Fishing Port Douglas

Jewies, big reds, macks & more - tell us how you went. NT, FNQ and Norwest.
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uniball
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Fishing Port Douglas

Post by uniball »

G'day everyone,
Just chasing a bit of info about fishing in Port Douglas. I'm toying with the idea of moving over that way with the family and just wanna make sure that I'm not doing anything stupid on the fishing front. I'm aware that I will be able to fish the Great Barrier Reef, but how well does it fish up there and how often will I be able to venture out that far? Also, how crazy are the marine zones around there? I've researched the Internet about it and have copies of the zones, but I'd like to hear from a local or someone who has fished it to comment.

Any comments or feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers in advance


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Re: Fishing Port Douglas

Post by Basstad »

I lived in Cairns so not too far away.
It is often blowing 15-20kts over there but you do get glass off days in Nov/Dec.....throughout the dry though there's the constant easterly so going out to the reef is not always an option..........you will need a boat of around 6mtrs to fish it in some sort of comfort IMO.
Green zones are getting more and more of a PITA......Not many places to hide from the wind over there either.....maybe behind Double Is but the fishing there is not what it used to be.
Barra are very far and few between around that area as well...nothing like here........but of course when the reef is fishable it makes up for it.....you also have the opportunity to fish for game fish in a world class location......I found the best way to get a feed over there is go spearing....out to Bat reef on the western side was always good weather permitting.....no shortage of crays on the inshore shallow stuff either.

All in all it has good reef/pelagic fishing but the weather determines when and where you go.......the lack of any big rivers like we have here sent me back north.

For the record I spent the best part of 2 years there and did not have the air con on at night once.........their "build up" is a pussy compared to ours.
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Re: Fishing Port Douglas

Post by uniball »

Cheers Basstad, thanks for your time. That helps me out a heap. I'll have to do a bit more research into the weather and wind patterns for the different seasons. My missus can't stand me if I don't go fishing. She reckons I'm a miserable bastard if I go more then a couple weeks without it. I've got a 7m tinnie so hopefully that'll allow me a bit more fishing opportunity. I've gotten bored of barra fishing so that's not a big drama anymore either. I have a few other questions you may be able to help me with too.

Are the wind patterns similar to that of the top end? (As in, you still get a few days a fortnight where the wind shifts and settles for a bit)
Are there any areas close to Port that I can target big GT's on poppers?
Is there still enough of the reefs accessible around the marine zones that produce NT quality fishing?

Sorry for all the questions, but this is more of a lifestyle move then anything else, so don't want to be kicking myself if its not the right lifestyle for me.
Cheers
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bigglen
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Re: Fishing Port Douglas

Post by bigglen »

Hi Uni,

I have just moved to Port Douglas from Darwin about 4 months ago,
The land based fishing is a little tough until you work it out or get to meet a few people that can give you a few tips,
But with a 7mtr tinny and weather permitting you will have a shat load of exploring to do out on those reefs pretty close to home,
You can find plenty of trout,reds,large mouth nannys and a heap of other reefies within veiw of land, There are Yellowfin tuna not to far out aswell,
From the ramp in Port to Linden Banks(Billfish,Tuna,Wahoo,ect ect) you would be looking at the same distance from Darwin to North Gutter, And it is roughly 100nm to Lizard Island from here, But the local pros have told me the further up you try and go the worse the weather gets,
Alot of the shallow reefs within 10nm to 50nm will hold plenty of Popping activity Trevally species,Macks,Trout, if you are in the right place at right time, the bigger tides will work better for this as the reefs will expose on the big lows pushing all the bait off the edges,
I did hear of one GT last week 52kg on live nanny and the lads said there were fish like this everywhere, They were straightening 8/0 Gamo big bait hooks on 110lb braid, But could not get them to take poppers of jigs,

As i have only been here a few months i could not give you a real accurate weather report, but it seems to be similar with the NTs dry season winds but you could manage a day or 2 a fortnight to get out this time of year,

The barra fishing close to Port is very hit and miss with a few fish getting caught here and there, Most of the keen barra boys will head up inland to Lakefield N.P about 3 to 4 hours drive for decent barra, but even this time of year it has been a little quiet,

I have just opened up a tackle shop here in town and have been talking with a lot of the locals about how the fishing is at the moment and there are mixed reports all over the place, there will be so many areas and reefs to keep you busy exploring for a long time to come,
I have not been out much myself because i open shop 7 days a week but i do get to hear all about the fishing,

Anyway hope this help you a bit with your decision if you want to know anything else about this place just pm me or give me a buzz

0404 731555

Cheers Gleno
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Re: Fishing Port Douglas

Post by uniball »

Cheers Gleno. That's a great help. I might give you a call in the next few weeks and pick your brain a bit more if its alright by you. One more question for now though, is it as nice of a place to live as Darwin (lifestyle wise)?
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Re: Fishing Port Douglas

Post by Basstad »

You should be able to find decent GT fishing around that area for sure....any where the tide rips around a rocky headland/reef there will be those mongrels.

Biglen is spot on with the further north the worse the wind.........I spent 6 mths last year working at Cape Flattery silica mine which is 60k north of Cooktown and I can tell ya it blew it's ring out from july to the start of December with a good solid 20kts and some days a real snotty 35kts......it was something else.........check the charts the gradients always gather around that Cooktown area and the low lying scrub there is a dead giveaway aswell.

You will get windless periods though so it's not all doom and gloom........Read up on there quirky fishing reg's over there and get to know your species aswelll..........as a trout is just not a trout like here you just about need to be a marine biologist to id your catch......no joke.........and they a re red hot on policing it aswell.......expect to be checked on the water and the ramp by fisheries and the police.

Port is a nice place really and there are far worse spots you could be moving to.........little over priced IMO but that's my take on it.
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Re: Fishing Port Douglas

Post by uniball »

Thanks again Basstad. The more info the better at the moment. So far it seems to be ticking a lot of the boxes for us though. Never thought I'd even consider leaving Darwin, but hey, I can always come back!
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Re: Fishing Port Douglas

Post by bigglen »

HI Uni,

I said i would never leave the Territory aswell but you can't always predict the future,
I came up here for a few holidays and loved the place i never thought i would call this place home one day,

To answer your Q about a layed back town you couldn't be any more on the money, I loved the territory for this reason and always
thought of Port as a bit of a richos town, it is in some ways but the locals are a pretty layed back bunch and they are what makes the place what it is, Rental housing prices are so much better here just do a search on realestate.com.au and see what you can get for the same money
i was blown away, but as i said if you want to have a chat about anything just give me a buzz,

Cheers Gleno
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