# WA - Exmouth and Wilderness Island



## Shufoy (May 28, 2008)

*Part 1 : Wilderness Island - In Search of Queenies*

This years trip was a long time coming, organised well in advance i had a long time to stew over techniques, gear and lures, and also the prospect of tackling some big fish. The Queenies had eluded me last year while Scott Coghlan had fluked two over the week, i was hoping this would be my year! There have already been some epic reports from this Trip, so i will keep mine fairly basic!!









_The Crew at wooramel Roadhouse, getting stuck into a few brewski's before the last stretch into Exxy!!_

We left early on the Friday, heading for Wooramel with the Prado packed the hilt, wife Carmel and bro-in-law Kevin along for this years trip, the journey was never going to be uneventful, and Kev kept me on my toes all the way to Wooramel!! We caught up with Brendon, Fozzy, Matt, Stu and Alec in Gero for lunch, and shot off after a decent lunch for the home stretch. The boys trickled into Wooramel late afternoon, where we got stuck into a few beers, ate a famous Steak Sanga, and hit the hay relativley early for the last stretch!









_Kev and Fozz bonding on the lonely highway!_

We got to Exxy by late morning Saturday, Carmels Birthday!!! I somehow managed to load 6 yaks onto Jims boat for the trip across, and we soon had all the yaks, and most of the gear packed on the two boats for the trip across, Jim and Daryl Hitchen from Western Angler had planned to get as much gear as possible across the day before to make the Sunday trip as smooth as possible. We soon settled into our overnight accomodation at the Ningaloo Novatel where Carms, Kev and I went out for a Birthday dinner, then popped into the Potshot for a quick beer. Into bed full of anticipation for a big day following!









_Departure day at Exmouth Novatel, not looking great!!_

We awoke Sunday morning to the sound of Torrential Rain, howling wind...... Not good..... We had planned an 8am departure, and this was canned, we all played the waiting game for the rest of the day. The word came through late arvoe, as the weather cleared that it was time to go!! And we were at the Island, after a relativley rough trip by early arvo. The lads wasted no time gathering the yaks, and getting gear stowed, and onto the beach for an evening session, a few smaller fish were caught, and spirits were high.









_Classic scene on the beach as the boys hit it for an evening session!!_









_Day 1, the yaks are ready to roll, gear is being stowed, the lads were toey!!_

Day 1 the lads awoke to perfect conditions, a great breakfast, and we split into two groups. My group consisted of Carmel, Kev, Fozzy and Matt, we decided to head north to some of my favourite ground up on Tent Island whilst Scotty's group headed south. This began a week of solid yakking, with some exceptional highlights. Each day began with a hearty breakfast by Jim and Daryl, and concluded with an amazing feast, beers, and a night lazing on the deck going over the days events with some top fellas!! I will strip the rest of the week down into a short blurb, and let the pics do the talking, i have a load of amazing video, but will be taking my time editing this, so please be patient!!


















The Camp itself has been fully redesigned since last year, also widened! This gives amazing internal layout, with an improved kitchen area, and a bar area manned by Harry Butler, who had all our grog stashed in the fridges there, and acted as barman for the full week!! He also offered endless great stories, and hot tips about fishing the island and surrounding area!! Some blokes often stayed chatting to Harry for a few drinks!!!!










The front deck is a spacious area, breezy, with elevated views of the beach. It offered a great area for the guys to sort tackle, restock for the following day, or in some cases catch a few zeds in preperation for the following day! The view from the deck is amazing, giving the best spot to watch the afternoon sunset, and to spot schools of fish busting up on the shallow reefy area at the front of the camp!










The Kitchen area was also home to some of the best camp chefs in the buisness, Daryl Hitchens of Western angler worked closely with Jim over the week creating some amazing dishes, highlights were any fresh fish meal, and of course the Mud Crabs!! As you can see below, they were popular, and the view from the balcony resembled zombies milling over a fresh kill!!!! BRAIIINNNSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!


















_Yellow Fin/Pikey Bream Hybrid, the Island has no shortage of these, and they know where the snags are!!!_









_Chunky little Cod, in plague proportions all over the Islands waterways, and hit lures with gusto!!_

The fishing over the week was hard yakka, the waters were still very dirty as had been the case over the last month or so, and reports from the guys at the island were grim, my aim for the week was to get myself a big Queenie, a fish that eluded me last year. I worked the poppers hard all week, and fished the creeks with small minnows for heaps of solid Jacks. My group worked Tent Island Day one and three, and Burnside Island days 2,4 and 5. Unfortunatley the big Queenie continued to prove a no result for me, but not for all of us, which i'll get too shortly!!









_Mangrove Jack were abundant as always, but the creeks were hard work with mass amounts of bitey insect life, all precautions were advised, and suitabley taken to avoid being eaten!!!_









_Another solid Jack, this time nailing a popper, destined for Queenfish on the edge of a rock bar._









_Big Bluelined Emporer that smashed a Mcarthy jerk bait in bubblegum pink on some oyster encrusted rock bombies outside the entrance to one of my favourite creeks!_

On the Thursday while all of my group had a rest day, Matt and I decided we liked the look of the morning tide and worked some of the rockbars at the southern end of Burnside Island. With the tide peaking just after dawn, we figured the outflowing water may attract some hefty predators, and right we were. Shortly after we arrived i nailed a monster Malabar Groper on a popper, which smashed a popper hard up against the rockbars, and put up dogged resistance before being captured on film and released. Shortly after, Matty hooked up, again on a popper, of the homeade variety no less, and bursting from the water was a well-over-a-meter Queenie!! The usual acrobatic display ensured we were both wooping and hollering as he fought the fish into open water. Then disaster struck, in my eagerness to get some epic footage, i drifted too close, and the fish ran around the back of my yak, entangling the rudder, and busting off.... I was horrified, and Matt, disturbingly silent, was not impressed... Luckily, within another dozen or so casts, another quennie took a liking to Matty's hand built creation and was cartwheeling out of the water with gusto!! This one i ensured came nowhere near me, and after a torrid battle, Matty was holding it up for a snap, with a grin from ear to ear, we slapped eachother 5 and continued with the session. On the way back to camp, Mattys luck continued and another solid Queenie was soon being released after a snap, this continued on to Friday, after we decided to hit the same area, this time with a multitude of crew to accompany us, and he landed another ripper Queenie to finnish his hat trick. Great effort mate!!









_This Cod was the first sign of what proved to be a cracking day for Matty, smashed a popper, and was heading back to his hole deep in the bombie before i even knew he was hooked!!_









_Matt Checksfield (Mattyoga) had a stella Thursday at the Burnside rockwalls, nailing 2 big Queenies while i watched and filmed, jealous much?!?!?_

The rest of the week produced plentiful Trevally, Jacks, Bream and Cod. The Queenies and Goldens remained quiet for the majority of us, but we all enjoyed it immensley!! The massive variety of fish on offer, the tasty meals, great company, and amazing feel the camp provided ensured all had a memorable time. The scenery around the island is breathtaking, with turtles popping up every so often, dugongs, a massive variety of sharks and other marine life, and birds and eagles of every description ensuring that no time spent there is ever dull! There is simple no better place for kayak fishing around, and i'm never suprised when yet another species climbs all over my lure and joins me on the yak!









_Probably the fish of the week for me, a solid Spangled Emporer that smashed a Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow, also probably the most productive lure all round for the week!_

So again the Queenies eluded me, tho i took huge pleasure in watching Matty's captures!! Wilderness Island again proves to be a memorable wee, a huge thanks to Jim and Harry for the great info, making the place a reality, and for the amazing stories and tucker provided during our stay. A massive thanks also to darly for his amazing camp cooking, it really adds a new dimension to the place, and feeding 10 hungry yakkers day in and out is no easy task! Als to the guys who came along, Kev, Jase, Alec, Stu, Fozzy, Matty, Brendon as well as Daryl and Scotty from Western Angler, and my lovely wife Carmel who more than held her own during the week, and recorded some amazing footage, thanks, and it wouldn't have been such a great week without you all! Looking forward to next year, booking being taken from now!! I have a lot of video to be edited yet, so when that hits the players, i'm pretty sure you will all be clambering for a spot!!!









_Top bunch of folks, that made it a great week!!_

Upon leaving wilderness Island we encountered massive surface bustups all the way to Exxy marina, as well as being privelaged to witness a 60-80kg Black Marlin freejumping out of a surface bustup 6 foot in the air, something some locals have never witnessed!! A great omen for the next week in Exmouth town with the Yakfishwest boys!!


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## Shufoy (May 28, 2008)

*Part 2 : Exmouth - Chasing Silver*

There was no denying i did my research for this week as hard as the first week at WI, Spanish Mackeral and Sails were the intended targets, with long offshore trips on the AI, hii-speed trolling with teasers all on the menu. Unfortunatley, Exxy didn't play the game, or more to the point, did play the game, providing perfect weather for the duration of the week, just lacking the required wind to put plan A in practice. Also all reports were the Mackies and Sails were elsewhere, probably closer to Metro than exxy, so we targetted Mackies all week anyways, with a side serve of bottom bouncing, which i always enjoy with gusto in Exxy waters!!

Needless to say, the crew from Wilderness all stayed on for the following week, apart from Kev and with the addition of Paul and Erin, with Dana joining us early in the week as well, it was an exceptional group of fellas and ladies! We started the week with a session at Pilgramunna where we encountered the biggest swell i'd seen there, and with 10'++ waves closing out across the gap with alarming regularity the outer waters were out of the question. The other strange occurence was the amazingly high tide, so hi in fact the campground was hastily being evacuated as we arrived, and was closed for the week!









_Pilgramunna launch site, the assembled fleet!!_

The day started in fine form, as while throwing a 7'plastic around, i had a solid hookup in the turbulent waters of the channel, i thought, "seems heavy", then was astounded to see a meter+++ Mackeral launch from the water barely 5m in front of the yak!! With drag screaming for mercy a short fight followed, before the monster bit me off for freedom!! Struth, the bar was raised, tho for the rest of the day i only managed some decent Trevally, and not much else.









_Halby Bank launch, extraordinary conditions greeted us!_









_My first ever Green Jobfish, apparently, i found out later they are great eating! Fought hard, with a body shape reminiscent of Salmon._

The following two days we changed tack and checked out some new ground just south of the Lighthouse Caravan Park, and headed 5km offshore to a spot called Halby Bank, on the troll on the way out i tried our new Gardie trolling rigs and withing 30secs of dropping a bait hooked up to my first ever Green Jobfish, which put up a solid fight!! Matt and Carmel joined me on this second day and we found some cracking ground in the 20m depths and fished the bottom hard for some great fish, and big bustoffs!! Matty landed a great coronation and me my first Red Emporer which joined us for dinner.









_Another first, Red Emporer, beautiful on the tooth!_









_Matt hooked up on the Troll in, a hard fight followed...._

On the way in we trolled a combination of Hardbody lures and gardies, about 1km in Matty yelled he was on, so lines in and we followed Matt as he obviously had a fish of respectable proportions on the line! We were both stoked to see a monster Mackie surface after a 20min fight, which took both of us to land it!! It pulled the scales down later to 17kg!!!!! HORSE!!!!!! Matty was blown away and struggled to get it to photo height, but a few snaps secured the catch in history before the stowage issue raised its head, i suggested the front hatch, and whilst it didn't quite fit, the calm day made it possible, and the nose heavy Adventure headed for sure! Great capture Matt, and made the Trip for me just watching it!!!









_definatley the capture of the Trip, great stuff Matty!!!!!!_









_could do with another foot of front stowage tho!!_

That night we had a huge feast of fresh mackie, Coronation Trout and Red Emporer cooked to perfection on the BBQ by our master chef Paul, we all flocked to their chalet for a feed, beers and a good yarn! One of many great nights!!!!









_Head chef Paul!!_









_The assembled throng of guests gathered for a feed!!_









_Another Halby Bank Corination_

The last few days were spent between Halby Bank and Pilgramunna, a few good fish were landed by the fella's ensuring we ate fresh fish each night. Mark (Cuda) landed another ripper Mackie at Pilgs on the second last day, and the other lads had an amazing day on the bottom species landing some cracking fish, Rankin and Estuary cod, Corination Trout and a Spango or two! The last day at Pilgs went from calm to borderline gale conditions in a matter of minutes, resulting in a hasty retreat through the gap, which was exciting to say the least!!!









_Brendons ripper Pilgs coro, one of many demersals landed that day by the fellas!!_









_Cuda's ripper Mackie, he enjoyed this capture, and deserved it too!! Great fish mate!!_

One of the highlights of the thursday was thew 8km hike through the gorges with Matt, Dana, Paul Erin and Carms. We managed to get back just on dusk, and hit the Potshot for a well deserved feed and beer, an amazing place Exmouth, so much diversity in landscape!! The lads all headed off on the saturday morning and we also cjhecked out of the Lighthouse heading to catch up with Shane and Jim for the following week, Shane took care of us over the weekend, and we hit the island again on the Monday morning, with one day of yakking on the wednesday before returning Thursday, it was a memorable few days, which i'll cover shortly!!!

Thanks again to all the guys who came along for the Exxy week, was a ripper, and i look forward to next year!!









_Carms and I at the top of the world!!_


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## Shufoy (May 28, 2008)

*Part 3 : Exmouth and Wilderness - The Last Days*

I was lucky enough to have another 5 days in Exmouth after the last of the Yakfishwest guys had left, after checking out of the Lighthouse Caravan Park i headed into town and met up with mate and exxy local Shane Wunyhm, who also runs _Exmouth and Ningaloo Sportfishing Adventures_, a ripper sportfishing charter in town. Shane had a few friends staying over in Karma and Lisa, and her lads Jamie and Ollie, but still found room to put us up for 3 nights, and show us around a few of the hidden secrets that only a long time resident can know.









_After a hour drive along a rocky track we made it to the top of the ranges, the view toward the gulf was spectacular!_









_First stop, some massive sink holes in metallic rock that sounded like plate steel when banged together!_

We headed mid-morning saturday down a literal goat track following Shane's break-neck pace in the Prado, we headed up over the top of the ranges and to an awesome view point with an epic view over the gulf. We were soon back ontrack where we got to see some bottomless sink holes Shane has been down, he assured me these were the smallest of the caves we would see this day, fairly wetting the appetite! Another side track and we came up onto a huge gorge, so we got out to stretch our legs, and took some great photo's.









_Beautiful Gorge in the middle of nowhere!_









_Entrance to the first and smaller of the two caves we visited._









_View from the inside out!_

Shane then took us to a few caves, the first was impressive, large fig tree growing up the side wall was the cause of the original fissure, we climbed down inside and the temps dropped about 10 degrees. The second cave was simply breathtaking, from what looked like a huge figtree growing over an opening in the ground, we climbed the treachorous 40feet down into the cave, with the tree over the top acting like a natural shade cloth. The colours of the rocks inside were amazing, but that was not all. In the bottom of the second cave was a small crack, Shane said he felt a draft coming through and proceeded to squeeze his body down the small crack. I followed, and was blown away by what we found, the small opening led us too a massive cathedral, huge natural room, with golden rock walls! The roof was at least 30 feet high, with a small opening at the top letting in enough natural light to see! Truly breathtaking stuff!!









_The entrance to the second, bigger cave._









_The incredible view from the inside out, the tree providing a natural shadecloth over the opening._









_Shane heads down the small opening that leads too....._









_....a massive natural room, with it's own skylight!!!_

I have to say, this was one of the most impressive sights i'd seen, and really never expected to see, thanks Shane! From here we went to a secluded Billabong for lunch, and past another cave that Kangaroo's had selected as their dying cave, it was full of skeletons. We continued on our journey and descended from the ranges along a rocky, almost impassable track, really testing my 4x4 skills, where we emerged in the National Park opposite Sandy Bay. We cruised up to Turquoise Bay for a snorkel, always a highlight with the natural drift giving access to an amazing variety of fishlife, Big Spango's, Cod, Milkfish, Mullet, and countless other species. The water was a warm 29 degrees, and crystal clear! With barely an hour of sun left, we headed to the best place in Western Australia to see the sunset, the Lighthouse at the top of the cape, where we joined the hundred or so tourists with a beer to watch the natural show as the sun set over the Ningaloo Reef.









_The Cape Lighthouse, simply stunning place to watch the sunset!_

That night we hooked into some chilli crabs from the gulf, Blue Swimmer crabs this time with a nice cold beer, Shane gave us a rundown of the following days plan. We awoke early and jumped on Shanes boat for the 45min trip to Y Island in the Exmouth Gulf, this time we had the yaks onboard, as well as a few rods, and the snorkelling gear. As we approached Y i noticed some huge bust-ups and bird action in the distance, so as Shane set the boat in hot pursuit i tied on a 40gram slice and prepared myself on the foredeck. After 3 or 4 cracks at the ghost like schools, a well aimed slice wad nailed by what we concluded was a solid Longtail Tuna!! The fight dragged out for 15 minuts, with the fish sounding out deep and trying to get under the boat at every oppurtunity, but with skillfull driving by the skipper, i soon had the fish landed!! It went straight on ice for dinner!!

We anchored up on the back of the island where Shane, friends and kids hit the water for a snorkle session, and Carms and I got the yaks in the water for a hot hour long session with various Trevally landed! Some large schools were encountered and in some cases the popper was nailed before any action was applied by myself!! Awesome stuff!!! On the way home, Karma borrowed my Nitro rod and hooked and landed a ripper Longtail of her own, ensuring a superb feed that night of Sashimi, and Breadcrumbed Longtail, combined with some cold beers and great company, it was a awesome night, with plans to head back to the island the next morning, it just doesnt get better than this!!









_Solid Longtail Tuna was no match for the Nitro Viper and Halco Slice!_

We left Shanes early Monday morning and headed to Jims place, where we met Alex and Chai his clients for the week, two great fella's! With the gear for the charter and the twio clients, there would be no room for yaks, so Shane agreed to bring them across on Tuesday night when he brought his crew over for 2 nights. We packed up the boat and headed over to the Island, where the boys got themselves setup and hit the beach for an afternoon shorebash at the front of the camp. I gave Jim a hand setting up things then followed the lads down with my Nitro Magnum Butt and a popper for a quick flog, i joined Alex at the shoreline directly in front of the camp, and we both had a few swipes by bigger looking fish. Soon after a big bow wave came up behind my popper, and whammo!!! I was on!!! A leap from the water signalled a Queenie, and fairly decent one at that!!! I chased him up and down the beach, and after an acrobatic display, and yells of encouragement from the girls at the main hut, i did it, landed my first Wilderness Island Queenfish, and boy was i stoked!!!!!









_My first WI Queenfish, a ripper at just over a meter, not a yak caught, but time would tell..._









_Dinner that night, more mud crabs, superbly presented by Jim, what would you pay for a meal like this in a resteraunt in Perth!!_

That night we had fresh Queenfish for dinner with Mud crabs the lads had gathered that arvo, we made plans for a boat trip the following day, studied the tides, and prepared gear. All this with some great conversation and a few beers made for an excellent evening, my first Queenie, the icing on my cake so far for this trip!!

The next day myself Carmel, Jim, Chai and Alex headed out to Vaughn Shoal, approximatley 20km out Wilderness Island camp for a session jigging, which was rudely interupted by schools of Shark Mackeral, of which we all landed our share!! We were also buzzed by massive schools of Golden Trevally, and landed a miriad of other species, really firing the lads up! We headed back in for lunch, and then as Shane had arrived, headed for a creek session chasing more Mud Crabs and Jacks for the evening meal. I landed a few ripper Jacks myself while the guys were off forraging for Crabs, and we had an amazing feast that night!! With fresh Jacks cooked in the coals, a Mallabar Groper done on the coals in a Dutch oven which was drowned in Chai and Alex's home made Black Bean sauce, Norrie Rolls, and fresh Sashimi, it was a memorable night. Many beers were also consumed, and i hit the hay later than usual with a full belly, and high hopes for my last chance of yakking the following day!!









_Alex's ripper Sharky!_









_The Crew hard at work in the kitchen!_

























_The assortment of fine food at a memorable feast!!!_

The next day, as a result of a huge nigh, Carms and i were the last to rise, and the rest of the crew had had their breakfast and headed off on the days adventures. I lazed around camp untill the tide turned just after midday, and then headed off to the Burnside rockwalls, where i was smashed on the troll half a kay short of my destination, the fish had serious grunt, and took 30m of line of the spool before changing path and heading straight for me!!! I furiously gained the line as a huge Golden Trevally finned across the water in front of the yak in barely a meter of water and stripped line of the reel in a mad dash for the rosk walls, busting me off shortly after.... I was stunned.. I quickly rerigged, and got back into it!! Over the next 3 hours i was smashed by all number of fish, lost lures like candy on Halloween, and landed the best fish of my life!! The sheer power of the huge Golden Trevally was only surpassed by the amazing ariel displays of the monster Queenies, i was absolutely stoked beyond belief, and by 4pm i decided that i had better stop fishing and head back, as i was certainly not going to run out of takers for my lures, and would likely run out of lures at the rate i was losing them!!!

It was simply the best Kayak Fishing session of my life to this point period. By the time i got back to Camp, and had fully digested what had occured, i was speachless....

It was a fitting end to my time at Wilderness Island for 2011, i had achieved my goals, got some amazing footage, and landed some incredible fish. I will be back in 2012, and if its anything like this year, i will keep coming back.

































_Some of the fish landed in the hottest yakking session of my life, un-freakin-believable!!!!_


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

Awesome report mate, some incredible fishing there - I'm green with envy!


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

> i was speachless....


Wow. I know what you mean. That's a killer report!


> in my eagerness to get some epic footage, i drifted too close,


Damn you paparazzi! There oughta be a law. :lol:

Thanks for that. It was a pleasure to read. I'm sure it was a labor of love putting together the report, but I'm sure it was some work.
Thank you.

Z


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## gonetroppo (Jan 29, 2011)

What a great read, congrats on those ripper goldens and queenies, and that mack your mate caught was an absolute monster! looked like it was a incredible trip.


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## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

A great trip followed by a great report to make us all jealous


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## couta1 (Sep 10, 2005)

good to see you did some cave exploring??...did u get to the ones with the ancient paintings??


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## Shufoy (May 28, 2008)

Thanks all, was a great few weeks, im glad you got some enjoyment from the reports. Its a great part of Australia, and one i'll be spending more and more time in no doubt. Hopefully some of you can get across and experience it first hand!

Steve no ancient drawings where we went, Shane knows a few spots, but doesnt take people there often out of respect.


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## clarkey (Jan 13, 2009)

From montey pythons,Life of Brian...
YOU lucky lucky barstard
that is one awesome report,congrats on getting your queenie.


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## paulo (Nov 1, 2007)

Looks like another awesome trip Brett. Ive got to get back over that side of the country again soon.


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## Swamp (Nov 20, 2007)

Missed this post.
Looks like you had a cracker trip again!


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