Abrolhos Island Fishing Trips 2016

The Abrolhos Islands are an amazing destination and with their close proximity to Perth, it’s no wonder they are among one of the must fish destinations for WA anglers.

It’s great to be back at the Abrolhos Islands, fishing and catching up with the regulars and new guests. 2 trips down and the new drive train in, Bluewater is humming, It would be great if the fish were doing the same.

Fishing is a strange game, some days good, some days bad. On arriving in Geraldton everyone, and I mean everyone, from tackle shops and locals to commercial operators and the cray boys were complaining about the lack of fish around the islands. “The Snapper just aren’t here” was the most common quote that nobody wanted to hear.

So trip one, the locals had it right, the fishing was tough, we tried the proven grounds and it was slim pickings, grounds that have been quiet for years also quiet. We reached the daily catch limits but only just, I doubt I have ever known the islands to be so quiet.

The guests had a great trip, we caught plenty of fish, including some amazing Dhu fish, but the crew and the anglers really had to work for it. Nothing was coming in easy, the fish were not attacking the baits and this is highly unusual for the Abrolhos Islands.

Every fisherman tries to work out how a fish thinks, I doubt anyone has really mapped the fish brain, and from what I’m told there is not a lot to map out and maybe that is the problem.

Trip 2 and the big question of what to do and where to go. Day one new grounds and the same result. I think the problem here was fishing on similar looking grounds, great lumps and edges, showing good fish and bait fish. We caught fish and a good number, though a lot of hard work from the anglers and a great deal of persistence.

A great skipper and mentor once told me, “There is always a fish feeding in the ocean somewhere, you just have to find it.”  So day 2 we set off early, I purposely looked for areas well away from anything I have fished before being almost certain the fish were not going to be there.

Moving away from what looked like insane fishing grounds, 15meter walls and coral plateaus, these lumps should be holding a mecca of fish, today they were not on my list, if it looked fishy leave it alone. My goal today was to ignore all the data and what should be to find fish on very different grounds.  By 9am we had reached the days’ bag limit, it was like the Abrolhos of old, from the moment the baits reached the bottom, rods bent double.

It really has been a different year, this fishing was tougher, the crew and guests really had to put in the hour and travel the distances to get the catches, but, it was worth it. for the crew on board (and what a crew, we are extremely proud of their efforts this year to see the guests get great value and have a great time), so, for the crew on board there is nothing more pleasing than see our guests wipe off another couple of fish from the bucket list, hooking up a personal best and just having a great time.

Not long left in the Abrolhos season so looking forward to the next adventure, The Montebello Islands

Montebello Island Fishing Trips 2016

The Montebello Island fishing charter season is shaping up to be a good one. Long range weather forecasts are for favourable conditions. The “El Nino” weather pattern continues to rise on the eastern side of the country. El Nino is normally associated with warmer conditions and lighter winds. The Indian ocean indicators are at present pretty neutral, though it is expected that this will rise as we head towards summer.

The fishing in the north of the state over the last couple of months has been better than last year. Rankin cod, one of the better if not the best northern cod species to dine on are everywhere, not that any one is complaining. Other species are also abundant and the fishing in general has been better for the angler than the previous year,loads of Sailfish and Marlin, they its as if they are growing in numbers or are we just getting better at what we do.

The Montebello Islands are a must do trip for any angler if the time permits. We have a number of places available for the remaining season, give us a call at the office, or flick through the website and we hope you can join us.

BlueJuiceCharters.com.au