Hooked Up at Cooktown

Up to Cooktown last Sunday, where I’m very lucky to have a small share in an old but gold 21 foot tinny. Top crew with me, being Corey and son Kingston. All three of us super fired up, but a bit concerned at the forecast. We were right to be concerned:

Cooktown Boat Ramp In A Mess

At least Monday was good. Flat seas all the way to the Ribbon Reefs. How’s this for sea conditions?

It didn’t take long for us to get stuck in:

I drove the boat while the lads popped and stickbaited like crazy, on the eastern side of number two and three Ribbons. Kingi the first to score a GT:

Last trip, there were stacks of yellowfin not far outside the reefs. But we didn’t have any trolling lures aboard then. Made sure to bring some this time so we went a few klicks offshore and ran out my old Rapala CD-26 lures – the ones with the stainless steel bib. That worked:

Corey hooked a solid GT – which pulled him right across the deck!

Didn’t weigh it, but it was a good one:

Good coral trout are a common catch on the poppers, and this day was no different. But everything went back over the side, excepting the mackerel which we gave to our hosts.

But sad to say, that was the only day we fished offshore. The rain was insane overnight and the wind picked up too. Here’s Cooktown boat ramp on Tuesday morning:

The only option left was to fish from the wharf. The lads found a few:

But we were all pretty disappointed – especially when we heard a cyclone was due on Saturday:

Back to Sydney early and not complaining. Hoping to get back there in a couple of months
Andrew Hestelow

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