General News
12 November, 2026
Mangrove jacks catch of day
ANGLERS targeting estuaries and freshwater, while reef fin closures cause limitations.
Freshwater
WITH all the fishing closures, we recently had a lot of fishermen chasing some of our freshwater species with great success.
With the warmer weather, the rivers have dropped, making them easily assessable and easier to walk.
Once the water levels start dropping, you’ll find the deeper pools can hold big numbers of fish and make for some great fishing.
The Squidgies Lobby has been a standout. The jungle perch and sooty grunter love a yabby or shrimp imitation. These soft plastics are quite unique in the ways you can rig them.
If you rig them on a unweighted, weedless hook, it can be used as a topwater, or you can run them on a standard jig head and hop it down into the depths.
Estuary
THE barramundi closure started on 1 November, but leading up to the last few days of the season some cracking barra were caught.
Not only good numbers, but some big ones too, up to 1m have been reported.
It’s important to look after these fish and release them respectfully to ensure plenty of fish in the years to come.
It is also important to stop chasing them during closure as, not only can you be fined, but it can interrupt their breeding.
The mangrove jacks have been fishing exceptionally well. We have been having some of the best reports we have seen.
There have been plenty reports of over a dozen jacks in one session and some nice sizes as well, up into the high to mid-40s.
Most are being caught on the outgoing tide, skipping smaller paddle tails such as the Arma GP doctor and the Bait junkie 4inch Herring.
Topwater has also been a great option and is a heap of fun. I’d recommend the Mintoss Skip Frog and Johnson.
Offshore
WE were fortunate enough to have some great weather just before the reef fin fish closure.
Some great reports have been coming through, not so much in numbers of fish, but quality.
A lot of very large coral trout were caught up in the shallower waters.
I have recently been starting to use live bait out the reefs and have found I have been catching larger fish, so make sure you pack a few bait jigs on your next trip.
The deeper waters fish well once again, not so much in quantity, but in quality.
Some big red emperors and saddle tail snapper are being caught, cuttlefish seemed to be the standout bait for these guys.
Make sure to keep an eye out on the weather reports before heading out, as we can get afternoon northly winds this time of year and you don’t want to be caught out.
– Ryan Sanger, Tackle World Tully
Read More: Cassowary Coast