General News
18 March, 2026
River mouths great for barra
WITH all the rain we have had, chasing jungle perch and sooty grunter is a great option that many young fellas have taken advantage of.
Although the main rivers are in flood, such as the Tully River, the small streams that run off the rivers are running clean and are producing great numbers and size of jungle perch and sootys.
The weapons of choice have mainly consisted of topwater lures such as the Malosi Echo 80F and when the bites slowed down the Arma Flats Doctor paddle tail, slowly sinking the paddle tail deep in the pools is a great way to get the fish fired up.
Estuary
During this time of the year, it can be tough to find the fish, with dirty and high water it can be difficult.
Despite this there has been great reports recently of larger barramundi up into the 1m mark being caught at the river mouths.
Live scope has opened a new world for many fishos in our local area – it has helped locate the larger fish.
The “live scopers” are benefiting from the recent rains, where others are seemingly having a harder time getting and finding barramundi.
Whether you have live scope or not, I’d recommend putting on an Irukandji mega prawn (5.5-7in) and casting the river mouths and drains running into the rivers.
If you’re looking to do some bait fishing there has also been great numbers of grunter getting around. Beach fronts, weed and rubble patches in the middle of the rivers have been producing huge numbers of grunter. Fresh prawns seem to be getting more action so I would recommend cast netting some live prawn as there has been no shortage of prawns at the moment.
Don’t forget the crab pots as there has been plenty of full crabs around, with all the fresh pushing down our local systems the crabbing has been better towards the river mouths.
Cane drains
The cane drains have been fishing well for the past few weeks now.
Smaller lures have been the go. A lot of people have been using the small white Zmans DieZel minnows rigged weedless and fished slow through the drains.
Drain and lagoon fishing is a great option during our wet season as all the barramundis push down from the fresh and make their way to the salt.
Tight lines, be safe and good luck
- Ryan Sanger, Tackle World Tully
Read More: Cassowary Coast