Fishing Cooktown

It’s been 2 long years since I last fished in Cooktown!
Cooktown, where the Barrier Reef comes so close to the shoreline and the fishing is RED HOT! The variety of fish to be caught is endless; and the excitement is all about what species you’re going to catch next and just how big that catch will be. And of course, whether you’ll be successful in getting the fish to the surface at all.

We travelled with old friend and fishing guide Mark Privett out to a wreck about 10-12 Nautical miles from Cooktown Harbour. The conditions were sloppy with a 15 knott South Easterly (quite common for this time of the year) but our 6.7m Surtees Sports Fisher with full Hard Top made the situation a lot more comfortable for us all. Arriving at the wreck, our Icom sounder lit up like a Christmas tree and I couldn’t wait to get the baits in the water.

My memory of the area as a fisherman’s paradise didn’t disappoint as the first baits to hit the bottom were taken immediately. The first fish of the Far North Queensland Series produced a Small Mouth Nannygai of around 2kg followed by another Small Mouth, followed by another, then followed by a Large Mouth Nannygai – and then the fishing really started to heat up. We started to hook up and get taken straight into the reef, indicating that the larger fish had started to respond to our burley.

The action was non-stop as we battled bust-offs and an increasing South Easterly.
It wasn’t long until I hooked up to something BIG and immediately my line started to peel off my already tight drag. I knew I was on to a different species and something interesting! My line started to dart left to right and my hope and suspicions of a certain species was soon to come true.

Everyone took their positions as I got a glimpse of colour. For the first time in 2 years it was the prized Spaniard….(a Spanish mackerel). As the fish neared the surface I started to get nervous remembering I didn’t have a wire trace on my rig. The Spaniards teeth are razor sharp and landing this species without one is sometimes near impossible. This time however, luck was on my side as I got the fish to the surface and Mark lent a hand to bring him in. He weighed around 7kg (not a big fish by Spaniard standards) but I considered myself very lucky to land him without that wire trace none the less.

The awesome fishing continued with another Spaniard of around 15kg and endless Small and Large Mouth Nannygai’s. We hoped to get some Coral Trout but apparently the water temperature was a bit cool at the moment as it is a tropical species.
Overall it was an awesome day’s fishing and I was pleased my memory of Cooktown didn’t disappoint. I can’t wait to get back out there again.