Well the plan was to head to onslow with the family for 5 days but the daughter slept bad wed night and woke up under the weather coming down with something so the wife said you still go away so a quick phone call to a mate in perth at 7am to see if he wanted to fly to exmouth for a few days he rang me back 10 minutes later and said yep let's do it he had to have a Sickie as he was due back to work on the monday and that was the only flight out so I jumped in the car and left at 8.30am to be at exmouth airport for the flight arriving at 2.30 made it there with 10 minutes to spare we got some supplies from town then headed to yardie homestead so we didnt have to drive much each day.

Weather was a bit average fairly windy and a bit of swell around but still fishable. Day 1 we tried to bottom fish but I was having sounder issues we fished a few spots below 50m but the tax man was out of control so put on the lures and started to troll we saw a free jumping marlin  about 50m from the boat but no hookup a couple hours later we landed a couple of tuna put the skirts back out and half an hour later landed a nice blue marlin a first on my boat took 30minutes to get the fish boat side had to swim him for probably 15 minutes until he was fighting strong again that was it for day 1.

Day 2 we decided to troll all day was pretty swelly but persisted with it.  it was very quiet no birds all daygwe managed togtet a nice mahi mahi he had some friends swimming with him but couldn't hook another. That was it for day 2.

Day 3 wind was ment to really pick up by lunch so thought we would have a quick bottom fish again no good sharked every drop. And the birds were quiet again but we managed 2 yellow fin tuna and a skip jack.

Was a quick trip but was very rewarding none the less just gotta try sort out the sounder now.

Had To Block Mates Face Out For Now Due To Sickie....

Cheers

Roddo 

Wanted to attach this with photos to the Dirk Hartog Island post but couldn't figure out how to get photos onto an existing post.

Here is a post featuring a DHI trip form a couple of years ago

Leaving Perth at 0400 5 of us in two 4WD’s headed up the brand Hwy with our first stop the 440 roadhouse for a fuel up and breakfast. Then it was on to the Overlander roadhouse for a fuel top up and an early lunch before heading in towards Steep Point. The trip in wasn’t too bad, some corrugations but overall not too bad. The sand hills were negotiated with ease by the Triton and Landcrusier and we arrived at Blackies beach to wait for the Barge. We had arrived in good time so had an hour or so to wait so killed the time downing a cold one and having a swim in the crystal clear water. Then it was onto the barge for the quick trip over to the island and the 40 minute run up to the homestead and our accommodation in the Ocean Villa. This would be our base for the next 5 nights. It was perfect for our needs, verandah to sit under and talk bullshit and have a quiet beer or two, hot shower and comfortable bed.
You couldn’t have asked for better weather for our time there, Mid 30’s light winds and low swells. The plan had always been to fish the West coast which we were able to do on all 4 days. We were mainly targeting demersals as the winds were onshore most of the time. Had 4 awesome sessions with many Baldies, Pinkies, Spangos along with a smattering of trevally, shark mackerel and kingies caught. I will let the photos do the talking.
A big shout out to Kirren for his hospitality and his son Will for the amazing photos and video he took on our last day. None of us wanted to spend time on the camera as we all wanted to fish so thanks.
Finally a big cheers to Mick, Dan, Reece and Ben for making it such a great trip.
Here is a link to the Video of our last days fishing, hope it works as I'm not that tech savvy.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cmlm3uley17wnfk/fishing.mp4?dl=0

I know it’s a fishing forum but I’m sure a few people here have campervans.

weve started looking to buy one to take to gnarloo.

thinking a forward fold camper (don’t want a soft floor) with a roof topper rack.

anyone with recommendations, both good and bad on make, features etc.

plemty of MDC around, so thinking a cruiser high side.

thanks for the help. 

G’day all, I’m looking at taking my 4.5m tinnie over to Peaceful Bay to drop a line in the water. Any advice re launching in the area?  Is it a beach launch or is there a ramp there? Any tips appreciated.

Morning All,

I know it is a push though my family and I are heading up the coast as far as Exmouth in april/may and are looking to hire a boat once we get to the tip. It is a proper first world problem as I am towing the caravan up therefore cant take my own boat and the guys we are heading up with, towing a boat, are heading back at Carnarvon.

Would anyone have a 4.2m + tinny up there that they could be talked into renting to me? I am aware of the rental options up there and the cost and would be willing to reinburse accordingly. I appreciate that if you're up there and have a boat, you will likely want to use it yourself, i am just putting it out there...

Now i fully understand if there are no replies to this though the kids (6 and 3) watch youngbloods multiple times a week and i want get them out on the water. Further to that, last time i took my tinny up, we didnt catch a thing, and the last time off the beach, i got a snook in the marina so want to see if i can better that....

I have 29 years experience on boats and have owned my own boats over the past 17 years. 

Worth a shot..

 Hi Fishers,

planning a late March trip from Fremantle to the Abrolhos Islands in a 42' Randall with some mates, leaving ( subject to weather) 23rd and need to be back no later than the 2nd April due to interstate mates flights.

the boat isn't a speedboat by any means, cruising is about 12kn, burins around 70 lt an our, got 1200lt capacity, is there anyone I can prearrange topping up diesel on any of the islands, obviously I'm going to need to refuel along the way as well but the answer to my question might determine heading out to the islands from Jurien Bay or Geraldton.

any suggestions of places to see, checkout ect would be great, never been there before so any areas to fish ect if yoire happy to share would be happily received. 
same goes if anyone else is planning a trip for the same time, be great to hook up with another boat.

im also planning on towing my 4.5m runnabout to use for trolling ect and generally running around 

Cheers 

 Hi there,

I'm from the US and will be graduating college in May, and my buddy and I planned a fishing trip before we go off into the "real world". We are both experienced in kayaking/camping/fishing and we were planning on flying in to Exmouth and kayaking the coast from there to Coral Bay over the period of a couple weeks; living off some supplies and fish we caught and staying at the campgrounds.

Would anyone have any recommendations/advice for this trip or anything to be wary of?

Thanks!

Hi FW crew, big shout out to the team at Montebello Island Safaris. Just got back from my second trip out there with these guys and can't say a bad word about them. This trip was very different to the last one, but just as amazing. Caught some great fish and saw some amazing sights. From 4 way hook ups of spanish macks, sailfish hooked on 30lb jig outfits, weighed 25kg GT, big sharks, big trout, trolling, casting, bottom bouncing, stick baits, poppers, jigs, bait. So much variety and so much fun. Food was great, and watching the skipper (Mouse) fillet macks in just seconds was simply impressive!

Nathan, Kirk, Mouse & Wade-O, keep doing what you are doing, I'll be back for round 3 soon! (But not soon enough!) Anyone considering a charter out there I strongly suggest you consider these guys.

Cheers,

BD.

 Hi all

Looking for a bit of info please, planning a trip to the Montes and was wondering on people's thoughts on leaving their car at the Fortescue river will it be safe for up to a week there or don't bother with it any info would greatly be appreciated.

Went across to the Abrolhos for the June long weekend with the brother inlaw, planned to drive up to Gero Thursday night, head across Friday morning and back to Perth Monday. However with the weather forecast the possibility of coming back Sunday was floated and likely.

Almost didn’t happen at all after realising the trailer brakes weren’t working on Tuesday night when topping up the boat with fuel ready. Luckily Darren at DTL Industries managed to squeeze me in and get the brakes back up and running. I could see brake fluid leaking from a caliper and asked for a new one to be fitted, however it was found that all the discs were badly rusted and all the brakes pads were down to pretty much bare metal.

The drive up went smoothly, usual roadside critters and we rolled out the swags just outside Gero at about 1am. Woke up in the morning to a 20knt Easterly, decided to head to Dome for some breaky and hope that the wind died down. After breaky decided to give it a crack anyway, being Easterly we would be going with it. Went in convoy with a Trailcraft we bumped into at the servo and logged into sea rescue. Trip over was actually quite nice, cruising 15-20knts and made it to the islands for midday.

We spent the afternoon fishing on some ground we came across, sounder was going off but only got a nice trout and decent pinkie (which was partly mauled by a shark on the way up). Dropped off the pots, anchored up in a sheltered bay in the Pelsaert Group and had some trout burgers with some rum.

Saturday morning was quite windy so after checking the cray pots (for 1 cray), we moved them to a new spot and decided to head down the inside of the Pelsaert Group. Caught some barely size trout and small pinkies (all released). Had plans to give deep drop a go but decided to hit up some dhuie spots that went off on a previous trip, unfortunately they were dead this time, nothing. Had a quick troll for no luck and made our way back to camp.

Had some ‘popcorn’ cray and squid (caught off the boat) for dinner, was meant to be entrée but the 1 big cray and 5 squid was overkill for entrée.

During the night the wind switch from SW to NE and seemed to pick up (blowing 20knts +) so we had breaky and walked along the shore of the island having a flick (no success) but was pretty cool exploring it. Rob H popped into the bay, sheltering from the wind for a bit. We had a chat and he calmed my nerves regarding ‘what if’ wind doesn’t die down, was starting to think of leaving at 12-1 and slowly making our way back to gero (thanks a heap).

Late morning we headed out, it wasn’t too bad. We checked the craypots for 6 keepers and then had a last fish before heading back. Ended up with another pinkie, couple baldies, grassie emporer and losing a couple of fish to sharks. By then the wind had calmed off but the ocean was still a bit messy, left Abrolhos at 3.30pm and made it back to the Gero ramp for 5pm bumping into the Trailcarft guys again.

All in all definitely a great place and great trip, cant wait to do it again.

Put 10hrs on the motor, covered 133.5nm and used 174ltrs for petrol (took 330ltrs). Higher fuel than normal due to trimming bow right down to plough into chop for a bit, cruising at 27knts when possible (knew we had plenty of fuel so wanted more time fishing instead of traveling) and leaving engine idling in reverse when jigging.

 Took a run over to the islands on the long weekend, taking my boys and a mate who'd never been before.
As the boys had an important hockey game in the arvo, we couldnt leave until 17.45 so a night run across.

Rolled in at about 7.30, chucked the pots out straight away and set up for a night fish 

As we pulled up, baitfish were everywhere, 20 meters deep but you could only see a meter down.

There were a few big splashes nearby which we didnt see, something hitting the bait fish.

Just as we were getting lines over, the water around us simply exploded, white bait going 2 meters into the air, filling the outboard well and all over the deck, frigging mess...

2 meters sharks were butting into us, going mad at the baitfish.

Dropped anyway, bang straight to a dhuie

Then the pinkies came thru, and half a dozen tailor as well, released

Next morning was a fresh noreast so attended to a few minor jobs until the breeze dropped away, about lunchtime.

Unfortunately this meant the tide was dropping away quite a bit so the baldies were slow to bite. Steady arvo for a bag with a couple of short moves.

Damage was done mainly by Mac, poor old Muzz couldnt turn a trick...

Took a bit of a troll in the sloppy nor-easters for just a shark mac, then popped into the top end of Pelseart for a look.

Bumped into FW Vassago in there, had a bit of a chit chat for a while as the boys had a snorkel.

Headed back to the camp as my mate was coming in with the cray boat and had a mechanical issue for me to have a look at.

They didnt get in until about 1600, sorted that and took off towards town at 1700 with a bit of SE on the shoulder.

Wet ride in, hit the ramp at 7pm and retrieved-FARK, flat tyre on trailer which looked like it had been knifed...

Rang the missus to bring the spare, she had a migraine.

Lucky daughters boyfriend brought it down and we swapped it out and headed home, cold and hungry.

Had a closer look in daylight, and turned out to be a perish and sidewall damage, found another on the other rear tyre.
New tyres next time home 

Think Muzz had a good time

And the tastiest bit by far from a good sized dhuie (theyre pretty damn good anyway)

The rib cage

 Fuck=lost 20 minutes of fking typing here again when it wouldnt allow me to upload pics straight from ipad 

Abbreviated-planned Abrolhos trip with my 2 boys for long weekend.

Windy friday so put them back in school much to their disgust at 9.30.

Lunchtime, light bulb moment 

Shark Bay...
weather wasnt looking all the flash but might be good for some exploring rather than sitting at home.
Rip some un-needed shit out of boat, grab some other stuff, fuel up the 200 and rip the boys out of school again lol.

Got away at 1700

150 k's up the road and what do I see?
A well known Fishwrecker, whose flash Colonrado isnt too flash to be passed by a 9 yr old Landcruiser haha!

Ryan C parked up in the middle of nowhere...

Rang him, all good, looked like just having a rest stop.

Quick stop at Billabong, good burger and fuel top up (the old Billabong is best by far)

Onwards to Denham, pull up at ramp at 10pm, its fkn howling, spray blowing over the carpark...

Crash out in the boat and its still blowing in the morning so a quick run to Monkey Mia after trhe boys got chased around by the Denham Emu gang...

Back to Denham, fk it lets just go...

Straight across, a bit of a look down Dirk Hartog

Straight on to Shelter Bay as the wind was picking up more.

In all the years of my commercial fishing life, and Abrolhos trip etc, I know there is no feeling like pulling up in a safe harbour/anchorage etc and being secure.

Reckon it was about 30+ plus when we pulled up. Not unexpected though.
Next morning was still howling but headed out Sth Passage for a troll and a bottom fish.
Nothing on the mackie side of things and after a rankin and some barely size pinkies we got onto some better fish-only to have everything flogged by sharks, couldnt get anything toi the surface.

After a few hrs of this we gave up and went and parked up for the arvo in 30 knots again

Saw these guys getting trowed from the bottom of Dirk back across, they were probably extremely luckily as getting blown onto the bottom of Dirk in a 30 knot sthly would be unlikely to have a happy ending...

I do like to eat ok and cook up a feed despite just on the butane cooker

Bacon and eggs

Coconut chill rankin, steamed in pan of water

Steak snags and our favourite staple, Mi Goreng noodles, hot and spicy...

The Mi Goreng always taste 10 times better on a windy night on the boat than at home and you can throw anything in them from squid to chicken etc

After a couple of days of relentless wind, and unproductive fishing in rough as guts water, the boys had the shits so it was decided (by me) to go do something else and we took off up the inside of Dirk to go exploring.

Boys had sort of had enough but we pulled into a little bay and anchored up, and I went for a walk.

Spotted whiting jumping so dragged the boys of the boat for a look.

And so started an arvo...

Mac literally dropped his hook and bait 2 meters off the shore in ankle deep water with zero enthusiasm and was immediately smashed by a 40 cm flathead.

From there the arvo continued, they probably caught 30 or 40, from 10 cm to about 35 and kept about half a dozen plus a small reef shark that came in.

Slabbed a few of them up, and had a cook up on the spot

.

Pulled the boat out at about 5pm, cup of coffee from the pub (wearing Cams thongs as I couldnt find mine )

Hit the road for home and home at 22.30.

Only saw one roo each way despite driving at prime time each way, luckily...

 Chasin info!
We were packed to head to the islands for the long weekend but there has been no window in the breeze this morning.Dropped the boys back at school but con templating towing the boat to Denham this arvo and doing Dirk Hartog instead.
Probably straight across to Notch Point/inlet and then down to steep over the next day or 2.Any info on the east side of Dirk for anchorage and fishing much appreciated!

I grew up coming to Dunsborough camping for 2 weeks from age 5 to 16 and snagged a house for a week to bring the fam down.

Mrs has just started a new job so it was me, my old boy and the 3 kids for the first day, me and the Mrs for the next two and me and the oldest two boys for the rest of the week. Landed and took the kiddies for a swim in magic conditions.

First day took the old man out to previously proven ground but only managed undersized dhus with my 8 year old pulling in his first dhu and the old man aka 'the human banana' finally landing one on my boat.

Day 2 and we headed down the flats and I managed to land an occy with my bream net around the moorings. After old boy left we headed out and managed to find some nice whiting in tbe 30s off Meelup with the kids having a ball.

Next day we pulled into Eagle Bay at it's best and spent the morning there before heading out for a quick drop. My oldest boy landed one whiting then next drop got an instant upgrade and after a long fight on whiting gear where dad had to eventually take over up came a ripper gummy shark but the second hook was in his tail and he sliced the 10lb braid trying to gaff him. Didn't matter as my boy is still peaking about it. That arvo was spent hunting the same ground and with the same weapon I did 30y ago

Day 4 and it's just the boys so we head back to the whiting grounds to get a good feed and now it's just doing the tourist thing. 

Man I love this place!

Doin the annual Rotto thing with the kids, 4 and the oldest coming on the 23rd.

Apologies, struggling to post this on the iPad, the formatting just doesn’t seem to work well, sort it out Adam will ya!

So will just put up pics.

Thanks to Mike (MJ) off here, still haven’t met him but using his pots here! Got 10 crays this morning but 8 berried.

Plenty for us anyway

.

Packed up the boat and car, hit the road Friday to Perth and crashed at a mates place who brews the best beer in Perth, seriously...

Fuel up in the morning and down to Freo to Alex’s (Fuzzy79) off here who dropped everything in the middle of a house move to run us to the ramp and

straight off the trailer to Rotto. Skipped the usual lunch at Cicerellos and put the hammer down 

Thommos was packed, but managed to sneak into a gap on the beach, next to several boats rafted up with a whole bunch of 30 something Zimbabwean migrants

who had a massive concert amplifier speaker on board and proceeded to get absolutely fkn slaughtered with music at full bore, could seriously hear it at the campground where the girls were.

BUT, they were happy pissheads, very friendly and having a good time even when smashed

Pulled MJ's pots a couple of times but moved them to the north side due to the coming bad weather, caught buggerall on ther north side.

Decided to go for a ride around the island and conned the kids "we'll only go as far as Parker Point/Lighthouse/Strickland..."

Got as far as Narrow Neck and kids stopped while I cycled on to the end.

2 k's B4 Westend, flat tyre, no tools...

Walked back to the kids, dinked some of the way but walked most (bus wont take bikes...)

Took about 3 hrs to get back to Thomson, no compressor or bits at Geordie

When the shit weather came in mid week, I spun the boat around, the girls dropped one of the tents  and me and the boys stayed onboard, cosy

except for getting rained on in my swag but was nice and warm, done much worse at the islands!

Didnt move the boat for a couple of days and it was pretty chilly as well.

Warning, if you see this ratbag coming down the footpath, best step out the way...

Obligatory Jump Rock trip on the last day due to the shit weather

Packed up saturday morning to head up the river, busy day, packing up, dropping bikes and camping gear at Alex's

Shopping at Dan Murphy and Coles then join the chaos.
South Perth foreshore, asked the DOT boats if we could stern up to the beach and parked up.
Was a good spot, same as past feww years but I reckon there was less than half the boats there.

Helped 2 different mobs get their boats started, one a party boat with massive stereo that sucked their batteries dry-twice.

I showed them how to pull start their Merc 115 (Yam), funny because we not long ago had that thread on here.

Took them about 20 minutes with a bit of encouragement from the ladies (and blokes)
Skyshow was good

Then the fun started.
Little inflatable with no lights ran straight into our anchor rope, stalled his 2hp.

One of the kids said "hey mate your tangled in our anchor rope" and got a fair old serve back to the kids..

Someone else said a bad word back and he didnt take it well

All the kids started laughing at him because he couldnt get the outboard back down then couldnt start it.
Some people on the beach we'd helped got involved, he spotted me and decided to stand up to full height (about 5'2) and tell me he was gonna come onboard and go Chuck Norris.
He was told it wouldnt be a good idea and just to go away but the kids (and beach goers) were ready to crash tackle him in his dinghy, but were in hystrerics which

triggered him even more and we had to shove his inflatable away a couple of times.

Then he informed us he was actually "constable senior Johnson" gave us his badge number on video and would have his mates come over and sort us out.

So I rang them for him and he rowed off in a hurry, straight into the side of another boat.

For about an hour we could see him rowing around lost, triggering the kids every time

Had to hold them back, and a couple of people ashore who werent happy either.

Squashed up on the boat with not much room (6 aboard) to sleep, thats my swag in the corner.

Back up the river in the morning, retrieve and here I am back at home getting ready to fly out again..

Another Rotto/Skyshow done and dusted, met heaps of people again including MJ from here and all good people except Chuck Norris, and he probably just had a bad day

Tapping into the FW knowledge base again!

Rottnest again this Jan, and Ive got a campsite booked for my teenage girls (and the missus if she comes).

Havent bothered so far to request a particular site as they say its been changed around but Im thinking now that if one isnt requested we will get the shittest one left over!
So anyone who knows the campgrounds can recommend either good ones or ones to avoid would be appreciated?

Also, wondering if anyone will have pots in the area we could add our floats to for a few pulls (19th to 26th Jan)

Last year worked out awesome, Fuzzy79 (who kindly lets us park car and trailer outside his house also!) had his at Stragglers, we just picked them up and dropped south of Thompsons and end of trip chocked them with bait for his holiday!
Prob we have is the boat, loaded with bikes etc leaves little to no room when towing down and crossing to carry a couple of pots on board.

Hi all, 

I'm Ad, from Scotland UK. i do a lot of kayak fishing and shore fishing for species hunting in the sea lochs and cliffs in scotland. I have wangled a conference in Perth next week, and am taking the next 2 weeks to work myself up the west coast to Exmouth, and then back down again. Really looking forward to getting a good number of new species on the list, and chucking some big baits off the beach at night.

wondering if any of you guys are at Geraldton, Carnarvon, Coral bay, or exmouth and fancy any company on any kind of trip out! I will have my own gear and quite happy to pay fuel etc if you are planning a boat trip. also happy to be a courier for anyones favorite single malts- but let me know what your preference is before friday!  and of course happy to escort any return trips to scotland, though i dare say you might be disappointed in the fishing....

hopefully meet some of you in the next couple weeks!

Few mates and myself are in the midst of packing up for a 3week 4x4/fishing/camping trip around the CoralBay-Exmouth area. Thing is none of us have ever been up there, and aside from what we've read online, don't know too much about the area or what to expect when we get there. What I'm chasing is any info or handy bits of knowledge that'll help make our trip a success, or at least keep us out of the shit while we're up there.

Basic rundown of what we're planning goes something like this:

First 4nights at CoralBay, onto Winderabandi Point for the next few, then make our way up to Exmouth for 5 or so nights. Figure once we've reached Exmouth we'll decide on where to explore next. Will be around 7-10adults in our group + 5or6 4x4s and a smallish boat. 

*Plans are subject to change pending weather*

Also if I could get any advise on fishing gear and spots to use it, that'll be a big help. 

These are the rods/reels I'll be taking:

Abu Garcia Maxx baitcaster 6"4'  3-5kg/Abu Garcia BMAX3

Abu Garcia Veritas 6"6'  5-9kg/Abu Garcia OrraS60

Abu Garcia Veritas 10" 10-15kg/Quantum Cabo50

(reels freshly spooled with 10, 20 & 30lb braid respectively)

Lastly: Dry Ice - Whos used it, and how'd it go?  Is it worth getting some for the food Esky or just run block ice?

 Hi all,

I’m heading over to W.A in October from Victoria and was wanting to do a fishing charter.

Just wondering if anyone has got any recommendations or had experience with any of the charters out of Perth/Fremantle.

Looking at doing a full day hoping to chase some snapper/dhufish. Thanks in advance.

Finally Made it over to the Abrolhos for a quick over night mission after wanting to get there for years, Was way to short a time but we only had that window so all good......

Run over in magic conditions on the friday afternoon taking an hour and a half at 22-25 knts , we had planned to stay in a little bay on the eastern side and it was absolutly magic when we arrived just on dark. We chucked a few small stickbaits about for a few trout then noticed the squid chasing our lures needless to say we were feasting on squid in no time and there were some cracker sized squid in there.

Spent most of the night squidding and fishing in the bay then getting some kip in the swags awating the morning sun, we awoke to the wind howling from the east (which was forcast so no suprise) but coupled with the 3m swell it was rough as guts coming out of the morring spot and heading round into the safety of the islands to get away from the wind but once inside it was magic again and we spent the days running around looking at spots we had marked from google earth and charts. all in all we had a great days fishing bagging out pretty quickly........ Baldies, trout and cod the order of the day. 

being our first time over the islands we spend a good bit of time exploring and marking spots for next time we head over for a little longer hopefully.

Had a bit of a dive in the shallows around midday and bumped into the biggest Tiger shark both of us had ever seen that put an end to our dive quick smart although the shark was not interested in us it was way to close for comfort. After flying out the water we were boarded by the fisheries Rib which was launched from thier mother ship, couple of good fellas checked our catch and were happy to have a good chat before leaving us to it! 

mid afteroon and it was time to clean up the boat and start heading back to gerro, then wind had dropped out as forcast and we had a pretty good run back at 16-18 knts so not too bad at all really arriving back at the ramp just on dark. 

Ill definatly be back to the islands and think i may have started a new obsession haha, i fish up exmouth alot and this joint is just as good and way closer to home..... couple of photos attached but we were not really taking fish photos as time was of the essence on a quick trip.  

We get pretty good economy from the Suzuki 140 on the 615 BC, this trip we took 180ltrs with us and had 75ltrs left once back at the ramp. 2 guys swags, water and way too much fishing gear loaded up in the boat..

Cant wait for the next weather window, definatly keen to check out the ground on the western side when theres no swell as this time we didnt get out there but the inside provided plenty of fish although the trout were not huge they were heaps of fun on light gear.

Cheers

rob  

Setting off on Wednesday for 8 days in Cairns. Planning two trips out to the reef on a 29' cat, a cruise on the Daintree and a day on the Kuranda Railway. Still got a few days spare. Anybody got any suggestions to fill the days in ?

Old man has recently retired and I'm getting stir crazy spending my LSL round the house so we've hatched a plan to head to Jurien for 5 days for some R&R and to hopefully hook into some Jurien dhus.

Going to stock up on a few things before I head up but is the local tackle store fairly well stocked?

 Finally managed to get my brother over from NZ for a trip to the islands.

Hes a keen fisho but never been there so I was keen to get him over there as he’s happy just to plod around exploring and mucking around like me.

He flew in on a Wednesday and as the weather just turned it on we packed up and bailed next day once the easterly dropped.

Put the pots straight in and sat back for a beer and a chill.

Near glassout next morning jerked the pots for 1/2 dozen then went for troll down to Wreck Point and beyond.

There was bait busting up everywhere, dolphins and tuna but buggered if we could get anything to grab a lure beside a single bonito?

Maybe the light nor’easter?

Back for a feed of cray, and a late afternoon drop. 

Chucked my rod in the holder for a minute to fillet only to turn round to it bent double with drag on hard due to earlier shark-snapped it 

Got the fish though, dhuie about 6 or 7kg. Wings and ribs for dinner

Next a bit more fishing and sharks, still a bit quiet but plenty crays.

Day after, something different and headed to some shallow stuff for a great session on the baldies on light gear.

More crays and wings

Took a run down to Pelsaert Island and we went for a walk a couple of k's along there exploring, and came across squid (not very big) pushed up against the coral.
These were turned into squid mee goreng on the bbq

Plodded away a few extra days, beer ran out before fuel which was very poor planning on my part...

But still almost a week.

Was good to spend some time chilling with my bro, and I hope my 2 boys will still be fishing and talking shit in 40 years time!

So we are just back from 2.5 weeks and 2700km of travel up the WA coast up to Coral Bay. Was quite an adventure though I thought I would chip in with a bit of a FYI and fishing report.

Left home on Friday the 4th for three nights in Kalbarri with plans of a bit of fishing along with final provisioning (water) 600km closer to Tamala which was the next spot. The plan was to do a charter out of Kalbarri though a mechanic bill a few days prior killed the play funds so we were down to the 3.8m inflatable. On Saturday, we headed across the river to the north side and threw twisties and poppers on the ocean side of the reef. You could see Tailor though they were right in close to edge of the reef. I did manage to jag one though landed a scale only. After an hour on the beach, we had a 8cm tailor which swam away. The conditions were good enough to take the boat out the river mouth and we dragged some lures north for a mile or so, or until the breeze went west, where we headed back before it got nasty, which it didn’t.
We headed back to camp (Anchorage Caravan Park) before taking the kids down to the park for a run around whilst we fished outside sea rescue. Landed a few more tiny tailor, tiny whiting and tiny tarwhine. Pretty dismal though it got worse when an Albatross flew away with the bait. Sausages for dinner.

We packed up from Kalbarri on Monday and headed north to Tamala where were staying at Huts. After vibrating our way along Useless Loop Road, it took us around 5 hours to get to site. The beach was pretty boggy (fully loaded Navara towing 1.8t of van) though hopes were high for a beach fish with a few reports of snapper landed in the days before we arrived. Walking along the beach at night, I managed a small squid in a butterfly net and some guys at the end of the beach had a set net and got some small pinkies and a size flat head. Disappointing to see that not much of what was unwanted swam away.

Boat was inflated the next day and we had took it out for a bait run to get some lines in off the beach. Butteries were plentiful and we quickly had a bucket of bait. I jumped in from the boat and swam in with a spear hoping to see something worthy of the gun though apart from butteries. Once back on the beach, the guys told me about some tuskies and some sweet lips not far off the beach so I went and grabbed them. One for bait and the other for our guts. 3 rods were cast out and one was paddled out and we waited.
The hooks were stripped over time without a single run.

That evening we took the boat out for a sunset fish and it just happened to be the day it blew its arse off. After 2 hours or so, after trying 4 spots, we came back to the beach with a 800mm shark which was cooked up with the tusky the next day.
Next day we ventured out at sunrise and after a few miles looking for ground towards the Guano Islands, we came back with nothing but back in time for brekkie and to earn some points before heading out at lunchtime for a spear. I am glad I borrowed a spear as it was the only reliable way to catch edible fish and the tuskies are plentiful though largely small.

I jumped in at the northern of the Smith Islands and there is no shortage of fish there. If you were to have a net and some time there, you would clean up with Mullet. I managed to get the spear to hit one though it got away. The big tuskies know when you are pointing a spear at them and you need to be patient to get them. The bloke in the boat managed a few small pinkies whilst I was swimming around though after bagging three size fish, I jumped in and we headed back to the beach to defrost.

We went out again one more night and got a shark and hooked a turtle. They go hard and busted 80lb line after towing the boat for a few minute.

Overall, the fishing at Tamala was dismal. I had higher expectations than our stop at Tea Tree last time though it was extremely disappointing to not get a size fish on a hook after 7 days. Reports of ample whiting in the lead up had us hopeful though it was day 6 that one of the guys got one. Paddling in the glassy shallows had plenty of butteries around but no whiting. Over all, we got 5 Tusk fish, 4 Gardies and two sharks after 6 days with lines in the water. Weather was phenominal with glass outs for most of the day on all bar one. My 4 yo was kayaking with ease.

In the below, Green is where we motored looking for spots, Yellow is where we fished, orange is where I swam and I don't know what the red line is for but I swam there too.
The red arrow is where we camped.

It got to pack up day in Tamala and we were on the road at 0900. Managed a stick in the side wall of a tyre on the way out and discovered how inadequate the factory wheel wrench and Jack’s are for Jayco vans. 45 minute pit stop and we were off to Carnarvon to fill the water tanks and fridges again. For anyone going to Carnarvon, avoid the IGA. $40 for a carton of coke (to have with rum) but on the other side, Beaurepairs are the best option for a cheap spare tyre. First place I went to only had $300+ options. Wintersun Caravan park is great and I apologise to anyone that heard out little bloke at 0330 until 0500 when we gave up and I took him for a drive for two hours. Not much to see at that hour apart from Rabbits.

Off to Coral Bay once the sun came up, via the fruit stalls on South River Road. Pretty boring unless you love Bananas though we were between seasons. Arriving at Coral Bay at 1100, we were instantly relaxed. Ridiculous amount of boat envy on the way up there and some sensational boats upon arrival. Happened to be staying directly opposite FW’er Crano and had a few good chats with him over the following 5 days. Small world as it is the 3rd consecutive camping trip where I have met active FW’ers

It took us 3 days to get the boat inflated and out after an unsuccessful fish along the rock wall at the boat ramp. Some very big fish at the ramp including a big trout but they are very smart. Due to a nice bit high tide, we took the boat across the reef and almost instantly hooked into a Mangrove Jack, followed by a Gold Spot then two Barracuda. Plenty of bust ups and some big fish swimming amongst though not interested in lured and when I jumped in with the spear, they were off. Only thing fish were interested in was Smilin Jacks.
We went back and got the kids (10 and 4) and headed back across the reef. Misjudged a swell and had it brake across the boat which upset my little lady a bit but we managed to side track her attention. She loves Moana and the wave that broke across her boat was a monster so she had thoughts of that moment I think. Another two Cuda’s to keep everyone entertained before heading back to the beach.

Unfortunately, the fish we decided to keep in Coral Bay went into my fridge/freezer which decided to fault at some point and overnight defrosted so when I went out in the morning to fillet, I discovered that everything was room temperature. Bloody spewing but I have some cray bait now.

After leaving Coral Bay on Sunday morning at 0700, we pushed through (with a 4 and 1.5yo) to Dongara before settling in the free camp in town. Managed to get to the pub to watch the last 10 minutes of the Eagles game before hitting the sack at 0830. Little fella kicked off at midnight and after two hours of winging, we decided to pack up at 0300 and head home. Hard drive after 4 hours of sleep.

Overall, fishing was dismal though the weather was sensational, fishing out of a 3.8m inflatable. We only got only one cloudy evening and that was when we decided to cook a BBQ on the beach in Coral Bay which made for a sensational sunset.

Avoid the Carnarvon IGA, the prices are ridiculous, along with the shops in Kalbarri. Eggs are around $4 a carton more in Kalbarri for Kalbarri Eggs, and 10l water containers are $8 as opposed to $4 for the same thing in Woolworths down here. We will go back to Kalbarri but won’t go that way next time we head north. Better to spend the night at the free camp on the highway rather than the 70km detour.
Cheapest fuel between Geraldton and Coral Bay was Billabong Road House. Food is pretty good there too. Fuel Map is a good App though people need to update it so it is relevant.

We stopped at Anchorage Caravan park which is comfortable though the facilities need some updating. Very friendly caretakers. Huts at Tamala is a nice spot. Flowing clean water is nice if you have older kids as you can wash in it and the prickles that Prickly Point are not as bad as I expected though we were on the sand. 12 or so per day though we only got them when sand ended up on our floor mats. Wintersun Caravan park is very nice. Tidy and spacious with nice facilities. Peoples Park in Coral Bay is very relaxing and our bays were massive. Facilities are adequate though you don’t go there for a good shower.

Lastly, if you ever go north and throw some bait in at the last minute, make sure you shut your freezer. Mine was left cracked and oh my bloody god. 2.5 weeks of fermenting bait has the suburb smelling like rotten arse.

 Hey guys was just wondering for those that have travelled how u transport your reels on international flights. Are you allowed to put them in your carry on specifically with the braid already on them? 

Thanks in advance 

Hi Guys, heading up to Dirk Hartog Island for a camping trip late June, was hoping for some general advice. Will be camping with two four wheel drives and will have the kids in tow, so probably won't be doing too much extreme cliffs action. Any advice on rigs & techniques welcome, have heard that the baldies are experts at bricking you in the reef.
Cheers,
Browndog.

 Anyone heading up there soon or just been up we are staying at winderbandi for 10 days starting as of the 27th April.

Can't wait to get there this will be our first time here but not unfamiliar with the coast line.

Cheers

Rod

 Looks like we are the only amateurs at the Sthn Grp I can see!

Came over yesterday in 20 knots, been 30 ever since.

Plenty of camps lit up on other islands

Couldnt get a fish off the bottom today, 2 crays from the pots.

Got another 3 days then home.

 Hi Crew,

I will be down south in the Yallingup area over Easter...

What are my chances of a landbased fish and possible targets.. non 4WD 

Cheers guys

 Hi guys,

Just a heads up that if anyone was chasing somewhere to stay 27/04/18 - 04/05/18 in Exxie we unfortunately just had to cancel our booking at 102 Osprey Village. Its now free to book, week after the school holoidays - great time of year to be in Exmouth.

Woody