The Inside Line

Words by Nick Fewtrell

It’s that time of year again! 

If you’re lucky enough to be sitting along the beautiful Port Douglas marina, enjoying a hot coffee from one of the first-class cafés or a craft beer from the local Hemingway’s Brewery, the cool winter temperatures add to the serenity of Dickson Inlet. Birds, bats, and fish life go about their business, and one can quickly become mesmerised by the sight of high-polished towers standing as tall as a sailing boat’s mast, stainless rigging holding the giant outriggers, and a complexity that blends into pure beauty—particularly if you’re a fisherperson.

What I’m really trying to say is: when some of the most impressive game boats in the world are docking in Port Douglas, it means one thing — it’s getting close to heavy tackle season.

August and September mark the traditional light tackle season, bringing a run of smaller black marlin and mackerel. These months are a great warm-up for what’s to come. Juvenile marlin feed fiercely on the large bait schools pushing through the region at this time of year, gorging themselves as they move with the warm currents, packing on as much weight as possible.

Targeting these small black marlin is extremely fun and a great introduction to the sport of game fishing.

While they’re small in marlin terms — averaging 10-50 kg — they suit anglers who don’t want to be strapped into a chair fighting for hours, or those simply wanting a taste of marlin fishing, or to tick a species off their bucket list. This is the time and place to do it, with many local charter operators offering the opportunity to get out and experience it.

As September rolls on, the 130s make their long-awaited return to the docks. For anyone unsure, a 130W fishing reel is the biggest of the big — holding more than 1,000 m of 60 kg monofilament fishing line, producing over 40 kg of drag, and featuring a two-speed gearbox to make the almost impossible task of landing a true giant of the sea just a little more realistic.

Seeing them in the holders of the game chairs — standing proud, freshly spooled with new line, marked with tension increments and words like Strike and Sunset taped next to the lever drag — means the big girls are swimming just 25 nm east of this magical North Queensland coastal town.

It’s September, and it’s officially heavy tackle time. This season runs for about four months — September through December — when the giant 1,000 lb-plus female black marlin come right up to the reef’s edge to spawn. This truly world-class fishery was discovered by George Bransford back in 1966 when he captured the fish that put our region on the international map.

It’s now recognised as the giant black marlin capital of the world, with more 1,000 lb-plus fish caught here in a few months than anywhere else in the world over an entire year. It’s a must-do for any true fisherperson at least once in your lifetime, and if you can secure a spot on a boat (they book out well in advance), I’d highly recommend the experience.

Of course, Port Douglas sits right on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef, and the reef fishing doesn’t disappoint at this time of year. While the prevailing south-easterly trade winds can make conditions a little challenging, the coral trout, largemouth nannygai, and most other demersal species are eager to take a bait or lure, and all taste sensational on the plate.

One of the great things about fishing here is that many local resorts and restaurants will cook your catch for you, so you can enjoy the full “catch and eat” experience.

If inshore or creek fishing is more your style, barramundi are slowly becoming more active and will only get livelier as the water warms. The bycatch while targeting barra is still highly regarded — sportsfish such as queenfish and tarpon are becoming more frequent in the tidal sections of the rivers, while mangrove jack, fingermark, and javelin fish patrol the bottom. There truly is a fishing style to suit everyone in this region

As for me and the rest of the Tackling Australia crew, it’s been full steam ahead with the launch of our YouTube channel. Of course, if you’re going to start a channel, you need to feed the beast — and that’s exactly what we’ve been doing.

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