PH/FAX (08) 9937 2043
Email: lasue@wn.com.au www.murchisonboathire.com.au
MURCHISON BOAT HIRE JULY 2009 ELETTER
We caught a monster pinky at the spot called `trout` just as the swells were getting worse and worse.
There were 3 people on board, 2 of them were sea sick, and they looked very bad.
I was the only person who didn’t get sea sick but as I can’t swim, I was wondering what I would do if the boat flipped over
We didn’t catch a lot, but the one I caught was about 82cm.
We came back earlier than we had planned.
Laurie said if I could survive the first day, I could also survive on the second day.
Day 2
It was a fantastic day, and we enjoyed it. The water was still not clear enough to troll for mackerels. We tried, but got nothing.
As yesterday, we left the jetty, and once we passed that scary area, we drove the boat just like a swordfish
& right into the trout spot. We dropped the anchor and started to fish.
Because of the drifting, the anchor wasn’t dropped right into the spot, which was between trout and skippy.
After a long, quiet and silent wait, 6 skippies, 2 pinkies, 1 NW snapper, and 2 black bass were dragged out from the sea by us.
It was harvest time!
We came back around 5:00pm, and it was a really long day.
Thanks Laurie, I couldn’t have made it without your help. I’ll be sure to come back.
Thanks David!
(David has re booked for February next year right in the middle of the hottest mackerel and tuna time.
We will see what happens this time)
3 Day Kalbarri Fish Fest
Sam Pusik from Melbourne had 4 great days out in the 6.1m in Kalbarri last month
picking some nice days with the mackerel going off. Bottom fishing was a bit slow but they
made the most of it by getting into a few mackerel.
Details are a but sketchy as I was up north, but son Ben managed the boats while I was away
and put them right regarding the techniques and places to go.
Annual Gnaraloo Trip
Our much awaited Gnaraloo trip finally arrived on the 3rd July. I towed the 7.8m up from Kalbarri taking 7 and half hours!
The road was a bit better this year, but the 2 and a half hour drive over the corrugations is agonising. Dave Allen was to take the boat off
my hands after I was finished with it, so I did not have to tow it back.
We stopped and got the obligatory photo at the King Waves Kill Sign
& deflated the tyres to 30lbs making a smoother ride over the corrugations. Paul & Debbie Youngman, myself, wife Sue and son Jared
made up the group. Ashley and Shirley Forde were to join us but were unfortunately unable to make it at the last moment.
We stayed in the Old Homestead which sleeps 9, looks like crap from the outside but turned out to be very comfortable, and with hot salty shower.
We were very lucky with the weather, crappy the week before, great while we were there only to turn bad again after we left. The local wildlife came out to greet us.
The resident big cod came to the back of the boat
most afternoons when we arrived back at the bay, hoping for a feed.
A couple of males and a female caspian tern were active on the beach. (It is obvious that the female is on the left)
The whales performed near the boat and with the sun in the right place for a change!
We fished every day bar two that were a bit windy and caught better fish but not as many as last year. Unlike last year there seemed to
be a lack of bait schools showing up on the sounder, but each bait school had fish around it.
Some of the better fish we caught,
10kg rankin cod, 
red emperors, 
and 13kg golden trevally. Mixed in with that were
big spangled emperor, loads of big red-throat emperor, bald-chin groper, mackerel and sailfish.
Paul and I did catch fish, but not as outstanding as the ones shown above.
Snorkelling was very good again in the Gnaraloo Bay sanctuary zone and we did have a snorkel at 3 Mile. The water was a lot murkier at 3 Mile but this was due to the larger swell that kicked up on the last day. The fish were bigger and more numerous, but the coral not as good. All the above coral pics by Sue and taken at Gnaraloo Bay.
We did however also catch sailfish! From my last marlin trip to Exmouth we picked up a bit of experience and were able to get onto 4 sails during the trip. 2 in one day, and happening while we were searching for new ground close to the 50m drop-off.
Sue, myself, and Paul. We rigged gardies on home made outriggers.
While pumping up the tyres at the blowholes, son Jared took this series of photos
The swell was really pumping and these guys got wet!
Kalbarri Karma.
A story written by Kalbarri local Karen Hartig. It was printed in last Saturdays West.
It's true what they say about 1 good turn deserves another. Well, that's what happened to a couple of Kalbarri locals who,
with a group of friends, went fishing up the coast North of Kalbarri, and landed not 1 but 2 enormous Mulloway.
"We're going fishing for a few days, and Ross only has enough bait for a few hours!" laughs local boy Lui, "I dig out some
bait from my stash and give it to him, and bugger me if he isn't hooked up to a fish within 20 minutes!"
Ross has called it to be a Mulloway, but Lui's convinced it's probably a Shark.
It drags Ross up and down the beach and over a reef, all the time taking line with it's mad runs.
More than 35 minutes has passed and Ross is starting to think Lui is right.
"This thing just didn't fight like a Mulloway, recalls Ross, so I decided to tighten the drag and put some hurt on him."
Ashley and I were shining our torches in the waves, trying to get a glimpse of what this fish might be
when a few friendly waves washed it up on the beach.
"What is it? Yelled Ross from up the beach.
“Oh my god!!! (not quite the words used) it's a huge Mulloway, Ashley yells back as he plunges his hand into its gill and drags it to safety.
"I was absolutely gob smacked when Ashley dragged it up the beach; I've never landed anything this big before,"
Ross says with a grin from ear to ear. "Must of been the bait!" jokes Lui.
The next morning, after having his fish weighed (31kg) at the local tackle shop, Ross returns with extra stores, including fresh bait,
and replenishes Lui's bait box. That night with fresh bait, the full moon overhead, no wind or swell, Lui sets off on his own
(the rest of us were too tired) to his favourite spot. An hour later, he returned on his quad bike, making enough noise to wake the dead. "How'd ya go?" I asked.
"Yeah, you guys might wanna come a have a look at this" Lui gloats.
We could believe our eyes. There, strapped to the back of the bike was another monster Mulloway. "You've got to be joking?" (Again not he exact words used) laughs Ross, "Must of been the bait hey!" After having Lui's beast weighed (27kg) at the local tackle shop, we all decided that from now on when we go fishing, we all exchange bait, just to be on the safe side.
Bite of the month
Son Jared deserves it this month. Hooking up to a sail on a garfish set for a mackerel, Jared fought the fish on inadequate gear for a couple of hours. His second sailfish took both baits set for sails, both circle hooks setting which saw Paul and Jared
fight the fish to the boat. It had no chance this time and came in fairly quickly.
See all the previous Bite of the Month winners on my website.
Oops
Paul shows off a very good mackerel he caught from my boat at Coral Bay this month.
Popular Northern Destinations
Thevenard Island
There are new managers at the Onslow Mackerel Motel, Colin and Rosa will now look after you on the mainland.
Rosa will take your accommodation booking if you would like to visit. Phone her on 9184 6586
Colin will sort you out with a lock up storage area for trailers and your vehicle when you are at the island.
Drew is still the Island manager: 9184 6444.
This year the 6.1m and 7.8m boats are already booked for Thevenard Island but there are still spaces available for adventures in this great place.
bookings@mackerelislands.com.au
Check out the website: http://www.mackerelislands.com.au/
Gnaraloo Station
Gnaraloo contacts for accommodation:
Barbara: 9315 4809
Email: bookings@gnaraloo.com.au
Website: Gnaraloo.com.au
Game, Bottom and Beach Fishing Action
These links will take you to Youtube showing some great action video clips taken from
my boats and also a very good mulloway from the beach.
Triple tuna hook-up
Dhuie and snapperBeach mulloway
Email: lasue@wn.com.au www.murchisonboathire.com.au
MURCHISON BOAT HIRE JULY 2009 ELETTER
A very busy month with the boats away in northern destinations for most of the month.
All reported that they did well but the pretty shocking weather in the first half of the month spoilt
it for some unfortunately, but it sure has turned out nice.
A Keen Fisherman’s Story
Written by David Zhang
Laurie may be the nicest man that I have ever met. What he does is not only to keep his business running
but also for his personal interest, because I can feel his fishing passion.
He showed me how to catch big tailor on the second day we arrived.
His professional skills deeply impressed me.
Day 1
It wasn’t a very nice day to go out fishing. It was ok in the morning, but I could feel the strong wind at the jetty and it was cold and rainy.
Laurie showed me how to turn on the sounder, GPS, log on the radio etc.
I was quite scared when we were passing through those two green markers which lead you away from the rocks
and get you right into the deep sea. The big swells came right toward the left hand side of the boat.
All reported that they did well but the pretty shocking weather in the first half of the month spoilt
it for some unfortunately, but it sure has turned out nice.
A Keen Fisherman’s Story
Written by David Zhang
Laurie may be the nicest man that I have ever met. What he does is not only to keep his business running
but also for his personal interest, because I can feel his fishing passion.
He showed me how to catch big tailor on the second day we arrived.
His professional skills deeply impressed me.
Day 1
It wasn’t a very nice day to go out fishing. It was ok in the morning, but I could feel the strong wind at the jetty and it was cold and rainy.
Laurie showed me how to turn on the sounder, GPS, log on the radio etc.
I was quite scared when we were passing through those two green markers which lead you away from the rocks
and get you right into the deep sea. The big swells came right toward the left hand side of the boat.
We caught a monster pinky at the spot called `trout` just as the swells were getting worse and worse.There were 3 people on board, 2 of them were sea sick, and they looked very bad.
I was the only person who didn’t get sea sick but as I can’t swim, I was wondering what I would do if the boat flipped over
We didn’t catch a lot, but the one I caught was about 82cm.
We came back earlier than we had planned.
Laurie said if I could survive the first day, I could also survive on the second day.
Day 2
It was a fantastic day, and we enjoyed it. The water was still not clear enough to troll for mackerels. We tried, but got nothing.
As yesterday, we left the jetty, and once we passed that scary area, we drove the boat just like a swordfish
& right into the trout spot. We dropped the anchor and started to fish.
Because of the drifting, the anchor wasn’t dropped right into the spot, which was between trout and skippy.
After a long, quiet and silent wait, 6 skippies, 2 pinkies, 1 NW snapper, and 2 black bass were dragged out from the sea by us.
It was harvest time!
We came back around 5:00pm, and it was a really long day.
Thanks Laurie, I couldn’t have made it without your help. I’ll be sure to come back.
Thanks David!
(David has re booked for February next year right in the middle of the hottest mackerel and tuna time.
We will see what happens this time)
3 Day Kalbarri Fish Fest
Sam Pusik from Melbourne had 4 great days out in the 6.1m in Kalbarri last month
picking some nice days with the mackerel going off. Bottom fishing was a bit slow but they
made the most of it by getting into a few mackerel.
Details are a but sketchy as I was up north, but son Ben managed the boats while I was awayand put them right regarding the techniques and places to go.
Annual Gnaraloo Trip
Our much awaited Gnaraloo trip finally arrived on the 3rd July. I towed the 7.8m up from Kalbarri taking 7 and half hours!
The road was a bit better this year, but the 2 and a half hour drive over the corrugations is agonising. Dave Allen was to take the boat off
my hands after I was finished with it, so I did not have to tow it back.
We stopped and got the obligatory photo at the King Waves Kill Sign& deflated the tyres to 30lbs making a smoother ride over the corrugations. Paul & Debbie Youngman, myself, wife Sue and son Jared
made up the group. Ashley and Shirley Forde were to join us but were unfortunately unable to make it at the last moment.
We stayed in the Old Homestead which sleeps 9, looks like crap from the outside but turned out to be very comfortable, and with hot salty shower.
We were very lucky with the weather, crappy the week before, great while we were there only to turn bad again after we left. The local wildlife came out to greet us.
The resident big cod came to the back of the boatmost afternoons when we arrived back at the bay, hoping for a feed.
A couple of males and a female caspian tern were active on the beach. (It is obvious that the female is on the left)The whales performed near the boat and with the sun in the right place for a change!We fished every day bar two that were a bit windy and caught better fish but not as many as last year. Unlike last year there seemed to
be a lack of bait schools showing up on the sounder, but each bait school had fish around it.
Some of the better fish we caught,
10kg rankin cod, red emperors, and 13kg golden trevally. Mixed in with that werebig spangled emperor, loads of big red-throat emperor, bald-chin groper, mackerel and sailfish.
Paul and I did catch fish, but not as outstanding as the ones shown above.
Snorkelling was very good again in the Gnaraloo Bay sanctuary zone and we did have a snorkel at 3 Mile. The water was a lot murkier at 3 Mile but this was due to the larger swell that kicked up on the last day. The fish were bigger and more numerous, but the coral not as good. All the above coral pics by Sue and taken at Gnaraloo Bay.We did however also catch sailfish! From my last marlin trip to Exmouth we picked up a bit of experience and were able to get onto 4 sails during the trip. 2 in one day, and happening while we were searching for new ground close to the 50m drop-off.
Sue, myself, and Paul. We rigged gardies on home made outriggers.While pumping up the tyres at the blowholes, son Jared took this series of photos
The swell was really pumping and these guys got wet!Kalbarri Karma.
A story written by Kalbarri local Karen Hartig. It was printed in last Saturdays West.
It's true what they say about 1 good turn deserves another. Well, that's what happened to a couple of Kalbarri locals who,
with a group of friends, went fishing up the coast North of Kalbarri, and landed not 1 but 2 enormous Mulloway.
"We're going fishing for a few days, and Ross only has enough bait for a few hours!" laughs local boy Lui, "I dig out some
bait from my stash and give it to him, and bugger me if he isn't hooked up to a fish within 20 minutes!"
Ross has called it to be a Mulloway, but Lui's convinced it's probably a Shark.
It drags Ross up and down the beach and over a reef, all the time taking line with it's mad runs.
More than 35 minutes has passed and Ross is starting to think Lui is right.
"This thing just didn't fight like a Mulloway, recalls Ross, so I decided to tighten the drag and put some hurt on him."
Ashley and I were shining our torches in the waves, trying to get a glimpse of what this fish might be
when a few friendly waves washed it up on the beach.
"What is it? Yelled Ross from up the beach.
“Oh my god!!! (not quite the words used) it's a huge Mulloway, Ashley yells back as he plunges his hand into its gill and drags it to safety.
"I was absolutely gob smacked when Ashley dragged it up the beach; I've never landed anything this big before,"
Ross says with a grin from ear to ear. "Must of been the bait!" jokes Lui.The next morning, after having his fish weighed (31kg) at the local tackle shop, Ross returns with extra stores, including fresh bait,
and replenishes Lui's bait box. That night with fresh bait, the full moon overhead, no wind or swell, Lui sets off on his own
(the rest of us were too tired) to his favourite spot. An hour later, he returned on his quad bike, making enough noise to wake the dead. "How'd ya go?" I asked.
"Yeah, you guys might wanna come a have a look at this" Lui gloats.We could believe our eyes. There, strapped to the back of the bike was another monster Mulloway. "You've got to be joking?" (Again not he exact words used) laughs Ross, "Must of been the bait hey!" After having Lui's beast weighed (27kg) at the local tackle shop, we all decided that from now on when we go fishing, we all exchange bait, just to be on the safe side.
Bite of the month
Son Jared deserves it this month. Hooking up to a sail on a garfish set for a mackerel, Jared fought the fish on inadequate gear for a couple of hours. His second sailfish took both baits set for sails, both circle hooks setting which saw Paul and Jaredfight the fish to the boat. It had no chance this time and came in fairly quickly.
See all the previous Bite of the Month winners on my website.
Oops
Paul shows off a very good mackerel he caught from my boat at Coral Bay this month.Popular Northern Destinations
Thevenard Island
There are new managers at the Onslow Mackerel Motel, Colin and Rosa will now look after you on the mainland.
Rosa will take your accommodation booking if you would like to visit. Phone her on 9184 6586
Colin will sort you out with a lock up storage area for trailers and your vehicle when you are at the island.
Drew is still the Island manager: 9184 6444.
This year the 6.1m and 7.8m boats are already booked for Thevenard Island but there are still spaces available for adventures in this great place.
bookings@mackerelislands.com.au
Check out the website: http://www.mackerelislands.com.au/
Gnaraloo Station
Gnaraloo contacts for accommodation:
Barbara: 9315 4809
Email: bookings@gnaraloo.com.au
Website: Gnaraloo.com.au
Game, Bottom and Beach Fishing Action
These links will take you to Youtube showing some great action video clips taken from
my boats and also a very good mulloway from the beach.
Triple tuna hook-up
Dhuie and snapperBeach mulloway
Email: 
I was fortunate to be able to get on a trip out to Preston Island; it’s about 2km offshore from Cape Preston, 50 odd km west of Karratha. It is part of a mining lease and there will be a causeway built from the mainland of Cape Preston out around this island
Scott Davies was the hirer for this trip bringing along much the same group as last year.
Merv with a rarely caught surf parrotfish, 
Matt’s first dhuie 
and Norm with a good mackerel
Merv had all the luck catching most of the good fish, 
but Brian landed his first mackerel and dhufish during the trip.
Great snapper for Scott and dhufish for Norm, both hooked up at the same time. 
Scott spent about an hour on this big ray, which was actually bigger than the photo shows.
Blowing 20 knots and a rough sea, it would have been uncomfortable to say the least.
Surveying the water between the island and mainland in the background.
No really outstanding fish this month, but nothing really beats
So far they are looking the part, but a few more improvements are still needed.
They are catching all sorts of stuff. Out fishing bait!
Some of the macs were a bit a cut above average. This one around 13kgs
Thevenard Island