giant Trevally where on the bite in July. The south easterly winds had cooled the water causing the river fishing to slow considerably. While we did find a few fish we had to work hard for every one we caught.
Weather:
South easterly winds were 15 to 30 knots for most of the month, with a temperature of 18 to 31c.
Fishing:
On the Beach,
Like last month July is not known as a good time to fish from the beaches. We fished rocky headland for small Queenfish, Golden Trevally & the odd Slatey Bream. Slatey Bream are a challenging fish to catch on fly although they are caught in numbers with bait out on the reefs, the fish we find inshore are primarily crustacean eaters, they cruise the reef edges looking for crabs and shrimps. They won’t be temped with any other offering. The fish in the shallow water spook easily, a good cast should land two or three metres in the direction that they are cruising letting the fish move onto the fly not the other way around, this can be a hit and miss affair. You need to be patient if the fish changes direction let it swim well clear before recasting.
A typical snapper speices ranging in size from 3 kg up to 10 kg are a solid fight. Anglers normally have to work hard to keep the fish away from the rocks.
Blue Water
Tuna where still biting their heads off down the coast, normally we didn’t have to travel far to find a school. The biggest challenge was casting flies in the strong winds.
Good size Giant Herring where caught while fishing for Queenfish down at Boyd’s Bay, some fish pushed over the metre mark. Most where caught just off the bottom in 8 metres of water, flies included flashy profiles and for the lure fisher’s jigs work well. Giant Herring have to be one of the fastest fish with fins. Reel drags screamed as fish somersaulted across the surface in an erratic display of shear kayos. These fish have the remarkable ability to throw the hooks with an average of four to one, that’s landing one out of a hooked four, normally flies have a better averge. If you have every fished Giant Herring you’ll know what I mean.
Rivers,
The strong easterly winds had dropped water temperature down to 25c degrees, which had caused the fishing. We still caught fish but anglers hard to work hard. Only the best casts would tempt fish into a bite. The shallow sun heated flats produced the best fishing for us although most fish where small 40 to 50 centimeters, fish this size we called “rats”.
Craig Jenkins,
Strikezone Fly & Sportsfishing
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g60/Strikezone_2006/IMG_0858.jpg
Dianne with a nice size River Jack.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g60/Strikezone_2006/IMG_0863.jpg
Phil caught this Queenfish in Boyd Bay.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g60/Strikezone_2006/IMG_0827.jpg
Giant Trevally off a bait ball.
July 2006.
Off shore Giant Herring, Tuna, Mackerel & Giant Trevally where on the bite in July. The south easterly winds had cooled the water causing the river fishing to slow considerably. While we did find a few fish we had to work hard for every one we caught.
Weather:
South easterly winds were 15 to 30 knots for most of the month, with a temperature of 18 to 31c.
Fishing:
On the Beach,
Like last month July is not known as a good time to fish from the beaches. We fished rocky headland for small Queenfish, Golden Trevally & the odd Slatey Bream. Slatey Bream are a challenging fish to catch on fly although they are caught in numbers with bait out on the reefs, the fish we find inshore are primarily crustacean eaters, they cruise the reef edges looking for crabs and shrimps. They won’t be temped with any other offering. The fish in the shallow water spook easily, a good cast should land two or three metres in the direction that they are cruising letting the fish move onto the fly not the other way around, this can be a hit and miss affair. You need to be patient if the fish changes direction let it swim well clear before recasting.
A typical snapper speices ranging in size from 3 kg up to 10 kg are a solid fight. Anglers normally have to work hard to keep the fish away from the rocks.
Blue Water
Tuna where still biting their heads off down the coast, normally we didn’t have to travel far to find a school. The biggest challenge was casting flies in the strong winds.
Good size Giant Herring where caught while fishing for Queenfish down at Boyd’s Bay, some fish pushed over the metre mark. Most where caught just off the bottom in 8 metres of water, flies included flashy profiles and for the lure fisher’s jigs work well. Giant Herring have to be one of the fastest fish with fins. Reel drags screamed as fish somersaulted across the surface in an erratic display of shear kayos. These fish have the remarkable ability to throw the hooks with an average of four to one, that’s landing one out of a hooked four, normally flies have a better averge. If you have every fished Giant Herring you’ll know what I mean.
Rivers,
The strong easterly winds had dropped water temperature down to 25c degrees, which had caused the fishing. We still caught fish but anglers hard to work hard. Only the best casts would tempt fish into a bite. The shallow sun heated flats produced the best fishing for us although most fish where small 40 to 50 centimeters, fish this size we called “rats”.
Craig Jenkins,
Strikezone Fly & Sportsfishing
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g60/Strikezone_2006/IMG_0858.jpg
Dianne with a nice size River Jack.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g60/Strikezone_2006/IMG_0863.jpg
Phil caught this Queenfish in Boyd Bay.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g60/Strikezone_2006/IMG_0827.jpg
Giant Trevally off a bait ball.