Done a few week long trips out there. Accom is top shelf. There is something special about being able to have a beer watching the sun going down while your boat sits in front on Mooring. 

Fishing can be hot and cold. Quite similar to exxie really. Sharks can be real problem at times. 

There are some real good red spots a good run north. 

 They did a presentation at the fly club the other night,lots of money have been spent upgrading the joint.and new prices for the next year.

send them a email they'll give you the new price list,including mooring costs and car and trailer storage costs.

I haven't been for many years but the fishing is good if you plan and research the area properly. We've had some amazing sessions on queenies, mackies, GT's etc. Fuel can be expensive but as Dodgy said above, having the boat right there waiting for you is great. If the wind is up you can just sit back and wait for it to (hopefully) die off. Very convenient.

 Where to start....

Well its not for the average angler, its definitely for the keen and invested fisherman.

Rooms/houses are good, cleanly presented.
Facilities are great, chef/restaurant on island, pub, hire boats, big freezer on the island for communal use, fish cleaning table. Lights were shocking, so take some good lighting. 
Staff....are dependent on crew you get. First few days for me staff were helpful and great people, last couple of days the staff we had I wouldn't even consider hiring, more intersted in taking the p__s than helping anyone. 
Fishing....unbelievable. If you're using coral bay or exmouth for comparison, fish are bigger and more plentiful. Sharks are only a problem on the obvious grounds due to mostly getting fished by tourists/recs (i.e. Contours on maps). Find your own ground and its magic. Double headers of quality large fish all day. 
Weather, shocking most of the year.
Expect to swim with sharks (tigers & whalers), people probably have caused issues with sharks around moorings with washing down/cleaning in areas. Most mornings, evenings, sharks cruising around. You need to swim/kayak to shore from your mooring. First evening there back from day out, went to jump in and 4m tiger swam past....
 

Some advice:

• Take insect repellent, the sand flies are relentless. Unless you like welts for weeks after to remind you of the trip.
• Take as much fuel as possible, they slap you with a hefty bill of about $2 a litre and that's for 91.
• Fuel the boat when weather permits. If wind/swell down, fill up regardless. Saves hassles and spewing fuel on boat trying to steady boat in wind/swell. 
• Pick your time of year, when weather is more likely better.
• Take some decent mooring ropes. 
• Tie off mooring twice in heavy winds/swells. Ropes can rub through. Or use protective shield on rope. (mates boat went a drift to barrow is. )
• Get a good bilge pump with auto-on function, for when its moored and perhaps a water problem you're not aware of when sleeping.
• Pack light. Getting gear on and off boat is a massive task at start/end of your trip depending on weather.
• Mice. Keep food stashed away. 

 Cheer for the info fellas, lots of good information to think about! Were still thinking about where to go because we do love exmouth as a base....... Im even toying with the idead of running up in the boat from exmouth to thevenard for a couple of nights if the weather gives me a half decent window. keep the advice coming if anyone has more to add...

Thanks again

Rob 

I just did a little tour of the Mackerel Islands last week and i was blown away by the place to be honest

The bottom fishing was as good as i have seen for a long time and the sharks were no were near as bad as other places near by. The trolling and free diving was epic and the species list was pretty extensive. Yellow Fin , Wahoo , Cobia , Red Emporor , Gold Band , Macks,  Trout etc etc. 

Good blue water fishing for sails, marlin and a variety of pelagics.

They have also just got a big new Leisure Cat which is awesome and it was very nice to fish from for those that dont have access to a boat. You can now also fly to Onslow on Virgin and get picked up and droppped off the Island

The accomodation as mentioned was awesome. Lots of different options from donga's to fully self sufficient beach side cabins so depends on your level of comfort / cost but the basic rooms were very nice and very well priced

The Island staff could not have been more helpful and the food they put on for us was outstanding. On the flip side if you want to keep it cheap you can BYO so its very flexible

Cold beer and a game of pong each night and your boat parked out the front on a secure morning plus they have unleaded fuel so they really cater for all options and fisho's. I didnt check the price but i think its pretty reasonable considering the logistics and the fact you only need to go 2 miles to find good ground 

I am looking forward to going back as soon as possible. If you have any questions send me a PM and ill help if i can

Cheers

Southy

 We were up there back in the nineties, had a good time and caught some epic fish. Used one of their moorings, had to swim. Someone mentioned taking your own rope--are the moorings them selves basically good, and just the riding ropes , perhaps, not being changed out as often as they should be? Best to take your own for peace of mind? Do they run chain up to a float, or are they rope to chain on the bottom?  I'll definitely be going back with the new rig, and I'll have a rubber ducky to get me out.  

 The rodes are generally pretty good and have tubing sleeves over them. The main issue is people boats not set up for hanging off a Mooring. 

The Mooring area is fairly protected to swell but the wind pushes the boats around all night and causes the chafing. 

 Anyone go up there when Bernie was in charge? Was epic even back then.

 Took my 5.65 ocean whaler up last sept.

All the advice was that wind might be a prob that late but a few locals said no different to any other time just try it.

So glad I did.

Took the missus... yup thats right and shes about as useful on a boat as an ashtray but hey she tries...

The organisation and management on the island is loose at best.

If youve been there before or go with someone who has youll be ok.

They manage it with backpackers who are very nice people generally but theres been a high turnover lately so dont expect them to have much of a clue.

We were going to stay at "club thev" originally which is the dongas but generally id say as a cpl or family definitely pay the rediculously high cost of a beachside cabin and just work a bit harder next year or sell a kidney to cover the cost.

We upgraded and honestly there is no comparison to halving the distance you have to carry all your crap to and from the boat each day and then being able to watch your boat from your front porch whilst bbqing the days catch and smashing down 3 or 10 frosties before bullshitting the night away in airconditioned comfort while watching your stoopid eagles get smashed by gws in the finals... but i digress... still hurts

The fishing:

Well having never been before i figured why drive miles when im already 22k off shore?? Should be fish right here. Right? Well not exactly.

Each day i pretty much circumnavigated the island and apart from loads of whales, turtles, sharks, sea snakes, flying fish and dugong... the place was actually pretty dead.

You know what I mean!

Lol look life is everywhere but not necessarily giant fish leaping into your boat like you see on youtube.

Err cough well let me put that another way... we did catch some giant fish in fairly close just not constantly averaged 1-2 decent fish each day but just not what we were expecting.

So we headed out to rosalie cay...(like everyone else) fair drive but not too bad if you have good weather;

Which by the way we hit the jackpot!

After driving across in 25 knot breezes on day 1 with all our crap and then having all sorts of trouble unloading the boat at the beach getting swamped etc every day after that was a glass off after lunch.

Just Amazing.

As a diver you'd cream your jeans.

Anyway back to rosalie cay; mrs did her usual trick when we first got there of hooking a bigger and better quality fish than me and pulled up an 8kg rankin.. did i say she was useless? Add annoying to that! And this was after day 2 she trumped my shtonking fat 90 cm shark mackie with a 1.2mtr spaniard!! Bitch!

Anyway.... rosalie cay... yeah few nice fish there but again not in huge numbers not counting the school mackies but yeah the sharks are well trained here. Expect to lose 50% or more to them.

Did i mention She caught that Rankin in 4 mtrs on a trolled halco laser pro?

Told u she was a bitch.

Anyway generally had a ball but the planets did line up for us.

Oh yeah never had a swim whole time we were there... water looked incredible ... so clear.... so clear you could see the 3 mtr bronzies licking their lips! And that was in 2 mtrs of water 10 metres from shore at our moorings!! Trust me..  take a tender and i dont mean a flipping kayak!!

Overall however i wouldn't have swapped the experience for anything but i probably wont go back now Ive done it except maybe with a bunch of well payed mates with boats.

Also re the byo booze? Its actually against their rules but they look the other way. Just dont advertise it.

Fuels expensive but not too bad considering where you are.

No snakes on the island but they do have spiders if you thinking of bushwalking.

Also sand is like broken glass. Really hard to walk in thongs and bare feet will get little cuts between toes. Wear old runners or something that protects your feet.

Oh gotta have a brag before i finish... last day last cast 100 metres of back of island trolling with my halco pinkie as usual 4-5 mtrs pulled in a 18kg estuary cod... 

This year tho im heading back to karratha where we went before thev coz thats where i got my 21kg gt... pb anything.

Hope that wets the appetite mate!

Cheers

 P.S. Id be happy to post pix of said beasties as proof if someone can show me how? Cant see any attach photo options?

 Naturally, anywhere close, even back in the 90's, was pretty ordinary. But we found some bloody excellent fish late afternoon, on the very same ground. I'm talking 12 kg reds where you would only catch undersize reds during the day. No lights ( and kids) on board, so we had to be back not long after sunset. 

Although I believe the fishing for GT's and queenies around the breaks at the back of the island can still be pretty good.

 Great write up Straith got a laugh out of that one! Thanks for the info, Would love to see the photos. 

Ive decided to stick with exmouth for this 2 week trip with the missus as i would never get her out of the boat with the sharks around........ Im going to plan a boys trip up to thevenard with a couple of boat a bit later on. 

Keep the info coming fella's as im  sure many more are loving the stories..... Anyone with photos feel free to post them up.

Cheers 

Rob