An Abrolhos Islands state of origin- Week 8 2016

We have just completed another exciting 5 day fishing charter to the Abrolhos Islands from Geraldton WA. This was our second last charter of the Abrolhos Islands 2016 season so we were excited to make the most of every moment.

This week was a whole boat hire consisting of 6 people. Sadly however, 2 people had to pull out the day before the charter which left us with a lovely group of 4 gentleman, 2 from Queensland and 2 from Western Australia. It was a natural progression to have a state vs state competition. Of course the Blue Lightning crew remained neutral (GO WA!!!)

On day 1 we headed straight over to the Abrolhos Islands with a decent wind of 15 knots. After David brought a few bananas on board we were all slightly worried about the “Curse of the Banana”.

We started the day with some trolling, but the fish weren’t on the bite, so we were all looking at David. We decided to change our approach and move to the shallows. What a great move that was. David proved that the bananas weren’t unlucky at all catching 2 Coral Trout. Peter got a nice sized Pink Snapper. The boys also managed to catch quite a few Baldchin Grouper.

After the success of the morning’s shallow water session the boys decided it was time to move on for some deep sea fishing action for the afternoon. The lads caught some nice Dhu Fish, Baldchin Grouper, Red Emperor and Break Sea Cod. All in all Day 1 proved to be a great day of fishing. Only one thing was missing… Crayfish, so Captain Chad and Decky Jake went for a swim and got us a nice feed of fresh Crayfish for dinner. We spent the first night of the charter in Sandy Passage.

On day 2 we woke to winds of 25-30 knots with rain to match. It certainly wasn’t ideal weather to be out fishing at the Abrolhos Islands but as always we made the most of it. While we were waiting for the winds to subside Jake and Chad got us some fresh Crayfish for lunch. Although there was quite a bit of swell we decided to do a little deep sea fishing. The lads caught a great mix of species including some Baldchin Grouper, Pink Snapper, and Spangled Emperor. We spent the night moored on the jetty at Pigeon Island.

We woke on Day 3 to another cloudy day at the Abrolhos Islands. While the winds had subsided the swell was still running up to 4metres. We took some time to stretch our legs and help the customers explore Pigeon Island. We enjoyed visits to the pub and school on the island. The group were then keen to get back out and fishing. We went deep sea fishing with Peter D, David and Chad each catching a Dhu Fish. Mick also caught a nice Samson Fish. We finished the day off with a great mixed bag of Dhu Fish, Baldchin Grouper, and some Spangled Emperor. We spent night 3 at Morley Island on the mooring. The weather was pretty crazy with some serious winds and bucketing down with rain.

By morning the wind had calmed but we were yet to see any blue sky on this charter, with grey clouds filling the sky for the entire charter to date. Day 4 brought us some nice fishing with some Dhu Fish, Pink Snapper and Baldchin Grouper. We spent the night at Morley Island.

Finally on day 5 the sun began to shine. We made the most of it and spent the first part of the morning exploring and snorkeling at the anemone lump. The boys got to enjoy swimming with some Baldchin Grouper, Coral Trout and Spangled Emperor. After returning to the boat we did a couple of drops with the guys catching some Pink Snapper, Baldchin Grouper and even a nice sized Coral Trout. We then all had another chance to enjoy the incredible waters of the Abrolhos Islands when we all jumped in for a snorkel around the reef. While we were all exploring Chad and Jake got us some nice Crayfish, before we headed back in to Geraldton to end the charter.

Although the weather wasn’t exactly ideal we had a great week with many laughs and some great fun. I’m still not sure which state won the battle, we might have to settle with calling this one a draw.

We are now headed off for the final charter of our 2016 Abrolhos Islands fishing season before we head north to the Montebello Islands. This year has absolutely flown by and both Chad and I cannot believe the Abrolhos season is already nearly over. Bring on the next adventure.

Until next time, happy fishing

Leah