Fishing Tackle

Fly Tackle

6 wt to 12 wt fly rods, are most suited for the type of saltwater flyfishing you will be doing in Weipa. If you only had one fly rod I believe that the pick would be a 8wt or 9 wt with lines to suit the situations you might encounter.

It is important to bring a good quality fly reel that is suited to the rod, as the tropical speedsters you will encounter will destroy most cheaper reels.

Mostly intermediate lines are used, although floating lines with sink tip is useful and if looking for bigger fish in deep water a full sink line or shooting head will be a must.

Rio have great range of lines we recommend which cover most situations you would encounter here ...

Bonefish floating line

Tropical Saltwater full intermediate and floating intermediate.

Deep Sea shooting head.

Plenty of saltwater flies the clouser in size 1 and 1/0 being the most versatile and most used fly while fishing in Cape York.

Other flies are Surf candies, Crazy charlies, Prawn patterns, crab patterns and profile flies and the odd popper fly.

If you intend tying your own flies use a quality brand hook like a Gamakatsu big game hook.

As for numbers you may use up to 40 or 50 clousers in a weeks fishing if the fishing is hot or the sharks are on the job. It is hard to know just how many to bring but it is always better to have too many than not enough. Most of the other fles mentioned are generally not used as frequently and therefore a few of each in your box should be sufficient.

For most we use hard mono leader material, mostly 20lb however ther may be need for some 12lb fluorocarbon material for spooky and finicky fish on the flats. Rio Saltwater hard mono is ideal, also Rio Fluoroflex is a great fluorocarbon leader.

Other Tackle

If you are not a fly fisherman then there are many fish which you can chase with conventional tackle while fishing in Cape York.

Depending on preference spin tackle and baitcasters are both excellent fish takers. A 6-10 kg spin outfit is the most practical for the area with preferably braid line.

Baitcasters are also very useful, especially for barra. There are also many other species to catch on a baitcaster outfit.

"Fins" quality braid is one of the best on the market and used exclusively by us on both fly tackle and conventional tackle. You will need a good quality reel with reliable drag as some of our fish are fast and powerful. Shimano has some great quality tackle that will do the job with ease.

Lures should range from barra type minnows to 10 - 45 gm jigs and a few longer minnows or bibles minnows for mackerel. Some of my favourites are the Halco range laser pro 120 in the 1m and 2.5m, Laser pro 190 in the 2.5m and the Scorpion 7m crazy deep. For jig type lure, Gillies Pilchard 40gm and bucktail jigs. Surface lures like fizzers and Halco Roosta poppers also work well at times.

Loan Tackle

Some saltwater Fly and Conventional tackle is available for loan if you don't have your own and is on a replace if lost, damaged or broken basis, which if required you will need to inform us prior to your fishing trip. Fish's Fly & Sportfishing uses all Shimano loan tackle.