Australia is truly one of Earth’s last fishing frontiers. The continent is slightly smaller than the United States and with a population of only 20 million people it’s largely uninhabited. The latitude of Australia spans from just north of Antarctica to just south of the equator, making this one of the most diverse environments on our planet.
At the top of the Eastern Coast, tropical North Queensland is a fisherman’s paradise. Cape York is a 350 mile long peninsula, with the Coral Sea and the Great Barrier Reef on the East Coast and the huge Gulf of Carpentaria on the West Coast. The Cape is largely Aboriginal land and is some of the wildest and remote country to be found anywhere. The peninsula is laced with rivers that empty out on either side, most of which are inaccessible, all of which have huge fish populations.
Your adventure with Carpentaria Seafaris begins in Cairns, known as the gateway to the best marlin fishing in the world. From there you will take a 350 mile, under 2 hour flight, to Bamaga at the very tip of Cape York. As you leave Cairns, flying over the Great Barrier Reef and then up the peninsula, you can’t help but be impressed by the incredible amount of water that has probably never been fished or explored.
When you land in Bamaga you will be met by your host, Captain Greg Bethune who will take you on a 20 minute road trip to Seisia. The mothership Tropic Paradise will be awaiting you at the Seisia pier. One of the first things you see are signs warning to “watch out for estuarine crocodiles” which are very common in the area.
The excitement builds as the motors spring to life and the crew throws the lines. This is the last you will see of any sort of civilization for the week. During the fishing week, the captain and crew pilot your floating lodge along the Western Coast of the Cape or Great Barrier Reef, anchoring in calm, remote river mouths or reef lee each night.
The fishing program runs like clockwork, based on the tides each day. Morning and evening the fishing options for the coming days are discussed. For example: “The tide is falling tomorrow morning, so those who want to should go up river and cast to the fallen trees for barramundi, mangrove jacks and others, while the other anglers might run up the coast looking for birds and busting tuna and some can try fishing over the shallow reef offshore, but be back by 10:00 because by then the tide should be flooding, just right for queenfish in the river mouth and we can nail them for a couple of hours before lunch”. After a couple of days the various options are understood and you can choose what you want to pursue for a given session.
This is the way the week goes. There is an incredible number of fishing situations with rivers, flats, estuaries, beaches, shallow reefs and schooling fish busting bait offshore or you can station yourself on the flats outside the river mouth to sight fish for permit, giant herring (monster ladyfish), several species of trevally, blue salmon and more. There are over 50 species to be caught on fly rod and/or light tackle. Your guides know the areas and tides backwards and forwards . All skiffs are in constant radio contact.
When to Go
The season lasts from late March through November. Serious barramundi fishermen may want to choose the earlier months to go, but other than that most species are available there throughout the season. The middle of their summer is the middle of our winter, 70F - 90F. On either end of the season the weather is warmer, but the temperature range is always pleasant. The area on the end of a long cape is so close to the equator the variation in temperature is much less than at other latitudes.
The “Floating Lodge”
The Tropic Paradise is a fully fitted purpose built spacious 63’ x 21’ catamaran vessel, housing up to 12 guests and 6 crew members in air-conditioned double bed and twin-bunk cabins. The dining saloon and galley is roomy and comfortable. There are 4 hot fresh-water showers with full-sized flush toilets and a large shaded upper relaxation deck.
The Food
All meals provided during your stay are fresh local seafood and meats professionally prepared with seasonal salads and vegetables. Top quality Australian wines are served with dinner. Beer, spirits, soft-drinks and extra wines are available from the ships self-serve bar - on an honor sheet system to be redeemed at the end of your trip.
The Fishing Boats
The seaworthy skiffs are 15 -22 foot, with 30 -70 hp outboards and a casting deck on the bow. Outboards are kept in top shape to facilitate easy starting and dependable use. All of the skiffs have VHF radios for staying in touch and calling each other into fish. This is a most user friendly fishery.
This program lends it self to both fly and conventional / spin / baitcasting anglers.
Fly rodders will do most of their fishing with a 9 weight rod with an intermediate weight forward line. 10 or 11 weight rods can be used for the larger pelagics and reef dwellers. a simple leader system with a short shck tippet is ideal. Wire trace is necessary for when you get into spanish mackeral and giant barracuda.
A variety of streamers, poppers, crab patterns are necessary, but the all-time most inportant fly is a Clouser-minnow. We suggest you bring a couple dozen of these in chartreuse/white and pink/white.
A detailed fly list will be sent when booking.
Spin fishermen weill do most of their fishing with a 7-71/2 foot rod rated for 8-15lb test and a 4000 size reel. One stouter rod with a 5000-6000 size reel is good for larger species offshore We have found the gel spun lines like Poer-Pro in 20-3o lb test to work extremely well on this size outfit. A short baitcasting rod for plugging the fallen trees and structures is important to have along. The boat has heavy trolling gear on board, so there is no need to bring any heavy trolling rods/reels in your luggage
All lures, flies and leaders can be purchased at a reasonable price in Cairns on the way to the trip, as they know the latest techniques, lures and flies. Also be sure to check seafaris.com site for any recent developments and hot new things. Call Cairns Tackle world at 40314040; they will pick you up and return you to the hotel. Derek, who works there has been on this trip several times and knows all of the hot new flies and lures.
CALL 888 409-2008 or aus@fishabout.com
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