18 June 2024
While in Broome, Nicole and I booked on to an offshore fishing charter. While Nicole was very keen to catch another Barramundi, we agreed to change things up a bit and get offshore.
We booked with Absolute Ocean Charters and weren’t disappointed. We heard from a fellow waiting outside to be picked up that he had done one of their charters a few years back, and that it was the best he’d ever been on.
After a quick bus trip to Gantheaume Point we were waiting on the beach to be tendered out to the big boat. We thought, OK then, we’re going to get our feet a bit wet getting on to the tender boat. No problem. How wrong we were! It was literally like something out of a James Bond movie as the tender boat ‘grew’ wheels and just drove out of the water. How cool is that!
Once on board, we were given the obligatory safety briefing, and then were off. It was around a 40-minute trip out to the reef we would be fishing — around 125km offshore.
It was the perfect day weather wise, with not a single cloud in the sky, nice temperature, and the water was so flat. On top of that, the water was the clearest and most beautifully blue water I’d ever seen. Simply amazing!
We all fished for a little while off the sides of the boat, dropping a line with the biggest sinker I’d ever seen off the edge, straight to the bottom — no casting needed here. The water was so clear that I could see my squid bait shimmering off sunlight 10-15 metres down.
We tried a few spots and there was really no action from fishing this way, so the skipper and crew decided to spice things up and we went trolling. This involved having two rods set up at the back of the boat — one at each corner — as each dragged a massive lure through the water. Then everything started happening all at once.
We lined up to take turns at the trolling rods, standing behind the rod waiting until the deckhand yelled out, “Fish on!” At that point, we had been told to pick up the rod and wind the reel as hard and as quickly as we could, so that sharks wouldn’t get the fish. Before long there were two massive Spanish Mackerels in the boat, and the next two were up. As I looked over the side, I saw one, then two, then four very big sharks rapidly circling the rear of the boat in anticipation of a feed. Talk about entertainment!
Then it was Nicole’s turn. Nicole had to wait a minute or so for the call, then it was, “Fish on!” Nicole did very well to bring the fish in, with a bit of help from the deckhand (as everyone was getting). And once that fish was in, Nicole could not have looked any more excited and satisfied. Well done, Nicole!
“Fish on!” for Nicole.
After a bit, it was my turn. When it was “Fish on!” time, I really struggled to get the reel turning at first. Then, with that help from the deckhand, I started reeling it and, before I knew it, one of those hungry sharks had taken it. Bugger!
“Fish on!” for Steve.
At that point, the skipper decided he didn’t want to lose any more lures, so we headed off to a different spot to try fishing off the side again.
I managed to catch four Spotted Emperors and one Yellow Striped Sea Perch, and Nicole caught one Spotted Emperor, however it didn’t have nearly the same level of excitement as the Spanish Mackerel experience.
The Spanish Mackerel was treated as a joint catch, so was split evenly amongst all paying customers. The other fish were allocated to those who caught them. So, Nicole and I ended up going home with plenty of fish — too much in fact.
As we got on to the big boat at the start, Nicole realised she’d left her hat on the bus (and we were definitely not going back to get it). Straight away, a very nice bloke (Colin) pulled out a bucket hat and handed it to Nicole to use for the day, saying it was his spare. In the spirit of one good turn deserving another, we donated some of our catch to Colin, which was gratefully accepted.
So, in summary, it was a fantastic day. I found estuary fishing a little dull before this charter, now I don’t think I’ll be able to go back — at least for a while anyway.
Fishing Tour – Broome
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