Weekly Report 5 Feb 09

[Brad]

The tourist numbers have dropped and we are well and truly into the wet season. There have been some calm spells but mostly it has been rain and bit of wind of late. Watching the cyclone activity in the vicinity has us all keeping a keen eye on the weather charters.

Rivers - producing barra around the mouths but shuts down after flash flooding. Fingermark and jacks are biting well upstream during settled conditions. There is a lot of action along our beaches with prawns on the run. In the right conditions there have been trevally, queenfish, barra and tarpon taking advantage. If you can't catch a fish you can definitely pick up a feed of prawns with a cast net. Cooya Beach, Newell Beach and southern Four Mile Beach have seen prawns on the go.

Reef - if you can catch the light north easterly days, fishing deep for nannygai has been exceptional. Coral trout have been really hot and then really cold, they are either there or not at all. Other species to show up in solid numbers have been tea-leaf and bludger trevally, slatey bream and spangled emperor. Big rogue spanish mackerel are still being caught particularly on a live fusilier.