Abrolhos Adventure

Till and I finally pulled out of my drive way at 1.30pm Thursday arvo with the Trophy packed and in tow.

5 hours later it was 2 wood fired pizzas and a pint in the main drag of Gero.  Well the pint was just killing time while the pizzas cooked.

With hot pizzas in hand, we escaped the backpackers for the short drive to the marina where we setup the boat whilst consuming pizza.

 

We launched and motored around to dock up with 3 other boats from the WAD( WA Divers) brigade.

Introductions, a few brews and it was time to sleep.

 

The morning forecast was for 15-18 easing Easterlies and that was what it was.  No hurry.  The winds eased at about 9am and it was time to push off.

 

The loaded Trophy bogged down in the easterly troughs every now and then.  It was slow going but doable – a combination of too much weight and not enough HP.

I can drop some water and 50L of fuel for the next trip and I’m sure Till could cull another 10kg of jigs…hell I only needed 2 for the trip, not two bags.

 

 2.5 hours later we rounded the starboard marker into the protected water of the Eastern group.  Hmmm, looked good.

 

We anchored up, had lunch, rigged up and then headed off to find some fish.

 

Not 2 minutes away, small tuna were busting up bait.  A quick cast and I was onto a small stripy.  Too easy, first fish released.

 

We found some likely ground and started working SP’s in 8-20m.  First up a 7kg dhuie caught on a McArthy 7" Jerk Minnow in Orca.

A few more drifts resulted in another two more dhues, with the smaller being dispatched for the nights dinner. 

 I believe Jamie was busy with Charlie courts for the arvo.

 

The wind died right off and it was time to raft up for the evening near Morley Island.

 

Come morning, we moved around the Island for some protection from the howling NE and have some breakfast.

A bit of seal interaction til the winds subsided.

 

The day was spent jigging and working SP’s and a little snorkelling, oh and we did a dive on some likely ground.  Till shot a nice Baldie for dinner whilst I did some filming.  The vis was down but there was a bit of life around with the highlight being schools of big shark mackerel cruising by for a look.

 

Sunset was approaching fast and we met up with the other boats at the moorings North of Rat Island.

It was a beautiful night with no wind and calm seas.

 

In the morning we headed north looking for another dive site whilst the other boats did the same and then packed up for the trip back to Gero/Perth.

 

We found a likely spot and DECO rocked up claiming that we were on his spot..hahaha Trout city apparently;

 

More sharkie action;

 

Late in the arvo we found bait schools being smashed by bigger fish. One bait school had at least 3 big sharks feasting on the surface.  I lined the boat up and Jamie cast at the sharks.

The result – it ain’t no albacore;

 

Our last night was again at the moorings near Morley Island, Easter Group.

 

YFT belly sashimi for entree, prawn and squid laksa and brew.

 

 

In the morning we headed off for Hummock Island which was about 10nm to the ESE.

Half way there – is it a boat, island, oh no a whale tail.  He or she had been like this for at least 15 minutes as we approached.

 

It was very quiet jigging and working SP’s.

 

Jigged or jagged Shark Mac....of course by the jag master;

 

About 11am it was time to head back to Gero and then the short drive home....what a long weekend.

 

Special thanks to Mick (DECO1100) of WAD for allowing us to tag along with his motley lot – great company and we will be back again.

 

Kudos to Jamie for being an excellent deckie bitch...the best in the business.

 

Cheers Pete


chrisp's picture

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Nice

Sat, 2010-07-31 15:12

Nice weekend on the water boys.I like the underwater shark mack pic,that skippy is confused who his friends are..

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Yeah it was a top

Sat, 2010-07-31 15:40

Yeah it was a top weekend!

Plenty of fish, a few dives, a nice first for me on the YFT, Pete on the jigged Trout, great company with the WAD contingent and that laksa was some top feed.

I don'think we even bothered mentioning as many trolled sharkies as we wanted first up on the Friday.

Ta Pete!

Edit: ChrisP - one of the dives we got in on a school or predominantly big buff, only later to find skippy, then Amberjacks, then Pinkies, then a few bigger Baldies hanging around the bottom.

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Some huge Buffs around

Sat, 2010-07-31 20:11

Some huge Buffs around there. I dived a spot there a few times that had them well over 10kg.

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10 points

Sat, 2010-07-31 15:44

for innovation with the soy sauce bowl  Smile

Great report Pete.

Alan James's picture

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Good pics and report

Sat, 2010-07-31 16:27

Now that's a better pic of the tuna.  Tick the YFT box.

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alfred's picture

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Top report guys!  Cant wait

Sat, 2010-07-31 16:32

Top report guys!  Cant wait till I get my chance to go.

Andy Mac's picture

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Team Social does it again

Sat, 2010-07-31 16:37

Top report. Would love to do a few trips like that.

As you said under the mates pic, that's what fishwrecked is all about. Meeting some like minded sorts and sharing some adventures on the open ocean.

 

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shabba's picture

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awsome report pete, sounds

Sat, 2010-07-31 16:43

awsome report pete, sounds like u & till had a great time, top photos 2.......

Lamby's picture

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great report

Sat, 2010-07-31 17:09

great report

Paul G's picture

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Great report and looks like

Sat, 2010-07-31 17:14

Great report and looks like a fun trip ,how much fuel did you use on the trip ,looks like you had all but the kitchen sink.

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154nm @ 0.74nm/l = ~208l.

Sat, 2010-07-31 17:45

154nm @ 0.74nm/l = ~208l. Pete's boat is very economical, despite the loading.

Does anyone know anything about reverse osmosis filtration on boats? I remember back in 2001, when I was riding around China, we met these Germans that had a hand-operated filter, and they used that instead of buying bottled water.

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allrounder's picture

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Ranger in Joondulup used

Sat, 2010-07-31 19:12

to have a small one.I think you can get hand ones that do a few litres a day.

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carnarvonite's picture

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Cooking

Sat, 2010-07-31 21:51

One way to save water is to do your cooking in sea water, works well except for carrots which absorb all the salt and become extremely bitter, all other veges are ok.

Frank F's picture

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Top report and photos guys,

Sat, 2010-07-31 18:13

Top report and photos guys, looks like it was awesome trip. Thanks for sharing.

DazSamFishing's picture

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good report. Gotta love the

Sat, 2010-07-31 18:19

good report. Gotta love the adventure trips. Certainly didn't rough it based on the spread of food there!

sea-kem's picture

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Talk about the good life. We

Sat, 2010-07-31 18:30

Talk about the good life. We really have got it good in this state.

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STEVE231's picture

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Thanks for the good read

Sat, 2010-07-31 18:31

Good adventure to do a trip like that in your own boat, well done, and a great effort!!

Gully's picture

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Top stuff, Sounds like one

Sat, 2010-07-31 18:52

Top stuff,

Sounds like one of those special trips where it all comes together - fish and the weather.

Gully

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Date Joined: 28/10/08

Excellent report

Sat, 2010-07-31 18:54

Really envious.  That is my kind of trip - some mates, a few fish, top scenery, and a good feed!

Bones76's picture

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Jamie - you can come and

Sat, 2010-07-31 20:03

Jamie - you can come and deckie my boat anyday if you serve that food up... (looks like your food)

 

Great report and photos... 

Lucky Tim's picture

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Fresh coriander and udon

Sat, 2010-07-31 20:08

Fresh coriander and udon noodles??? I don't even get that stuff very often at home, it looks like the only thing you forgot was the soy dish.
Awesome report guys, you were certainly living and eating like kings out there.
Can't wait for my next trip, it's a top trailer boat destination and a must do if you get the chance.

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Jealous

Sat, 2010-07-31 21:27

Not sure whether I'm more jealous of the fishing or the food? :-)

Well done looks like a wonderful time.

Adam Gallash's picture

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lol

Sat, 2010-07-31 21:55

Lol at the soy sauce.  Awesome fellas, very nicely done.

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Faulkner Family's picture

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sounds like a lot of fun was

Sat, 2010-07-31 21:59

sounds like a lot of fun was had by you guys........Pete, what sort of speed were you doing to get that sort of mileage. . reason i ask is we have done trips of around 80nm and used around 110ltrs cruising at around 20knts with a 350chev....... would have been a great place for a dive too

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alfred's picture

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Pete has a diesel.  Suspect

Sat, 2010-07-31 22:42

Pete has a diesel.  Suspect the laksa was Pete's too, but I might be wrong.

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great report, we where just

Sat, 2010-07-31 23:30

great report, we where just up there on a spearing trip last weekend, awesome water. got some good baldies, dhuies, trout, pinks, spango and quite a few spanish macks. if u work the southern group trolling out side of half moon but close to the reef u should get some big macs and bonito and if u get in nice and close there ull get some monster dhus(saw one would have been about 16kg easy but i already had my trout and baldie), sounds like u guys had fun though, gotta love the abrohols

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The Laksa was indeed Pete's

Sun, 2010-08-01 05:55

The Laksa was indeed Pete's old dive club secret recpie! Pete packed the squid from our previous weekend, and prawns from earlier swan nite dives. I brought the coriander and

There were quite a few slow miles in there, a little bit of trolling, and a lot more just poking around slowly trying to avoid rocks in the shallows, of which there is no shortage.

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damo6230's picture

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Great trip and report Pete and Jamie

Sun, 2010-08-01 08:01

Good to see you head out after talking about it in Exi.

Looks like winter has been pretty kind for you guys down south.

Actually it's raining here today.....most unseasonal and will really shut the Barra down.......bring on the warmer weather......

Whats next?

Colin Hay's picture

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Fantastic report as usual Pete

Sun, 2010-08-01 09:23

And some awesome pics to go with it.
The conditions look pretty awesome and that pic of the mackeral and the baldies has me dreaming of how I can finally get out there.
Well done mate.

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Pete D's picture

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Bring on the next!

Sun, 2010-08-01 11:10

Carnarvonite -  the only water used for cooking was for the noodles..so not much of a saving.  Its a boat fishing trip, no veges allowed...well garlic and coriander is excepted.

 

Most of the water was used for washing my video camera housing  - which is important.

 

We did 158 Nm for this trip and used  196L, so .8nm/L burn....this is on par with my montes trip when I first got the boat.  We were probably another 150Kg heavier and got .74Nm then.

 

Average speed across was bogged down at 12 knots to on plane at 18-20 knots.  Usual running around and home run on flatish water was 20-22 knots.

 

We had the kitchen sink Paul – a bucket!  The only thing we (well the deckie) forgot was the kaffir lime leaves for the laksa....but we improvised with lime skin in boiling water.

 

Our last dive site was pretty awesome and will be dived again (I didn't take the camera down).  I’m sure there would be hundreds of other similar spots.  Need a big boat to carry all the tanks though.  We didn’t even get the chance to snorkel the shallow stuff either.

 

Yeah a great trailer boat location Tim...looking forward to the next and the next and the next.  Plenty to do there.

 

Cheers Pete

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nice trip dreaming off going

Sun, 2010-08-01 21:01

nice trip dreaming off going there might be going next year since my dad got a 6.7 star ally.

 

Pete D's picture

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keep dreaming stella kf, but

Mon, 2010-08-02 07:45

keep dreaming stella kf, but ,more importantly, wash the boat, keep it clean and every now and then tell ya Dad about the great fishing up Gero way.  You'll get there.

Cheers Pete

soupster51's picture

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Top Trip

Mon, 2010-08-02 08:09

Nice work boys. A great trip by the look of it. I'll do one of those trips one day myself. Alright, alright, I'll conceed, it's a YFT...... LOL. You're loving the jigs and SPs at the moment Pete, can't wait to get amoungst it with you when I get back.

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GrahamM's picture

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Great report and pics love

Mon, 2010-08-02 10:55

Great report and pics love that place i cant wait till Oct when i go

Paul G's picture

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I'll be up there soon as

Mon, 2010-08-02 16:41

I'll be up there soon as work slows a little.

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Awesome trip and report guys

Wed, 2010-08-04 19:32

Awesome trip and report guys ,

What are the regs concerning the abrolos group i tought you werent alllowed to go there out of cray season?????.

Did you guys anchor up or grab a mooring at night i wouldnt be able to sleep if i had just the anchor down i reckon i would be worried about waking up in africa.

Is there any where to get fresh water on any of the islands???.

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You're allowed there all

Wed, 2010-08-04 19:44

You're allowed there all year, just not allowed to cray out of season =)

We used fixed moorings, they're on charts. Trust me, you realise if you're there, that you have a million times higher chance of getting shipwrecked than make it to South Africa.

There is no freshwater, fuel or assistance on any of the islands. I don't think they like you on them much either as they're mostly bird nesting grounds.

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DazSamFishing's picture

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Inspired to get over there.

Wed, 2010-08-04 19:50

Inspired to get over there. Just need someone to carry my fuel!

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That business with the

Wed, 2010-08-04 21:00

That business with the island leader II looks the go for boats that can't carry enough fuel. Probably best to wait till the end of next cray season though, the water will be warmer and there will be macks a gogo.

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yeah the islande leader is a

Thu, 2010-08-05 18:53

yeah the islande leader is a sick charter boat for it. i trhink 320 bucks for 25 ppl and well we had 6 boats.

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Date Joined: 26/10/07

report.

Wed, 2010-08-25 10:10

great report pete. i have a question, im trying to get a report up myself and it wont really work, how did you resize your pictures? and what size are they?
Also how did you get yourpictures throughout the report and not just at the end??? any help would be appreciated, cheers.

Pete D's picture

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Pics - I right click and

Wed, 2010-08-25 10:41

Pics - I right click and select resize to large.  This reduces my pics from 5-7MB to 100-150Kb.

I then upload my pics to photobucket.  The reduced pic loads quicker on my shite wireless connection.

Report - I use Word 4 windows.  Type up my text (spell check) etc etc.  For pics, I copy and paste the (I think the 'image link' from under the pic in your photobucket album) into the text where I want it.

Once complete and checked, I then open FW'd, create content and copy paste the word doc CONTENTS into it.  Click PREVIEW COMMENT, as sometimes paragraghs disappear (so you might have to edit the preview window in FW'd abit).

Sounds long winded, but it is the best way that I know to get a better presentation.  Downside - your fantasic pics are not worth shite to Ads for the best pic of the month as they are not loaded onto the site....but I can live with that.

Cheers Pete

soupster51's picture

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Cheers

Wed, 2010-08-25 10:50

Cheers Pete. Sounds a little like what you where talking to me about the other night. A whole lot easier to follow when it's written down. (No luck with the film-editing software as yet.)

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cheers

Sun, 2010-08-29 15:43

thanks a bunch pete i will try and get my report up!

abeldog's picture

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Great Report

Sat, 2010-09-18 12:50

Aaaah the Abrolhas.

You just have to love the place.

Lets all look after it

Smile

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