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Karratha Fishing North Western Australia is such a great escape destination we couldn't do it justice in one show. So here we are again ! There are more than 100 islands in the Monte Bello group… and they're surrounded by a massive reef system that's chock-a-block full of tropical fish. But the first creatures to surface this morning are a little bigger than expected… Theyre coming to have a look at us, while we're looking at them, they're having birds eye view of us - have a look at how close that is… (Closest I've ever been to a whale) One of the best ways to fish here is to troll past the rocky ledges, and tempt the fish out of their coral hideaways. Looks like we're trolling around, this time in search of bait, lot of trevally, need burley, carcass sent down the trail. Triple hookup… and the chinamen are on the boil. In Qld, these fish would be caught down deep - but we're trolling in just 4 metres of water.. and hauling up a few beauties. Well time to do baitfishing, burleying up reef, lot of burley, hopefully mackerel cobia trev and reef fish. Something's taken my trevally… and he's running me right around the boat! Shark attack! Lookout - his big mate isn't far behind! This amazing 12 foot hammerhead is on the prowl for our live bait… I reckon I'll wind in, or we might be here all night. In pristine spots like the Monte Bello Islands - almost every type of fishing is on tap. So I've had to bring along just about every rod and rig you can think of. Hiding amongst these ledges are schools of tropical fish.. like this pretty little fellow. The colours here are amazing. One of the only probs with using gang hooks is that they're difficult to get out of fish. Can't close the barbs or the hook will fall out of the fish's mouth. These rugged islands were the site of nuclear testing in the fifties.. but the wealth of wildlife here now is just incredible. Well what an amazing setting. Osprey don't have any trees for nest, so build on limestone atolls. Two chicks, egg in nest - little queenie, that's what feeding on - just remarkable. This is the start of our night bottom fishing. Start of my weight training session. It's bottom bouncing at its best. Simple rig, 100 pd trace, gang hooks, snapper lead and doing job. 50 pound braid and don't mess around with that sort of stuff. As soon as our baits hit bottom - the fish are striking. And as the day disappears - it looks like we're in for a red sunset. The colour of these fish has to be seen to be believed. And luckily - they taste as good as they look. The Monte Bello islands are 120 kilometres east of Dampier, or about a five hour boat ride. The Norkat is a 12 berth catamaran - and the crew can take you trolling the reefs, or fishing the bombies for mangrove jacks. The trip costs $240 per person per day.. with a minimum of 8 on board. Phone Norkat Boat tours for more details. Back on the
mainland, stay at the Karratha International Hotel, with double
rooms from $130 a night including breakfast. |
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Monte Bello Islands Norkat Boat Tours Cost Accomodation Cost |
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