Paradise Found By Luke Galea

It's pretty hard to not get excited when the weather is this amazing.

I pen this article at the back end of what has been the best weather window I can ever remember. There was not a breath of wind and well below 5 knots each day but it was more about the eight or nine consecutive days of this. Not at any stage did it blow up…

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Nusa Penida Giants – By Dan Bowater

The author with a Nusa Penida giant! This fish was around the 20kg mark, which is actually considered ‘average’ for the area.

The last thing your average Aussie fisho wants to hear is someone bragging about a trip to Bali. So when I mention this story involves a Bali fishing holiday, please don’t stereotype me as that annoying person. As some of the readership would know, I lived most of my life in the Cairns/Innisfail region. The common belief…

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Humminbird 35th Annual Corroboree Park Challenge

Anglers of all ages are once again set to converge on Corroboree Park Tavern for the Humminbird 35th Annual Corroboree Park Challenge. Proudly organised by the Palmerston Game Fishing Club, the Corroboree Park Challenge is the longest running family fishing competition in the Northern Territory. Anglers will gather to fish the world class waters of…

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Straying from the Plan – By Josh Behrendorff

The bottom fishing never really fired. Ethan did well to land this gold spot cod from a bit of rubble in 30m.

Do you head out fishing with a clear plan? I know I used to. I would look at wind, wave direction and tides, choose my target species and devise a plan for my day on the water. The problem with such planning is that I wouldn’t allow much adaptation. As an example, if I plan…

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Dream On – By Dick Eussen

Barramundi dreaming is what the Cape is all about, but few areas on the east coast offer sustainable fishing.

Following the demand by UNESCO and the ICUN to the QLD Government to ban all net fishing north of Cooktown (Fish and Boat issue August 2023), Fisheries Minister, Mark Furner, announced that a new ‘working’ group has been created to ‘maximise’ fish tourism revue streams for Cape York communities. The11-member group is a non-statutory advisory…

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Fishing The Wildman- Chris Errity

The red scat accounts for another solid barra.

I only managed to get over to the Wildman a couple of times during the 2023 run-off, but it was well worth the effort. The Wildman has always been one of my favourite rivers to fish. There is a fair effort involved to get there early in the Wet season as it can only be…

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Dog Day Morning – By Bill Bowtell

Searching the inshore waters of the Keppel Bay coastline. Note the clear water.

Bearing little, to no, resemblance to the 1975 movie, “Dog Day Afternoon”, which starred, amongst others, one of my most favoured actors, Al Pacino, this above title highlights a productive, and fun’ early morning fishing session on another of my favourites, the Queensland school mackerel; commonly referred to as, ”Doggie mackerel”, or just plain, “Doggies”.…

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Our Hinchinbrook adventure – Part 2 – By John Boon

So, the first three days of our Hinchinbrook trip were quite tough as we covered last month. I guess it comes with any new destination that it takes time to figure it all out. Honestly, we really do enjoy putting all the pieces of the puzzle together. Day four started pretty much the same as…

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Our Hinchinbrook Adventure – Part 1 – By John Boon

Luke battling to get the barra out of the wood work

It’s a bit of a shame really, the holiday that we had counted down to for so long has been and gone. Did we have the time of our lives? You bet we did. Did we absolutely slay the fish? Well, not exactly. Just with fishing any new place it takes time to work things…

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Precious times – By John Boon

A great way to finish off the trip. Robin Boon with another solid large mouth nanny.

How long do we have? A very touchy question that can be answered in so many different ways. To most of us it would be somewhat rhetorical, as nobody really knows anyone’s timeline and when it’s suppose to finish. When fishing with friends and family every trip and every minute should be cherished as you…

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Walking the Walk! – By Luke Galea

A close-up of a sooty in its element.

I’ve just returned from an epic sweet-water trekking mission and I just had to put pen to paper while it is fresh in my mind and whilst I am still on a high. It was one of the most rewarding and amazing trips I have ever had and unlikely one I will not forget any…

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I see Red! – By Gyula Vari

Gyula with a shallow water red Emperor.

With the explosion of shark numbers increasing in recent years, for most of us targeting reef species, it is becoming more and more difficult to land that fish. Now I don’t know about you, but to me it seems that the sharks have a taste for anything that is red! They must share our tastebuds.…

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Exploring The Great Sandy Straits – By Nick Thompson

Driving the big boat, slow and steady wins the race.

Over the June-July holidays I was lucky enough to visit the Great Sandy Strait in all of its glory. The Great Sandy Straits is located on the western side of Fraser Island. There is some great fishing and some of the best views and scenery in the world, not to mention some isolated anchorages. We…

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Longtail ‘The need for speed’ – By Gyula Vari

Tuna with teeth! Small bonito that took an offering intended for a longtail.

It’s that exciting time of the year again when we start to transition from targeting bottom dwellers to pelagic speedsters.   For those of us that target and follow the seasons, we are hanging up the reef rods over the warmer months and readying the game gear.   All along the east coast, as the…

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Bare Sand Island – By Chris Errity

The Errity family anchored at bare sand island.

One of my favourite areas to fish is Bare Sand Island, which is situated near Bynoe Harbour and can be accessed from a number of public ramps. The closest ramp in Bynoe Harbour is Six Pack creek, off Barramundi drive and just over an hour’s drive from Darwin. You will need at least 3.5m of…

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A guide to Port Alma – By John Boon

A detailed description of the Port Alma area

I’ve lost count how many messages I have received with anglers chasing advice on fishing Port Alma. I don’t blame anyone for reaching out trying to get any information on fishing this area. Most people are unaware of how big the entire Port Alma system is. It would be almost impossible to come up here…

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When Less is Best – By Adam Finlay

There were some good nannygai located on this spot.

After returning from a week-long trip at the Lodge I’ve pondered at the thought of what I would write for the next article. After looking back over the previous week and what we faced both weather and fishing wise, I thought it was a great opportunity to let some readers in on our thought processes…

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The Fitzroy town tactics – By Joon Boon

Braxy with a nice 70cm Fitzroy barra caught on one of the bommies around the old bridge.

It can be a daunting experience to some. You look out over the water from the main bridges on the mighty Fitzroy River and see a large number of exposed rocks. They look like prop munchers to some while to others they look like opportunity. Locals who have fished the Fitzroy for many years know…

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2022 Top End Run-off – By Chris Errity

Errity with a 98cm barra landed just before the metrey.

The 2022 Wet season has kicked off with some above average rainfall on most of the catchments with reports of good early run-off fishing for barramundi on many Top End rivers.The NT has had a couple of monsoon troughs develop already during this Wet season with the first occurring just after Christmas in 2021 followed…

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1770 ‘a beginners guide’ – By Gyula Vari

A nice 76cm coral trout from 20m caught by Gyula Vari.

As the water temperatures start to cool and the currents start to slow, the offshore reef fishing starts to fire up. 1770, more specifically the Bunker Group, is a great and diverse area that offers some of the best reef fishing ground on the East Coast of Australia with ease of accessibility. Due to its…

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