Cairns tides
Great Barrier Reef regional zone map
Queensland dam water levels
Queensland stocked impoundment permits
Queensland fishing regulations
Cairns is famous for its black marlin fishery and the nearby Great Barrier Reef, but its large mangrove estuary called Trinity Inlet is also a huge drawcard.
Whether you are landbased or a boater, there are many fishing opportunities.
The key to success is to work the tides and use livebait or lures, as deadbaits tend to attract catfish, rays and sharks.
Trinity Inlet
For dinghy fishos, Trinity Inlet is a superb fishery. It is free of gill nets.
Most tropical estuary species can be caught among the 90km of mangrove-lined creeks and flats.
Expect mainly blue and threadfin salmon, queenfish, trevally, jacks, barramundi, grunter, bream, cod, whiting and flathead.
Mud crabs are abundant, with annual variations in numbers.
The estuary is not fed by a major river, but heavy wet season rain pushes fish and crabs down and sometimes out to sea, depending on how much rain falls.
Successive dry years may see an overall drop in fishing and crabbing quality.
Baitfish such as herring, mullet and sardines can be caught in a cast net, along with prawns. Look for ripples on the surface in the shallows.
Sardines and herring are great livebaits but are difficult to keep alive.
The inlet’s tidal range is up to around 3m, and while not huge this is enough to create strong tidal currents and expose drying flats.
Water clarity improves with smaller tides but the fish may feed less aggressively at this time.
Generally it is best to fish deeper spots on neaps and the shallow areas on big tides.
Mud gutters that drain on a falling tide invariably hold barramundi sand salmon.
Flats edges fish well for these species on a rising tide.
Deep gravel patches hold fingermark, jewfish and grunter.
Barramundi are caught around the wharves.
When landbased fishing or collecting bait, keep in mind that crocodiles are found here, as are box jellyfish and irukandji.
Barron River
This tidal waterway is north of Cairns Airport.
The river has a boat ramp at Stratford, next to the Captain Cook Highway bridge, and also at Machans Beach near the mouth.
Much the same species are caught in the Barron as Trinity Inlet, but the Barron tends to fish better on big tides.
There are several spots on the Barron suitable for landbased fishing.
The former Kamerunga bridge upstream from the highway has been made into a fishing platform.
Upstream from the old bridge the bottom is rocky, and cod, bream and jacks are caught.
The deep hole at the junction of Redden Creek has barramundi, jewfish, grunter and cod.
Another good spot is the last bend of the river before it enters the sea, and the drop-off along the mouth channel.
Cairns headlands and beaches
All headlands near Cairns produce big barramundi in warm, calm weather, mostly on the upper tide.
Fingermark and cod are also caught, along with occasional bar-cheeked coral trout.
The various beaches produce threadfin salmon and flathead at high tide, with a chance of barramundi.
Queenfish and trevally also patrol the beaches and headlands
Yorkeys Knob
Another great spot near Cairns is Yorkeys Knob, 20km north of Cairns.
The marina here has been dredged out of Half Moon Creek, which still flows.
The rock walls and boat launching area produce big barramundi, queen fish, jacks and more.
Rain flushes bait out of the creek and these invariably loiter around the rock walls.
Fish the turn of a tide around dawn and dusk for best results.
Either side of the north or south marina rock walls can produce big fish, or try from the headland south of the boat ramp.
Palm Cove
Also north of Cairns is Palm Cove, which has a great fishing jetty.
This is a pleasant family location, as the Esplanade has large tropical palms and old melaleuca trees, with luxury resorts and holiday units nearby.
However, don’t be fooled by the pleasant surroundings, as the jetty produces big fish.
During winter (dry season) spanish mackerel are caught, with fish over 20kg taken by suitably equipped fishos.
Use a floating rig with livebait such as small flag, grunter or even whiting. A pilchard or garfish on ganged hooks will also work.
Other species include queenfish, trevally, cod, grunter, whiting, flathead, jacks, blue salmon, tarpon, squid and catfish.
If chasing big fish you will need a drop gaff, although there are stairs and a platform from which big fish can be landed.
North of the jetty is a headland that fishes well.
The beach produces whiting and flathead at high tide.
Barramundi are caught off the jetty and nearby rocks mainly in calm, warm weather.
Palm Cove is open to the dry season’s prevailing south-east wind. Fishing is better on calm days.
Kings Point for fingermark
For boaters, Kings Point is a great spot, about 26km by sea from Trinity Inlet.
The sea floor drops into a deep channel between the coast and Fitzroy Island.
Kings Point itself drops away to more than 15m deep and is a prime big fingermark spot in summer.
Fishing is best at night using live squid for bait, which are usually readily available under lights.
Also expect other reef fish, trevally, queenfish, groper, cod and mackerel.
It is a 30km run from Trinity Inlet to Green Island and the first Great Barrier Reef.
Fish can be caught anywhere around the reefs, but note the green (sandctuary) zones.
Many good reef fish such as red emperor and nannygai are taken over rubble or fern grounds in deep water between the reefs.
Cairns black marlin
The Cairns black marlin fishery is a special feature of this area.
The grounds are from Lizard Island in the north to outside the widest reefs just south of Cairns.
It is said that more 1000lb black marlin are caught here annually than all the other known grounds around the world.
The season starts in early September, when female black marlin spawn along a 250km length of the Great Barrier Reef. The spawn extends through to late December.
The cycle starts with bait schools arriving, then the “small” predators such as tunas, billfish, wahoo and mackerel, which the big marlin eat.
Specialist charter boats chase the big fish, and are often booked out years in advance. It’s not cheap but it is something every keen fisho should do at least once!
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Fishing gear for Queensland's tropical waters
Much tropical estuary and river fishing involves casting and trolling lures around snags, where a lure desnagger soon pays for itself. The simplest type is dropped on a cord ... see eBay link here.Or for a true blue Aussie lure desnagger, try this one ... eBay link here.
When targeting barramundi and other large tropical estuary fish a baitcaster combo is the best option. The small overhead reels on these combos allow thumb control when casting, making lure placement easy. However practise is required to cast these reels and they do not cast tiny lures easily. A baitcaster combo loaded with 10kg braid will handle most barramundi and threadfin salmon, with 15kg line better for large dam fish among timber and when trolling big rivers. See a suitable baitcaster listing on eBay here. The listed rod-reel combo can be used for trolling and casting.
Single-handed baitcaster rods are an option for day-long casting sessions, these combos are missing the rod butt's lower section. DO NOT buy a low-quality baitcaster reel as they can be awful to use - if on a tight budget buy a spinning reel instead.
A 6kg spin outfit (eggbeater type reel) is fine for much tropical Queensland estuary and freshwater fishing. Lighter outfits aren't recommended as you may hook big fish in tropical waters. A 6-10kg rod-reel combo is needed for barramundi and threadfin salmon and this can also be used to cast lures to pelagic fish such as mackerel and tuna. A 3kg spin outfit is ideal for whiting, bream and flathead. See eBay listing here.
For boat fishing, a short, powerful rod with overhead or spinning reel loaded with 15kg braided line is ideal for general reef fishing in water to around 25m deep, and can also be used to troll for pelagic fish. See eBay listing here.
Heavier outfits are recommended for deeper water, always using braided line as its thin diameter is less affected by currents.
Soft plastic grubs and shads are good all-round lures for a range of tropical Queensland saltwater and freshwater estuary species. See eBay listing here.
Jig heads are needed for unrigged soft plastic lures. See eBay listing here.
Bibbed hardbody minnows by quality brands such as Reidys and Classic are generally used for barramundi fishing. Barramundi are strong fish that tear apart the split rings and hooks on cheaply made lures, so buy wisely. Tropical tackle shops are well stocked with these lures.
Squid jigs are useful in tropical Queensland waters. See eBay listing here.
Snapper leads are generally used on a paternoster rig for boat fishing. Heavy leads are needed in deep water because of ocean currents.
For most other fishing, ball sinkers are used, as part of a running sinker rig. Listing on eBay here.
Hooks in mixed sizes (suggest 1# or #2 for whiting, 6# or #8 for garfish, 4/0 for flathead, 11/0 for barramundi, jewfish and reef fish. Listing on eBay here.
Ganged hooks (joined chains of hooks) are used when fishing pilchard or sauri baits for mackerel. Listing on eBay here.
Lastly, Queensland tropical waters have saltwater crocodiles, stonefish, box jellyfish, irukandji jellyfish and ever-present sharks. These can all show up where you don't expect them, including in the shallows around boat ramps and beaches next to tourist resorts. Don't take risks.
BOATS FOR SALE in Brisbane - current eBay listings here.
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Some external videos filmed around Cairns are featured below.