queensland Airlie Or Bust Up.

[Drop Bear]

Hey Gang,

Hope you are all well. Sorry I have been a bit quiet on here. 

I am heading to Airlie for a trip at the end of June. 

I will be taking my boat (5 m open tinny 70hp tiller) and wondered if anyone has much experience up that way? I suspect it will be reasonably heavily fished. 

I would love some tips and tricks to put a few fish in the esky. Happy to be pretty humble and get smaller fish and also happy to work hard for them. 

Are there any barra spots/options up that way? I know its winter.

TA

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hi Drop Bear

Good to have you back on  Hope you've been well too.

I don't have any experience fishing around Airlie whatsoever, I'd assume you'd already know but for barra, a fairly heavy leader so they don't rasp through your line, livies or lures, and if you go for reefies use a snapper sinker and some large shank/suicide hooks on flesh bait. If you just want some bream, it'd probably be a standard running sinker rig (assumption) with flesh or caught bait/lures. 

Cheers Hamish  

[Drop Bear]

Should I take up some crab pots too? I suspect there will be heaps. 

[Drop Bear]

43 minutes ago, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

Hi Drop Bear

Good to have you back on  Hope you've been well too.

I don't have any experience fishing around Airlie whatsoever, I'd assume you'd already know but for barra, a fairly heavy leader so they don't rasp through your line, livies or lures, and if you go for reefies use a snapper sinker and some large shank/suicide hooks on flesh bait. If you just want some bream, it'd probably be a standard running sinker rig (assumption) with flesh or caught bait/lures. 

Cheers Hamish  

Yep thanks mate

 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

If i were you, I would. I'd just drop into the local shop and inquire about how bad thieves are, it's really annoying if someone nicks your pot. Maybe put them the opposite side of the creek/system you are fishing so you can keep an eye on them. 

Cheers Hamish  

[fishingnut]

No crabs or fish up there or tin can mate don’t bother lol  

[kmcrosby78]

2 hours ago, Drop Bear said:

I was at first a bit confused when you were heading up ...........  

2 hours ago, Drop Bear said:

I am heading to Airlie for a trip at the end of Jan. 

 

Then I became even more confused ................ 

I know its winter.

Helppppp!!!!!!!!!

[aussie123]

It's a bit far up and too shallow for me to help you with any marks Robbie.

That's fern country up there so find that and you will find Nannygai in good numbers and they are a shallower water fish well suited to fish for in your tinny.

I would definitely take the crab pots as well.

I also have a few hundred Barra lures here if you need to borrow any.

 

[tugger]

Always be just on the front edge of  coral bombies tight drag and pull them trout out before they run back to there hole. Plenty if mackerel so you find deep water 20m + running fast past structure eg: ledges rocks headland and you will find mackerel use any method you know already. Good luck Robbie

[Andrew_P]

G'day Robbie i have done a couple of trips up there, anchored up behind one of the islands to the north of Airlie and caught a bunch of small reefies (stripeys, cod, trout). Burley hard and pull harder! On the way out there is a shoal with a mean pinnacle on top where we caught a big grey mac on a plastic. Meant to get trout off the edge of it but not that day. I have fished the edges of the headlands east of the marina and caught jacks and trevs. Theres a mansion here with its own marina home to hungry jacks. Further around near shute harbour and around the islands you can get grassies. Plenty of options if it is blowing (which it usually is!).

Also great estuary options (jacks, threadys, barras) south of airlie but you might need a 4WD to put your boat in.

Oh and watch the marine park zoning, its pretty good around Airlie (mostly yellow and blue) but make sure you take note of the green zones around some of the islands.

Cheers mate

Andrew

[Drop Bear]

17 hours ago, kmcrosby78 said:

Helppppp!!!!!!!!!

mate cant you read... it says June.... now that I have edited it. Man the people in this forum are rubbish at reading my typos. 

[Drop Bear]

19 hours ago, fishingnut said:

No crabs or fish up there or tin can mate don’t bother lol  

haha so does that mean all of the Qld Coast is your secret spot.

[Drop Bear]

17 hours ago, aussie123 said:

It's a bit far up and too shallow for me to help you with any marks Robbie.

That's fern country up there so find that and you will find Nannygai in good numbers and they are a shallower water fish well suited to fish for in your tinny.

I would definitely take the crab pots as well.

I also have a few hundred Barra lures here if you need to borrow any.

 

Ok I will do a stack of searching for  fern marks. Does it look a bit like wire weed?

[Drop Bear]

8 hours ago, tugger said:

Always be just on the front edge of  coral bombies tight drag and pull them trout out before they run back to there hole. Plenty if mackerel so you find deep water 20m + running fast past structure eg: ledges rocks headland and you will find mackerel use any method you know already. Good luck Robbie

K will do. In June the Spanish should be there. I couldn't scare any up the last time I was up there. Fingers crossed. 

[Drop Bear]

5 hours ago, Andrew_P said:

G'day Robbie i have done a couple of trips up there, anchored up behind one of the islands to the north of Airlie and caught a bunch of small reefies (stripeys, cod, trout). Burley hard and pull harder! On the way out there is a shoal with a mean pinnacle on top where we caught a big grey mac on a plastic. Meant to get trout off the edge of it but not that day. I have fished the edges of the headlands east of the marina and caught jacks and trevs. Theres a mansion here with its own marina home to hungry jacks. Further around near shute harbour and around the islands you can get grassies. Plenty of options if it is blowing (which it usually is!).

Also great estuary options (jacks, threadys, barras) south of airlie but you might need a 4WD to put your boat in.

Oh and watch the marine park zoning, its pretty good around Airlie (mostly yellow and blue) but make sure you take note of the green zones around some of the islands.

Cheers mate

Andrew

Pro tips there Andrew,

Thanks so much.

I will definitely try and get some livies and soak the around the headlands. I do have a 4wd but im only there for a week so it might be hard to do too much exploring. 

[Junky]

The amount of times I've been fishing at airlie. 

The main street holds plenty of beautiful species, no need to take boat. However landing them can be sometimes difficult and other times it's double hookups all round. Very seasonal. 

Best bait I used was pineapple cruisers. The fish up there love cruisers. 

[benno573]

On 11/02/2020 at 4:35 PM, Junky said:

The amount of times I've been fishing at airlie. 

The main street holds plenty of beautiful species, no need to take boat. However landing them can be sometimes difficult and other times it's double hookups all round. Very seasonal. 

Best bait I used was pineapple cruisers. The fish up there love cruisers. 

Just beware of any green zones in this area particularly and remember just because it looks pretty on the outside doesn't mean it isn't poisonous... 

[benno573]

hey mate,

i went up there years ago with next to no gear and even less of an idea.  found plenty of action with mackeral and trevally around some of the mainland headlands (I was landbased and did a lot of bush bashing to get to places), that was just throwing metals around.  I dropped some baits in around bommies and only got smaller reefies but being right in against the mainland i wasn't really expecting much.

fisheries are quite active up there so just watch the zoning plan.

i would look for headlands/edges with good current pushing past and troll around them as a starting point.  hope you have a good trip mate.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Good advice benno573  

Cheers Hamish

[GregOug]

Not sure how far you are willing to travel from Airlie but there is a great bommie which breaks on low tide a couple of hundred metres off the eastern edge of Deloraine Island. Huge trevally, mackerel etc inhabit the area. Beware though, the current races past the bommie at times. Even if you don’t catch a feed a trip to Deloraine is worth just for the beauty and remoteness of the place.

cheers

Greg

[GregOug]

6 minutes ago, GregOug said:

Not sure how far you are willing to travel from Airlie but there is a great bommie which breaks on low tide a couple of hundred metres off the eastern edge of Deloraine Island. Huge trevally, mackerel etc inhabit the area. Beware though, the current races past the bommie at times. Even if you don’t catch a feed a trip to Deloraine is worth just for the beauty and remoteness of the place.

cheers

Greg

Oh. And take a cast net.

https://sailingintofreedom.com/2016/12/29/episode-34-deloraine-island-the-whitsundays/