Fishing Report From Trip To Weipa; Cape York

[Steve07]

Finally back from a hectic 3 week holiday,which included an awesome fishing trip for 12 days with 5 other

mates up to weipa in cape york,with a short stopover at the gold coast indy grand prix on the way back.

Having spent last couple of days resting & catching up on a lack of sleep,i can now relax,sit down & write a

short report on some great fishing we had on this trip to far north queensland.

The plan for this trip which began in weipa aboard the 55ft charter boat "the eclipse",with three 15ft custom

aluminium dinghy's in tow,was to head north along the coast fishing the awesome offshore baitschools,

the vast stretches of clear beaches & sandflats sightcasting to trevally,queenys,giant herring & threadfin

salmon,along with ofcourse the great wenlock,jackson & scardon river systems for barra,jacks,trevally,

queenfish,threadfin & tarpon.

I will start with the big schools of baitballs that we encounted all the way up the coastline usually they were

around 1 to 2 km offshore,here they were getting hammered by northern bluefin,mack tuna,queenfish,

trevally,spotted & spanish mackerel.Here i found casting 40gram metal raiders on 15lb braid threadline

outfits with a 40lb attached leader was my weapon of choice in nailing bluefin from 8 to 15kg,& solid

spanish mackerel to 10kg with out too much trouble,except for times when the sharks would move in &

take the tuna right beside the boat.One morning was so frustrating,hooking 7 solid longtails & 3 mack tuna

but all were sharked on the way,we got one half of a bluefin back.For some reason they wouldnt take any

mackerel or queenfish,but just wanted the hooked tuna.I alone lost 16metals mostly to sharks with a few

bitten off by solid spanish macks.Trolling lures around the bait schools didnt seem to have much success at

all,with just the occassional good mackerel & solid queenfish taken.Casting metal lures from 25gram to

60 gram was the only way to go for constant hookups,even up there you had to match the baitfish to get

amongst the fish.Even wire traces were a no-no as very few fish would touch either a metal or trolled lure

that had any wire trace attached.

Here are a few photos from the fish taken from the bait schools we encounted every morning,at any area,

everytime we chose to head offshore .

I will write another report about the great river & shallow flats sight cast fishing we had on the trip.Stay tuned guys

cheers;

steve

Edited November 10, 2007 by nexus

[Hodgey]

Great report as always, Steve. Sounds like you had a GREAT time chasing some serious 'finned muscle'. Top photos too, mate!

Looking forward to your river report

Hodgey

[mrmoshe]

WOW Steve!! What a trip.

I think I'd give my leftie for a shot at those beasts right now.

Some serious fish in those bait schools.

Can't wait to see the other report and pics.

Top report and mouth watering pics.

Cheers,

Pete.

[mjb]

Gotta love Weipa.

Great report Steve, did you find October one of the

better times to head up there?

We hired a houseboat from Weipa a couple of years ago,

and headed up the Pine river for a week of fishing fun.

It was one of the best times of my life. The fishing is hot, wildlife is

awsome and they sell Tooheys at the Pub!!

Mick.

[clifford]

Sounds like a great trip there steve good report to mate . What was the charters name you went with and how many people can it take.

[Steve07]

Sounds like a great trip there steve good report to mate . What was the charters name you went with and how many people can it take.

hey buddy,

we go on the charter boat "THE ECLIPSE",its the best value charter on cape york & you can fish 6 anglers

on board with three 15ft aluminium punts in tow.We have been up there a few times,and always get plenty

of fish.This trip we caught 28 species of fish,but other trips up to 35 species just a matter of what time of year you are up there.I think that september/october are the best months to go fishing in the area,especially

if you want to catch barra,as they have a closed season on barra starting early october through to feb each

year.

cheers mate,

steve

Gotta love Weipa.

Great report Steve, did you find October one of the

better times to head up there?

We hired a houseboat from Weipa a couple of years ago,

and headed up the Pine river for a week of fishing fun.

It was one of the best times of my life. The fishing is hot, wildlife is

awsome and they sell Tooheys at the Pub!!

Mick.

Hey mick,

We have been up there a few times now & at all different months of the season,i think that this trip in early

to mid october we caught heaps more surface feeding fish,like tuna & mackerel,they were all decent size

too,but it depends if you want to catch barra as the season closes early october,after that you cant keep

any but i reckon november is pretty hot fishing as its close to the wet season start,& the fish go crazy,you

get lots of them & plenty of species too,but the size isnt as good,there seems to be not many bigger fish

around.I guess every season is different though,but one thing for sure you will always have great fishing

of some sort in this part of the world.

cheers mate,

steve

[greenfish]

Another excellent report steve,sounds like you had a great time catching so many wonderful fish.

Looks like terrific place to go fishing,as im hoping to get up there some time next year.

after the 3 interesting reports on your trip,i cant wait!

well done

Edited November 9, 2007 by greenfish