Abrolhos Report
Finally getting around to putting up a report on last weekends Abrolhos trip. We went on a "charter" that my nephew was invited to, and all up there was eight of us out of a total of around twenty passengers. Four guys towed their trailcraft out and spent most of the time in the shallows, only returning to the big boat for the evenings, I'll definitely consider this for next time.
Conditions on the way out on Friday night were pretty uncomfortable, but nothing scary. I was a passenger on the way to Geraldton so I had managed a few cans of relaxation, and all was good. Anchor was dropped around 2.30am in some shelter, and I went for a quick nap. Up around 5.00 am and some boys already had a nice dhu on the back deck, so I dropped a line over the side and quickly had three pinks on board, all were nice fish but none were over 50cm, so back they went. Only later after I saw everyone else keeping "small" pinks did I realise that the minimum size up there is different to metro, so I could have kept them. Oh well....
Fishing over the next few days was pretty tough, not sure if it was affected by the full moon? Conditions weren't great, but they were still fishable. Fish were very sporadic, just a couple from a drift. The spots looked the goods, and the sounder was showing fish, but they weren't hungry. My personal tally was well below average, just one of those trips I guess. Over the whole trip I guess there would have been half a dozen "good" dhus landed, and a few more "acceptable." Lots of baldies, including the largest I have ever seen, some nice bluebone, a cracker spangled emperor, only a couple of trout and heaps of red throat. We came home with some fillets, but were in no danger of bagging out.
I was dissapointed that the decky thought it was beneath him to sort out bait, assist with rigs, put fish on ice, assist in filleting or generally do anything useful. He spent his time upstairs with the skipper, and the most useful thing he did was pop his head over the side and say "drop 'em down" when we were on a spot, and then a few minutes later would call out "lines up." Even had a go at my nephew who was washing down the blood off the deck (surely a deckie's job?) and asked him for some bait, "Mate, I don't do bait!" WTF??
Biggest dissapointment personally was to see guys catch a good fish early in the morning, and have the same fish still on the deck in a tub of "water" at the end of the day. When we filled our tub with ice we were told "Don't waste the ice or we will run out." On top of this, many punters were keeping clearly undersize fish that were perfectly healthy and could have gone back, very sad to see.
Good weekend away with some boys, forgot how special that place is. Fishing was tough, but that's fishing. Sorry no photos to put up, I don't want to incriminate anyone, and I didn't really catch much worth taking a photo of personally! I don't think I would go back out on that boat, will save my coin for a "real" charter or the next Monties trip.
Thanks for reading.
Browny.
NORUN NOFUN
Posts: 1035
Date Joined: 15/08/11
Could you let us know who the
Could you let us know who the charter operator was ?
or even a PM as I was thinking of a charter as well for some east coast friends and myself.
Cheers
Browndog
Posts: 582
Date Joined: 10/04/12
PM
PM Sent
timmy k (not verified)
Posts: 16
Date Joined: 01/01/70
Yeah could you please pm me the name if possible?
One of my mates is trying to organise a trip away up there and it would be good to know who to avoid.
Cheers
Browndog
Posts: 582
Date Joined: 10/04/12
PM
PM Sent
Marineboy
Posts: 842
Date Joined: 14/03/14
Charter
island leader by any chance ?
My spots are so secret even the fish don't know about them !
beau
Posts: 4104
Date Joined: 24/01/10
There was a comment on your
There was a comment on your last post warning you about the deckie too haha! Almost sounds like theyre a supply boat running charters in between for some extra coin? 20 passengers sounds crazy. Hopefully it hasnt put you off the Abrolhos islands as it really is an amzing place, especially if you go out with a decent charter, been 3 or 4 times and bagged out every time and released huge amounts aswell
Browndog
Posts: 582
Date Joined: 10/04/12
Warned
Yeah Beau, I was warned!
20 passengers sounds bad, but it wasn't really an issue as 4 guys were off on their trailcraft all day, leaving 16 of us to fish from a pretty big boat. Crowding was the least of our issues!
Definitely hasn't put me off the Abrolhos, have been there before on Rat Patrol and had an awesome time. I would describe this one as more of a transport service than a charter, as all they did was take us to places, we supplied food, fishing gear etc. The price did reflect this, so it's not really fair to compare with a "full service" charter.
I did really like the idea of towing my boat out and heading off by ourselves, the guys who did that killed it in the shallows, the four of them caught more than the rest of us easily. That would be the only way I would consider doing this again, but on a full service charter there is probably no need.
beau
Posts: 4104
Date Joined: 24/01/10
Getting a boat taken over is
Getting a boat taken over is definitely something I'd consider doing, do you know if they were just regular guests or "friends of the crew"
Browndog
Posts: 582
Date Joined: 10/04/12
Regulars
They had been out before, but I don't think it was anything special. Pretty sure if you talked with any operator they would be happy to do it, just make sure you let me know the dates so I can be there!!
beau
Posts: 4104
Date Joined: 24/01/10
I reckon with 4 of us on a
I reckon with 4 of us on a boat we'd come back with 40kg of trout fillets haha! The surface trout fishing over there is insane
Paul_86
Posts: 1449
Date Joined: 27/03/09
Hey beau, I'm planning on
Hey beau, I'm planning on taking my boat over next year (March-June) for a day trip or maybe an over nighter, if your keen to team up and head over together let me know.
beau
Posts: 4104
Date Joined: 24/01/10
Yeah mate keep in touch. I'd
Yeah mate keep in touch. I'd need absolute mint weather though being an open boat
Paul_86
Posts: 1449
Date Joined: 27/03/09
For sure man. Yep I need a
For sure man. Yep I need a perfect weather forecast too. I've done the math for my boat and done heaps of fad trips and murion island trips fully loaded to get accurate fuel stats and to see how my boat works fully loaded so got enough confidence and sense to know when/if it's doable or not. We can chat closer to the date anyway tho
Uluabuster
Posts: 723
Date Joined: 12/12/10
Please PM the charter's
Please PM the charter's name. Thanks
Browndog
Posts: 582
Date Joined: 10/04/12
Charter
PM Sent
Dreamtime
Posts: 657
Date Joined: 21/09/09
Bugger that put it up for
Bugger that put it up for everyone and anyone to see! Keeping undersized fish is a bloody great reason to name them... operators like this should not be on the water!
dumper
Posts: 1027
Date Joined: 03/04/08
Where does it say undersized
Where does it say undersized fish?
Marineboy
Posts: 842
Date Joined: 14/03/14
Dumper
paragraph 5
My spots are so secret even the fish don't know about them !
dumper
Posts: 1027
Date Joined: 03/04/08
Sorry, didn't see that bit.
Sorry, didn't see that bit. But if the skip and deckie spent their whole time up in the wheel house, shouldn't the blame be put on the punters? I'm not defending anybody, but technically it's not a charter fishing trip, it's a boat trip where the passengers bring their own boat or fish over the side wherever the skipper decides to stop. Naming and shaming will only end up in the public not being able to use it.
Marineboy
Posts: 842
Date Joined: 14/03/14
Responsibility
thought it was the skippers responsibility to police that, might be wrong !
My spots are so secret even the fish don't know about them !
Pinchy
Posts: 16
Date Joined: 17/02/07
Yep gotta say poor form mate
Yep gotta say poor form mate bagging out the charter.
I've been on this boat and it's not a charter where everything is done for you and the price reflects that.
The decky is really only there to help the skipper although he does wash the deck and tidy up a bit.
It's really up to you and the crew you're with to land fish,bait up,fillet fish and keep possession/size limits in check
I would say this is a " fishermen's fishing boat " not a charter you go on if you want someone to wipe your ass !
Deleted
Posts: 6265
Date Joined: 26/04/14
cut it out, if people come
cut it out, if people come on my boat they are my responsibility boat limits and all end of story.
goes for all boats
Pinchy
Posts: 16
Date Joined: 17/02/07
All I'm saying mate is that
All I'm saying mate is that they are less involved than a normal charter.
I guess they trust that everyone is doing the right thing.
Deleted
Posts: 6265
Date Joined: 26/04/14
even if they are not
even if they are not envolved at all its still the skippers resposibility bud
sea-kem
Posts: 14957
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Love the West!
D_d_001
Posts: 1522
Date Joined: 09/03/13
don't think it's poor
don't think it's poor form.
of course if you don't pay for a full charter service ....you get a decky who may not be up to most full service charters but always skippers responsibility to adhere to size limits etc.
And if a commercial fishing skipper cant put u on the fish in the Abrolhus then something is wrong.
Browndog
Posts: 582
Date Joined: 10/04/12
Form?
Hi Pinchy, thanks for your comments.
Not sure where you think I was bagging the charter? Nothing wrong with the boat or the skipper, he put us on the fish, they just weren't biting. Decky was useless, but that didn't ruin my trip as I was pretty much self sufficient and between the guys I was with we had spare everything.
As for the undersize thing, I don't blame the skipper, (I know that ultimately he is responsible), these are grown men who obviously knew they were in the wrong (the sheepish looks they gave me tells me they knew damn well that the fish were undersize), 100% the fault of the individuals. There were fish ruler stickers all over the boat, it's not that hard.
You are entitled to your opinion, but you will note that I haven't mentioned the charter name, so hardly bagging anyone. I stand by my comments, next time I think I would pay a bit extra for a full service charter, or get my boat towed over so we could do our own thing, or better yet, save the cash for the Monties.
Cheers,
Browny.
speedy
Posts: 40
Date Joined: 03/07/09
Charter operator
Can you PM me the charter please Browny
Krusty
Posts: 714
Date Joined: 27/11/15
Surely if your charging the
Surely if your charging the public, taking them out fishing on your boat there is a responsibility for the skipper/crew to make sure rules are adhered to ?
It's like me taking out a friend on my boat who doesn't have a licence and turning a blind eye to what he catches and keeps and saying it's not my problem !!
My fishing spots are so secret........... even the fish don't know where they are !!
Dreamtime
Posts: 657
Date Joined: 21/09/09
as if not poor form
Spot on crusty! Poor form from a charter running in this day and age. How bloody hard is to measure a fish?? I know many deckies that would kill for his spot and do the RIGHT thing without even being told!
Broome lad
Posts: 191
Date Joined: 16/11/15
Gob smacked
As the skipper on my boat I make sure everything is size (and usually well over) can't believe any charter boat operator would run or risk his business by letting people take undersized fish , I've deckied on quiet a few boats and any good deckie would be on the deck helping with bait , unhooking fish , tangles , and looking after the quality of the fish or he's not a deckies asshole ( just saying ! ) sounds like a crap mob .
quest
Posts: 248
Date Joined: 03/08/15
Got to say I agree with
Got to say I agree with Gilly, the skipper is in charge. End the story!