As the temperature and humidity continue to rise in the far north, the barra fishing has also become extremely hot. As the barra move out into the estuaries and bays for their breeding season, large females have been captured in consistently good numbers.

The build up to the wet season in Weipa always produces some of the best estuary fishing of the year, and I expect to see this continue throughout December.

Fishing offshore in this part of the world has been a little bit inconsistent for this time of year, however good catches of longtail tuna and Spanish mack have been reported.

Fishing reef areas around Weipa have turned up some beautiful fingermark up to the 78cm mark, which make for a great fight and some quality fare. Most have been captured on squid baits and live mullet fished close to the bottom. Well worked soft plastics have also accounted for their fair share of the action. The 7” Berkley Gulp and the Bozo 5” Mullet rigged with a 3/4oz or 1oz jig head seem to be the lethal combination.

The estuaries of Weipa have really been firing this month. Good catches of king salmon, fingermark, mangrove jack and barramundi have kept anglers busy. The larger barra have been found in good numbers along the rocky headlands and mangrove edges close to river mouths.

Average numbers of barra captured in a day has been consistent at around 20-30, with some days producing in excess of 40 fish. Throughout the past month the fish have been larger than usual, with most fish being over the legal size of 60cm.

Lure casting has provided some great entertainment for a myriad of tropical sportfish; however live bait fishing has consistently landed those larger specimens when fished in draining gutters and creek mouths.

Expect to see a continuation of awesome river fishing in December, at least until the wet brings in large volumes of fresh water creating very dirty, turbulent conditions. Such conditions make river fishing very difficult, however fishing the beaches and coastlines will turn up some great fish.

Offshore, fishing reefs with soft plastics and bait will produce excellent catches of fingermark and nannygai, however be sure to pick your days correctly and be home early to ensure you miss those hairy afternoon squalls. It’s not a good time of year for graphite rods!

Overall it has been a fantastic year of fishing up here in Weipa. I hope you have all had as much fun as I have, and be sure to have a safe Christmas and New Year. The 2010 season is filling up fast, so if you would like to fish with us next year, get in early and check out our website at www.weipafish.com.