Weipa & Cape York

The mining town of Weipa, the "oasis in the wilderness", is known as the Barramundi capital of Queensland. This small but vibrant town, situated on the west-coast of the Cape, some 160kms from the tip and only one and a half hours flight time from Cairns, offers all the conveniences of modern living and is considered the jump off point to explore the remote wilderness of the western Cape York.

The Weipa region also boasts some of the most pristine eco systems on the entire Cape. Having banned commercial fisherman from this area for many years has ensured the diversity of this very special place and makes it a recreational and sport fisherman's paradise.

Fishing options are not limited to just barra, and many of Australia's premier tropical sportfish call these pristine waters home. A well-presented lure or fly will entice mangrove jacks, fingermark, trevally, queenfish, salmon (king & blue) and cod from the snags and trevally, queenfish, mackerel and tuna off shore.

The near shore reefs, sand flats and rocky headlands produce brilliant sight fishing for tuna, giant herring, queenfish, golden trevally and permit - all world renowned light tackle sport fish. It's a truly amazing fishery!

Like all fishing, seasons do play a major part in your prime target options and Weipa is no different.

March - Early June: Immediately after the "wet" can be a truly magical time to fish this region but it is obviously subject to the length and severity of the rainy season. The weather in April, May and early June is usually near perfect and these months can feature the best fishing of the entire year. This is top time to target barramundi, jacks, queenfish, tuna and threadfin salmon.

Mid June - August: Mid year in the tropics is the cooler part of the year, we don't have a winter as such, and conditions are very comfortable. The trade winds blow off shore making this an excellent time to target the estuaries, rivers, beaches and headlands for queenfish, tuna, trevally and barra up the creeks.

September - December: Another top time to fish the top end, the weather is hot but so is the fishing ! Most of our species are hungry and active prior to spawning and targets include barramundi, mangrove jacks, fingermark, trevally, queenfish and salmon.