The fishing is starting to hot up after one of the wettest wet seasons Weipa has had in quite a few years. There has been some spectacular run-off fishing over the last month with reports of barras coming in thick and fast.

One particular bank that I have been fishing over the last few months has been really firing. Although 1m+ barra can be caught from this stretch of the Mission during a full day of lure flicking, about 95% of the fish are undersized rats.

On the last session that I had with my fiancé before writing this report, this shallow bank really fired. We managed to land about a dozen legal fish within a few hours casting and these included a few good fish with three over 75cm and one good size 90cm fish. All fish were taken on small soft plastics worked dead slow through the gutters that run out of the mangroves over the flats.

There has also been some great land-based run-off fishing to be had. I recently fished some of the smaller creeks just out of Weipa that run into the upper reaches of the Mission and Wenlock rivers.

Countless barra were caught over the few days and they all averaged between 45–75cm. Once again, small softies stood out when rolled around in the rapids and fast flowing water and hook-ups were often within 2-3 seconds of casting the lure. It doesn’t get much better than that I reckon!

Offshore has started to see some cracking queenfish and mackerel being landed. Trolling small Rapalas around the current lines has been producing some good quality fish with the average size Spanish that I have been catching around 4-6kg.

There have been some good fingermark being taken on 7” Jerk Shads around Duyfken and also some quality bar cheek trout around the rocks on Westminster. The southeasterlies have begun so with a bit of luck we will begin to see some glass outs where smaller boats can venture out to wider grounds to chase reds and pelagics.

By the time this edition goes to print, the Peninsular Developmental Road should be open from Laura north to Bamaga so I assume the hordes of grey nomads and tourists will not be too far away, which will ensure that local guiding operations will be flat out with work. There are a number of talented guides that work the Weipa region so please do your research and book in advance if you want to get a spot with any of the more well-known operations.

Weipa Bait and Tackle offer a wide variety of rods, reels, lures and terminal tackle at competitive prices so there is no need to bring countless trays of lures if you are flying to Weipa. There is a high occupancy rate at the moment with accommodation in Weipa so please book ahead if you are planning on staying in town to save being disappointed when you arrive.