A couple days after the Montes, fueled up and went to the islands to stay at a mates camp.

Easter, far from the best time but still it'd be rude to say no 

Headed out, just myself and youngest son, got to the island (about size of a suburban block with 3 camps/jetties) and there were 8 boats there, 6 of them 50-60 footers.

Luckily, the birdman (Dr Chris Surman, well known Abrolhos researcher) let me use the end of his jetty which saved alot of juggling.

Incidentally he published an awesome book on the Abrolhos, below.

https://www.halfmoonbiosciences.com/j/checkout

We went with the purpose of tracking down some mackeral, which we hadnt seen much of for a few years.

First day was a total bust, just a couple demersals for dinner.

Second day trolled for about 7 hours and found them at 5pm not far from where we started 

Got a couple in quick succession, then had to hightail it into camp.

Headed back out next morning, trolled the vicinity for 2 1/2 hrs then suddenly it was on.

Mac finally got one to the boat, double hook ups while trying to clear the spread, dropped about 1/2 dozen near boat, landed 5, lost one to sharks.

In one pic, Macs holding up his fish and a strike on the rod next to him, then the other rod as well.

Filleted a couple and gave away to others

Jerked the pots for 20 crays, kept 8 then headed home.

 Must start with acknowledging Slugger for endless assistance here.

Been planning a Montes trip with my 2 boys for a few months now.

Wanted to get there before the school holidays kicked off so Sunday the 6th we hit the road at 0400 from Gero.

Carnarvon juiced up again, 24.5L per 100 was pretty good for the old F250. Boat was full of fuel and gear, about 4.3tonnes.

Got to Fortescue Roadhouse at 4, incidentally despite being shut, Citic still maintain the toilets for public and there is a hose to take water also.

We belted on intending to camp just off the highway but instead ended up at the river being savaged by midgies.

Launched at 8.30 after loading dinghy onto the roof and legged it for the montes with a stop for the boys to hook some trevalli at the 1st monopod.

Home lagoon was empty, grabbed that and set up camp.

Boys were itching so took off for a quick spear for a couple trout for dinner.

I brought over a mooring setup, and also had made up a set of "Kimberley legs", which worked a fkn treat especially as the tides got bigger.

From there we speared, fished and explored for 8 days.

Among the interesting events were;

• I saw some boats parked at Mansion bay just over from home and nipped in to say hello, and 1st bloke that walked down said "that you Rob?" Massive eye rolling from my boys. Tug skipper Dave who I've worked with off and on for decades plus about 8 other tug crew.
• Hammerhead cruised into home lagoon and was swimming into calf deep water for a feed, no fear, no aggression close enough to touch his fin.
• Generator gave me trouble to run the chest freezer, mostly ran it off my boat inverter with boat dried out and ran the generator partially dismantled.
• The guys above a few days later said "have you seen the drone?" We didn't but 2 nights in a row it hovered over them and then us after dark.
• Went to visit the bomb shelter, boys didn't want to get wet so they took the phones, jumped onto the rocks and I backed off and anchored up, swam in. Same on return then we took off for a spear. I anchored and they went spearing looked for my phone, could only see theirs. Yelled out,  and Mr M took mmy phone out his pocket and held it up "still works dad!"  losing most of my early pics.
• last few days the tides got to springs, 3 meters which made for interesting spearing in the eddies of 5 knot currents.
• Memorable fish-the 2 boys spearing in the strong tide and they called me over, they seemed to be struggling together, I get over and Cam has speared a 75cm Jack which has gone mental, catching the spear in Mac's wetsuit and Cams finger stuck in its mouth, ripping both wetty and finger. That esky is 120litre.
• Had a rather irritating encounter with Parks and Wildlife. They were anchored in the channel on the way down to Hock bay. I didn't see their dive flag until a few 100 meters away, and swung wide over the shallows and slowed down. We stopped for a spear a couple of miles further and I saw them coming towards us. We had no flag as I'd forgotten it but they came straight to us, a girl on the bow "where's ya dive flag mate" said I'd forgotten it and then she said "yeah well you ignored ours and bored right up to us". I was a bit stunned but responded "what? we were at least 150 200 meters away and went around the shallows to avoid you, besides your dive flag shouldnt block a navigable channel anyway?" They had a heap of maybe uni students aboard, she shrugged and they sped off. She was100% right we should have had one but it's not a legal requirement.
• Motored back in 20 knots and went past Cape Preston to visit my tug crew briefly.
• Total 2160km, 249 nautical miles, 549L petrol
• The boys would take the Spindrift out for a spear to get out of my hair in the late arvo, and Fisheries caught up to them one day. They had 2 trout and were near the sanctuary, they asked them if they knew where the line was and they did lol. They were pretty good, and said "ok boys take the big rig home now". A few days later they caught up to us and checked us over, very professional, informative and not at all overbearing, a quite pleasant encounter and chat. Tides were perfect for drying the boat out, floating by 8am

 Hey Guys,

Since moving down to Albany a few years ago, I have been missing weekends at Rotto. 

My Mrs then suggested why don't I drive the boat up via the ocean.

The idea is growing on me, I was wondering if anyone else has done that trip before?

I have a 23ft Carribbean with a diesel and a comfortable 300km range with a 20% reserve. Obviously plus Jerrys on the deck.

I was thinking of stopping:

- Walpole 

- Augusta,

- Dunsborough,

- Perth to pickup the Mrs 

- Rotto for a couple of nights.

Then she can tow the trailer up & we will tow it home.

 Planned a trip out to North Island, Wallabies etc with a mate, ended up launching at Kalbarri yesterday and motoring across.

The weather looked to have a wee bit of rain, but this is what happened from midnight and still going.

Secure on a mooring so no issues but it hailed at midnite and 40 knots.

Visiting friends along the way here for a week.

 Anyone up for a trip to the Berkley River and King George Falls this dry season?

 Round trip of approximately 285 NM

Looking at doing it in May.

Too hard putting it in here, so link to Farcebook below 

Rotto really is a gem, even in the busiest times, at least with a boat it is.

Caught up with a few members there, Brock O and Justin (who walked up literally together and I assumed they knew each other )

Rottnest Island 23/24, first long run

 Finally got back to Rotto after a few years in between building boats

Left Gero 0430 and fueled both boat and truck up $850 in Perth 

Managed to catch the sea breeze on the way over and was surprised to see the beach moorings half empty.

Misjudged the tide and ended up with the kids piled up against the gunwhale.

Did jump rock today (thanks Alex )

Here til 2nd of 3rd, feel free to say gidday

Added some pics, got a few crays and King George in Parker point of all places

After driving past many times on our way further north we finally decided to visit Shark Bay. Drive up to Denham was uneventful, arrived mid-afternoon and set about preparing for the next three days fishing. Weather forecast was looking mint so plan was to head to South Passage on Day 1, then head up to Turtle Bay for an overnighter on Days 2 and 3.

Day 1:

Up early and on the water before sunrise, with a brisk easterly blowing Denham Sound crossing was a little lumpy but the water flattened right off in the shallows and channels and before we knew it Steep Point came into sight. Fault line crossing was uneventful (thanks for the safety tips Beeroclock). With the easterly still up we opted for a troll north behind DHI. Water wasn't as warm as we had hoped (20.5C) but it didn't take long to get the first hit which turned out to be a nice Longtail, after a photo it was put on ice. The Longtail was followed by a Shark Mack and a nice Mack Tuna, both released, along with a couple of good runs that didn't stay connected. With the wind backing off decision was made to head west, we found some decent shows in the 90's so out went the sea anchor and down went the jigs, a minute later I noticed a squirt of black fluid from the front of the outboard, WTF is that??? Quick inspection and to our horror we realized the sea anchor rope had somehow tangled on hydraulic steering hoses and one of them was busted, no steering, shit! Put out a Pan Pan call on VHF 16 and luckily it was answered by Wendy who runs Denham ACRM base, we were glad just to hear her voice as at this stage we were 8nm west of DHI and drifting further out to sea! Wendy notified the authorities and Shark Bay VMR, in the meantime we put a rope around the outboard and started to slowly make our way back to South Passage while manually steering the boat with the ropes, I can tell you it is bloody hard work steering a 150hp 4-stroke using ropes! A couple of hours later Shark Bay sea rescue boat had located us and soon after we were under tow at nearly 30 knots, was a white knuckle ride! Back at the ramp we thanked the sea rescue crew for their assistance and asked whether there is anyone around town that may be able to assist, they gave us number for Jamie Morgan and suggested we give hime a call. That night beers flowed freely while we contemplated what had happened and what it meant for the trip, at this stage we're thinking a premature end is on the cards.

Dy 2:

8am I call Jamie Morgan, he runs Shark Bay Marine Repairs and Services, 10 minutes later I have the boat at his yard, two hours after that he has the boat fixed and just after 11 we're back on the water and headed for Turtle Bay, the fishing trip is back on! Took a couple of hours to get up to Turtle Bay, we first found a spot to anchor up for the night then headed off to the drop-off north of Cape Inscription. Found some good shows around the 50m mark so down go the jigs and shortly after up come a pair of good Pink Snapper, good start! We boated a few more, keeping the biggest, but the sharks moved in so decision was made to head further out. Charts showed some good structure in 70m a couple miles out from Cape Inscription so that's where we headed, unfortunately it turned out to be another phantom structure on the charts that's not actually there! Decided to head further out and found some good shows in the 80's. Down go the jigs, both get slammed and after a good fight up come a pigeon pair of 80cm Rankins, you ripper! These were followed by a nice Pearl Perch, an undersized Red Emp and a few Pink Snapper before things went quiet. We headed back to Cape Inscription drop off where we had a great session on good size snapper which were slamming on the drop any jig we cared to offer them. Sharks moved in again and with sun getting low on the horizon we decided to head into Turtle Bay trolling lures along the drop off. A huge hit on shallow diver followed by a blistering run had me thinking we had found a Mack, especially after it turned and started swmiing towards us, unfortunately the 2nd run never came and soon after we had half a good size Shark Mack on board, the tax man had found us once again! We continued trolling to the end of the drop-off for nothing before anchoring up in Turtle Bay for the night.

Day 3:

My tub is not really designed for overnighters so it was a less than comfortable night on board but the amzing star show made up for the lack of comfort. We did manage a little sleep, up at first light, turn on the sounder and damn, looks like a stack of fish under the boat! Look over the side and I can see small pinkies everywhere! Drop some squid in the water and up they come, smashing bait on surface, amazing! After feeding the fish for a while we topped up the boat fuel tank and headed off to the drop-off for another troll, donuts. While trolling we marked some huge shows in 30m so decided to give them a go, what followed was a hectic session on Pink Snapper with one after another hitting the deck, the bloody things were like blowies! We pushed out a little further into the 50's where we managed a decent Rankin and a good sized Amberjack but for the most part it was hard to get anything past the pinkies. Decided to head back out to the 80's in search of other species, unfurtunately it was really quiet out there with only a a small cod and a couple of small Grassies boated. By this stage the westerly had started to pick up so we decided to start slowly making our way back to Denham. On the way back we checked some lups inside the bay, mostly quiet apart from one which was loaded with ridiculuos amounts of pink snapper, I've never seen the sounder lit up like it was! Safely back in Denham it was an early knock off to catch up on some much needed sleep

Days 4-7:

A cold front came through the next day so after filleting our catch we took it easy as the wind howled outside. With the wind up the next few days we had a look around the national park and despite the wind managed to get out to do some some squidding in close, plenty of good sized squid around. I'm still amazed how the wind does not whip up big waves close to Denham, one of the squidding sessions was in easily the strongest winds I've ever been out in, but waves were only small and very comfortable on the boat.

Day 8:

Last day of the trip and the weather gods are smiling on us again, brisk easterly in the morning backing off to nothing in the afternoon. With unfinished business west of DHI from Day 1 we decided to head to South Passage again, bit lumpier than previous time we had crossed Denham Sound but not too uncomfortable. While waiting for the easterly to drop off we had a cast around Monkey Rock for donuts, then went for a troll south of Steep Point for more donuts, but with the spectacular coastline and whales all over the place we were not upset with the absence of pelagics as fishing almost seemed secondary to experiencing this amazing place. Early afternoon the wind started to drop off as forecst so we headed into the 90's and before too long the jigs were heading south again on good looking shows. A good size Red Throat came up first followed by a Pearl Perch, a Sambo then more Pinkies. Through the afternoon we managed to find a bit more ground which yielded a good Rankin, more Pearlies, a just sized Red, a Tomato Cod, still more Pinkies and some smallish emperors. With sun getting low on the horizon decision was made to head back, by this stage the wind had died to nothing and we flew back at 35 knots gliding over glassed off waters of Shark Bay, was quite a sight!

Was a great trip, saved of course by Wendy at ACRM, Shark Bay VMR, and Jamie Morgan, big thank you to them all! I must say I did not reflect and fully appreciate how remote we were until our destiny was no longer in our own hands and we had to rely on others to get us home. If you ever have any boat issues up there I would not hesitate recommending Jamie, the guy is a legend in my book, had this happened in the big smoke we would have been out of action for weeks, instead he had us up and running the very next morning! When Jamie did the repair he found the hoses had become very brittle due to years of sun exposure so was an accident waiting to happen.

On the fishing front we didn't get the pelagic action we had hoped for but it was July so not totally unexpected I suppose. We found Pinkies in plague proportions, especially up at Turtle Bay. Sharks were an issue in close with a number of fish lost in 20 to 50m, in 80+m we didn't lose any gear or fish to sharks. As far as jigs go there were some notable differences in effectiveness on different species between metal jigs and baited hybrid style jigs:

Emperors: 0 - 10 (metal - hybrid)

Pearl Perch: 6 - 0

Rankins: 3 - 1

Other cods: 3 - 2

Seriolas: 1 - 1

Pinkies: shit tons on both

Having fished the area once I can't wait to go back, next time I'll want to go when the water is warmer for better chance of pelagics, perhaps May will be the way to go.

 Hi All,

Got back from NZ a few weeks back, had the best time and would recommend any one to do the trip. We did it in two parts, the south in camper van exploring and the north with my partners family.

Dates were 21st April to 3rd May in South and 3rd to 12th in North. We got magic weather in the south, 12-15 degree sunny days the whole trip with only one foggy day on Anzac day at Mt Cook. The north in Taranaki drizzled the whole time as fronts came from the north. I did see on the forums the south got solid snow and weather the week after we got home.

Summary: christchurch to akaroa to Lake tekapo/mt cook to queenstown to arrowtown and surrounds to franz josef to hokitika to charleston to Richmond to Picton then interislander to North. The south east was in magic autumn colours and the west in wild green weathered tropics.  Photos do no justice to the scenery, clean, pristine and contrasting nearly every corner you go around. 

Already planning the very south around the sounds and fjords, if its anything like the rest then not missing out. Also going to factor in some fishing next trip.

Had to put a West Coast photo in too.. ;)

Cheers,

 Heading to NZ South island in late April before driving to the north in May. Will be hiring a camper van and driving from Christchurch up the west coast onto the ferry at Picton. Have a few ideas of things to do, but wondering if anyone has any recommendations on things to see that won't have the mass massss touros - ie small jetboat operators tucked away etc.

Ie, love this vid. https://youtu.be/LVr2Ptz4SvE

Cheers

Adam

Next month the wife take off on a 3 month trip north with cruiser, camper trailer and 3.7m tinnie.  Have got a start date and an end date with nothing planned in between. 

First port of call and the starting point will be King Ash Bay and then meander back through the Territory and through the Kimberley.

Would anyone like to share any of their "Must Visit" places in that general vicinity with the emphasis being as much free camping as possible.

Also, absolute novice when it comes to creek fishing, and general advice would be appreciated.

Cheers

Woodsy

 Heading to Kalbarri tomorrow for a week. I'm taking the ski and I'm hoping to sneak out for a few morning session trolls/jiggles. Just wondering if any other member will be up there boat fishing? I've never fished offshore up there so not expecting too much first trip, but if I can put some fillets on the table for lunch it'll be a bonus. Not looking for spots or anything, I like the hunt of the ground more than the actual fish. Just wondering if anyone else will be up there and on the water in the mornings so I can maybe score a smooth run out haha

 Staying at Port Gregory caravan park in a couple of weeks will be landbased with a 4wd just after some info on yellowfin whiting fishing on that stretch of coast will be geared up for the bigger stuff as well.

 Hi everyone,

I am going fishing in monkey mia in 4 weeks, i am staying at the resort and am hoping to catch flathead and whiting on the flats but im not sure if there are any spots near by that i could fish for coral trout or bluebone? if there is what bait or lures would be best?

Thanks 

 So I sold the boat and bought  a caravan.  I know,  don't ridicule me. So I'm now land based and heading north with the rest of WA. So what is the best park for a van in that area, bearing on mind the Mrs is a bit of a princess. Looking to shore dive and beach fish, spew.

 g'day everyone,

can anyonme recomend short stay / one night accomodation ,

which will have enough room to park one car & one boat.

must be close to boat ramps,

port bouvard

woodmans point

two rocks marina

these i fish from mostly.

cheers

Has anyone stayed at Warra and taken a boat bigger other then a tinny? I have a 5.1m stacer runabout that I was thinking of taking up there on a camping trip. Can it be safely beach launched and moored up on anchor? 

I have only stayed at Ningaloo Station before at South Lefroy where is was easy to launch and moor up with the protected bay. Im hoping Warra its simmular to this. Having the boat moored out the front of the camp really made the trip.

Thanks

up here at the moment staying at Yardie Caravan Park as I always do now but just wanted to express my sadness at seeing the Lighthouse park shut. Had some awesome Xmas holidays there.

I understand Twiggy will be doing it up possibly as an echo retreat but to me that just means that most of  us won’t be able to afford it and that’s disappointing . 

 Hi guys we are in kalbarri at the moment and would love to go snorkeling tomorrow 3/04/2021 on the inside of the reef. Unfortunately we don't have a 4x4 so we can't launch our 3.9m tinny. I was wondering if anyone was in port Gregory that might be able to help us launch please? Or have a number of someone that might be able to help us out? Cheers in advance

Hi Folks

Heading to CBay next week and will be the first time with a boat capable of heading out behind the reef and beyond.  Would appreciate some of the groups wisdom about do's and don't s, how far out do we need to head to find a nice big red and if there are any good spots to take the family (13 & 9yr old) for a fish or day trip etc.

What's your experience???

Cheers in advance

Has anyone been up to ningaloo station recently? I'm heading up in late April and an worried about the condition of the road. Last I heard DPAW haven't been taking good care of it. Also is there anywhere you can get water from? I think there used to be a windmill there with a well but that was years ago. Im staying at south lefroy and towing in a 5m stacer runabout. 

 Hey guys, 

What do you do for campsite refrigeration?

I have a trip planned to warroora station for the week before Easter and I'm wondering what to do for keeping stuff cold.

Currently I have:

Camper trailer with solar to provide power.

40l Waeco

A range of ice box sizes to choose From.

Currently as I see it my options are:

1. Buy a second fridge so one on freezer one on fridge.

2. Waeco on ice maker duties and Esky with ice in it.

3. Big ice box with dry ice and block ice to hopefully stay cold for the week, t hen freezer for ice making and fish freezing?

Let me know what you have done/seen.

I have a dual cab Ute with canopy and a camper trailer as a base set-up

Cheers

 g'day to all ,

We have booked a trip for the september 2021 school holidays, and are looking for recomendations for a half way over night stop.

dose not need to be anything fancy just somwhere to crash/shower & feed(resturant)

2 adults , and 10yr old boy & 5 yr old girl

We will be travelling from  perth to shark bay ,

 G'Day!

A mate of mine and our four boys aged 3 to 9 are heading to Warroora Station in the first week of January. We will be towing a small Jayco and a 4.2m tinny with a 40 on the back

Can anyone please help me out with some suggestions!?

1/  Best place to camp with protected reef where you can swim, snorkel and kayak.

2/  Best place to launch our tinny.

3/  Best places to fish in that size tinny.

Cheers guys look forward to hearing from you

Hi all, New member and my first time posting on here.

Looking for some advice, I'm taking the family to Monkey Mia this Friday (returning Tuesday). I have a 4.5m Savage runabout. Wind looks great Friday, but we will arrive too late. Sunday and Monday its blowing its guts out so the boat wont be an option.

I have read all the historical post on here about Monkey Mia, and there is some fantastic advice. 

However I have the age old delema....  For Saturday Seabreeze is showing 12 -14kn until lunch time for Shark Bay, and Nautide is 5-10kn wind at land and 22-27kn wind at sea for Monkey Mia.

Can anyone advise if Saturday will be okay for say 500m off the shore or maybe advise if there a sheltered bay we can duck into? I havent boated up their before.

I own my own business, so even one day out in the boat is cherished..

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi All,

I'm currently based overseas (dubai) and just booked flight to Maldives next month for a week. havn't booked accommodation yet but looking to stay somewhere within a boat trip from the airport (male'). 

Just wondering if anyone on here has been there and can recommend any decent fishing charters? Keen to throw some plastics and stick baits at the various reef species (light to medium gear). 8000 stella would be the heaviest gear i'll take.

cheers/Ben

 Hey guys,

I am in need for your advice.

I have 26 foot cruiser on trailer.

We are thinking about heading north from Perth  during next school halfterm, unfortuantely everywehere is booked up.

Is there suitable place to anchor close to Exmouth and stay for few nights?

It doesnt have to be Exmouth!

your help is much appreciated .

Regards 

hey fellas

im heading to denham late september/oct and was looking to clear a few things up. ive read many many posts of others asking for advice and ive still got a few questions. only really looking for pointers inside the bay and maybe the hartog channel, not really keen on venturing outside steep point unless its flat and glassy. have been up there before but would rather do some catching instead of bait wasting this time haha. a few quickies for u guys.

is it better to drift or anchor and burley?

am i waisting my time trolling between spots?

has anyone found good spaniards in the channels of bar/middle flats or are they further north?

do you fish bent pin as if its structure where the fish is held, or is it the ground around bent pin where the fish are?

are bait or jigs/sp better or is it personal preference?

what kind of areas are coral torut found?

any help and advice is greatly appreciated thanks guys :)

 Morning Team,

We're headed up to Giralia in a week and a half for 10 nights and this trip is, compared to what we normally do, fairly last minute. I have done the old google and Fishwrecked search for info though am chasing any recent feedback or suggestions for fishing?

Boat wise, we have a 3.3m inflatable with a 5hp Yammy on the back so range will be limited. We are there for the full moon and the next 10 days so tides will be a consideration.

Based on our last trips to tamala where we got a combined total of 5 fish over 17 days, we are taking enough meals to last the trip though a couple of fish or crabs would be the cherry on top.

Has anyone been there recently and able to offer a report?

Cheers