The author(L) and Les with some hard fighting tarpon
CAIRNS HAS MUCH MORE TO OFFER THIS TIME OF THE YEAR
Cairns wet season hits later than that of the N.T. First rains in December, bit more intense in January
then the big downpours come home to roost from February onwards. I just know some folks will disagree with
this timing however being in the tropics leaves us 'guess- timating' seasonal changes, which invariably make
liars of us most of the time.
Given the above scenario many anglers stash their gear away waiting for Easter and beyond when skies are blue rather than
grey. Those that fish the upper reaches of the fresh when the rivers subside after torrential downpours experience some of
our best sport fishing. Just ask local fishing guide Terry Holman who books many Japanese clients at this time of year.
I compare it to the 'Run Off' in the Territory where similar conditions flush an endless supply of food off the rain soaked
plains for predators such as barra, jacks, tarpon and sooty grunter to gorge themselves on. OK so timing is critical to glean
the best 'bite' times, but well worth the wait when it all comes together.
My son Matt and good friend Les Marsh (another ex. Territorian that we lured to Cairns) are always nagging me to venture
out into semi flooded rivers at this time and I rarely say no. Local rivers such as the Daintree, Russell, Mulgrave,
Johnstone and Mowbray are favoured waterways and it all depends on which river
Les marsh with a 'rat' barra taken from a flooding drain
(all rivers detailed are in separate
rainfall zones) is 'ready to rumble'. I keep an eye on rainfall over these rivers and when we have had a lull of three
to four days after torrential downpours the time is right. Waters cascade from the flood plains into the main river course
and guess where the predators are waiting for a feed? They lie in wait at the base of the many mini waterfalls and can
often be seen 'boofing' and breaking the surface as they excitedly chase a feed.
Casting smaller lures such as the suspending 7.5cms shallow Bombers, 10cms F1.11 and Stealth surface lures and of course
surface poppers such as the Rebel Pop 'R' and the River to Sea Bubble Pops. It’s exciting fishing, and sizes of fish can
vary from rat barra in the 30 to 45cms class to fish of 85cms, and even mangrove jack and sooty grunter over 40 cms.
Last trip out Les and I got amongst the tarpon - and I mean big fellas! They were feeding on a deep bend and the water was
really honking so we tied on smaller soft plastics such as Reidys Rubbers and Slick Baits. Letting them sink for a few
seconds then 'ripping' and 'jerking' them the tarpon couldn't resist and we caught a swag of silver bullets up to 1.6 kilos.
With the fast current working in their favour we had some heavy work to do to win out!
Not perfect conditions for a film shoot but the professionalism of the director and cameraman kept it short and sweet.
So I'd suggest that with such cheap flights to Cairns during the wet it’s really worth your while to consider a visit,
between the 'run off' and headland barra action you'll have one hell of a fishing trip!
OUR DAY OUT WITH "DISCOVERY CHANNEL"
Since the launch of Bransfords two fishing DVD's last December their
sales have rocketed to over 900 - not bad for a locally produced / edited product! What's more interesting is that Discovery Channel negotiated
with tackle shop owner Keith Graham to use selected footage in one of their 'adventure' shows, which will go to air internationally early next year.
No doubt this will help promote tourism in the Cairns region with black marlin footage shot out at Linden Bank being the main feature!
Having never had the chance to do a 'shoot' with such a professional organisation it did present a few challenges, not least of all the
logistics!
Twenty Five knots off the cornet of Oyster Reef and the skipper of "Cool Runnings" found Truls a spaniard.
The featured angler, Truls Fauske, who fought and lost a 450 black marlin to a pack of sharks, was flown up from Brisbane for the weekend
and the film crew arrived a day earlier. Weather conditions were not good, to say the least, with forecasted 25 knot sou easters so a change of
vessel was in order! I managed to secure the brand new, Dick Ward built "Cool Runnings", which is tied up at Yorkeys Knob Marina.
It was a blessing that we used this 41 foot pure game boat to head out to the reef. It was so stable that we could easily manage a cuppa on
the way out to Michaelmas Cay, and at anchor in the lea she was a perfectly stable platform. The stage was set!
The crew were to interview us about the days events leading up to the hook up of the marlin and how we felt as it was ravaged by sharks.
They had sent the questions to us in advance which gave Truls and I the chance to polish our answers, and, as it happened it took us only 30
minutes as we wrapped up the shoot without having to do any re takes. This left us some time to feed the resident GT's, which ranged in size
up to 30 kilos or so, and we just hope this footage is also shown.
On the way home we had a 30 minute troll off the corner of Oyster Reef and Captain Troy Dallman found us a Spaniard and a mack tuna, again more
footage to showcase our incredible region.
Back at home they filmed Truls watching the original footage of the black marlin being eaten by sharks with the Bill Mount from the fish in front of the TV screen.
Some rough footage of this incredible event can be viewed on YouTube. Just punch in Black Marlin eaten by sharks and you can check it out. So far
almost 7 MILLION viewers have seen it making it one of the leading sports features in Australia.
