Fly & Sportsfishing;

Fly Fishing,
Our flyfishing guides have many years experience in fly tying & fly fishing in the Weipa & Cape York region. You will be fishing with the best in the business, which means more fish for you. We are constantly designing & developing our own flies to suit the local waters. Patterns that work best, & most importantly, catch fish. We like to share our knowledge of flyfishing and fly tying with our clients ensuring that your fly fishing holiday is not only full of fish but you will leave Weipa with more of a understanding of the sport.

Craig frontiered flyfishing in Weipa back in 1985, he put the first flies into the Weipa waters. Other flyfishing milestones were the first Milkfish & Permit on caught on fly in the Weipa waters were by Strikezone clients. You can't beat local knowledge!

Sports Fishing,
The Hot Spots we choose for the day will depend on the targeted species and what is biting best at the time. We endeavor to show you a new sportsfishing destination each day, we like to show you as much of our region as we can! We want you to have the best possible fishing holiday so you will return year after year.

Here are a few examples of the sportsfishing hot spots available around Weipa and in the Cape York Region:

Creeks & Rivers
Fish in pristine mangrove lined creeks and rivers all with unique Eco Systems. The low tides force baitfish out of the mangroves and out onto the flats. For the baitfish, there is no where to hide from hungry Barramundi and King Salmon! This is the ideal time to have lure or fly in the water. Casting into mangroves snags is the challenge, getting your fly or lure right in close usually rewards you with a Barramundi or Mangrove Jack.

Coastal Beaches:
We'll visit Weipa's coastal beaches & flats where the only footprints you will see will be your own! Crystal clear water for wading and targeting schools of Salmon, Giant Herring & Barramundi with the occasional sighting of a big cruising Giant Trevally or Queenfish. We'll keep a look out bait schools along the shoreline, hungry predators push the small fish hard up on to the bank. Skipping a pooper over the surface fools the Queenfish & Salmon into think that some thing is getting away and they will be climbing over each other to get at your lure.

Coastal Reefs:
Shallow Reefs, full of reef dwelling species. Casting jigs & poppers into clear water for visual strikes from Coral Trout, Red Emperor, Finger Mark and Giant Trevally. Hooking up is easy, getting the fish out of their coral homes and to the boat is the challenge! Just hang on. Trolling deep driving lures over bombes watching the sounder for schooling Golden Snapper or Finger Mark once the fish are found you can have multiple hook-ups every pass. A sportsfishing paradise! Pelagic's like Mackerel, Tuna, Queenfish & huge Cobia patrols the reef edges. These are some of the toughest fighting fish you will ever connected too. We watch the sky for sea birds diving into the water feeding on baitfish pushed up to the surface by hungry Tuna, Mackerel, Trevally and Queenfish. Exciting fishing, fish come thick and fast when they're in a feeding frenzy.

Species Targeted:
King Salmon, Giant Trevally, Long Tail Tuna, Mangrove Jack, Blue Salmon, Golden Trevally, Red Emperor, Spanish Mackerel, Queenfish, Giant Herring, Finger Mark & Coral Trout.

What's Biting?
Fish will bite all year round however some months may be better than others for certain species.

For example, Barramundi will bite better in the hotter months, in fact, the hotter the better. This is also true for most river species. In the winter months the Barramundi and other river species slow down, they will bite, just not as well. The cold months June, July & August is when the blue water fishing hot's up. Bait schools flood into the bay, these bait schools a closely followed by Tuna, Mackerel, Trevally & Queenfish. If you have a target species in mind let us know and we'll base your fishing holiday to suit the particular species.

Things to bring

Clothing: For sun protection we suggest long sleeved shirts, full length trousers and of course a hat. For your eyes, good quality Polaroid sun glasses this will also assist in spotting fish in the water. Protective footware for wading.

Fly Fishing Tackle
Beaches & flats:
Rods 6 to 10 wt rods with intermediate and floating lines, this is also the best tackle for our creeks & rivers.
Flies for these areas include deceivers, bend backs, pink things, clousers & delbergs.
Hook sizes 2/0 to 4/0.
Leader material 8 kg fluocarbon for Permit & Milkfish. 15 to 20 kg shock leaders for most other fishing.

Blue water:
Rods 10 to 12 wt rods with sinking lines and/or shooting heads (450 grams or more).
Flies for blue water including surf candies, flashy profiles & streamer fly.
Hooks size 4/0 to 8/0.
Shock leaders 20 to 40 kg.
Reels Must carry a minimum of 200 meters of backing, good drag systems is also an advantage.
Best choice: Ideally would be to bring three rods. 8 weight rod with a floating line, a 9 weight with an intermediate line and a 10 to 12 weight with a fast sinking line. Spare lines are also a good idea.

Our Tackle we don't supply fly rods, reels or lines. However our tackle boxes are full of the best flies for the area, so don't worry if you are unsure of your fly selection, these flies are supplied at cost price, if lost.

Lure Fishing Tackle
Rods & Reels Suggested tackle 6 to 8 kg rods & reels, bait casters or spinning gear for beaches, flats & rivers. Braided lines are also advantage (6 to 10 kg)
Lures Gold Bombers, "c" lures (head master), mad mullet and other minnow type lures. Best colors, gold with a black back, pink and blue. Make sure your lures have extra strong saltwater hooks.
Blue Water I like to use 7-foot spin rods with fast retrieve reels, 15 kg outfits, again braided lines are an advantage. Lures poppers, jigs and trolling type lures with extra strong saltwater trebles.

We can supply all your lure fishing tackle requirements on a replacement for loss or damage bases.

Tropical Fly & Sportsfishing On Cape York - Weipa, Cape York, Far North Queensland, Australia

One of the best fly fishing & sportsfishing destinations in Australia! Weipa is a remote fishing destination on Cape York, Australia. Because of our remoteness we don't have the fishing pressure of other places in Australia. This makes Weipa a fishing paradise, most days we won't see another boat on the water Our Charters offers clients the ultimate in fishing adventure! Strikezone is a professional fishing operation offering first class service to all clients! Strikezone’s pro guides will fish you in Australia's premier fishing location.  Fishing pristine waters for fish like, Barramundi, King Salmon, Blue Salmon, Queenfish, Giant Trevally, Golden Trevally, Milk Fish, Permit and much more, 40 + species available. Join us in Weipa for a fishing adventure of a lifetime.

Accommodation in Weipa

Our guests stay at The Albatross Hotel which is situated on the shores of scenic Albatross Bay. The Resort is surrounded by tropical palms and picturesque gardens making this the perfect place to relax and unwind.

The Resort features:
40 Room Motel - fully air conditioned, T.V., tea, coffee, direct dial phone. All rooms recently refurbished.
8 Bungalows - set amongst the gardens these fully air conditioned bungalows are great for the overnight traveller. Shared facilities.
A La Carte Restaurant - Trawlers Restaurant overlooking Albatross Bay serves a vast array of fresh meat and local seafood. The restaurant has a seating capacity of 60 and can cater for any function.
The Club Bar - offers travellers and businessmen a place to meet over a quite ale. Located in the northern end of the hotel, The Club Bar offers uncompromised service without the hassles.
Sportsmans Bar - catch up with the colourful locals over an ice cold beer in the "Sporties Bar". Stocking the widest range of draught beer on the Cape!

Charter Season
Our Charter Season commences in March, after our wet season. There may still be rain in March but the wet is all but over and this is an excellent time of the year to lure fish. The Barramundi are hungry after their breeding season. The water will still be murky from all the fresh water coming out of the rivers. Swamps drain into the main river system this is where we'll find Barramundi and King Salmon wait for prawns and bait fish to wash out into the river. We fish through until Mid December the start of our wet season. Join us for a fishing holiday of a lifetime!

Book Now - "What the guide charges, is what you will pay and nothing extra. No middleman fees ~ book direct or contact the guide today!"
John Openshaw ~ President, WadersOn.com

Map of Tropical Fly & Sportsfishing On Cape York