Hinchinbrook hot spots?

[Fozster]

G'day all. Going to Hinchinbrook in Nov. (sorry, no spare seats!!) I have been before on May but weather was bad. Anyone got some known hot spots? Even GPS locations? Going in a 13' tinny so I don't think the end of the jetty is an option! Thanks for any advise.............

[Leo_N.]

Haven't fished it much, but the Herbet and Seymore rivers have awesome snaggy banks. Beware of sand banks on low tide - this area is very difficult to navigate. Sand flats at the mouth of these creeks hold big queenies and golden trevally (saw them in crystal clear water rather than caught them . Near Cardwell there is a 20m deep hole (off Hecate pt), which is known to yield large jews and fingermark (18 15.634S 146 03.780E).

Be careful when boating around the channel. If launching from Dungeness (near Lucinda), follow what the locals do - follow the channel markers out of the creek until they end, then look across the channel for markers on the other side. Go slow for dugongs and hidden hazards (there is a metal spike that sticks up out of the water marking the channel entering one of the southern rivers (I think it was the Herbert river)).

Good luck and let us know how you went.

[Nathanrb4]

have only been up to HInchinbrook afew times but the one spot that always pays off for me (Reds, Cod, Golden Trevally, fingermark and even Doggies at the right time of year) is the drop off on the North side of haycock is. haven`t got a Mark for it but its easy to see on a sounder. theres aslo a few little creeks east of haycock that are always good to get livies in.

[Jack_Lives_Here]

Where you launching from and how much fuel you going to carry??? I have fished the southern half of the channel pretty regular.

[Wild_Side]

That time of year the fishing should be heating up for jacks and those other silver flat headed looking things.("barra" just remember seson will be closed from Nov 1st.) Try the little creek on the southen side of seymore. Fish from top of the tide down.You should'nt go to far wrong there with live bait for jacks. But if you are using lures, have a look around the mouths of the creeks and troll the edges of the sand bars for those other silver things. If your targeting jacks on lures just pick a creek on low tide and head up as far as you can go and start flicking.
The northen creek in zoey bay would be worth a look if the weather is fine, and on the up side if it gets to hot you can walk up to the waterfall and go for a swim. 8)

Cheers
Wild Side

[Jack_Lives_Here]

Beautiful up that northern creek in Zoe Bay. The water is just so clear. Plenty of jacks BUT 99% are very small. Must be a nursery of sorts. See some good barra under a snag there last year but could not tempt them - water too clear.
Was standing on the sand bar inside the mouth of the southern creek when 2 big queenies came hooking down the creek - top stuff I thinks until I see a BIG bow wave following them up. Did not hang about to see what it was chasing them. I come back from a walk up to the falls and my 2 mates are fishing knee deep in the same creek as the big bow wave - they were easily persuaded to leave the water.

[Wild_Side]

Yeh shore is a lot of small jack there, But great fun none the less A couple of mates and I go over now and then flicking lures and get good numbers of jacks, 30 to 40 for the morning when the moons right. Also get some monster cod at times.

Wild Side [smiley=sneaky.gif]

[fisho_vanders]

G'day crew,

I'm going on the trip with Fozster (my tinney). I've heard about that pole in the channel that is sometimes submerged on the higher tides, which will be the case when we're up there. Can anyone give me an accurate position of it so as to not have to use my spare prop?

Also what tactics/tides/times/locations are best to connect to the local trevally population?

We're purely sport fishing for photos only.

How successful is lureing for Fingermark.

Again any GPS points for a headstart would be greatly appreciated.

Regards.........

[fisho_vanders]

Re: Jack lives here's question:

We are launching from Dungeness, & will carry around 35ltrs of fuel, running a 25HP Yammy 4 stroke so we can cover a fair distance.

Could we fish any reefs on a good day?

Are there any good detailed maps of the area available?

Thanks...................

[Barrymundi]

Dungeness is a great spot to start. Heaps and heaps of options. All creeks have Barra and Jacks.

Check at the Channel Inn (near Boat Ramp) and they will help you out with Navigating the Channel.

The area is huge and you can waste a lot of time tryin to fish the whole area. I suggest concentrating on a few creeks per day until you work it out.

Picture is a of a little Barra from the Deluge Creek caught in about 2 foot of water on a Flatz Ratz - Blue Silver

Al

[Wild_Side]

The best spot for trevally with out a dout is the end of the big jetty. Of a night, the trevally school close to the surface under the lights and can be caught on large poppers. IF the weather is good you might get to the islands (palm's),but I wouldn't go out to the reefs in a 13 footer.

Oh, there is reef all around the islands.

Wild Side. [smiley=sneaky.gif]

[Jack_Lives_Here]

Wild Side is on the money for GT's - take some good gear and be prepared to loose some lures also. Some BIG greeblies out the end of the sugar loader. The channel markers just as you enter the channel proper, heading north out of dungeness, has smaller GT's. If you are chasing barra, don't work your lures fast in the snags - they are a lazy fish. Look for snags that have small twiggy branches in the water or just poking out of the water. Also green snags, ie: a recent tree fallen over, will hold fish. Al NFI is spot on - concentrate on the smaller creeks. Above all practice, practice, practice your lure casting - you need to fish REAL tight in the cover to consistently get fish.

Al, the Flatz Ratz is our #1 snag bashing lure up there - the light colours always seem to produce the goods. Also like the DK Snagmasters.

[Fozster]

Thanks for all your input guys! I'll post my own tips/hotspots after I return (positive thinking Does anyone have an opinion on the local "Lucinda Lures", more specifically the "Hinchinbrook Hunter" > http://www.acecomp.com.au/lucindalur...logue_main.htm

[Jack_Lives_Here]

We went up there loaded with hundreds of all sorts of lures and only ended up using 2 types all trip - Flatz Rats 10 and the old gold bomber. After fishing with one of the best guides up that way (Steve Jeston) we stayed with the Flatz Ratz 10. Light colours and beef up the hooks. Smaller trebles on the front and larger at the rear. We caught plenty on these and found ourselves going to them each day and bypassing the hundreds of other lures we had in our boxes. The DK's work a treat for me as well.
One thing to maybe consider is colour. Now we have generally fished lighter colour lures but 2 trips back I fished a lure that had a yellow bellow green back and black stripes. I picked this up from looking at the photos on some of crack a jacks brag boards - alot of fish caught on these colours. Now whether this is because they are the only colours the guide uses or not I caught twice the barra the other guys did. ???????? Food for thought.