Make your way to the Townsville Airport to meet your pilot and start your fishing tour by helicopter. On this outing, known as 'heli-fishing,' you get to wear a 2-way radio headset that allows you to communicate while in flight.
As for gear, it's all there. Your guide provides equipment such as overhead rods, spin reels, nets, coolers (eskys), chairs, and insect repellent, among other necessary gear. Your tackle box comes stocked with filleting knives, lures, and bait.
Next you'll take a short flight to either Bray Island, a rocky outcrop surrounded by deep waters, or to an estuary near Cape Cleveland. When you land, your guide breaks out a gourmet picnic lunch accompanied by sparkling wine or beer.
On this trip, expect to cast a line for mangrove jack, salmon, flathead, and barramundi (from February thru October). At Bray Island, you'll also fish for cod, mackerel and trevally. (Bonus: You may spot other wildlife including crocodiles, dugongs, turtles and humpback whales.)