October 2007

www.murchisonboathire.com.au/

MURCHISON BOAT HIRE OCTOBER 2007 ELETTER
I’m not the crafty type, the only weaving I have ever done is in and out of pubs, maybe that is why
I can’t under stand the benefits of daylight saving. It is here and as if by magic the sun sets an hour later!
This is not good for country people, I don’t like it for a few reasons but one of them is that during the cray
season, BDS* we go out at first light, pull the pots, clean up the boat and get ready for the days work by 8am.
With daylight saving, we still go out at first light, but by the time we get back and clean up, it’s 9am.
Half the day is lost! Then we have dinner when it is still light! Losing more daylight!
We’ve said no twice, for Gods sake listen to us!

The dredge is back in town and busy dredging a channel for the cray boats. It will complete
the first pass by the opening of the cray season, 15th November, and then widen the channel
with a few more passes.

The green marker that went missing in a storm has been replaced, making it a bit
easier to get in and out again.
*BDS – before daylight saving.

When I lived in Perth I played a lot of competition squash and one of my teammates was Frank Cavicchio.
Frank used to play a mean game of squash but like me has slowed up considerably but still plays and sings
in a band. He tells me that age has caught up with him, he knows, as a few years ago the girls used to throw
their panties on stage, now they just throw bloomers!
He was up with his brother in law, Neil Raspa pictured above with a sambo. Neil fishes a bit and told me
about the huge tuna he caught in Hawaii, but he sure enjoyed catching this fish tucked under the
cliffs from a burley trail. The weather was less than perfect so they did not go far, but a
13kg sambo on 7kg line was a blast for him.

The abalone season started on the 1st October up here so we had a walk on the reef.

20 abs don’t look much but are easily picked. A tasty entrée for the crayfish meal that night.

We picked oysters as well, a bit over rated I recon,

and did some 4WD driving down
Suicide Hill in Neil’s new Prada. It was Neil’s first time 4WD; yes there was some screaming!

These links will take you to Youtube showing some great action video clips taken from
my boats and also a very good mulloway from the beach.
Triple tuna hook-up
Dhuie and snapper
Beach mulloway

Or go to the Adventure Bound website and view them there. Click this link.
http://www.adventurebound.com.au/news/latest/youtube_kalbarri_wa_offshore_episode.html
7.8m Walkaround
The 4.3m boat has been sold and the replacement boat a 7.8m walkaround is under construction.
It will be powered by twin 115hp 4-strokeYamahas, giving you 10nm offshore.
This will be a very popular Gnaraloo boat, not to mention all the other places you can go with it.
Being built by Kevin and son Greg Preston Craft, it will look something like the 7.6m below.

I hope to bring you progressive photos as it is being built.
It will have a small cabin; walk right around and hopefully licensed for 7 persons (depending on the stability test).
Built with a beam of 2.5m, which still allows towing at night and without oversize signs.

It will look something like this 7.6m one.
Check them out at http://www.prestoncraft.com.au/
I don’t have all the hire rates worked out yet but it is already booked out for 3 weeks at Gnaraloo next year
and for 3 days over the Kalbarri Classic. I am still fishing the Kalbarri Classic but in the 6.1m as I have to
defend my title of Champion Game Boat under 7 metres!

Gnaraloo Station

Those of you thinking of heading to Gnaraloo Station next year better book now. I will be up there for a week
and a bit trying out my new 7.8m boat. I take over the boat from Brett & Roger Simm who will have it the week before me.
I booked accommodation and found it almost full already. If anyone wants to take the boat after me, I will finish
with it on Sunday 8th June. It will save you the tow all the way up. The 6.1m boat will also be up there and the
hire finishes on the 28th May if you want it after then. It will save you the tow up as well.
Gnaraloo contacts:
Barbara: 9315 4809
Email: bookings@gnaraloo.com.au
Website: Gnaraloo.com.au

Kids Holiday Whiting Comp
Every October School Holidays, the Kalbarri Offshore and Angling Club, hosts a whiting competition for kids on each
Thursday of the holidays. It has grown to become a highlight for regular visitors and continues to grow in size each year.
We had 170 excited kids signing up the first Thursday, all ready to fish the beach from the Chinamans to the first jetty.

The crowd at the weigh-in

Some of the 170 kids and parents on the beach

Rules of the comp allow any fish to be caught, kept in a bucket and brought to the weigh-in live, weighed and then released.

We had 5 quad bikes that gave kids and their fish rides to the weigh-in and back again.
There were 16 prizes each day including 12 rods and reels each day for species, smallest, biggest, most, most unusual etc.

Two sections were competed for, under 8s and 9 to 14 years.
The quality and diversity of the species caught showed that the river is in good condition.
Each day we finished off with a lunchtime sausage sizzle and prize giving.

The second Thursday saw another 171 kids line up along the beach waiting for the 9am start.
Within minutes the blowies began to arrive, but sprinkled amongst them were good fish such as a 322-gram flounder and a surprise 3.3kg nor west blowie that took out the meritorious category.

About 850 fish were caught over the two days in four hours! Species recorded were as follows: blowies,
(lots of) whiting, black bream, silver bream, gobbleguts, estuary cod, trumpeter, flounder, angelfish, wrasse,
zebra fish, nor west blowie, buffalo bream, flathead, crabs and a sardine type fish, a total of 16 species.
Of note, missing this year were yellow-eyed mullet, tailor and mulloway that made up the 10 species last year.

Juvenile

Teenager

Adult
Pacific gull, one of the bigger gulls that hang around when fishing the beach. Very quick to
steal your bait when you are not looking! They can swallow a whole garfish in one shot.

Kalbarri Offshore & Angling Club, Local comp 20th September.

There were some good catches of bream from the river this month. All bream caught
during the comp are brought in live, tagged and released.

I did not fish as the weather was pretty bad but Nic went down to Lucky
Bay and sat just behind the reef in his dinghy catching 4 good snapper and

Brett got the mulloway at Wittecarra creek.

Thevenard Island
This year the 6.1m boat spent a lot of time up at Thevenard Island in the Mackerel Islands group off Onslow.
Helen will take your booking if you would like to visit. Phone her on 9184 6444
bookings@mackerelislands.com.au
Check out the website: http://www.mackerelislands.com.au/

The caravan park at Port Gregory is under new management and a booking agent for my boats.
You can now book a boat and pick it up in Port Gregory.
Adventure Bound fishing shows are on Access 31, 7.30pm Saturdays.

Remember if you rent our accommodation you get big discounts on our boats.
Have a look on my website for the details, and check out the savings.


5-day weather forecasts, http://www.buoyweather.com/ go to virtual buoys, pick the location you want.
This is the one I go by!

Big bait – big fish
Laurie

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