Fishing in North Queensland

Lake Julius sooties

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 03:50:00 +0000

I hope all of you were able to get on the water over the Easter break. On Tuesday my mate Heinrich and I set off for Lake Julius located approxmately 90mins drive out of Mount Isa. 8)

On driving the Lake Julius road we noticed a pair of camels unknowingly obstructing traffic which forced us to stop. The smaller of the pair appeared to be an albino so upon seeing this I naturally I grabbed out my canon for some shots. Two seconds later the low battery signal popped up, but I had just enough time to fire off a dozen pics before they dissapeared. Keeping in mind that I had a spare rechargable battery I wasn't too concerned- but it turned out to have also gone flat! (a long time between trips). An indifferent start to the trip! After casting to snags for six hours it didn't seem to matter because practically all we had caught were vermin. Namely hordes of small catfish, one large longtom and only three sooties.

We eventually realised we were using the wrong tactic. The sounder showed sooties were holding in huge schools in deep water of around six meters. Throwing out a pair of flatz rats behind the boat saw us both hooked up instantly- the spot was promptly marked on the gps. For the next hour we were constantly hooking, fighting and releasing sooties (and the bloody annoying catfish!). We ended up boating twelve sooties and six catfish from a ten metre zone that lit up with fish on each pass. The biggest sooty went 42cm, but I'm sure we lost larger fish. During the trolling I was smoked twice into the timber (with 15lb braid/30lb leader and moderate drag) costing me two flatz rats. One one run we also registered a triple hookup between the two of us! (two fish on one lure).

I reckon with what we learnt that day we will get much better results at Julius in future!:)

* Check out the photo album in the near future to see our photos and take a look at the other site updates.

Till next time!

- Dan (Admin @ NQfishing.com)

Site maitenance

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 03:35:00 +0000

Hey Guys,

I have been busy updating a few sections of the site over the last week:

* 'The fish' page now has more info added to it and should be more user friendly. I am going to be adding more here over coming weeks.

* 'The Fishermen' will also be changing as I complete the angler profiles. Thank you to Ryan Harris, Jamie Hitchings and Steve Polzin for completing theirs.

*'The Stories' now has small thumbnail pictures so guests can choose stories visually.

*'Photo album' has grown recently thanks also to Innisfail angler Brett Guy.

There is more to come, but I am happy with how it is travelling.

Please send me any feedback or suggestions for improvement!

-Dan (Admin @ NQfishing.com)

Site updates!

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:10:00 +0000

Hi guys,

Its been a pretty chaotic since my last entry on NQfishing.com including a great trip to the east coast, change of job, two family weddings, a restocking project, and the usual Moondarra fishing escapades. A big thanks goes to Shane Astwood for flying the flag highly in the photo gallery- some great captures of large mouth nannygai, barramundi and various other tropical species.From all accounts the towns on the east coast have produced some great fish, in particular barra, in early 2012.

While Townsville and Cairns copped a solid wet season the Mount Isa area did not recieve much at all. Things have reached a turning point now, with any remnant rain pockets totally gone- we could be in for a dry year out here! The rain in early December was enough to boost Moondarra to a high level and this caused fish to spread through the dam. I took out young angler Scott Gorman in March 2012 for a large sleepy cod and usual longtom by-catch. When the dam level recedes I believe the action will improve markedly.

Catchments north of the Isa did recieve decent flows of fresh so I would suspect the run-off fishing to be good over the next month. The stocking group guys have been talking of trips to the more remote dams like Julius and East Liechardt now that access is simpler. My sooty lures are ready for action if these trips come to fruition!

***Site updates for 04/04/2012

- Seven new stories added

- Four new photo albums added

NQfishing.com wishes all members and guests a happy easter! hopefully including a sneaky cast or two!

Till next time,

-Dan (Admin @ NQfishing.com)

Top Weekend!

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 05:55:00 +0000

Hi guys,

Last weekend Oct 29-30 saw the running of the much anticipated 2011 Xstrata Lake Moondarra Fishing Classic. Good weather insipired many local anglers to compete and the organisers were kept very busy for the whole event. Personally I was dealt a cruel wrist injury only one week before the event eliminating my fishing chances. Even still there was heaps of entertainment and a few celebrity anglers to make it an enjoyable couple of days. A steady procession of fish made it to the recording station throughout the event. The variety was most striking: barramundi, sooty grunter, sleepy cod, catfish and long tom all weighed in. Nine barras were recorded from 76cm-111cm- all carefully released. The weekend was a pretty good learning experience hearing everyone's different insights and theories. I am putting together a more comprehensive wrap of the event in December Fish and Boat, so make sure you get a copy. Oh, and don't forget November while you're at it! :)

-Dan

Only twelve days to go!

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 10:45:00 +0000

Hi guys!,

Only twelve days to go until the 2011 Xstrata Lake Moondarra Fishing Classic begins. It has been the talk of the town out here in Mount Isa for some time. You may notice I have included links to the official compeition website in addition to an outline and mud map print outs. If you have the weekend of October 28-31 free then consider coming out to Mount Isa for some great outback barra fishing (they say this where the true Aussies fish!).

Apart from the above there have been other updates on Nqfishing.com. Eleven new albums and stories have been added, hopefully showing some of the characteristics of this unique outback location known as 'the Isa'. The recent warmer weather brewed up our first patch of rainfall in six months and fishing action has been on the rise. Some reports of metre barra have filtered in from locals. I hope the fishing action has been good for you all across NQ. Remember to follow the lead of members Norm and Shano and get your fishy pics on the site. Thats all for now,

See you all at the barra comp:D !!!!!!!!

-Dan (Admin @ Nqfishing.com)

2011 Xstrata Mount Isa Lake Moondarra Fishing Classic

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 10:05:00 +0000

Hi guys,

Its been a while between entries as I have been settling into a new life in the heart of Queensland's outback. There are a motherload of pictures and info banked up after several months of fishing in this new and rather different area. I aim to start getting these uploaded over the next few months. Thanks for your patience! and thanks for all the great contributions from site members Shano and Norm, some enviable results on the water.

If you can spare a moment check out the links I have added on the homepage for the upcoming 2011 Xstrata Mount Isa Lake Moondarra Fishing Classic. Most of this information was published in NQ Fish and Boat magazine over recent months. Take the time to browse through and consider keeping that weekend free (28th-30th October)- a great chance to see the outback and participate in a top event! (the mud maps are convenient one page print outs).

Hope you are all getting out on the water!!!

Regards, Dan

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Fri, 24 Dec 2010 23:49:00 +0000

To all our guests, members and contributors admin thanks you for being part of NQfishing and wishes you all a happy Christmas and new year!

...The prefect chance to wet a line!!

Townsville fishing forums!

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 00:17:00 +0000

Hey guys,

Its been a while between fishing trips from my end, we are snowed under with work here on the barra farm (7 day weeks). On my nights I have been browsing a few sites and came across the Townsville Fishing Forums. There was plenty of informative and constructive interaction between northern anglers here. If you want to improve your fishing skills or meet fellow NQ fishos, log on and check it out.

http://www.fishingtownsvilleforum.net/

Thats all for now...fingers crossed we get some better weather and bring on the summer holidays!

Cheers,

-Dan

Exciting new site

Sun, 26 Sep 2010 06:16:00 +0000

Hey guys,

Make sure you all check out an exciting new fishing site www.cruisecastcatch.com . This site has articles and hellpful information on fishing and boating from all corners of the country, well worth a visit.

By the way I hope you are all catching a few. My mate Owen and I had a sweet session on tuna and mackerel last week, time to restock the metal lure supply! Stay tuned for more.

Till' next time,

-Dan

Thanks to the new members

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 09:49:00 +0000

ALSO...

A big thanks to the new members who have signed up in recent weeks. We have had some good activity on here. Make sure you check out 'rordog's album of nq fishing pics. Some good lure casting action.

See you all on the water...

-Dan