Destinations: Coral Sea
A week of amazing reef fishing around the pristine Coral Sea aboard a luxurious 108-foot mothership made PETER ZERONI feel like the king of the world!
AS the Elizabeth E II came up tight on her anchor chain, baited rigs from all corners of the big vessel slipped quietly down into the clear sapphire blue waters of the Coral Sea. As soon as the squid and pilchard offerings hit the bottom heavy overhead and spin outfits around me started buckling. In my left ear I heard the words “Here we go…” come from the lips from Ian Gaddes as he lent into a solid fish to stop it from burying him in the coral below. The powerful gearing of his Torium overhead and some deft rod work turned the big fish away from its lair and a few minutes later a magnificent coral trout was alongside the boat. As it came aboard a big cheer went up from those nearby as if a Pommy top-order batsman had been dismissed at the ’Gabba Test for a duck (something that didn’t happen nearly enough in the last Ashes series). While Ian has caught many a good fish, this trout was up there with his best.
After a few quick shots of Ian and his prized catch, my attention and SLR now turned to the other anglers still hooked up. Before too long there was a procession of other happy fishos lining up to pose with all manner of exotic reef species, a number of which I had read about but had never seen in the flesh. Included were Maori sea perch, hump-headed Maori wrasse and blue Maori cod making it sound like there were more Kiwis coming aboard than on a Sydney Harbour ferry. As an addicted fish photographer I was in seventh heaven. The magnificent colours, textures and shapes of these and other species had my shooting finger firing like the intro to Duran Duran’s 1980s classic Girls on film.
Wherever I looked I could see (and hear) excited shouts as more quality reefies came aboard. While returning from yet another photo call towards the bow, this time for a big long-nosed emperor, around mid-ship I bumped into EE II’s head deckie, Marc Blackwell, coming the other way. He was struggling to hold onto a TLD 25 mounted on a short stroker that was bending him over the side rail. “What have you got there, Marc?” I asked as we crossed paths. “A bloody big Spaniard” he replied. “It crunched that 2kg GT we put out the back under a balloon about three minutes ago. No-one wanted to take the rod as they thought it was a big noah so I’ve been left with it!” The big mack was giving him plenty of curry as it had gone under the boat and was now zeroing in on the anchor chain up at the bow. Somehow with a mixture of skill and luck, Marc ended up extracting it from around the chain and getting it up to the boat. It took not one but two gaffs to secure it and moments later a Spaniard of around 28 kilos hit the forward deck. It was one impressive capture, given the circumstances.
After torturing poor Marc by making him hold up the big Spaniard for some shots, I then headed back to the rear deck to see what was happening. There I found a lull in angling proceedings as most clients aboard were now happily standing around some large plastic tubs, chatting excitedly and admiring the number, size and array of quality reef fish about to be processed by EE II’s other hard working deckie, Josh Muller. This break in action allowed me to pause for a moment and take in what had been a simply amazing introduction to fishing the wide reefs of the Coral Sea. I remembered to pinch myself about how fortunate I was to be aboard and the circumstances that had brought me here.
It had all started many months ago when I first met one of the co-owners and skippers of the Elizabeth E II, Bob Edwards, in his other professional capacity as one of Australia’s leading respiratory physicians. During our second meeting together somehow we got onto the subject of fishing and boats (it happens a lot up in Darwin). After rabbiting on about my old 4.8m tinny, I then asked Bob if he had a boat himself. He replied “Yes.” I then asked him how big and he replied with a wry smile and said “Big.” As I ponded his reply he then added, “Actually it’s a 108 foot charter vessel based in Mackay”. Well, you know how it goes when a couple of blokes first work out the other is also a mad fisher/boater. Anyway, at the end of our discussions on this most important of topics, Bob generously invited me to come aboard the EE II as his guest. Well, being a Darwin boy where a big boat is anything larger than 5.5m, I jumped at the chance of spending seven days aboard his big ship.
Exploring the Coral Sea
As planned, this particular trip EE II was being skippered by Bob himself who has for many years been running extended charters along the mid and north Queensland coasts. During the trip I spent a number of hours with the skipper up on the bridge – his level of seamanship is first class. Further, his understanding and attention to the myriad of marine park zones and fishing regulations was mind boggling. Especially for a Territorian like me where a more KISS principle approach to such matters in our own waters (thus far) seems well applied. Also aboard for this trip was the EE II’s other co-owner, Peter Dawson. Peter loves his angling and fished long and hard each day, as well as assisting to ensure that the guests aboard were being looked after.
Our expedition had taken us to an area of the Great Barrier Reef located about 200km due east of Thursday Island out in the Coral Sea. As is sometimes the case, the strong south-easterlies along the Queensland coast made their presence felt throughout our voyage. However Bob chose to keep the big boat tucked in behind the fringing outer reefs and this made conditions fishable and still very comfortable. This is the benefit of being in such a large vessel that can get you safely from Thursday Island or Mackay out to the wide reefs. Once there you end up in a prime and sheltered position and experience unbelievable fishing action in a pristine area that is rarely fished.
Bob’s ability to tanchor that big boat onto a new fish rich patch of reef was amazing. As soon as he had anchored the vessel, on most occasions I had to be ready with the camera as multiple anglers would be hooked up and struggling with bent rods. As mentioned earlier, the species list encountered on our trip included all the top shelf favourites – big trout, various Maori-named species, a variety of emperors, job fish, red bass, assorted cods and trevally species as well as Spanish and shark mackerel. Not only were the species numerous but the size of fish landed were impressive with coral trout to 13kg and some thumper hump-headed Maori wrasse which were all released (as were all trout over 80cm in length).
Tackle-wise most guests took along their own heavy-duty overheads and a few spin outfits. However for those without their own gear it can be readily provided as part of the charter. Most rigs consisted of simple Paternoster style droppers with circle hooks adorned with a variety of fresh bait that the reefies gulped down with gusto. All up we landed 31 different species for the trip.
FACT BOX
Islands of the Torres Strait
ON this voyage I joined the EE II at Thursday Island after first flying into Horne Island located in the Torres Strait. It was my first time up there and it is a spectacular place with a rich cultural, pioneering and military history. I flew in via Cairns the day before boarding the charter to look around and it was well worth it. Highlights included visiting the Torres Strait Heritage Museum on Horne Island and exploring the Green Hill Fort built in the 1890s overlooking TI and which provides spectacular views over it and the surrounding islands. I encourage those looking to join the EE II from TI to put aside a couple of extra days to look around this magnificent part of the world. For more information visit: www.torresstrait.com.au.
FACT BOX
Fishing on Elizabeth E II
THE EE II is the Coral Sea Charter Company’s flagship. She’s a Queensland designed and built Norman R. Wright & Sons motor yacht and is a massive 108 feet in length with a displacement of about 130 tonnes. This vessel is luxurious in every regard and she exudes old world charm and class with her internal fit out in Queensland maple. Yet the EE II also has all the mod cons including air-conditioning and hydraulic stabilisers that make the ship a pleasure to travel on. All of her cabins even boast their own en-suite. Fishing-wise, despite her large size the EE II is a very comfortable platform to fish from and there is oodles of uncluttered deck-space where anglers can spread themselves out. Furthermore you won’t find any better or more attentive deckies than aboard the EE II. When you add to all this a well appointed dining area and five star restaurant quality food and service, then you’re in a league few can match – anywhere.
For more information visit: www.coralseacharter.com.au
Summary
As mentioned earlier, the weather played a part in shaping the fishing strategies for the trip. The windy conditions weren’t conducive for taking the dories out to chase big GTs on poppers, nor taking the EE II outside the reefs to jig for those famed doggies or troll up marlin or sailfish. It is worth noting that these species repeatedly appear in the EE II’s extensive photo albums.
However while the reef fishing action we experienced on the trip was mind blowing, in fact it only made up a part of the best charter I’ve been on to date. The EE II’s level of appointment, her highly professional and attentive crew, the fantastic food and the excellent company of the other guests all combined with the fishing to make it a trip of lifetime.
But I’ve got a feeling that it won’t be my last trip to the Coral Sea as I have some unfinished business with those big GTs and doggies. In my book the EE II is Queensland’s equivalent of the QE II – but way better because you can even fish off her while still being treated like royalty!
