Mackerel Islands
Submitted by Flying Fish on Sun, 2016-03-27 09:30
Anyone else on here doing the Mackerel Islands in May/June this year
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Andre
Shut up,sit down and keep on fishing
dodgy
Posts: 4584
Date Joined: 01/02/10
Seems like the fishing has
Seems like the fishing has really dropped off out there. You know it's pretty sad when this is the day's catch from those that know it best.
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
Auslobster
Posts: 1901
Date Joined: 03/05/08
Wow.
Keeping a trevally and a queen fish. Next time take some two minute noodles with you if you're THAT hungry...and I'm not too sure you'd see a lot of rainbow runners on the restaurant menus either!
Bones76
Posts: 476
Date Joined: 03/11/08
Fishing hasn't dropped off
Fishing hasn't dropped off at all.... Maybe just an average skipper / charter being run out of there
Flying Fish
Posts: 10
Date Joined: 08/05/13
Wont be useing the charter
Wont be useing the charter takeing our own boat so if the fishing is slow we can only blame ourselves
Andre
Shut up,sit down and keep on fishing
ranmar850
Posts: 2702
Date Joined: 12/08/12
I think you are a bit quick to judgement
A recent Western Angler had an article, plenty of fish. Must get out there again some day. You can be at the best, most remote places in the world and have a bad day, fish are just not on.
Auslobster
Posts: 1901
Date Joined: 03/05/08
Shouldnt hang your hat...
...on a magazine article. The writer/photographer no doubt got a free trip in exchange for a glittering review, regardless of what happened on that particular trip.
That being said, chartering is probably the best option if fishing an area for the first time!
Nauti Buoy
Posts: 595
Date Joined: 20/04/09
Spot on
Considering they are taking a group there this year of course they are going to talk it up. Went there just as chevron were finishing dredging the place isn't what it was and the sharks are ridiculous.
Carry
Posts: 657
Date Joined: 22/04/09
not wrong
i done a recent montes trip with the kids and the fishing was very average we had to work pretty hard to get some quality fish . although when we jumped over the side and had a dive the fish were definately there in numbers .just wrong timing i suppose
We feel nothing but a certain difficulty in continuing to stand
Perry Home
Posts: 434
Date Joined: 07/10/10
I did a Rowley Shoals trip in 2001
Same length of time. .same time of year....over 5 days we caught 10-12 sailies.... 8 super keen anglers with top notch gear and two 17 foot centre console skiffs with 100hp Yammies to fish inside the lagoons for GTs coral trout..the works while a 60 ft Mother so trolled around the outside. I caught 2 sails for the whole trip. A year earlier my brother was on the same trip same length of time. They were in sailfish heaven. .. 49 one afternoon and 55 the next morning. .. with countless bust offs. We worked damn hard for our fish and loved every minute of it. .. that's fishing.. it can happen anywhere .. sometimes it's on other times not. It was still an experience of a life time. . Casting poppers into the the reef wash and being totally hammered. One night a mate and I cast poppers outside the arc of the mother ship spotties and then cranked them back in getting smashed by big eye Trevs. It was as if the only limitation was your own imagination for trying something.
Dale
Posts: 7930
Date Joined: 13/09/05
+1 for that, I did a trip out there in 2001 also. Great gear with great results. Was with the Gary Fortescue, I think he's dead now, but his son might still be involved.
"Just because you are a Character, Doesn't mean you have Character."
Mr Wolf
Broome lad
Posts: 191
Date Joined: 16/11/15
Garry
Is a legend up in Broome I've fished with him many times trap fishing and chasing sails , he is still alive but lost a son and his wife not long after that and he no longer drives a boat but one of his other sons Travis was skippering the Karma 4 for while but is now working on the mines .
aussiejoe
Posts: 93
Date Joined: 01/03/14
July trip planned
We have a group taking two boats up to the Mackerels in July. Concerned to hear there may be a problem with fishing after the dredging. Would be keen to hear from members with recent experience.
Bryce Day
Posts: 812
Date Joined: 01/06/15
Did a trip up may last year
Did a trip up in may last year and had a terrible time down around long island, even had a ripper little spot just south of penguin bank fished it for a wile and got nothing. Went wide to the 80m line and got a feed did the same the next day and also got nothing worth wile so we went back to the 80m line. Even down around long island its seemed to have dropped off.... but it could have just been me although when I lived in onslow before the dredging, fishing seemed to be way better!
big john
Posts: 8764
Date Joined: 20/07/06
Channel
Bryce, where abouts does the dredging run out through? North of Anchor Island (Bessieres)?
WA based manufacturer and supplier of premium leadhead jigs, fligs, bucktail jigs, 'bulletproof' soft plastic jig heads and XOS bullet jig heads.
Jigs available online in my web store!
Bryce Day
Posts: 812
Date Joined: 01/06/15
Water was brown from Long
Water was brown from Long Island to direction island
big john
Posts: 8764
Date Joined: 20/07/06
Finished
Is the dredging finished?
WA based manufacturer and supplier of premium leadhead jigs, fligs, bucktail jigs, 'bulletproof' soft plastic jig heads and XOS bullet jig heads.
Jigs available online in my web store!
cruzy111
Posts: 274
Date Joined: 08/10/13
" LOTS" of boats in exy head
" LOTS" of boats in exy head over that way these days. Big boats and economical 4 strokes it aint really that far especially to long island. Lots of spearos, as its the flavour of the month to spear red emperor these days. You can find them in really shallow water over that way.
anextremecrowd
Posts: 23
Date Joined: 24/12/12
how much dredging was done
Guys, so the dredging was north of Bessier Island, But how much damage did it do, What was the area dredged. ? Like was it just a small channel, or have they stuffed up several kilometres of ocean floor
Steve
K_willo
Posts: 167
Date Joined: 07/05/12
Can anyone else add to this?
Can anyone else add to this? We're also heading up there in August (with Wangler) and getting a little put off with all these reports of dredging..
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catchalittle
Posts: 1875
Date Joined: 04/09/08
The Mackeriel islands was a
The Mackeriel islands was a beautiful place great staff at the resort and if you had been to the island before would have cleaned up. But being new to the place then it's hard work and a learning experience well thats what was mentioned to us by the organiser of the trip.Hopefully the Wrangler boys do their usual and put it all together for you.We were obviously not partof the group with the mob that we went with and will go with the Wrangler next time
My brother became experated sitting on the water for 9 hours and not catching a fish and decided to leave two days early
But it was great to spend some brotherly time together.
We didnt see any dredges while up there,bit of algae bloom but that was it and yes there were a few sharks around but hey thats up north fishing and kept me entertained for a while
Nathan
aussiejoe
Posts: 93
Date Joined: 01/03/14
When
were you up there Nathan?
catchalittle
Posts: 1875
Date Joined: 04/09/08
yep
Nathan
Flying Fish
Posts: 10
Date Joined: 08/05/13
Thats a expensive learning
Thats a expensive learning experience,you would think the organiser would try and look after his customers a lot better as it is quite competitave out there I heard the same thing happened to somone else recently as well
Andre
Shut up,sit down and keep on fishing
aussiejoe
Posts: 93
Date Joined: 01/03/14
Update
Any members been up to the Mackerels recently. If so please let us know how you went.