Lady Musgrave, Lady Elliot

Lady Elliot & Lady Musgrave Island

Lady Musgrave Island offers guests a reef and swimming friendly all-weather anchorage. Both Lady Musgrave and Lady Elliott are also both know for Manta Rays and turtles (and bird life)!

But back to the fishing, the largest black marlin caught south of Townsville was also caught in these waters off Lady Musgrave and Elliot Island.

Toward the end of the Cairns giant black marlin season we can see the big blacks start to move south from Cairns as the water temperatures rise. And so over the summer, big black marlin and their smaller male partners are caught here regularly.

Its a great option to target these big blacks as well as the blues that frequent the area during this time as well. And throw in a stripe, and you have a grand slam — also common at this time of year!

Light Tackle Black Marlin

While the big blacks and blues can be firing offshore, the little black marlin are often firing inside. These fish likewise travel south from Cairns and Townsville in the East Australian Current and many stay the waters of Fraser Island for months at a time attracted by the big bait schools inshore.

Indeed one train of though its that on the inside of the island, the juvies can be trapped against their will momentarily as they veer right at the spit instead of left and can be caught right off the beach at Rooney’s Point and Watumba Creek until they work out how to get out and around the island again!

The small fish are great fun on light tackle and are often caught traveling to and from the heavy tackle grounds making for a varied day of fishing!