An Affair with Sally

I have no idea why Salamander Reef was named such – unlike nearby Four Foot Rock and Twenty Foot Rock – but I remember plenty being written about the fish-rich waters near Townsville’s Cape Cleveland back in the early eighties. That was before my own love affair with the rocks and their garnishing corals began in the dying years of the same decade.

The late Alan Zavodny wrote a heap about the Salamander Reef complex stretching from the tip of Cape Cleveland and encompassing a series of rocks including Two Foot, Four Foot and another much bigger piece of hard stuff, not surprisingly referred to as Twenty Foot Rock.

Meanwhile, Dale Welldon wrote his monthly diary pieces for Fish & Boat magazine during the late eighties and nearly always had something to say about fish from Salamander Reef.

I read with great interest as the late, great Malcolm Florence described schools of pelagic species in abundance near ‘Sally’. He wrote of queenfish so thick in numbers they could almost be walked upon, enormous Spanish mackerel and a funny little fish called a scad or mad fish – something as foreign as could be to a fresh-faced teenager from the south who thought he knew plenty about what he could expect in fishing utopia.

I was as wrong as could be and had plenty to learn about tropical fishing. Four decades on, I can profess to knowing a whole lot more about Sally, perhaps the most popular inshore fishing hotspot within Townsville waters.

Finding Sally

Bouncing precisely 20 kilometres, or around 11 nautical miles, across relatively shallow Cleveland Bay lands a Sally-bound angler pretty much below the Cape Cleveland lighthouse. Another 6 kilometres or so to the east, and the angler is confronted with a couple of rocky lumps breaking the ocean’s surface at lower stages of the tide, the reef rising from around 18–20 metres of water.

Before affordable GPS, experienced anglers would line up Four Foot Rock with a small, easily identifiable rocky beach on the eastern flank of Cape Cleveland. They’d then motor east, using Cape Pallarenda, Cape Cleveland and Magnetic Island as visual references to find the southern rock of Sally.

It was a primitive but effective method and always easiest at low tide when the rocks were more readily visible – easier still when a bit of sea encouraged waves to break over them.

Modern technology has made things considerably simpler. The coordinates 19°10.879’S 147°03.516’E provide a useful reference for Salamander Reef, although anglers should always rely on current navigation charts and their own marine electronics when navigating the area.

Salamander Reef is commonly referred to among local anglers as Big Sally and Little Sally, each name identifying the respective rocky structures. Both can become submerged as the tide rises.

When Sally is firing, there are few better places around Townsville to cast a line. But like anywhere in the fishing world, the reef can occasionally appear barren and leave even experienced anglers scratching their heads.

The fish aren’t necessarily gone. Pelagic and demersal species can school hundreds of metres away from the reef itself, so exploring the surrounding water can often make the difference.

Queen of Salamander

As a summer option, Sally has long been best known for its queenfish. In years past, vast schools could be encountered around the reef, with cast-and-retrieved surface lures and poppers drawing these spectacular sportfish from the depths.

Surface fishing for queenfish can still be exhilarating. They are partial to all manner of lures, but when they’re switched on, a fast-moving surface lure can produce explosive strikes.

Big fish better than 8 kilograms were commonplace during the early days of Townsville’s sportfishing movement. Fish of that calibre are still encountered around Sally, although those extraordinary days of seemingly endless schools are less common.

Hot, balmy summer mornings and late afternoons can produce memorable sessions. Add a bit of breeze and chop, perhaps a passing rain squall, and queenfish can suddenly become extremely aggressive.

The slab-sided speedsters will shoulder each other out of the way to engulf a lure, seemingly no matter how quickly it is retrieved – and sometimes the quicker the better!

A hungry queenfish will almost run into the side of the boat chasing down a well-retrieved lure – I kid you not. The fight is spectacular and dogged, often punctuated by impressive aerial displays before the fish is finally subdued. It’s little wonder queenfish earned the old nickname “poor man’s marlin.”

Gold at Salamander

GT or giant trevally, longtail and mack tuna, grey or broad-barred mackerel, lesser trevally species and barracuda are all common pelagic visitors to the Salamander Reef complex during the warmer months. Meanwhile, one of North Queensland’s favourite inshore table fish can be found down deep.

Golden snapper, or fingermark, are eagerly sought by Townsville and visiting anglers, particularly through summer and early autumn. Still summer evenings around the new or dark moon periods have traditionally been productive times to target them.

Live baits fished close to the bottom can be extremely effective, while switched-on anglers also troll deep-diving minnow-style lures close to the structure to entice fingermark from their lairs.

Soft plastics and vibes worked near the bottom provide another productive option and can account for some excellent fish.

And while fingermark might be the intended target, don’t fall out of the boat when a fat coral trout grabs the bait or lure instead!

Mack Time at Salamander

Salamander Reef has been the scene of some incredible Spanish mackerel catches over the decades. Veteran Townsville anglers tell stories of monster fish better than 40 kilograms caught at and around Sally, although my own introduction to the place wasn’t quite so spectacular.

My great mate Peter Carbery and I fished Sally at least twice a week during my first winter season, trolling wolf herring, hairtail, garfish, split-tail mullet and pilchards – for absolutely zip! We thought we were doing everything right but still didn’t nail a decent mackerel.

The following summer I finally fluked an unseasonal Spaniard of exactly 14 kilograms on light 4-kilogram line after leaving Salamander and passing nearby Four Foot Rock on the way home.

I was a light-line nut back then and, after running across a school of big fish cruising close to the surface in dirty water, I instinctively cast a deep-diving timber lure astern and got the bite. That was my first.

As it turned out, Carbery and I had been doing most things right that first season – the fish simply hadn’t shown up.

They turned up the next, and every season thereafter… and Townsville fishers rejoiced!

Salamander remains well known for Spanish mackerel through the cooler months, although fish can be encountered at other times of year. Trolled baits, live baits and well-presented dead baits can all be effective, while lure fishing provides another option when fish are actively feeding.

Tide, current, bait and time of day can all influence the bite. Dawn and dusk around favourable tidal changes have traditionally been productive periods, but as generations of Sally anglers have discovered, sometimes the mackerel simply write their own rules.

Salamander Has It All

Golden and diamond trevally, small and large-mouth nannygai, goldspot cod, coral trout and grassy emperor are all bottom-fishing possibilities around Salamander Reef, while occasional captures of species such as snapper and mulloway add an element of surprise.

Billfish can also turn up in the surrounding waters. I caught my first couple of marlin between Salamander Reef and Four Foot Rock – both accidentally while chasing mackerel – and I’ve seen a few other anglers catch their first marlin there since.

Tuna can be encountered in numbers, with mack tuna possible throughout much of the year and longtail tuna particularly prominent at certain times. Scad, bonito and other baitfish can also gather around the area and, when the bait arrives, larger predators are rarely far behind.

That’s one of Sally’s great attractions. You can head there with one species in mind and finish the day having encountered something entirely different.

Sally is certainly worth getting to know – just treat her right and she’ll be good to you.

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Before You Fish Salamander Reef

Salamander Reef lies within a Conservation Park (Yellow) Zone of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Fishing is permitted in Yellow Zones, but restrictions apply, so anglers should check the current zoning requirements before fishing the area.

Fishing rules, size and possession limits, seasonal closures and marine park requirements can change. Before heading out, check the current Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning information and Queensland recreational fishing rules rather than relying on information in an older fishing report.

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