Fishing the Airlie Beach rockwalls

Fishing the rockwalls of Airlie Beach

From Cannonvale, all the way through to Airlie Beach, there are quite a few rockwalls providing excellent fishing. A few common tips apply to all the walls though. Firtly, fish as light as you can. Not only is it more exciting when you actually have to play a fish, rather than just 'skull drag' it to the wall, but you will find that your strike and hook up rates increase significantly. Secondly, if your into lure fishing, try soft plastics jigged along or near the bottom, or small silver metal slugs retreived as fast as you can wind. I like the 'Big Eye' slugs with a tinge of blue on the back. If you're a bait bisherman, then definately go for the local live herring you can net all along the shallows on the upper parts of the tide.

Abel Point Marina rock wall

The most popular rockwall by far is the Abel Point Marina rockwall. There is plenty of space for you to cast a line. One of the most productice areas is the entrance to the marina itself. As the tide ebbs, the smaller baitfish hanging around the inside marina walls to hide from predators, are forced out of the entrance into the paths of the waiting predators.

You'll be amazed at what gets caught here. During the wet season, after heavy runoff, there are plenty of barramundi to chuck your lures or live bait at. During the dry season, you'll often catch smaller trevally which love to chase small metal slugs retrieved as fast as you can wind. These little trevally are really fast and hit your lure with an awesome amount of aggression making them good fighters and great fun to catch.

There's also plenty of flathead, salmon, grunter and other more common species depending on the time of year.

Further to the south, towards Cannonvale, their is another entrance to the marina which is currently closed to vessel traffic, but does allow tidal flow. Anchoring a small vessel near either of the entrances (but avoid anchoring in the entrance itself or within the leads of the entrance) and casting lures or live baits is the go. If you don't have a small boat or kayak, then you can fish from the rockwall all the way along to the Volunteer Marine Rescue club house and produce the same results.

Airlie Beach yacht club rock wall

The Airlie Beach Yacht Club is prominent and includes a small dinghy harbour surrounded by a rock wall. The outside of this rockwall fishes quite well. Often on the eastern end, there are schools of salmon in season. You'll know when that's going on, by the larger than usual crowds fishing the wall. Even so, there is always space for one more person. One of the advantages of this fishing location is that if you don;t catch any fish, you can nip into town (About 2 minutes walk) and buy fish and chips to eat under a palm tree on the sandy main Airlie Beach.

Port Of Airlie Rock Walls

The new Port Of Airlie is still under construction at this time, but it does seem there will be some rockwalls and platforms that will make for some great fishing once the public have access. The structure of the marina is very close to mangroves leading into a nearby tidal creek and it's likely once the water flow patterns are established, larger fish will move into the area to take advantage of the bait fish forced out when the tide drops.

Baits and lures

I like to throw lures because it gives me something to do rather than just wait for a fish to come along. Others like to try a dead bait, but the most surefire method of catching fish from the rockwalls is live bait. I'll say it again, live bait ! Bring your cast net and have a throw around the shallows on the upper part of the tide and you should get more bait than you can use. Be sure to throw back what you can't use. Mostly, you'll net small to medium herring. A single hook through the back on a running sinker, cast out into the outgoing tide will produce some fish for the table.