Hello everyone. Here is my report about the long awaited trip to Steep Point. It is my second time to the Point, the previous being just for an overnight stay. This was my first at taking the boat any great distance. My internet speeds are playing up (the family has exceeded the download limit again this month and it's reverted to dial up speeds), so when that changes back I'll upload photos. The first couple of days are brief because I didn't start taking notes until about Day Three and had to rely upon my increasingly failing memory.

Saturday 12 May
Pack trailer and boat, pizzas for dinner and me, Andy and Dan leave with the boat at 6pm. Peter will leave with the trailer on Sunday. Camped at Eagle Bluff (right in front of the 'No Camping' sign for a couple of hours kip before arriving in Denham around 7am.

Sunday 13 May
Unpack the boat and straight out to fish the shipping channel markers, particularly the Bent Peg. Nothing to keep from the bottom, best catch being undersized blue lined emperor. Trolling back Dan hooked onto a couple of shark maccies which were later put on the BBQ for dinner.

Monday 14 May
Awoke to a windy morning. Off to the Bakery for a pie and coffee for breakfast. Departed Denham for Steep Point. The boat was heavily loaded and struggled to get onto the plane. Wind died off a bit and by the time we got into South Passage it wasn't too bad at all. Set up camp at Tip Camp. Peter told us he copped some grief from members of the other camps due to the weight of the trailer. Got bogged a couple times on the way in. Went out for a troll and Dan picked up a few sharkies using a Halco pink and blue pilchard. Andy got one using a green xrap. Dinner consisted of a nice Japanese curry and rice prepared by Dan.

Tuesday 15 May
Breakfast of shakshouka (fried onions, capsicums and tomatoes with eggs poached in them). Tried hard all day for a fish without any luck. Came back with an empty esky. Dan hooked onto, landed and released a big ray off the beach that night. BBQ steak and snaggers for dinner.

Wednesday 16 May
Bottom bounced near the Rangers Hut and I got a nice 55cm pinkie using squid as bait. Trolled along the southwest cliffs of Dirt Hartog Island. Not long and we had three spaniards on the boat including a double hook up to Peter and me. Andy got the third. Peters was on a red head, and mine and Andy's on deep diving pink chromes. Bottom bounced for a couple more pinks and three sharkies finished off a great day on the water. Dinner was tandoori chicken and rice by me. A planned early night was not to be when we were raided by our neighboring camp insisting we drink much more alcohol. To add to this, Peter found a stray hook in the sand, the hard way, barb and all into his foot! Ouch!

Thursday 17 May
Awoke to a breakfast of cooked bacon and scrambled eggs by Dan. Weather was the best so far. Light winds and a much smaller swell. Trolled the cliffs of Dirt Hartog and I got a 93 cm spaniard on a xdd pink chrome. Not long after Dan's reel screamed into life and kept screaming as he was almost spooled. Soon a spaniard was in the boat that turned out to be longer than our ironing board filleting table, and the best fish landed of the week. Bottom bounced around Black Rock for one baldie and one sweetlip emperor to keep and lots of baldies and a just undersized spangled emperor all successfully released using a release weight. Moved in close to Surf Point for another baldie to keep and lots more released. One of the other camp members got a treble hook in his foot whilst the spaniard was still attached to the lure. We heard the cursing from our boat about 200 metres away! To add insult to his injury it wasn't even his fish! Unfortunately, it resulted in a quick boat trip back to Denham where it was removed at the nursing post under local anathestic. Dinner was some shark mackerel prepared in a fish curry by me (using a Neil Perry recipe - caramelise onion, ginger and garlic in a pan with some oil. Add garum masala, turmeric, paprika and salt, chicken stock and the cubed fish, cook through and serve with rice, yoghurt and lime juice. A great simple recipe, especially when camping and fishing!)

Friday 18 May
Awoke to another windy morning. Sat and waited. Took advantage of the down time to sort out some generator power problems, weigh our catch to date, and talk fish and drinking stories. Headed out to troll but didn't have any strikes. Decided to try some bottom bouncing in the calm waters of Shelter Bay. One the way in Andy picked up one spaniard on the troll. Bounced around the sand spit at the north western end of Shelter Bay in about 7 metres of water and caught and released a lot of cod, pinks and some blue lined emperor (black snapper). Dan got a couple of just size blue lines, before getting smashed by a 50cm blue lined. Headed in, hoping for less wind tomorrow. Dinner was a chicken curry prepared by our neighboring camp, (quite) a few beers, lots of stories and ribbing of those who hadn't caught much and the odd game or two of 'dice'.

Saturday 19 May
Awoke to a perfect day for fishing so out earlier, less Peter who was suffering the after effects of almost an entire bottle of bourbon. Trolled out of the passage and Dan picked up a 44 cm rankin cod on a lure, a 2m pink chrome I think. Turned north towards Black Rock and soon had several sharkies in the boat. I got a 93+ cm spaniard on a pink chrome and off we went again. Dan hooked onto a decent size fish but lost it, probably to a shark. Not long after my TLD25 absolutely screamed under the strain of a good size spaniard. The fish went on two long runs before I got some line back. On his retrieve, Dan hooked up so we had two on the go. Dan lost his to a shark, bringing aboard only a good sized head. I was getting some line back on my fish when I felt some violent head shakes which made me feel that not all was good below. As I just saw a lovely big streak of silver a fair way from the boat, I saw three large brown shadows lurking not far behind. It was only a matter of time, and despite my attempts to get it closer to the boat, in one foul swoop the largest of the sharks appeared to swallow my fish whole and then took me on a short run before biting straight thru the 80lb wire trace. Sighted a couple of whales out to sea. Andy hooked up and landed another spaniard and I got another sharkie before bottom bouncing for a while and then heading in to fillet and pack for tomorrow's long trip home to Perth via Denham. We divvied up the fish fillets. 46 kg's in total meaning about 11 + kg's each. Mainly spanish mackerel, with a bit of sharkie, and some nice reef fish to round it out.

Sunday 20 May
Awoke just before dawn to a heavy fog and dew. Great photo of the boat at anchor in the early moring fog. Packed up and away by 9.45. Great run back to Denham. Flat calm. Couple of dolphin and dugong sightings along the way. Back in Denham by 11.15 and Dan peeled for a week with the family at Monkey Mia. Andy and I started the long drive home to Perth.

All in all a wonderful trip, lots of fish, lots of laughs and as always, lots of great tales of ones that got away.