Fishing Cooktown with stick baits and jigs.

Sounders / Fish Finders

January 14, 2021

Fishing Cooktown with jigs and stick baits can result in some BIG fish.

There is so much variety fishing Cooktown as the reef is so close to the coast.

The shallow reef flats are perfect for casting stick baits.

This kind of fishing is true hunting and excitement PLUS as you watch the strike and all hell break loose.

In addition there are headlands and rubble in deeper water, wonky Holes galore. All perfect for jigging up a trophy fish.

Watch our fishing Cooktown with stick baits and jigs below.

If you’re interested in finding and fishing Wonky Holes we have an online course to help you find them. Click here >> Wonky Holes online course.

Options for fishing Cooktown : Top Water

Casting stick baits can be a ton of fun up in the shallows.

The technique is pretty simple.

Find a bommie and cast toward or over it with a stick bait.

Make sure you wear a set of gloves as it can be hard on the hands cranking the handle.

The idea is to get the lure to splash and create surface activity.

If you find some fish, give them a handful of casts and if they don’t respond move on.

Maori Wrasse caught fishing Cooktown top water with stick baits — Maori Wrasse caught fishing top water with Stick Baits off Cooktown

Fishing Cooktown for coral trout using stick baits top water — Coral trouts readily take a stick bait casting shallow over the bommies and reef flats. Rapala Xwrap Subwalk 1.5 did the damage.

Gear used to fish Top Water with Stick Baits

Diawa Saltiga X8025-8/10
Cabo 80 reel
Rapala Xwrap Subwalk 1.5
Line: 80lb braid
Leader: 120 lb mono

Jigging on Rubble and Wonky Holes

Fishing Cooktown is just so diverse!

There are many headlands to troll around, flats for fly fishing.

And my favourite! Looking for new spots either Wonky Holes or finding rubble ground holding good fish.

This is the kind of county I look for.

Sounder shot of good fish — Sometimes the best country is barely imperceptible. If you do find it , search the area as you might find a good fish school. This one is a school of 6-7 kg Nanny-gai (Scarlet or Saddle-tail sea perch)

We have three options to learn to use your Fish Finder better and find great new spots.

Nice red we pulled off some rubble fishing Cooktown using jigs.

Beautiful Sea Perch Slow pitch jigging — Slow pitch jigging on Wonky Holes or patches of rubble can be very productive for good fish like this Saddletail Snapper. We hope to stock these jigs in our new shop – COMING SOON.

Take in the scenery if you head up Fishing Cooktown.

McIvor River entrance great for flats fishing — McIvor River entrance is a great spot for flats fishing.

Un-named Sand Cay off Cooktown — Unnamed sand cay (that we know of) found while fishing Cooktown. It doesn’t get any better than this.

Swimming in crystal clear water in Far North Queensland. Box jellyfish inhabit these waters in summer particularly when it’s blowing northerly so keep an eye out for them or wear a stinger suit. Added reason to only swim in crystal clear water – so you can watch for crocs (make sure visibility is GOOD).

Trevethan Falls Tropical north Qld waterfall. — Trevethan Falls is a must see although you’ll need a 4×4 to get there. Absolutely spectacular oasis in the bush. A goat track from the cleared area for parking has you wondering – but we could hear the falls and headed in that direction. Take a cut lunch as you won’t want to leave.

Trevathan Falls

If fishing in Cooktown is not your scene, natural wonders will save the day. Trevathan Falls is a must see.

Directions: Head south from Cooktown around 20K’s to Mt Amos Road, about 10 k’s turn to the right (there was a rudimentary sign), and another sign a little further announcing another turn off. Then it’s a high clearance 4×4 track till you run out of road. Navigate the goat track to the falls and enjoy!

So what’s stopping you coming up to fish Cooktown?

The bitumen comes all the way into town these days so it’s easy to bring your boat.

If you are going to spend a ton of cash on ,accommodation, boats, tackle and fuel, the best bet to maximize that investment is in knowledge.

So be sure and take a look at our online fishing courses.

Sales of our courses ensure we can continue to bring you top fishing videos and free workshops etc.

A good place to start is our Free Big Picture Fish Finder training.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ryan Moody

Ryan Moody started his fishing career on the reef boats before catching bucket list marlin for the likes of champion heavy tackle angler Johnno Johnson, INXS and the King of Sweden. Branching out in the late 80's to guided barramundi fishing, Ryan has made a name for himself as a Big Barramundi specialist. Ryan has decided to share his extensive knowledge and hopefully inspire people of all ages to get out from behind the computer screen/TV and into the fishing outdoors lifestyle he has spent his life perfecting.