Abrolhos Islands, Farewell (until next time).

It’s been a great season at the Abrolhos Islands for 2016. Unfortunately all good things must come to end and this week marked the end of our 2016 Abrolhos Islands fishing season. This week we had a great group of 8 blokes from Perth on board.

We started the charter with Daniel M (there were two Daniels on board this week) who caught a nice Coral Trout on a Z-Man 50 nitro 1.5 ounce jig head. Soon Captain Chad got himself a nice Spangled Emperor. The swell was up which was definitely affecting the fish however the boys still managed to get a nice feed for themselves with some Spangled Emperor, Baldachin Grouper and Pink Snapper caught for the day. Chad and Jake went for a quick dive and got us some nice Crayfish to enjoy for dinner. It was a great dinner and we got to celebrate Brendan’s birthday at the beautiful Abrolhos Islands. We decided to enjoy the night in Sandy Passage.

On day 2 we went Deep Sea Fishing. The Sharks were causing us a bit of trouble taking some of the boys fish. The Sharks managed to take some nice fish including Dhu Fish, Pink Snapper and others we didn’t get the chance to see. We decided to rename Anthony “Shark Boy” as he managed to hook a few sharks for the day. While Anthony was in the process of catching one shark Daniel T got himself a nice Coral Trout.

On one drop over lunch the Dhu Fish were really on the bite with the boys catching 4 Dhu fish in just that one drop. Thankfully the sharks stayed away from this spot. As the day progressed the boys caught and released a few more Dhu Fish. The highlight those was when a big shark jumped and barreled twice in the air. The boys fishing the day off with some nice Dhu Fish, Pink Snapper, Coral Trout and Baldchin Grouper. It was a real mixed bag kind of day.

We spent the third day of this final Abrolhos Islands Charter for 2016 Deep Sea fishing. Mark snapped a rod while in the process of catching a Dhu Fish. Neil R also managed a nice size Dhu Fish and Daniel M caught a Coral Trout while we were trolling. The fun moment of the day was when Mark sat on the gunnel and accidently leant back on Daniel M’s new rod and snapped the butt. Luckily it can be fixed. We finished the day off with some Pink Snapper, Dhu Fish and Coral Trout before spending the night on the mooring at Little Sandy Island.

Day 4 started with “Shark Boy” (aka Anthony) keeping a shark busy while Daniel caught a Baldchin Grouper. Mark was also in luck with a nice sized Coral Trout. While Daniel T caught 2 Samson Fish, one was about 20kg and caught on a soft plastic. We ended the day with a great feed before we spent the night on the jetty in the southern group.

Day 5 marked not only the final day of this charter but also the final day of our 2016 Abrolhos Islands fishing season. Mark started the day with a Coral Trout. Before long the Abrolhos Islands were reminding us just how special they are with a double header of Red Emperor and Dhu Fish. There aren’t many places in the world were that is possible. The boys proceeded to catch a few more Red Emperors for the day before catching and releasing 4 Dhu Fish. The boys managed to catch a few more nice fish before it was time for us all to say goodbye to the Abrolhos Islands for 2016.

It was a great final charter with a great bunch of guys with plenty of fun and laughs. Unfortunately the swell ran bigger than normal which did effect the fishing. By the end of the trip the fish were biting but it was hard work finding the fish on this trip.

And so the Abrolhos Islands season has come to an end for another year (although we are already starting to book out our 2017 Abrolhos Islands season). But now….it is time for our next big adventure… the trip from Geraldton to Dampier for us to begin the Montebello Islands fishing season.

Until next time, happy fishing!

Leah