If you are new to CB BUT CAPABLE IN BOATING north or south wont make any difference. both are safe. So many ppl will tell you the south passage is dangerous but it's just common (boating ) sense.
pick a reasonable day line up the markers. Or just use gps plotter and go out South.....it's that simple.

With CB it's just a matter of using you fish finer well. ppl will struggle cos there is no defined structure......just fish.
If you don't have the sounder tuned in well it all just looks like desert...very flat no bommies (except a "table top" out from the north passage (which gets hammered))

tune your sounder head out find the schools and you will do fine.

If all else fails late march the YFT schools will be everywhere.

The only time the south passage is a bit hairy is when the swell is up 2.5m+ then you have to just time it right and give it curry, other than that its fine.  There is alot of fish behind the reef but alot of sharks too.  If you are into game fishing, there is always a few small marlin and a few sailfish around in deeper water.

I have headed out through the northern end of the reef system in 5m of swell and 15kn of south westerly safely.
From what I've seen first hand there is no south passage in the same conditions.
As mentioned above though, it is safe provided you have a good understanding of the water movement through it and capable of getting through sets as they can rear up through there when the swell gets up to and above 2.5m. IMO I wouldn't try it if there is more than 3m of swell.
When coming back in have look first then pick the last wave of a set, with the marks lined up and head in sitting just behind it.
There are plenty of fish in side of 20 mile.
Bottom lock is your friend. The schools are not always big, so short drifts are the go. Once your off the school by 30 or so meters it's over.
Plenty of pelagic species off the north end of the reef.
A tip though is keep your boat in gear when fighting fish around here, the sharks are like mongrel dogs. They almost seem to have become aware of the boat gears going into neutral and just appear at the back of your boat and wait for you to bring the fish to them. Be prepared to free spool if it looks like there're onto your fish and chase it down.
Good luck.

definitely go to Exxy.

no fish in Coral Bay ;)

start looking about 8 mile out from south passage- plenty of fish around.

20 miles and you are over 100 metres depth and you've driven past a lot of good fish. That being said, there are also plenty of good fish in that depth and more.

And def agree with previous comments about Sth passage- rethink if anything over 2 - 2.5 metres and don't risk it if tide is low. If not experienced, always spend a good amount of time just watching before you attempt to navigate the passage and make triple sure it's safe- should do this in any conditions/ forecasts anyway as we all know how wrong the weather man can be!!

North passage is ok in any swell but a fair hike to get out. You don't need a lot of experience in c bay waters to navigate the passage but you need boating experience to navigate the route to the passage itself through the inner reef. It's well marked out but you still need to know what you're looking for- easiest way for a first timer is just to follow another boat out.

have a crack.

cheers

brett

Thanks all REALLY appreciate the comments.

now just 5 more months of waiting!

 I live in exmouth and regularly do the drive to coral bay cause the fishin in coral bay is like fishin in exy 10 years ago.  Just need to get your head around fishin flatter ground and knowing how to read a sounder properly. Plus the weather at the end of march is usually great.

Be aware that the tide has as much effect as the swell in closing out South Passage-just like any bar entrance an outgoing spring tide will make a smaller swell hairy and incoming the opposite.

 Thanks for the input especially about south passage, tides etc

the sounder info is helpful - been working on sounder skill/knowledge pretty hard this past 6 months since I got my current unit - don't think I've mastered it yes but getting there - Gilly catches more fish than me so he's been helping me with settings etc - nearly there....

was as planning to do a heap of trolling too, so far planning to troll out to and along 100 plus, marking bottom spots as I go and then come to bottom bounce same

just outside the reef drifting with a snelled mulie will often get spangleds, GT's, redthroats, charlies and SHARKS.

As the others have said, head wide and don't waste your time looking for structure as there isn't any, find the fish schools.

navigating south passage is easy in the right conditions. ie low swell and minimal tide movement. I wouldn't recommend anything over 2.5m swell.
North passage is always open just give it a wide berth in a bigger swell.