Fishing near Cairns, Queensland

Cairns sits in Far North Queensland, flanked by the Wet Tropics rainforest and the Coral Sea, with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park on its doorstep. The city is one of Australia's most varied fishing destinations, where anglers can move from barramundi in tidal estuaries like Trinity Inlet to reef species on the outer Barrier Reef and big-game marlin in the deep blue — all within a short run from the marina. Rivers such as the Mulgrave and Barron add freshwater and brackish options close to town, while headlands like Cape Grafton and Kings Point draw pelagic species on the push of the tide.