Exmouth June 2009

I flew over to Exmouth, WA, to join a friend of mine who has left everything behind in Sydney except for his boat, truck, camping gear and fishing gear (of course). Jono Shales has driven across and when I caught up with him, he was based in Exmouth. We had talked about his planned trip for quite some time, during that time we communicated a fair bit on how to modify his boat to make it perfect and in the end he got a good result. Funnily enough it is almost a photocopy of mine, except for the shorter lean post, he is a short arse ;-). He is chronicling his travels on his website - http://www.swoffa.com/

Day 1
I flew to Perth the on to Learmonth, where Jono picked me up and took me back to what would be Base Camp for the week:

where I dropped off all my gear, got change, grabbed the rods and off we went for a quick fish. it was a bit windy, but we headed up to North West reef for a few hours where we hooked up a few fish and got sharked or broken off. Good start.

Day 2
Next day the conditions weren't too bad, wind was from the South east so we hit the western side of the peninsula. We launched at Tantabiddi and headed south. Just out of the southern passage through the reef we came across the first pod of whales:

The first of many encounters. We came back through the reef near Pilgramunna and started fishing the flats. Patchy cloud made life difficult, and apart from a large trevally, numerous little cod and assorted smudges we didn't have much luck so we headed out wide again. We found schools of stripey tuna which initially were very frustrating until we dropped down to 15lb tippet, then it was all too easy:

We kept one for berley and anchored up to try and catch some mackerel. It didn't take long for things to go off, I hooked a beast right next to the boat (no wire) and after a good run it bit me off. So on with the wire and after a couple more chases and hits I finally landed my first ever shark mackerel:


Few more encounters and it was time to head back. Shame the big ones got away, but at least we had dinner, and it tasted really good on the BBQ.

Day 3
The wind was blowing from the south so we headed to the bottom of the gulf for some exploration. 5 minutes out of the marina we came across some longtails and it didn't take too long for one to hit the deck:

We explored a number of flats and inlets, and again the clouds made it difficult. Particularly frustrating were a couple of very large Blue Bones that we saw at the last minute. So we gave up and headed out to a shoal to try our luck dredging. We anchored up and it didn't take long before I got a massive thump and I was on. The headshakes indicated Golden Trevally and sure enough:



We caught a number of these great fish, all large and good fighters.


We also got blown away by some big spanish mackerel. Back to base camp and more shark mackerel for dinner. One can get used to this...

Day 4
With the boat fully fuelled, we packed up food and drinks and headed off for a couple of days:



We headed straight across the gulf to explore some flats where Jono had had some good luck the weeks before. We came to an island, which had a long sand spit on the lee side, with birds diving and the occasional splash. We were drifting in 1m of water when I saw some nervous water and I made a cast. The fly landed and was promptly charged by 5 hungry mactuna. The one that I hooked off took off on a screaming run, tuna go really hard in shallow water. After a long run, half way through the wind back there was commotion followed by a thump and a large red patch appeared. This is what was left:


We then moved on to some other flats and while waiting for the tide to rise a few blind casts brought up a few new species, including this black spot tuskfish:

Once again the clouds made life difficult, so armed with half the mactuna we headed off to tackle mackerel. Action was fairly hectic but both Jono and I couldn't get one to the boat between sharks and bite offs, but finally I got one, my first on fly:

No where near as big as the one that I lost prior (shirt buttons and flylines don't mix) but perfect eating size:

Jono also managed to add a new species to his list - a batfish:

Last hookup of the session was a hoot. Big hit, line starts peeling off the reel and just as Jono said "that's a big fish" a 2m+ whaler shark leapt out of the water, did 2 barrel rolls and broke me off. Big fish all right...
We originally were going to be camping out, but the guide and the caretaker of Wilderness Island Lodge (Shane and Harry) had a client there for the next 6 days so invited us to stay so we could add company. We headed across and got there at dark, and while tying up the boat heard a quad approaching - thanks Harry for coming to pick us up). We cooked up the spanish mackerel and hit the sack.

Day 5
Rain, wind and clouds, not a great start to the day, but I still managed to get a few pics of the place. Wilderness Island lodge is a great setup, safari tents to sleep in, a couple of toilets, a saltwater shower and a large communal dining area.

While having breakfast Harry got back and broke the bad news - Jono's boat had come off it's mooring overnight and was sitting on the rocks, all scratched up. Jono headed straight over and came back with some pictures:


It didn't look too bad and anyway, until the boat was afloat again we wouldn't have known so while we waited we went crabbing. Harry is a bit of a magician when it comes to catching mud crabs, it didn't take him long and no.1 was in the sack:


After 3 more it was my turn, Harry found a good looking hole and after a bit of poking around I felt the unmistakable hollow metallic knock of a mud crab carapace. The bugger didn't want to come out but after a good tussle dinner was complete:



After lunch we headed down to the rocks to wait for the tide to come in, and after a few casts I managed another new species, a Mangrove Jack:


We spent a couple of hours catching all sorts of critters, adding to the species list while we went. The boat finally floated off and wasn't taking on any water, so we went out to the shoal of the previous afternoon to try our luck on the mackerel. No mackerel, but some good trevally, Goldens and Gold Spot. Jono caught a good gold spot, and I lost a good one too...


Then it was back to the Lodge for dinner - mud crab. Before:

After:


Day 6
We woke up, had a big breakfast and then packed our stuff onto the boat for the trip back across. We said goodbye and thanks to Harry and Shane, and their Japanese client Jun. We retrieved the boat with trepidation, but the bilge was dry so that was a good sign. We were just about to leave when Jono suggested getting a crab or two for dinner, and this time all I had to do was look down and grab one that was walking past the boat. No luck with any others, our hook wasn't long enough, and the tide was going out so we headed off. Once again clouds so no point bothering on the flats, off for some dredging. We managed to catch a couple of school mackerel that were chopped up for "upgrade" purposes. Then the hammerhead sharks showed up at the back of the boat - first one around the 40kg mark that swallowed my dead drifted fly and screamed off. I applied heaps of pressure and it broke off. A few more hits and bust offs and another smaller hammerhead turned up. He swam behind the boat for a couple of minutes inspecting our flies but no luck. Probably around the 20kg mark, would have been manageable. Then the bigger brother appeared (50kg+), ate my fly and screamed off too. I hung on for a bit longer but once my backing started to get low I put the hurt on and broke him off too... I knew I should have packed the 13 weight...

An entertaining session with some good fish hooked but apart from the small ones nothing to the boat. And then back to Exmouth to get the boat looked at by the local fibreglasser. Highlight was "spaghetti al granchio" - mud crab spaghetti - beautiful.

Day 7
We headed out on the western side, objective was a large spanish mackerel or two. Plenty of whales around once again:

as well as turtles and a big pod of manta rays. After a bit of searching we found the stripey tuna and had some good fun catching them, keeping 3 for berley:

Down with the anchor and out with the berley. First spot didn't turn up much so we moved north. We had barely started berleying when Jono hooked up on a mackerel which shortly afterwards went airborne and got promptly eaten. We persisted for a while without a single touch, until a 2.5m hammerhead showed itself at the back of the boat. All he wanted was the tuna carcass and wouldn't go away, so we decided to have a bit of fun. Jono tied the carcass to some rope and the action started:

After that we decided to cop a feel when the shark came close to the boat, and then Jono took it one step further:

After that it was time to head back to the ramp, where finally the sun showed itself again after all the clouds:

Day 8
With only a few hours to spare we went back to where we started, North West Reef. As soon as the tide started to run out a current line formed and we had 3 hours of absolute mayhem. Massive narrow barred mackerel and monster queenfish were around, but unfortunately in the company of a huge number of angry sharks. We both hooked up numerous times but didn't stand a chance, you couldn't even let the fish run on freespool, it would be over in less than a few seconds. We went through lots of flies and wire all to no avail, but still hectic and great fun. Then before I knew it it was back to the campsite to pack up and jump on my plane.

Thanks a lot Jono for inviting me over. Shame the weather never gave us much of a chance to check out those flats on the eastern side of the gulf, but we still did well given the conditions, and had a blast. Plus I added another 14 new species to the list, current tally is 95, not far to go. Hope to fish with you again soon

NZ 2009 Trip Report

Another year and another great trip to NZ. My how time flies...

Day 1

I once again flew into Christchurch and Dan swung round on Saturday morning and off we went. We headed over Arthur's Pass and fished a couple of rivers over the pass on our way to Hokitika, where we saw a few fish and I managed to lose a good fish on a cicada, not the best start. We then checked out a weir and canal section that was meant to have fish. We saw three good ones in the main basin but they weren't interested in our flies, even though they seemed to be active. Then a couple of spring creeks outside Hokitika, not much to be seen apart from the ever present bridge fish that spooked when I drifted a fly over it's nose. Fairly slow start to the trip.

Day 2

We woke up to another glorious day and headed south to fish a spring creek I had fished back in 2007. As I remembered it was stunning, and the fish were out and about. There were quite a few active and we managed to catch most of the ones we saw, they were refreshingly easy.

First good fish of the trip was this 4lb brown, a bit lean but actively feeding behind a weed bed, and it took a small nymph and put up a good fight on the 4 weight Scott:

Then it was Dan's turn to catch a lovely fish, and I even managed to get him to smile for the camera

We made our way upstream catching lovely fish like this one:

And this one was actively feeding on the surface and fell victim to a #14 sparkle dun:






One the way out we crossed a narrow ditch and on queue a good fish rose. We jumped out of the truck, and first cast it took the dry and promptly buried itself in the weeds. I jumped into the ditch (about 1.5m wide and thigh deep) and start prodding the weed with my foot. The fish took off upstream full pelt, weaving in and out of the weed and promptly bust me off. Was easily over 5lbs, NZ is amazing, there are trout everywhere !!!

We drove south and fished a large spring fed river for the afternoon. Once again there was a bridge fish feeding actively albeit in about 2m+ of water. I put a couple of casts over it before it slowly moved away and disappeared. We worked our way upstream and saw heaps of fish, but they were sooooo spooky. One barely had a shot at them before they bolted. We tried everything without any luck, until I managed to catch a hyperactive 4.5lber that looked fairly fresh from the sea. It put up one hell of a fight and was in awesome condition:

Small head, thick shoulders, vivid blue gill covers:

Dan also managed to catch a lovely brownie, but compared to the number of fish we saw it was tough...

Day 3

We went back to the river we had fished on the afternoon of Day 2 and fished up from where we had finished. Once again heaps and heaps of fish, but no luck. We came upon a pool with about 4 fish in the main deep section that didn't give us any joy, and then we saw what looked like a medium sized fish sitting on the edge of a drop off in full current. I went for it and tied on a big terrestrial, my version of a Muz Wilson Stimulated Sandwich and covered the fish. Up it came, inhaled the fly and went nuts. After a great fight:


We finally got the net onto it and were astounded for it pulled the scales down to 6.25lbs:



A couple more shots:


A quick revive and it was off:


Dan then cast a Bionic Bug to the next fish which promptly chased the fly 20m downstream with it's mouth open but missed - amazing. After those 2 fish it was back to more refusals. We then headed off south again and tried a river north of Haast. We only had a short time but in one great long pool of fast water we raised 8 fish on Carty GFFs and landed 5 to 5.5lbs - awesome. Next year we will have to spend more time exploring that one. Then off to Haast to look for accommodation and as had happened 2 years prior there were no vacancies. So we headed off to the beach, I slept in the tent and Dan slept in the truck.

Day 4

Restless night and in the morning there few million famished sandflies waiting for us. We got the hell out of there real fast and headed south. We tried to get into one river but found a locked gate, and when we drove up the other road someone was already there. So we headed off even further south to try another river. First pool we found a fish, Dan covered it a couple of times but no luck. We then walked for at least another 3km without seeing another. We tried further downstream and again only saw 1 fish. Time to pull the pin and back north we went and over the Haast pass back to the east coast. We fished a stream we had fished the year before, and only found 1 feisty rainbow that slammed a GFF:


The main river was very low, probably the cause of the absence of fish. Still a stunning place though:


Day 5

Dan had to head back home so I abandoned him by the roadside and headed south. In reality the kind soul left me his car and hitch-hiked home, what a legend !!! I drove to Athol and popped into Stu Tripney's shop but he was out guiding. So after 5 trips avoiding it I finally fished the Upper Mataura. It was everything I had heard but better. Lovely clear water, plenty of feeding fish but TOUGH !!!. The majority of fish were nymphing hard in the riffles and impossible to tempt. I somehow managed to hook 2 but lost the both. By then I was down to 6X tippet and one spat the hook and the other bricked me under a willow. I then started to focus on the fish hanging just behind the willows in shallower water, and these seemed interested in taking dries. I hooked 3 and finally after a great battle on the 4 weight managed to land a 5.5lb absolute stunner of a fish:



After seeing lots of fish I finally called it a day and headed back to Stu's. Caught up with him and had a long yarn. He was one of the guides on a Seafaris trip I did up at Cape York last August.

Day 6

I woke up to a foggy grey day. All signs indicated it would burn off but it still took a while for me to get going, and by the time I got to the car park at the start of the walk in zone on the Oreti, 3 cars were already there, one per beat... After a bit of thought I decided to head up behind the first group, hoping to pick up a straggler or 2. They had chosen beat 2 which was a good 45min hike up river through the heather and the gorse, a tough slog. I started fishing but saw very few fish, the ones I did see were stationary on the river bed, not interested in anything. After about 1 1/2 hours I caught up with the guys in front, Henare, a guide from Queenstown and his client John, from the US. I had a good chat with them and being a bit lost for ideas they allowed me to tag along with them and fish the bits the braids they weren't fishing. After a short while the river split in two, they headed up the larger branch and I headed up the smaller. I was walking along an undercut bank, casting the fly along the edge when a good fish came out from underneath and had a good long look at the GFF and turned away. I tried 3 more flies for the same result, and then downsized tippet to 4lb. First drift with a Stimulated Sandwich and whammo, it was on. Only for a short time though, for after 30 seconds or so the hook pulled - AAARGHHH.

A bit further upstream I came across a small waterfall with a deep pool below, dark and ominous. One of those polls that you just know are inhabited by a monster but impossible to fish. I cast the fly and as it drifted around towards the bank a large black fish emerged, snaffled the fly and bust me off - Double AAARGHHH !!! I caught up with the guys again, and Henare then said they were going to stop for lunch so pointed to some trees in the distance and said "fish from there". I thanked him and headed off. I started fishing again, and the first good pool I came to I saw it, a hog sitting about 1m down against the bank in 1.5m of water. I took a deep breath, retied my fly, tested it and cast. The fly drifted down to the fish and up it came, oh so casually, and inhaled the fly. I set the hook but nothing, the fish didn't budge. Another tug and it was finally off. What followed was an intense chase up and down the bank, the fish wanted to go upstream into the rougher stuff, I wanted to get it down to the gravel beach. I would run ahead and pull from above, it would turn, swim down almost to the beach and then head back up. After what felt like a lifetime it started to tire, moved over the shallows and I pounced and netted it. It pulled the scales to 8.5lbs, a gorgeous fat, thick beast of a brown:




After a few more pics I gently revived it and let it go - I was stoked. After that it was time to head back, a good 1 hour and 45 minutes back to the truck. I probably walked more than 20km that day but was it worth it. My first time on the Oreti culminated with a cracker of a fish !!!

Day 6

I had driven down to Te Anau where I caught up with Nick Reygaert of Gin Clear/The Search - Tahiti/Fly Fishing Film Festival fame. We had planned to fish the Eglington but woke up to wind and rain so gave that away. Instead after a great wild venison pie and an awful coffee from Miles Better Pies we headed off to a nearby lake. After a few casts I started to get some knocks and shortly afterwards landed a small rainbow. A few casts later towards the end of the retrieve I noticed a bow wave behind my fly and then wham, fish on. Nick shouted out to let it run and did it run. When the backing knot went through the tip guide I realised it was a serious fish. Nick rushed back to grab the camera while I fought the fish, and when I got back I had a 7.5lb fat and colourful buck rainbow on the bank (edit 22/3/09 - well how about that, I made it onto the front cover of NZ Troutfisher - nice one Nick!):

Nick Reygaert Photo

Nick Reygaert Photo

A gorgeous fish in trying conditions. I managed a few more small fish and Nick caught a couple of ballistic 3lbers that fought like mad. We then called it the day when the rain started to go horizontal. A big thanks to Nick, twas good to catch up and see you in Brisbane for the Film Festival. I then started the long drive back to Dan's, with an obligatory stop at Stu's.

Day 7

It rained all night so no rush to get up. After a great breakfast cooked up by Dan's lovely wife Elizabeth we headed off to try our luck in a local lake. The water was quite dirty, and apart from a swirl at my fly and a fish dropped at the bank we didn't have much luck. After lunch we tried a nearby local water race that had been kept low during the rain and I managed to nail 4 fish from one culvert, all feisty rainbows. Practically in Dan's front yard. Those kiwis have it good. After dinner we had another quick session and managed a few more a bit further downstream A good way to end the week given the appalling conditions, 100mm of rain in 24 hours. The next day it was back to CHC for the flight home, another trip done.

I just love NZ !!!