Nahh. Only missed it a few times over many years but have decided to do the week in Coral Bay instead.See how it goes there as to whether I will do Carnarfin again.
Going to be many stories coming in about fish being taken by sharks. We have never seen them as thick as they are lately and it doesn't make any difference where you fish though Koks is probably worst.
Locals have spent a full day out there feeding them [unintentionally] , moving to multiple spots and nothing to show except empty tackle boxes.
Hopefully in the very near future, sea rescue , will be starting their raffle for Carnarfin again, total prize value of quality fishing gear in 3 prizes is just over $4000, I will announce it when the tickets are printed shortly
Are there any places where the sharks arent so thick, I heard it amazing place to fish, great variety. I was also told you need to know where to go. I hoping to use the islands as a starting point or the wreck located not far from the harbour.
The LADY joyous wreck is 10nm from the outside cardinal mark, there are a couple of BIGGG tigers that are usually not far away but don't bother you too much.
The islands are a complete disaster with long time pro fishermen commenting that it is the worst they have ever been. One boat chasing mackies down the outside of the islands landed 6 out of 30 hook ups, the rest were heads or smashed up gear.
Latest laugh about sharks , was down near the boat ramp fixing a flat tyre on the rescue Naiad when two blokes launching a dinghy asked where to drop their crab nets for a quick feed. They were back 40 minutes later minus 4 nets and all the bait baskets from the remaining nets. One net the had to chase foe 500 metres to grab the float and almost wrestle it out of a tigers mouth, ruining the net in the process. There are plenty of crabs about for those who chase them, its just a risk catching them.
Well you got to be in it to win it, it might make the comp more interesting as people will be struggling to bring in good fish with all the sharks. Is there any report of them towards Quobba or any reports of them near the most southern island.
Why do you think the sharks have increased or are so bad. I guess the fishing charter buisness must be having drama.
There is only the one charter boat operating at present and he's copping it in a big way. It doesn't matter whether you go north to Quobba or down south to St Crique on the bottom of Dorre island, the pricks are everywhere. I'm in very regular contact with all the wetliners and there is no let up unless you are right out deep in over 150 metres, anything less, north or south, you get hammered
The only winners in the competition will be the sharks, mark my words.
The build up has been going on for the last 5 years, probably an overflow down from the north where they closed down the shark fishery there 10 years back due to low numbers of sandbar [thickskins] whalers.
Awesome. 50 boats, all trying to get their 20kgs to take home, all getting sharked, all continuing to fish the same spots... looks like the annual islands rape n pillage will be even worse than usual...
There are usually around 120-140 boats entered in the competition so the carnage is going to be huge, they will be the fattest sharks on the coast for a full week.
The 20kg is probably the trip limit for visitors. Most of the locals would expect to bring that much in each day if they manage to get it on board so when you multiply it X 7days , its a lot of fillets.
One of the bad points is that the comp runs for 7 days and allows boats to stay out for days at a time and no way of policing those who upsize their catch and just dump the smaller fish over the side when a bigger one is caught.
Well I m looking forward to a week off work even tho it's shark city. From what I ve heard its a great place to fish and u can catch all those great fish as x mouth and coral bay. It will be a bit of guess work , working out where the fish are at but I guess it's called fishing and not catching lol
If the swell is down, go for the baldies in the shallow stuff on the west side of the islands. We would usually fish 8 -15m on the drift and you have to get them up fast or they bury you. Never been bothered by a shark in that close. Out deeper is a little different.
No finesse about it, heavy rod, 50lb braid, 100lb leader down to a single hook with a running no 6 bean. Lock up your drag and hang on. And when I say lock up I mean lock up. You give them an inch and you are gone. You will lose lots of gear, hence the simple rig. When you get a couple, move on to another area, even if its only a 100 - 200 meters away and watch the swell its a long swim.
You will also land Spanglies, Spanish Flag and the occasional small trout in the same area.
Hi all new to the site will try to add my bit.Go to Carnarfin every year and will be there as well this year.Fish all over the place from south end of islands to blows and down the channels depends on weather.Hope this year is as good as the last few weather wise.Maybe catch up with you all up there,my boat is a trailcraft and call sign is DadnDave.
Is it the Carnarvon local DadnDave boat that regularly signs on with sea rescue?
I will be down at the registration night selling tickets for the sea rescue raffle so don't be frightened to come over and introduce yourselves.
Long time no hear. Wont be doing Carnarfin this year, doing something different and going to Coral Bay for a week. Hope you do well, drop a report on when you get back.
If you go in the comp this year.... I reckon it would pay to target the smaller inshore species like whiting, flathead etc... It would be a lot easier to win the comp with the biggest percentage jump in size with these smaller less targeted species..
PS.. If I see anyone dumping all their fish off at the local tip like previous years...... bloody watch out!!!
They really should shorten the comp a few days to help eliminate this from happening!!
The old tip road and Dwyer's leap seem to be the favoured spots to dump unwanted fish and frames, though with the bins down at the new ramp there's no reason for the frames to be dumped there now.
Its not the frames mate..... People have caught more than the 20kgs they are allowed.... but are still bringing in the fish to weigh in.... if it doesnt win they were taking the whole fish out to the tip and dumping it before fisheries found out they had more than their 20kgs of fish..
I dont really understand how you can have a fishing comp that goes for a whole week.... when most people will go over their 20kg of fillets within 4 or 5 fish...
Wouldnt it be better to donate fish to old peoples home, or old bastards, RSL... or any number of local people that dont get a chance to eat decent fish...
Maybe the organisers of Carnarfin should advertise free fish to locals or grey nomads or whoever.... which may increase spectators at the weigh ins, which generates excitement and even more of a comp atmosphere... not to mention whilst waiting for the fish, they will probably have a few beers at the Gassy and spend a bit of money..
hmmmm maybe auction the fish off that the fisherman dont want and donate the money to fishrecwest or flying doctor or something??
They are not allowed to auction the fish off with proceeds going to a charity because it still comes under selling your catch as an amateur. We have fish donated to sea rescue for our sundowners each end of month Friday, but cannot charge for the actual meal like we normally would.
There are some crews who give the fish away at weigh ins but there are a lot that don't.
I would like to see weigh ins every second day with a lay day in between instead of them staying over and hoping for the real big one that may take out the major prize.
Hey Doooma Few years back heard that some one gave a fish to a couple of people who in return brought them a beer and they got spoken to by fisheries because they still got a gain from it even though it was not money.
i though this post was about who is in for carnafin, its great get advice on where to go fishing and so forth. Surely there m
ust be more members coming up for the trip, from what i ve heard its a like a hidden gem, and by the posts, must be heaps of fish to catch, even tho, your fighting the sharks lol
Cruise Control
Posts: 973
Date Joined: 03/11/10
Carnarfin
Nahh. Only missed it a few times over many years but have decided to do the week in Coral Bay instead.See how it goes there as to whether I will do Carnarfin again.
Good Luck and hope you catch a swag
cheers
carnarvonite
Posts: 8665
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Sharks, sharks sharks
Going to be many stories coming in about fish being taken by sharks. We have never seen them as thick as they are lately and it doesn't make any difference where you fish though Koks is probably worst.
Locals have spent a full day out there feeding them [unintentionally] , moving to multiple spots and nothing to show except empty tackle boxes.
Hopefully in the very near future, sea rescue , will be starting their raffle for Carnarfin again, total prize value of quality fishing gear in 3 prizes is just over $4000, I will announce it when the tickets are printed shortly
Cruise Control
Posts: 973
Date Joined: 03/11/10
Not that I would wish it on
Not that I would wish it on anyone but I hope the buggers are all visiting Carnarfin and dont make it back to Coral Bay when I am there !
sparrow
Posts: 119
Date Joined: 04/02/13
I second that Cruise Control,
I second that Cruise Control, headed up next week and not interested in meeting too many in the grey suits!
Hand over fist!
bluemino55
Posts: 23
Date Joined: 26/02/12
Its my first trip and pumped
Its my first trip and pumped to go.
Are there any places where the sharks arent so thick, I heard it amazing place to fish, great variety. I was also told you need to know where to go. I hoping to use the islands as a starting point or the wreck located not far from the harbour.
A week away fishing cant get much better.
luke t
Posts: 163
Date Joined: 22/02/10
Ill be there too !! My first
Ill be there too !! My first time also !!!
ill be fishing with a mate who grew up there and knows the area well so hopefully should be able to stay one up on the toothy barstards !!!
carnarvonite
Posts: 8665
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Sharks
The LADY joyous wreck is 10nm from the outside cardinal mark, there are a couple of BIGGG tigers that are usually not far away but don't bother you too much.
The islands are a complete disaster with long time pro fishermen commenting that it is the worst they have ever been. One boat chasing mackies down the outside of the islands landed 6 out of 30 hook ups, the rest were heads or smashed up gear.
Latest laugh about sharks , was down near the boat ramp fixing a flat tyre on the rescue Naiad when two blokes launching a dinghy asked where to drop their crab nets for a quick feed. They were back 40 minutes later minus 4 nets and all the bait baskets from the remaining nets. One net the had to chase foe 500 metres to grab the float and almost wrestle it out of a tigers mouth, ruining the net in the process. There are plenty of crabs about for those who chase them, its just a risk catching them.
bluemino55
Posts: 23
Date Joined: 26/02/12
Well you got to be in it to
Well you got to be in it to win it, it might make the comp more interesting as people will be struggling to bring in good fish with all the sharks. Is there any report of them towards Quobba or any reports of them near the most southern island.
Why do you think the sharks have increased or are so bad. I guess the fishing charter buisness must be having drama.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8665
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Charter boat
There is only the one charter boat operating at present and he's copping it in a big way. It doesn't matter whether you go north to Quobba or down south to St Crique on the bottom of Dorre island, the pricks are everywhere. I'm in very regular contact with all the wetliners and there is no let up unless you are right out deep in over 150 metres, anything less, north or south, you get hammered
The only winners in the competition will be the sharks, mark my words.
The build up has been going on for the last 5 years, probably an overflow down from the north where they closed down the shark fishery there 10 years back due to low numbers of sandbar [thickskins] whalers.
Quobbarockhopper
Posts: 392
Date Joined: 28/05/10
Awesome. 50 boats, all trying
Awesome. 50 boats, all trying to get their 20kgs to take home, all getting sharked, all continuing to fish the same spots... looks like the annual islands rape n pillage will be even worse than usual...
dodgy
Posts: 4576
Date Joined: 01/02/10
20kg?
20kg?
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
carnarvonite
Posts: 8665
Date Joined: 24/07/07
50 boats + 20kg
There are usually around 120-140 boats entered in the competition so the carnage is going to be huge, they will be the fattest sharks on the coast for a full week.
The 20kg is probably the trip limit for visitors. Most of the locals would expect to bring that much in each day if they manage to get it on board so when you multiply it X 7days , its a lot of fillets.
One of the bad points is that the comp runs for 7 days and allows boats to stay out for days at a time and no way of policing those who upsize their catch and just dump the smaller fish over the side when a bigger one is caught.
bluemino55
Posts: 23
Date Joined: 26/02/12
Well I m looking forward to
Well I m looking forward to a week off work even tho it's shark city. From what I ve heard its a great place to fish and u can catch all those great fish as x mouth and coral bay. It will be a bit of guess work , working out where the fish are at but I guess it's called fishing and not catching lol
walloped
Posts: 191
Date Joined: 08/04/12
Cull the sharks....or make
Cull the sharks....or make them a prize category so that a few get nailed. A mate of mine lost 7/10 crab nets last week to the blighters.
bluemino55
Posts: 23
Date Joined: 26/02/12
Any tips to beat them ,
Any tips to beat them , shark shield on the prop ?
carnarvonite
Posts: 8665
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Shark shields
There is a proposal to fit wetliners with sharkshields to try to prevent them losing so many fish to sharks, waste of time and money.
The sharks don't wait until they're 20 feet from the boat before snapping up a fish, that happens over 20 metres further down and deeper.
Cruise Control
Posts: 973
Date Joined: 03/11/10
If the swell is down, go for
If the swell is down, go for the baldies in the shallow stuff on the west side of the islands. We would usually fish 8 -15m on the drift and you have to get them up fast or they bury you. Never been bothered by a shark in that close. Out deeper is a little different.
No finesse about it, heavy rod, 50lb braid, 100lb leader down to a single hook with a running no 6 bean. Lock up your drag and hang on. And when I say lock up I mean lock up. You give them an inch and you are gone. You will lose lots of gear, hence the simple rig. When you get a couple, move on to another area, even if its only a 100 - 200 meters away and watch the swell its a long swim.
You will also land Spanglies, Spanish Flag and the occasional small trout in the same area.
Good Luck.
ThomasRick
Posts: 14
Date Joined: 29/04/12
The Joyce hasn’t been
The Joyce hasn’t been exempt from the sharks, tigers yes and bronze as well. We struggled to get much to the boat last few times.
fishin mad
Posts: 70
Date Joined: 03/05/13
Hi all new to the site will
Hi all new to the site will try to add my bit.Go to Carnarfin every year and will be there as well this year.Fish all over the place from south end of islands to blows and down the channels depends on weather.Hope this year is as good as the last few weather wise.Maybe catch up with you all up there,my boat is a trailcraft and call sign is DadnDave.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8665
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Welcome to site
Welcome to the site and your first entry
Is it the Carnarvon local DadnDave boat that regularly signs on with sea rescue?
I will be down at the registration night selling tickets for the sea rescue raffle so don't be frightened to come over and introduce yourselves.
Cruise Control
Posts: 973
Date Joined: 03/11/10
Hey DaveLong time no hear.
Hey Dave
Long time no hear. Wont be doing Carnarfin this year, doing something different and going to Coral Bay for a week. Hope you do well, drop a report on when you get back.
Cheers
fishin mad
Posts: 70
Date Joined: 03/05/13
Hi carnarvonite Some may say
Hi carnarvonite
Some may say local others might not,but born in Carnarvon live in Perth now and still have family up there.Come up a couple times a year if i can.
Hi Bruce you going to Coral Bay,have to catch up for a fish in Perth one day
cheers Davo
Doooma
Posts: 791
Date Joined: 05/12/09
If you go in the comp this
If you go in the comp this year.... I reckon it would pay to target the smaller inshore species like whiting, flathead etc... It would be a lot easier to win the comp with the biggest percentage jump in size with these smaller less targeted species..
PS.. If I see anyone dumping all their fish off at the local tip like previous years...... bloody watch out!!!
They really should shorten the comp a few days to help eliminate this from happening!!
carnarvonite
Posts: 8665
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Old tip and Dwyer's Leap
The old tip road and Dwyer's leap seem to be the favoured spots to dump unwanted fish and frames, though with the bins down at the new ramp there's no reason for the frames to be dumped there now.
Doooma
Posts: 791
Date Joined: 05/12/09
Its not the frames mate.....
Its not the frames mate..... People have caught more than the 20kgs they are allowed.... but are still bringing in the fish to weigh in.... if it doesnt win they were taking the whole fish out to the tip and dumping it before fisheries found out they had more than their 20kgs of fish..
I dont really understand how you can have a fishing comp that goes for a whole week.... when most people will go over their 20kg of fillets within 4 or 5 fish...
Wouldnt it be better to donate fish to old peoples home, or old bastards, RSL... or any number of local people that dont get a chance to eat decent fish...
Maybe the organisers of Carnarfin should advertise free fish to locals or grey nomads or whoever.... which may increase spectators at the weigh ins, which generates excitement and even more of a comp atmosphere... not to mention whilst waiting for the fish, they will probably have a few beers at the Gassy and spend a bit of money..
hmmmm maybe auction the fish off that the fisherman dont want and donate the money to fishrecwest or flying doctor or something??
carnarvonite
Posts: 8665
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Auction
They are not allowed to auction the fish off with proceeds going to a charity because it still comes under selling your catch as an amateur. We have fish donated to sea rescue for our sundowners each end of month Friday, but cannot charge for the actual meal like we normally would.
There are some crews who give the fish away at weigh ins but there are a lot that don't.
I would like to see weigh ins every second day with a lay day in between instead of them staying over and hoping for the real big one that may take out the major prize.
Doooma
Posts: 791
Date Joined: 05/12/09
hmm yeah I didnt think of
hmm yeah I didnt think of that... (illegal to sell)....
Maybe... an auction style thing where you bid liters of fuel then!! ;-)
More like a bartering/swap thing then....
fishin mad
Posts: 70
Date Joined: 03/05/13
Hey Doooma Few years back
Hey Doooma Few years back heard that some one gave a fish to a couple of people who in return brought them a beer and they got spoken to by fisheries because they still got a gain from it even though it was not money.
bluemino55
Posts: 23
Date Joined: 26/02/12
i though this post was about
i though this post was about who is in for carnafin, its great get advice on where to go fishing and so forth. Surely there m
ust be more members coming up for the trip, from what i ve heard its a like a hidden gem, and by the posts, must be heaps of fish to catch, even tho, your fighting the sharks lol