GO YOUR OWN WAY
LAST month, we looked at whether it’s worth taking your boat and fishing gear north, and what gear is needed. In this issue, we check out suitable fishing boats and the one that is best suited to your needs.
Kayaks and canoes are all the rage in the south and for impoundment fishing, but you have a death wish if you insist on using one in our crocodile-inhabited tropical waters. However, en route to Cairns, you will encounter many inland impoundments stocked with barramundi and sooty grunter, and most are croc-free. If you have the time to do so, drop the’yak in and enjoy some top sports fishing.
The Canadian canoe is another amazing vessel for silent fishing and exploring waterways, but having been bumped twice by crocs – and once having a crocodile surface alongside us that was two feet longer than the 16-foot canoe we were in – I changed my mind on fishing from canoes and’yaks in the tropics.
TINNIES RULE
YEARS ago, the car-top tinnie ruled up here, but with more crocodiles about than ever before, most resident anglers have upgraded their vessels to trailer boats. However, car-toppers endure, and many vehicles on the Cape carry one; though most never see water once their owners are told by the local roadhouse or pub ‘expert’ that crocodiles eat tinnies for breakfast – never mind that the ‘expert’ is probably doing a firsttime ever trip and passing on the pub lore he has been conned with.
I have and still use 3.7m tinnies and have never had a problem with a crocodile attacking
