The isolated stretch of coast from Karumba to Weipa provides exciting fishing for those who gain access. The Mitchell River system, in particular, offers diverse and profuse fishing, with the lower estuary carrying healthy stocks of barramundi and mangrove jack.

Weipa and adjacent Albatross Bay has superb shallow water inshore angling for barramundi, mangrove jacks, estuary cod, flathead, trevally, queenfish and even the odd giant herring.

The Wenlock River, north of Wiepa is another superb barramundi stream, particularly around its mouth near Cullen Point and up into the tidal stretches.

Bamaga, right up at the tip of Cape York is an isolated community offering access to the nearby Jardine River, with its excellent barramundi and Saratoga, as well as all the usual estuarine and freshwater species.

Bamaga also offers access to offshore reef and bombie fishing for heavyweight trevally, big cod and - at times - prolific shoals of mackerel, longtail tuna, mackerel tuna, queenfish and barracuda. Small billfish - sails and marlin - are also sighted at times.

Across at Thursday Island and the nearby Prince Of Wales, Horn and Hammond Islands, the emphasis is on offshore lure casting and trolling for all the pelagics mentioned above, as well as bait fishing the reef complexes for all manner of tasty, hard pulling target species, from red emperor to coral trout and cod of all types.

From Thursday Island to Cooktown you find an attractive and pristine stretch of coastline running parallel to the very northernmost section of the famous Great Barrier Reef, a coral atoll and reef system which stretches from here some 2,000 kilometres south to Lady Elliot Island of Bundaberg.

The headlands offer very good boat and shore-based fishing for big mangrove jack, trevally, queenfish, saltwater barra and, when the water is clear, coral trout.

Princess Charlotte Bay is a particularly well rated fishing environment with several
large rivers emptying into the relatively shallow waters of the bay. These rivers, particularly the Normanby, offer visitors their very best chance of taking a barramundi on the eastern seaboard, though even here the silver king cannot be regarded as a 'sure thing'.

Cape Melville is an exposed, rocky headland with superb prospects for spinning trevally, queenies, jacks and even mackerel. The odd big saltwater barra will also be caught here.

Cooktown and the Endeavour River are often used as kicking off points for trips further afield, but there is some good fishing to be had right on the doorstep of the town. Live baiting with mullet and herring will turn up school mackerel, queenies, mangrove jack, fingermark and even the odd barra, particularly from June until November.

Lying some 20 kilometres off the Western Australian coast, wide of Fremantle, Rottnest or 'Rotto' is a favourite holiday spot for Perth residents and becomes very busy and crowded during school holidays, particularly in the warmer months. One of the major attractions of this picturesque island is its excellent and diverse fishing.

All of the species available to mainland metropolitan anglers may be taken here, but usually in better numbers and at larger sizes.

Herring fishing is particularly good here, with May being the peak month and the beginning of a run which sees tens of thousands of these little fish landed.

Trevally (skippies) bite best in late winter and early spring, while salmon are sometimes taken year around. Yellowtail kingfish and samsons occur mainly in the warmer months, as do the big King George or spotted whiting. Other target species for land-based anglers on the island include blue groper, sweep, tailor and mulloway.

Boat anglers work the reef waters around Rottnest for Westralian jewfish, samson and snapper. Spanish and shark mackerel also run in the warm currents off West End and Parker Point at times, mainly late in summer or autumn.

Further out, game boats work the Rottnest Trench area of the Continental Shelf for big blue marlin, dolphin fish, tuna and sharks of many types.

Townsville is a well-developed city with an international airport and world standard accommodation and services.

Magnetic Island - a pleasant ferry ride off the coast - has some fine rock platforms for the shore based angler, with queenfish, trevally, mackerel and tuna being a chance, although it can sometimes be a long time between drinks!

The Townsville Harbour and breakwall complex has it's share of devotees who baitfish and spin for trevally, mangrove jack, fingermark, school mackerel and even the odd (and sometimes very large) saltwater barramundi.

Mackerel and even cobia are also taken at times by boat anglers working around the Harbour lead lights, though for the most part Townsville Harbour sees vessels departing for greener pastures further afield, particularly the fingermark, trevally and queenfish bombies around Cape Cleveland and the red hot sailfish and mackerel grounds off Cape Bowling Green. In fact, so productive has Bowling Green been for sails over recent years that is is today regarded as one of the best Pacific sailfish possies in the world! Peak times for these slender aerialists occur between June and October, but the odd patch is encountered near bait schools year round.

The Whitsunday Islands, off Airlie Beach, present a multitude of fishing prospects for the boat angler, whether he operates his own trailer boat from the mainland or charters one of those available in the area. All the usual inshore and offshore species inter-mix in the channels and reef areas around these beautiful islands, and at times there is fine sailfishing and mackerel trolling.

Shute Harbour and Hamilton Island offer other ideal stepping-off points for fishing the Whitsundays and there is a thriving bare-boat charter fleet. The mackerel run wide of this port hits its peak between August and October each year. The tidal range here is large, and should always be taken into account when planning trips.

Mackay also has huge tides, and these dictate the standard of fishing and best locations, especially in the estuaries and over inshore reef areas. Besides all of the usual tropical species, flathead, whiting and bream feature heavily in the bags of shore and near-shore anglers around Mackay.