IF someone was to ask me, what do I like so much about fishing, my answer would have to be; the places that it takes me. I love my fishing but I equally enjoy my adventure – the more remote the better.
The Buccaneer Archipelago is arguably the most remote section of coastline in Australia, and it has been on my bucket list since my childhood when I would watch in awe of the great Malcolm Douglas exploring and fishing remote rivers and bays in the Kimberley Coastline in WA.
THE PLANNING
The plan was simple; we would load our boat up with 100L of fuel in jerry cans, some basic food, x4 yoga mats, 3 bottles of red and a gazebo and head out into the remote Kimberley. The hardest part would be convincing the family. The kids were keen as mustard so it didn’t take long for Krystal to realise I was serious and jump onboard to help with the planning. Using the CMap charts on our sounder I manually plotted a course to where we thought we might explore and allowed an extra 30kms a day for fishing and exploring. Our boat already has a decent size fuel tank so by taking the extra 100L I had worked out we had 50L up our sleeve just in case of an emergency. I also had never recorded the fuel consumption of our boat with such a big load so was wary about using a little more than usual. The trip to our destination was just short of 100kms, a solid run in a 5.1m tiller steer tinny. If we couldn’t find a suitable place to set up camp we planned to sleep on the floor of the boat in a bay out of the wind, of which there is thousands to choose from.
THE TRIP
Being a fisho that started off on Aussie Bass means I have spent plenty of time on Google Earth, and luckily, after our journey up and across the King Sound we arrived to where I had pinned as our possible camp.
We were delighted with a nice sandy beach, protected anchorage and a good level area to set up our gazebo. The kids were thrilled as our new home for a few days was an island and they had their own deserted paradise to explore. The island itself was around 300m long and 100m wide. At the crest of the sandy beach was a rusty old 44 gallon drum and a little pile of rocks with a couple of messages in bottles on top. Unfortunately moisture had made them indecipherable but the kids were amazed and spent the night chatting about who may have left them there and how long ago.
The kids were on firewood duty whilst Krystal and I unloaded the boat and set up camp. Once that was all done, it was fishing time ! There were three unnamed waterways that were big enough to call rivers and around 15 creeks. We chose to explore the closest river to camp that afternoon and decided the safest thing would be to troll hardbody lures as far as we could get upstream and see what we could find in the way of rock bars and snags to mark on our chart, to then revisit on low tide the following day.
Good electronics are a must for trips like this, not only for making your way to the destination, but side scan and also the tide data means less time looking and more time fishing. This first afternoon we managed a few spotted cod and some nice goldies aka fingermark bream – dinner sorted.
We ran out of water several kilometres upstream at a tidal rock bar that ran like a waterfall due to the run out tide. Harvey managed a nice mangrove jack and we watched a huge barramundi swim casually past our boat ignoring every lure we threw at it. We had marked three great spots to fish the next day, and we were all exhausted from a 4am start so we made our way back to camp taking in all the scenery on the way. Crocs and sea eagles seemed as curious about us as we were of them. It got me thinking, has anyone fished up here before ?
Luckily we were all exhausted because It turns out those cheap yoga mats don’t resemble a mattress at all. So as soon as a little bit of light started creeping into the tent the fire was re lit and we were sipping coffees and Milos and cooking up the kids fav brekky, Mi Goreng. The following two days I will never forget, exploring remote waterways with the family, catching all sorts of northern species, saving crab pots from crocodiles, cooking on the fire, and being so remote and isolated that you see no one, no boats, no planes. Just us and the Kimberley wilderness. We caught some fantastic fish, got owned by the mighty black jewfish, fly fished our island foreshore and made memories to last a lifetime.
GEAR
We took six outfits on this trip – two 4500 spin, two 3000 spin and two bait casters, which turned out to be a good combination. I can’t say we found a pattern or style of lure that was more successful than others. Vibes, hard bodies and SPs were all successful.
Some advice from a Broome local was for when hunting barra in the Kimberley, fish the bottom of the tide, whether its a rock bar or mud flat. We have had the same advice echoed to us in the Territory.
As mentioned, a quality sounder and knowing how to interpret it will Increase your catch rate out here dramatically. We were able to mark schools and single fish and then target them casting lures by using the side scan to determine how far from the boat they were sitting. This is exactly how we marked what I believe to be a couple of good sized black jewfish sitting hard on the bottom on a rock bar. We were then able to get the bite by ice jigging soft vibes right on
their head. The size of the underwater boulders on this rock bar meant we unfortunately weren’t able to get them clear of the structure and it was a swift battle won by the home team.Going back to the island in the afternoons felt like going home, we got to sit on the rocky outcrop and watch the sun set over the water while the kids explored their island paradise. We waited for the sun to completely set before cooking dinner each night, mainly because it was far too hot to cook over the fire otherwise. After dinner we would stoke the fire right up and burn all the food scraps so we didn’t create any temptation for a croc to wander up into camp at night looking for a feed.
Even though we executed this trip over neap tides, we still had a tide change of around 3.5 metres meaning we had to anchor a decent way off the sand. We ran a rope to the rear anchor so we could pull the boat into shore when we wanted to go fishing. There are some really cool and elaborate systems that people use in the Kimberley to anchor their boats, some even include rock climbing accessories to anchor into rock walls.
On the last morning the kids wanted to fish off the ledge they had named “pride rock” on the end of the island. I was doing trips up and down the beach loading the boat with all of our camping gear. They were yahooing and carrying on catching goldies and blue salmon – a fish nearly every cast. I hurried to finish packing so I could jump in on the action and headed out with a spin outfit.
A few small sharks had turned up looking for a cheap feed and made quick work of our fluorocarbon leaders. The ledge itself was around 4m above the water and I looked down to see two big barra sitting beside a large rock that the kids had been getting the Goldies off, one around 110cm and another around 85cm.
It’s amazing how the brain and arms can go to jelly when your staring at the target fish you want so badly. I kept myself together and made a series of casts, each time working the lure closer to the barra so as to not scare them away. On the last cast I brought the plastic right past the metery’s nose, she swam away with the 85cm fish by her side. Tragic!
We kept casting for a few minutes, I was crushed. Krystal said “give me a go” so I handed her my outfit. First cast and two turns of the handle as she says “I got him!”, the smaller of the two barra had crunched the plastic and was not happy. It went totally berserk as these fit Kimberley barra do and put on a fantastic show trying to make contact with the oyster encrusted rocks submerged at our feet. When that failed it took to the air to try and shake the lure from its mouth. Krystal passed me the rod when the fight got really hairy around the rocks and I remember thinking there’s no way we are going to land this fish.
We got our chance when she was making a run for another rock further to our right and I was able to steer her during a jump to basically land on the shore. This wouldn’t have been possible If we weren’t so high up on pride rock. I scrambled down and back up again with 86cm of pure chrome Kimberley baramundi. It behaved for some quick photos before being released to grow into a metery for the next lot of explorers lucky enough to fish this area. What a way to end our trip.
The journey back to the ramp that took us two hours at 50km/h. The way over took us nearly five hours. We had an incoming tide of 5+ metres going against wind gusting at 45km/hr. Not the forecast we had four days prior. It was the the most uncomfortable bit of boating I have ever done and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. This really is big boat country. Unlike most coastal areas the waves come from all directions and have quite a steep face making It really hard to keep the boat planing. We stepped off the boat looking like drowned rats but so relieved to be back on dry land.
Our bucket list should have been shorter after this trip but we are already planning the next one. We just need to acquire a bigger boat with more range to do it! If adventure is your thing, add the Buccaneer Archipelago to your bucket list and get out there to experience this amazing fishery yourself.
DIY Kimberley Tips
Knowing your boats range is critical.
• Personal EPIRBs are recommended in addition to marine EPIRBs when exploring remote areas.
• Use decent size anchors and lots of spare rope.
• Carry an extensive first aid kit.
• Be croc wise!
• Hire or borrow a SAT phone to check weather forecasts or for emergencies.
• Check who’s land your intending to camp on and seek permission if required.
• An overloaded boat is an unsafe boat. • Neap tides will make for less stressful boating/anchoring.
• Research Research Research – there is a lot to know before embarking on a trip like this.
• Respect the land and water you are enjoying.
