Nearshore Cooktown and a new Shipwreck!

Fishing nearshore Cooktown is one of our favourite things to do. We have done several trips there.

The road to Cooktown is now fully paved and makes for an easy 3.5 hour trip from Cairns, even with the boat.

At one stage Cooktown was a Gold Rush town with ninety-four hotels and just as many brothels.

The area is also littered with shipwrecks from bad weather/cyclones during the Palmer River Gold Rush.

Nowadays it is a small town based mainly around fishing and as a gateway to Cape York.

We used Cooktown as our last stop for fuel on our recently completed trip to Princess Charlotte Bay.

Cape Melville is also an amazing location that can be accessed from here by 4×4.

Wonky Holes (undersea springs) are thick around the area so HUGE trophy fish can be encountered in small boats.

Our online fishing course Wonky Holes shows you exactly how to find them.

The mountains end abruptly at the sea, making fishing nearshore Cooktown spectacular and productive.

Plus it’s only a short hop to the ribbon reefs and Lizard Island.

Last time we headed to Lizard we got to swim with a friendly whale shark.

So join us for Episode 1 of our trip fishing nearshore Cooktown.

Spectacular Scenery

Fishing nearshore Cooktown was the most spectacular we have ever seen it, due to the amount of rain.

Just north of the Endeavour River the shining white silica sands of Cape Flattery and towering cliffs of Cape Bedford make for a wonderful backdrop.

We found this cave in the cliffs near Cooktown. It was an amazing location full of fish and bait fish and Karen even found a shipwreck nearby.

While exploring nearshore Cooktown we found this submerged propeller from a shipwreck.

Note to self, must return and drive up this mountain P.S. We did!

They had us surrounded! The area was full of bait fish but only one large predator (a HUGE mangrove jack) was seen, too wily to be caught on camera.

Good to get this discarded fishing line ball out of the ocean

Whilst swimming on the nearshore Cooktown, the tannin creek running into the sea was like a oil painting due to the previous rainfall.

The relaxed atmosphere of a remote beach is the best way to spend some time "de-stressing", especially after losing good fish to sharks.

In the early days of my career it was unheard of sharks taking jigs but now due to protection measures, there are so many of them. Don't get me started! You can buy our Levitator jigs >>here.

Fish Finder Fundamentals

Our most popular course has students from over 50 countries and covers the fundamentals of using your Fish Finder.

When you travel all the way up to go fishing nearshore Cooktown, it makes sense to make the most of it by investing in knowledge.

If you don't learn anything let me know and I'll give you your money back.

It's only $20 Australian at the moment

Gear and Tackle Used

While fishing nearshore Cooktown, we used gear from our gear and tackle cheat sheet.

The cheat sheet contains some of Ryan's favourites.

If they are no longer available, simply ask your tackle shop for the equivalent.

I hope you enjoyed our video on fishing and exploring nearshore Cooktown.

As we mentioned previously, Cooktown is the gateway to the north.

If you've missed our trip to Princess Charlotte Bay you can watch the whole adventure >> here.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH EPISODE 2 AS WE FINALLY GET AWAY FROM THE SHARKS AND OUR CAMERAMAN STEPHEN CATCHES HIS PB FISH!

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