Cooktown residents came out of the recent cyclone Ita pretty much unscathed. Whilst the town was affected by gale force winds and a massive deluge of rain, the great effort from locals has ensured that Cooktown is well and truly open for business.

The media often puts so much negativity and makes out that all is doom and gloom in these areas after a cyclone event. As a result the general public tends to stay away for months after an event as they think the town is in ruins. Cooktown, like many other small FNQ towns, relies on tourists to keep afloat so please disregard the alarmist media and get up here and explore the iconic town! Mark Privett from Gone Fishing illustrated this recovery on his businesses Facebook page when two days after Ita hit, he was out in glassed-out conditions nailing 15kg+ Spaniards!

While the winds are here the rivers are fishing a treat. There have been some great barra up to 900mm caught up around the Marton stone wall with small 90mm shad style lures and big greenback herring nailing most fish. The water around Marton holds a great amount of species and everything from queenfish to cod can be targeted here. There are some great sunken snags just before the southern end of the wall that always hold good jacks and fingermark.

The recent fresh has flushed the crabs back out to the creek mouths and there have been good reports from the mouths of both Leprosy and Four Mile creeks.

There have been plenty of small barra and jacks caught on the flats out the front of Leprosy Creek and once again smaller lures are rewarding anglers. The smaller Threadybusters are nailing most fish and neutral colours are proving hard to beat.

The Annan is also producing top hauls of muddies around the mouth and the cooler months ahead will see the odd king threadfin salmon turning up. A local mate from Wujal Wujal reckons that whenever the wattles are in flower the threadfin are a real chance.

Until next month stay safe on the water and make sure you jump onto Facebook and search Twin River Lures to view the range of handmade timber lures that I make. When in Cooktown, call into The Lure Shop to purchase lures as Russell and Monique carry the biggest range of my lures in Australia.