Fishing cape york july.

Hi there,
I'm heading up too the cape for my first time in july spending 3 weeks up there,1 week up and 1 week back,Taking up me 340 savage jabiru and yamaha 15hp.Few questions,
What are the best few lures i should take,i know there will be plenty of shops up there but keen too do some pre shopping lol???i have just lashed out and brought a shimano sustain 5000 with 20lb braid and new rod!
Hoping too catch a barra,queeny,trev etc,jack..
Also do i take a surf rod or would i be better too just focus on the boat fishing??
And if anyones keen too let me in on some good gps marks feel free hahahaha!!
Thanks Jake

When I went in '83 we stopped in at Jack Erskine in Cairnes to pic up Lures etc, I still have the lure about 150mm long black and silver,
I put a pic here later, other than that those white jobs with the red head seem to produce strikes from all these fishing shows,
What about some soft plastics to mix it up and surface poppers. Tight lines don't forget some pics.
Heres a small selection of what Id take I have plenty of lures and soft plastics for any occasion.
If you use spinner baits don't forget to put a soft plastic on it for more action

Late Edit::: And yes I caught a barra 800mm long at the left hand side of the Wenlock heading nth only about 50mtr down stream

Where are you planning to visit Jake?

Fishing for Barra in July aint exactly when they are in a feeding frenzy either. Temps have dropped and the barra tend to be a lot quieter with lures. Live baits is often better in winter, but again, where are you heading to as the various places fish very differently.

If you are coming into Cairns on your way through, drop into a couple of the tackle shops and talk fishing with them when you buy a lure or two. Bransfords are excellent and are located at the Servo at Clifton Beach. Erskine's are also good for tips (Mulgrave Rd, behind Cairns Central Shopping Centre) and Tackle World on Aumuller Street are also pretty good. There is also a Tackle World in Weipa where prices are reasonable. Getting advice is a bit hit and miss there though, depends on who is there as it is also a small general store type setup.

Taking a boat all the way up the Cape without a good plan of attack can be a complete waste of time for some. If it was my first trip, then I reckon I would target a few guided trips rather than bringing all my own gear all the way up, and catching SFA. There are some good guides at Weipa, Aurukun, Normanton and a bloke at Cooktown too. Cooktown isn't the greatest unless you are hitting the reef though, and it will be windy there.

Also, I take it that your Savage 340 is a car-topper? This can also limit where you will be able to fish. Archer Bends in the Mungkan Kanju NP might be worth a visit, but you are very remote in there, would have to be totally self-sufficient, and there are a few big lizards in that area. Vyrlia Point is a great spot, but again - it is remote and the wind can affect everything in a small boat. Bathurst Heads, and Bay could be ok too, especially with live baits off the head at the moment. I have been smashed up big time there on a number of occasions, but it is also a place where you need to be completely self sufficient. Lakefield NP will be very quiet in the Billabongs at the moment too.

If you want to let me know what your set up is like for remote stuff, then I can advise further. PM me if you want some more specifics.

Awesome Info! We leave on Monday :-) 6 weeks Woot Woot!!

Lewy

Just don't expect to 'Do the Cape' and catch heaps of fish unless you either a) go with a local who knows the scene, b) use a guide or c) get extremely lucky! You may find yourself fishing from a jetty too.

For a visitor coming from miles and miles away, I would hit up one of the guides out of Weipa, and maybe consider Aurukun if you are a bit more adventurous. From Weipa, you can get some big Jewies, Barra, Grunter, Blue Salmon, Queenies etc. etc., but really only if you know where to go and at what time of the tide/day. The tides on the West Coast play a big part and are often only one tide change per day! This affects everything if you aren't prepared for it.

Sure, bring a few lures, but also think hard about live-baiting. A good live bait tank, cast net etc. and aerator. Use 4-0 to 6-0 circle hooks about a metre under a float across the flats or in the creek mouths. Free spool them at other locations and sometimes if it is deep, you can even put light weights or split-shot on the leader to get them into the zone.

Lures - at the moment I love the Rapala X-raps in 10cm size, but they are more of a shallow work lure and great in the hotter months. For this time of year you will want to cover your range of depths down to as deep as you can get. Plan on trolling a lot too. I generally troll with a Calcutta 400, 30lb braid and 60lb leader, but sometimes lighter. My casting gear is super light mostly. A Shimano Core 50 reel with 15lb braid and 20lb leader, and then I have a second rod already rigged up with an older Chronarch 100 loaded with 20lb braid and 40lb leader.

Again, if you can PM me your planned places you want to go I might be able to advise a bit better.

Good luck with it!

Hey there,
Thaks for the info everyone,specially BenK!,will pm yo in a few nights when our plans are finalised!!,I do realise it will be tuff goining but i love fishing anywhere,and being from victoria where you can fish for 2 days without catching zilch I'm pretty prepared!!Three dogs,as you said calling in at a tackle shop up there will be the go,I'm just a tackle junkie so a few lures keeps me happy haha!
all i will be taking is a shimano chronarch with 30lb braid and a shimano sustain 5000 with 20lb braid,heaps of leader etc..
Is it worth me taking a surf rod???
Thanks Jake.

There is no surf rod needs up here mate. On the odd occasion there can be a need to fish a headland from the rocks though, but this is limited and you are probably covered with the Chronarch and the Sustain.

Yeah called into the biggest fishing store in Australia at the time Sept 83'
Guys in the shop just laughed when they saw our gear, Black queens and a surf rod
strapped to the roof rack. lol
We said what should we be using, we brought 3 rods exactly the same with series 4000 egg beaters
Rods were as thick as your little finger at the top.
Back then the rule of thumb was if you want to catch a 20lb fish use 50lb line easy.
Got spooled on the Bamaga jetty with Queenies using live bait from under the jetty.
Still have the lure as that was my first Barra and 800mm long was a great first fish IMO

Edit, we walked the rivers with great success and live baited on the Bamage jetty.
Probably the best jetty for fishing in Australia at the time

Shame I missed this one, bit late joining the forum.. I used to be a fishing guide a couple years back before moving to Vic to be with my family and partner, was based out of Cairns and used to do charters there as well as fly in fly out charters up at the cape (Bamaga) based at Seisa, we used to mothership and tow the dorys down the coast about half way between Seisa and Weipa fishing most of the rivers ect along the way.

For lures wise, and I'm sure you have all heard it before but the ole gold bomber was mostly the pick of lures used ecspecially during the cooler months in the rivers, working it right was the key, often seen the gold bombers go completely white with all there paint being stripped of them within a few days from amount of fish caught on them, I also liked RMG scorpions in the 90mm range, and in the rubbers white drop bears was a proven winner at times, if you have a boat and venture out of the mouths of the rivers looking for tuna then a smaller chrome metal spinner of about 30 grams is ideal but also the 40grams works well, even the cheaper ones can outfish your more expensive metal lures. If looking for macks in a boat or cobia ect then RMG's in the 125mm sizes where pretty good, my favourites where in the purple colour for macks/cobia and also the greens for tuna gt's ect, also the warlocks by rob gaden in 80-125mm often fished really really well :D

You can use bait but often impractical for those driving up there, you can catch your own with a cast net or bait jig under Seisa wharf, and keeping them live is best but also work well dead even when frozen in the surrounding rivers and reefs.

Good Luck.