10 March 2001 - Volume 5 Issue 2

Weather? What Weather? Part II

I was right - two days after my last report the sky's opened up and the weather took a turn for the worst. I guess it's the "wet" season and we have come to expect a lot of rain - we sure had it. We even had a small cyclone brush past the City, it was only a category one and did no damage thankfully, but it did dump heaps of rain on the region.

This is not all bad as a lot of our prime sportfish need these sorts of conditions to breed successfully (especially barramundi) - usually the bigger the wet season the greater the recruitment and the better the fishing in a few years time.

This late spawning run resulted in a monster barra being landed from the Mission Bay boat ramp at Weipa, at 150cm it would have weighed over 60lb, and probably had just laid a few million eggs!

Awards

Fishing Cairns was a finalist in the prestigious "My Business" awards held recently in Sydney. Unfortunately we were not the outright winners of our category, e-business, but being a finalist was special enough. To be judged possibly the second best web site in Oz for our category was just fantastic and my wife Pam & I celebrated until the wee hours of Friday morning.

Publications

Tourism operators working on the Great Barrier Reef (fishing charters, dive operator's etc) now have a single handbook to refer to for advice. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority recently launched the Tourism Operators Handbook which contains all the rules and regulation for operating in the Marine Park. The handbook is available from Queensland Parks & Wildlife offices, 10 McLeod St, Cairns or phone 07 4052 3092

Virus Alert

Unfortunately it's a sign of the times, computer viruses are here to stay and we must all be vigilant in our dealings with e-mails and Internet business. We are experiencing unprecedented numbers of incoming e-mails with viruses attached and thankfully have our virus protection continually up to date. We have found it necessary to reject messages and quarantine files - some of which may have been booking and information requests from our valued readers. We apologise for any inconvenience caused, please re submit your enquiry if you feel this may have happened to you.

The Rivers

With so much rain about this past month the bait fishing has been slow. Anglers casting lures way upstream in clearing, dropping conditions have faired quite well on juvenile barra, mangrove jacks, sooty grunter and jungle perch. Fly-fishing has also produced some excellent results, with barra, jacks, archerfish and a great run of tarpon recently. The post wet season period is one of the most productive times in the Tropics so get your gear ready.

Trinity Inlet

Although this waterway is not fed by any major river system, the persistent rain has had a detrimental effect on the fishing here as well. Look on the bright side, it can only get better from here on.

Blue Water / Reef Fishing / Game Fishing

I'm going to lump these all together this time - mainly because this is what most charter skippers are doing at this time of year - a mixture of everything. The usual reef dwellers have been about, coral trout, sweetlip, trevally etc as well as good quality tuna, mackerel and some unstoppables on the light tackle sportfishing gear. No billies as yet but it won' t be long before the juveniles start showing up.

After the Sydney Olympics last year where many anglers, and game boats for that matter, went to that fair city, this season is shaping up as a big one. The interest generated for all things Australian should play a major part in our inbound tourism traffic this season. Some game boats are already booked out for October & November - don't leave your decision too late.

The Cape

All of the Cape's guides have had a break and they are just starting to get back to work - if you call cruising around the pristine blue waters of a remote location, casting lures & fly's to breaking schools of hungry fish WORK!, well - that's what they do!

The post wet season / late summer period is probably the very best time of the year to fish the Cape and repeat clients are up there from tomorrow - I can't wait to hear from them upon their return.

New Packages

We are continually striving to provide a better service to our clients and are listening to your feedback. Fishing Cairns is pleased to advise some exciting new charter options are in the pipe line and the first one to be released is a live aboard gamefishing and reef fishing trip out of Princess Charlotte Bay on Cape York. Look for more exciting options coming on line over the next few months.

And for all you fly fishing enthusiasts, we are developing packages specifically targeted to your needs and expectations, watch this space.

See you on the water,
Les Marsh