North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Hi Guys,

Looking for some advice as to places my 13 yo son and I can fish for 8-10 days in Eastern side of Territory or the Gulf. Places we have contemplated are usual suspects like Karumba, King Ash Bay, Weipa etc. I realise this is a very broad question but I ask as we have never undertaken a trip north like this before and I have also thought about possibly cattle station camps like Seven Emu Station and the like. Obviously a major point is that we only have 2 weeks and we need to factor in travel time return to Mackay. I have a 100 series with a 5.5m Mclay side console with 115 Yammy, 130l fuel tank plus jerry's and 80lb Motor Guide and two Elite 7 Ti units and quality gear. You know the saying, "all the gear and no idea" We also have all camping equipment which includes gennie, tents swag etc etc and 100 litre and 40 litre fridge which I can break up as 70l fridge/70 litre freezer. Also have 180w solar. So living off the grid and being self sufficient is not an issue. Apologies for a very wordy thread.
Would very much appreciate any advice given and who knows, maybe some of you guys might want to join us

Thanks Dave

Plenty to explore out of Karumba, and it is close to where you are. But it is a busy place in the tourist season. Not sure if they have had enough rain tho to fire it up.

Weipa is a great place, lots of options. Once again, worth checking the rain situation.

From King Ash Bay south you have Seven Emu, and north the Towns, Limmen and Roper. Port Roper can turn it on, but is rough bush camping, but with the chance of big fish. Roper did not get a lot of rain this year unfortunately.

There's also Lakefield/PCB on the east side of Cape York P.

I reckon, for variety, go to Weipa. The usual suspects aren't always a bad choice.

Manangoora is worth a look $150/vehicle for up to a month easy bank launch spots, decent goldies grunter etc from the channel at the mouth of the wearyn, the smaller coastal creeks to the south have good barra, access is tide dependant, lots of twists and turns going in...save a gps track to make it easier

Thanks Guys,

Appreciate advice given. I think maybe just going to look in Qld now due to timeframe and maybe look at NT areas when we have at least a month.

The fish finder mag should cover a few spots out that way too it's worth the few bucks could save a prop..

goldfish wrote:The fish finder mag should cover a few spots out that way too it's worth the few bucks could save a prop..

Thanks great idea. Still leaning towards Karumba. Just got to get my head around dealing with all the grey nomads around Sept time and possibility of very populated fishing areas??
Of interest, from Mackay Karumba is approx(Google Earth} 1300 kms, Weipa 1500 kms, Burketown 1400 kms and King Ash Bay 2200 kms.

Just updated my answer above, as it was written in a bit of a hurry. The beauty of the east side of the Top End is that you can tour several rivers.

Long range sea trip north of Karumba up the Cape coast would be fun, some remote area logistics involved, and have to watch those vast tidal flats.

Lorella springs

Okay,

Tossed a coin and Weipa it is for 2 weeks in Sept school hols. Just the boy and I and we will use Weipa as a base and will be also camping up at Cullen Point way and fish around the Pennefathing, Janie, Wenlock, Ducie, Dulhunty and Skardon Rivers. Can't wait. Offer still stands for travelling and fishing buddies???

Dave

You'd be better off focussing on just a couple of river systems than that long list. Your boat is rather large for the Pennefather and the Janie. The Skardon isn't the best fishing of those river systems. To play around with the Weipa area and Mapoon (Ducie, Dulhunty and Namaleta) would be tight for two weeks. You will be able to tow your bow up there however the road will be hard on your boat and trailer. Be well prepared. Note alcohol restrictions. Fish the coastal reefs at night for jacks.

I will also add that we often hold the mindset that the fishing is better the further one goes off the grid, not necessarily true. There are good fish close in and around Weipa and Mapoon. As a generalisation, the systems located to the south of Weipa fish better than the systems north of Weipa and Mapoon. The systems to the south of Weipa have bigger floodplains and generally have lower fishing pressure. To the north the systems are mostly short, have very clean water and fewer barra. Nonetheless still fun to fish for barra and jack etc...

NTFizzer wrote:I will also add that we often hold the mindset that the fishing is better the further one goes off the grid, not necessarily true. There are good fish close in and around Weipa and Mapoon. As a generalisation, the systems located to the south of Weipa fish better than the systems north of Weipa and Mapoon. The systems to the south of Weipa have bigger floodplains and generally have lower fishing pressure. To the north the systems are mostly short, have very clean water and fewer barra. Nonetheless still fun to fish for barra and jack etc...

Thanks mate appreciate the advice. Yeah I am realistic on the amount of ground we can cover in only 2 weeks. I actually cut and pasted my thread from a camping forum I'm a member of which isn't so fishing focused. I was more trying to let them know the general whereabouts of where we are going. The 5.5m Mclay with the 115 Yammy on back is amazing with where we can go. On a Saturday we have done nearly 200kms offshore around Scawfell, Bailey's etc and the Sunday been
in 300mm of water in Murray Creek. I dare say Weipa will be our base and go up north to Mapoon/Penny for a couple of days look see. I guess the other thing I need to be mindful of is the different tides up there???? Don't want to be caught out sleeping in the boat on a sand bank for a few nights!!

Okay ready for Weipa 10 days fishing from the 17th Sept.
Just put in a Narva 12 volt, twin USB and voltage meter fitting along with a live bait tank timer.

Can't wait

A father, his boy and the rods for 2 weeks in Weipa. Can you ever have enough rods and reels???

Looks like it's going to be a good trip