July 2007

email: lasue@wn.com.au http://www.murchisonboathire.com.au/
Never, ever, ever take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night!
A very difficult month to report on anything as all the boats have been out of town nearly all month! The 5.3m boat has been on hire in Port Gregory for 3 weeks this month and the 6.1m is currently at Gnaraloo Station after being up at the Mackerel Islands (Onslow) & a week in Kalbarri. No one sent me any photos after promising they would (Except Kevin Hick, thanks Kevin) and the kids from the Port Gregory hire took the camera sand boarding only to return with it clogged with sand never to work again! However the fishing has improved remarkably with good catches from the beaches. It has been rumoured that someone caught a 1.05m tailor from Black Rock over the school holidays. That is a seriously big tailor! No photos available that I know of so might just be a rumour!
Mackerel & tuna are still being caught but that won’t last!

Adventure Bound fishing shows are on Access 31, 7.30pm Saturdays.

Here is an unusual pic. Took this two weeks ago. Some sort of inversion. Cloud or mist flowing
over the Sand Patch and out to sea on a very gentle easterly. I know I should have been out there!

A spectacular sunset over the river from the dinghy boat hire. There have been a few good ones this month.

During the School holidays we luckily got a free day and I shot out with my two sons on a
relatively nice day. We went searching for new spots and came upon some nice looking ground
south of the cliffs.
First drop resulted in a double hook-up of rankin cod and estuary cod for me, followed
by a nice baldchin groper for son Ben. It went very quiet for a while and then the wind shifted swinging the boat on the anchor.

Both Ben and I hooked up at the same time with both of us landing these big estuary cods!
Both of them were over size (longer than a metre or more than 30kgs) so we had to release them. Mine went down easily without problems, but Ben’s struggled. Release weights are just not heavy enough and in the end we had to puncture it’s air bladder with a spike and it swam down itself.

Ben trying to release his cod. We could have used the spare anchor to lower it down but
I feel that by the time we set it all up the fish would have died.
I feel that spiking the air bladder may be fatal but there is not much you can do!
We need to be more prepared, but we don’t catch fish like this all that often.

Close up of the eerie green eye. What are they thinking?

Ben went on to catch one of the biggest sand snappers that I have seen.
They are actually called Painted Sweetlip after the very ornately coloured juveniles.

Whales are around in numbers again this year and they will be here for a few more months yet.
Last year we had a mother give birth in the estuary entrance and she stayed around with her calf for about 6 weeks.

Kevin Hick sent me the following details of his 7-day trip up to Gnaraloo Station at the end of July.
This is his story.
7 Days of Madness and Mayhem.
The sixth annual trip to Gnaraloo Station was better than ever in July 2007. Ten keen fishermen, all members of the Gnarly Gnobs Fishing Club escaped the wild Perth weather to wet a line just south of Coral Bay. Those on the trip were: Kevo, Macko, Micko Roberto, Bobbo, Collo, Davo, Krisho, Jeffo and Chappo. I know, not original.
The first 3 days resulted in great catches and the reds were abundant and good size.
The best red of the trip was Roberto’s 10.5 kg monster.
We needed a good solid fishing platform and Bulawayo Boy proved it was up to the task, as the swell was up to 4 metres on some days. This fishing is not for the faint hearted, as Gnaraloo Bay can be tricky to navigate through when the swell is up and there is a high tide. The “washing machine” as it is affectionately called, lived up to its name.
Species caught were red emperor, spanish mackerel, northwest snapper, rankin cod, spotted cod, baldchin groper, spanish flag and golden trevally. Friday was a complete wash out which allowed the boys time to ease the aching muscles and lubricate the throat.
Saturday and Sunday resulted in further good catches so with our bag limit reached we headed home to count the number of sleeps until Gnaraloo ’08.
These are his photos

Getting there was wet, good thing they had a boat! The Gnarly Gnobs Club at the Blowholes Sign.
It was mostly reds, reds and more reds says Kevin, the biggest being 10.5kgs
Filleting and photographing the days catch.

Out from Gnaraloo Station in red emperor country.

One of the golden trevally at the filleting tables

Patrick Heroux emailed me regarding a trip out fishing in one of my boats. He is from Canada and has been working here in Australia for the last couple of years. A visit from his dad and mate both French speaking Canadians, but also spoke quite good English, spent a week waiting for the weather to clear. They stayed in my accommodation and took advantage of the discounts on boat hire when staying there. They managed to get two days out in the 6.1m boat
and the 5.3m. First day they went south and totally blanked out! Second day heading north the water as a lot clearer and they were into fish straight away. Nothing big, no dhuies but a splattering of baldchin groper, breaksea cod, samsonfish, tarwhine, silver drummer, wobbegong, pink snapper and a surprise mackerel for Patrick!

Silver drummer for Daniel Nadeau (fight like hell but no good to eat)

and Denis’s samson fish

Patrick Heroux with his baldchin groper

and August 5th, surprise mackerel

We catch these now and again. They are called grinners, Saurida undosquamis, and grow to about 45cm. They have this enormous mouth, capable of eating big prey for their size.
This makes the 61st species photo that appears on my website page “Species you are likely to catch” Have a look, all are caught in Kalbarri; there are some bizarre ones!

Great Skua. They are a bit of a pest but entertaining to feed. They can make your day miserable by stealing your drifting bait that is carefully positioned under a balloon at the back of the boat.
So it is best not to feed and encourage them.

Kalbarri Offshore & Angling Club, Local comp 30th June.
Weather was a shocker again and no boats went out. I had a fish for tailor at Chinamans, but just on dark the rain started to hammer down, I’d had no hits and feeling like a drowned rat went home. Daniel turned up 10 minutes after I left and nailed these two with the biggest at 4.95kg or 80cm! I know I should have stayed! But there was beer and pizza at home!

http://www.youtube.com/v/USYbtyXxhvY
Short video clip of a double hook-up of big yellow-fin tuna from my boat in Kalbarri.

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.

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

If you want to be included in these newsletters just send me a return BLANK email with the subject line “subscribe” and you will be recieve one each month.

June 2007

PO Box 63 KALBARRI WA 6536 PH/FAX (08) 9937 2043
http://www.murchisonboathire.com.au/
A good month this one with some good fish being caught! But not much to report towards
the end as all boats are up at Gnaraloo Station and Tamala Station. July is going to be worse
as the boats are away for most of the month at the Mackerel Islands and Port Gregory!

Andy Hall and mates had a ripper of a trip at the beginning of June, landing mackerel and good
bottom fish over their 3-day hire with the 6.1m boat.

Andrew shows off his big baldchin groper and Jeff with some of the catch.

Jeff tells it via an email and enclosed photos.
“Go south young man” was our approach (again) over the long-weekend and we did reasonably well – despite a persistent
north-easterly (which was at its worst on Sunday).
Our fishing party was Andrew Hall, Jeff Bradbury and Andrew’s two mates Eddie and Bevan.
We did try the Sand Patch and 3 Mile on Friday morning to no avail. We then headed to familiar ground down
Natural Bridge way and returned with 3 nice Baldies and 3 Pinkies. Andrew’s Baldie went 5kg (see attached photo).
The plan on Saturday morning was to head straight to Wagoe and troll for spanish mackerel.
The first Mack (10kg) was gaffed at 7.24am and we had two more Macks (12kg each) in the boat by 8.20am.
All three were caught on Gardies. A fourth one was ‘dropped’ soon after hook-up (on the ‘dog turd’ lure).
The water temperature was 20.8 degrees – but the water colour was great.
I will send photos of Eddie and Bevan with their Macks via a separate email.
After the Mackerel run was over, we headed to our usual spots
(staying in reasonably close to get some protection from the nor’easter).
We picked up another 3 Baldies and 3 Pinkies and a couple of Breaksea Cod.
We also had some fun with a school of big Skippy, all of which we released.
I found out the hard way how hard a Spanish Mackerel’s head is. A violent head shake (whilst laying on the deck)
connected with the back of my right hand, splitting open the middle knuckle and leaving bruising
and swelling as if I had been hit by Brett Lee!! There were subsequent benefits though, as the injury
prevented me from assisting with anchor pulling duties on Saturday and Sunday (but it wasn’t bad enough to stop me from fishing)!!
On Sunday the weather was not great. The forecast was for a 23 knot ENE and it did not let up.
The swell was also up to 2.5 – 3.0m. Anyway, we followed the same routine as per
Saturday and returned with a Rankin Cod and one Pinkie. That’s fishin’ …and that’s why we can’t wait until April 2008!!!
Cheers,
Jeff Bradbury

Bevan with his gardie caught mac, (note the end of the cliff south of Kalbarri)

Eddie with his, trolling at the end of the cliffs

Rangers burning off in the Kalbarri National Park. It looked quite spectacular in the evening light so couldn’t resist a photo.


Now here are a couple of guys who struck it lucky. Michael Ford and mate Dean have been fishing together
For a while now, going to different places in search of the big bite. They are from Point Lonsdale in
Victoria and have been to various States lucking out on fish and weather. Picking WA this year they came
across my website, saw the boats, fish and accommodation all in one package and went for it.
Hiring the 5.3m boat for 7 days, which is ideal for the two of them, they started slow and then came home with the
goods on the second day.

Dean landed his first mackerel

and then followed it up with an 18kg fish a couple of days later.

Michael Ford also got himself an 18kg specimen, releasing two others that day

Dean and Michael show off their pair of 18kg mackerel.
They also released three others that day and released 5 the day before.
You guys made “Bite of the Month” check it out on my website

My underwater camera captures Michael’s biggest snapper he has ever caught.

They really really wanted a decent sized tailor, so one evening when conditions were right
We had a short fish in the entrance.

Michael picked up this fish on a Roosta Popper, and
Dean dropped one at the same time.

I estimate that it went about 4kgs, easily the biggest he has ever caught!

Dean was well pleased with this one, easily the biggest he has ever caught but shame on you, Dean, and it’s only a baby!
Good thing we released them all to grow bigger!

Keep well clear of the pointy ends of mackerel; wait till they stop kicking before you try to remove the hooks!
It’s also the reason we use wire trace.

I have had a lot of family and friends visit this year, and so it was again with my sister arriving in town for
a 10-day flying visit from Chicago, Illinois. She brought her daughter with her who has never been to
Australia before. They are not into fishing much but said that they would like to have a go!
I took them out sure that we would be back sooner than later with them all sea sick, throwing up over the side.
But surprisingly not! We had a troll at the Sand Patch on quite a stiff easterly, when a mac ignored
the 4 lures and hit a trolled gardie at the back. I handed the rod to niece Gabbi while the rest of
the crew (Sue, Jared, Rebecca) got the teasers and lures in and watched as Gabbi battled a 13kg mackerel to the boat.

First, biggest, best, only, fish Gabbi has caught!

A couple of days later we went south. 15kg plus big-eye tuna were going ballistic just off Red Bluff.
We trolled for a couple of hours, watched another boat land one, but we failed to hook-up!
We then headed in under the cliffs and set a burly trail.

A short cast into the trail out the back of the boat with my
14lb light flick stick and this sambo hammered the squid bait. My sister Barbara had her
work cut out for her spending half an hour battling this 13kg fish around the boat twice, doing
a very good job eventually bringing it to the boat for a quick photo.

I took them crabbing up river only to find the crabs were around the marina!
It took Gabbi a bit of time to get her head around catching, killing and eating them.
Where she comes from everything comes out of a plastic bag, packet or tin!

We visited the Coastal Gorges.

Trekked the River Gorges at the Z Bend

Went 4WD down sand dunes (They crapped themselves).

Went sand boarding
They fed the pelicans, saw some dolphins up close, visited the seahorse sanctuary, watched the sunset most
evenings and were surprised the sun came out each day! (They are from a cloudy-cold-snow-rain type climate)
They went to Geraldton, Port Gregory and Ajana.

Wilson’s storm petrels picking up bits of burly at the back of the boat

Sea lice, they live in the nose cavity of dhufish and samsonfish and crawl out when the fish is removed from the water. Look awful but they have a place in the ecosystem.

Kalbarri Offshore & Angling Club, Local comp 30th June.

Real crappy weather forced a deferment of the local comp to the following Saturday but it was not much better and only the river and beach anglers fished.

Of note was the two nice mulloway caught by Daniel Tarasek from Frustration.

Featured website this month is http://www.youtube.com/v/USYbtyXxhvY
Short video clip of a double hook-up of big yellow-fin tuna from my boat in Kalbarri.

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.

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

If you want to be included in these newsletters just send me a return BLANK email with the subject
line “subscribe” and you will be added and recieve one each month.

May 2007

PO Box 63 KALBARRI WA 6536 PH/FAX (08) 9937 2043
www.murchisonboathire.com.au

Life on earth may be expensive but it includes an annual free trip around the sun.

Last month I included an attached short video clip of a double yellow-fin tuna hook-up from my boat in Kalbarri.
I had a lot of email rejects from it so lots of you did not get it. For those who could not get it to play or did not receive it,
not to worry as it is now easily seen on the main page of my website uploaded to youtube.
Just click on the play button a couple of times and it will play directly from youtube. Turn up the sound and hear the drag scream!
Or click on this link http://www.youtube.com/v/USYbtyXxhvY
Adventure Bound fishing shows are on Access 31, 7.30pm Saturdays.

Mary-Lou, Curt and Lee Davon.

Curt with his little chunky yellow fin on the last day.

Lee Davon made a last minute phone call from Perth early May, and was on his way within the hour, booked the 5.3m boat and my accommodation arriving around 10.30pm and was out in the 5.3m early the next morning!
Drawing a blank the first day, only landing a nor west blowie, I gave him more precise directions and he came home with 3 macs the second day feeling much better. Son Curt was delighted with his first mac and then went on to catch a yellow-fin tuna the last day.
Lee was able to cash in on the boat discounts as he stayed in my accommodation.

Melanie Goodall was out with hubbie, Brent, in the 5.3m boat on a very nice day, they did a bit
of trolling to no avail, and bottom bounced a bit, but had trouble getting over the spots.
Melanie picked up this pink snapper, being her first size fish ever. Well-done Melanie!

Regulars Rob Slattery, John Slattery, Bill McAtee, John Kirk, Ritchie Kirk, Ian Freeman, Richard Cottingham, Mike Stacey, Peter Jones, Jim Laurenson and Geoff McEwan. Most of whom have been doing the annual trip to Kalbarri since 1981.
They hire the 6.1m boat for 2 weeks and fish from two other boats, Geoff's "Bandicoot", and Mike's "Ocean Reef 492"

Here they are enjoying a feast of crabs. John Kirk took Bill and Ian crabbing up the river in his dinghy several times
and came home with a good feed of blue crabs on each occasion.
Ritchie Kirk continues with the story via email.
First week was the most productive as the water temp was close to 23 degrees whilst the second week saw a drop in temp
to just under 21 degrees. Dirty water also played a part in restricting the catch. Our target fish were spanish mackerel
with about 15 caught in week one and probably 8 in the second week. Plus a few tuna and a couple of sambos.
Actually the first fish was a sambo, which was kept, as we needed food.
The other sambo and a few tuna were liberated plus some under sized mackerel.
Although the numbers of fish were down on previous years it created more spare time to surf at Little Jacques and enjoy
the cappuccino strip along the waterfront. Rob is probably the first bloke to try scones, jam & cream with a corona beer!

John Slattery excelled himself in the cooking department with his seafood paella, which was so good that he had to do an encore
a few nights later. Actually we eat very well at our little home base and only went out to eat twice.
We also drink pretty good. A variety of foreign & boutique beers, some top quality wines including a clean-skin Grange.
After using the river mouth entrance for over 25 years you would think that we knew it pretty well.
Not so, as on the last day "Ocean Reef 492" came very close to being rolled by a large wave that was totally
out of sequence with the rest of the pattern. It reared up out of no-where after a set of waves had just calmed down.
Fortunately Mike executed the fastest U turn ever and accelerated north rapidly.

Bill & Ritchie with a couple of average size macs

Mike with a lure chomping sambo

Rob & John Slattery and Mike enjoy the calm weather aboard “Bulawayo Buoy”, the 6.1m boat.

I have had a request to make a teaser from a hirer and below is a pic of the completed one.
It is a copy of the ones I have made and use myself, taken from an actual imported American one.
I still have some materials left over and am willing to make one for who ever wants one.
They will cost you $200.00 each which is cheaper than a Witchdoctor teaser, and better!
You can off course just hire one from me, but some of you might find it very handy at
the back of Rottnest or out at the Fads.
Reply with an email and I will get yours built right away!

600mm long made from plastic, mirror acrylic, and with stainless steel fittings, it will float at rest and
dive and swim erratically when towed. The 5 squid tails are 10 inch on a soft stainless steel cable.
Six-metre towrope with stainless thimble and noose.
The holographic film and mirrors make it very effective, accounting for those extra
tuna and mackerel.

Last year I sent a link to http://www.wildblue.com.au/ where they showed some huge blue-fin tuna caught out from
Portland, Victoria. The following link shows the photos and locations of some fish caught this year!
Outstanding to say the least! They had to travel 34 mile, about 60km offshore to get them!

Part of the write up from the website.
As word spread to Melbourne and surrounds of these large tuna catches, fishermen with their
expert marlin gear came and caught some tuna ranging in weight up to the 110kg mark, using
80kg gear stepped up from their 37kg gear and were still being smoked away to every bodies surprise.

Rob Znevych landed the biggest recognised tuna weighing 120.7 kg measuring 2050mm long with a girth of 520mm.
Plenty of tuna ranging from 80kg to 110kg were caught but many released themselves by their shear awesome power.
Some of the 37kg and 80kg gear required fighting times of two, three, five and even 8 hours but a few were still lost
although the gear was traditionally set up for large marlin.

A short confession
Last week I went for a fish with mate Lou Parker, we had some hot spots sussed.
The weather forecast was good and we shot out early in the 5.3m boat. The southerly was pushing in by the time we got to
Red Bluff but we persisted. We had a quick troll at Wagoe for nothing and then shot out to our spots.
Nothing, nothing and nothing! I caught a catfish, Lou an undersize blue-lined emperor.
We moved in close to a snapper spot, nothing, we moved to a spot Lou cleaned up at during the
Classic, nothing! We came home.
So it just goes to show that some days you just can’t catch a fish, so if it happens to you, it is
not necessarily your fault, it happens to everyone!
So where did you hide the bananas, Lou?

Some of the catches from our local monthly comp on the 19th May 2007

Cheryl's 1.3kg bream, released.

Nic Nramwell's big sambo.

Nic's snapper, holding 2 of the 4 he caught.

Daniel Tarasek's snapper

Sand snapper for Lou Parker

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.

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

If you want to be included in these newsletters just send me an email with the subjectline “subscribe” and you will be sent one each month.