also for it’s fishing both inshore flyfishing for Barramundi, Permit, Golden Trevally, Threadfin Salmon and a long list of tropical species, offshore Black Marlin, Sailfish, Tuna and Giant Trevally. The inside of the island is lined with a maze of huge estuary systems running the entire length, some 50 kilometres. Miles of mangrove lined mudflats and sand flats make this one of the countries best sight fishing locations.
The staple fish at Hinchinbrook is the mighty Barramundi, while targeting Barramundi you will stumble across many other species, Mangrove Jack, Fingermark, Flathead, Javelin fish, Threadfin Salmon and Giant Trevally of all sizes, just to name a few. All these fish will take flies with great enthusiasm and present no less of a challenge in hooking and fighting stakes. Moving onto the sand flats at Hinchinbrook will host a number of new species to tangle with.
First on the list will have to come Aussie Permit or Snubnose Dart, call them what you want, these guys by reputation would have to be the most unforgiving and uncooperative fish swimming the pristine waters of the Hinchinbrook area. You will need to get all the conditions in your favour as with anywhere and put your fly in their path and be patient. Quite a few Permit are captured and released at Hinchinbrook and surrounding areas each year and they are usually quite large specimens.Shrimp flies seem to be their preference here, though having had bites on clousers and
crabs patterns presentation and a little luck are also factors tied into receiving a bite from an Aussie Permit. With larger schools of fish on offer some days, you may have the opportunity to change and present different flies to different fish to perhaps work out what fly they may be interested in. There are a few spots that Permit will regularly haunt when the conditions are right, but many other flats will also hold numbers of species. Golden and Giant Trevally, Queenfish, Milkfish, Threadfin Salmon, Giant Herring, Cobia, Triple Tail and some of the mangrove dwellers also turn up at times.
The species and options on offer in the Hinchinbrook area are endless, the ability to be dry fly fishing the upper freshwater reaches one day and Deep bluewater muscling a Black Marlin or wading sandflats the following, give you the scope not many places have to offer. The channel itself contains many fly eating species and options without venturing into fresh or reef waters.