November 2006

PO Box 63 KALBARRI WA 6536 PH/FAX (08) 9937 2043
http://www.murchisonboathire.com.au/

This month is the start of the improving weather, the swell drops, the water warms up and the mornings are usually calm so we have more chance to get out and play. We still get a lot of wind at this time of year but that usually kicks in around lunch. With the low swells the abalone picking gets easier and I have been out with some mates getting a feed.
Picking a low swell and a low tide at the same time is the secret. Roe’s Abalone the kind we get up here can be found in abundance but you need to get out of the easier reached places like north of the river mouth. Rock pools like above hide over size abs.
They are there for the picking, lined up like on a supermarket shelf along the ledges and cracks in the reef.
Some are easy to find but others are hidden away under ledges and are inaccessible. If you turn them upside down they will just about climb out of their shells feeling for something to help them turn over with. Makes them easy to shuck when they do this. There is a fair bit of preparation but real tasty when measured, collected, shucked, cleaned, beaten and pan-fried.

Exmouth Billfish Bonanza
Our trip to Exmouth was disappointing to say the least. A very long drive up, 10 and a half hours from Kalbarri towing my 6.1m boat. We crossed the 26th parallel and the Tropic of Capricorn. Seems to be a big thing as lots of tourists stop and take a picture of the tropic line!

I snapped this pic of the tourists as we went by

We past the multitudes of termite mounds
The whole aim of going to Exmouth was to enter the Betta Electrical Billfish Tournament and catch a sailfish. We have never caught one before and the guys up there showed us where to go, how to do it and generally offered as much info as asked for.

We were given tags, which looked quite big and difficult to stick into a billfish

so we tried sticking one in a rock melon to try to see what it felt like. The tags went in OK.

We stayed at the Pot Shot Resort, $123.00 a night, about as reasonable as you can get in Exmouth and they have emus walking about the grounds and also all over Exmouth town site.

The way we were told and saw other boats doing the same is to head out into the Gulf about 25k north east of the Exmouth Marina to near the “Macky Lumps” or Exmouth Reef and troll around dragging teasers behind the boat. When a sailfish comes up to have a look at the teasers, you free spool a gardie rigged on a circle hook to it. Sometimes they are a little fussy and will only take a live bait,

so we jigged up some baits beforehand and had them rigged ready to go. Well we never got to raise a sailfish so never fed back a bait over the two days! Of the 17 boats in the comp only 7 boats caught fish so I don’t feel too bad but I sure am disappointed. We saw sailfish being caught by other boats so we were in the right area, doing the right thing, just unlucky I guess. So a bit of soul searching, teaser modification and enthusiasm needed next time. I have a waypoint for the sailfish grounds, Dayne, and for anyone else who hires one of my boats and is taking it up there.

The afternoons glassed off. This is us powering back at 45km/h at 5.30pm from the centre of the Gulf. No swell, no wind, no sailfish!
For the record we travelled 265km over the two days and used up 1 litre of fuel per 1.6km travelled.

The cray season has started but I have not had a chance to get my pots in yet and will now wait until the “whites”. That is, after they have shed their shells and hardened up and start to move out to deeper water. It is easy to catch them then. They tend to stay under cover, not moving around or feeding while their shells are soft, so will not move into your pots, hence it is hardly worth having your pots out. It is however when the fishing greatly improves as the snapper and dhuie all move inshore to suck the jelly crays out of their holes. They should start after the full moon so I will be putting my pots in around 5th December.

New Accommodation
As per last newsletter the new accommodation comes on line from the first week in February. It is the “Deluxe Duplex” and both units on the block have an enclosed courtyard at the back with a BBQ. Only one street back from the foreshore right behind the IGA.
Both duplexes have an enclosed back courtyard, carport, aircon, washer, microwave, TV etc, are fully self-contained and each sleeps 6.
Rates have not been finalised yet but will remain much the same as they were and we will still offer the same discounts with the boats for these units as usual. They each sleep 6 but being a duplex can take larger groups, as they are right together. I will be posting it all up on my website soon on the accommodation page .We will repaint inside and out and fix it up a bit and make it more comfortable.


Sad News
This morning, Saturday 2nd December, we awoke to find the “Icon” of Kalbarri, The River Queen sunk to the bottom of the river with just the bow above water! A real tragedy for Tim & Julia Woodcock, the operators of the River Queen that have been plying the river for the past 20 or so years.

With the help of the Shire loaders, grader, and a thick rope that broke a few times, they pulled the boat to the edge of the beach where it stuck fast as by this time the bow had filled with water and it settled on the bottom.

They managed to get it out of the water and onto the davit but we don’t know what the problem was as yet!


Boat Hire Price Rise
The price rise has come and gone and my new brochures are out and about with the new prices on them. The price rise was not very much so it is not going to hurt too bad but on the up side, all my boats now have 4-stroke Yamahas saving you a fair packet on your fuel bill. The new prices are on my website at www.murchisonboathire.com.au/hire_rates2.htm

Kalbarri Offshore & Angling Club, Local comp 18th November.
I was away in Exmouth for this comp, but some good fish were caught as usual.

Lui with his shark and baldchin,

fine mulloway from the beach and Di with a river caught estuary cod.
We also had our once a year away day at Wagoe last week. We stayed in the chalets and fished the Friday night and Saturday and had the weigh-in and party on the Saturday night.
This 22.8kg mulloway was caught by Karen Palamara on the Sat evening, as were other fish.


The caravan park at Port Gregory is under new management and a booking agent for my boats. You can now book a boat and pick it up in Port Gregory.


Remember if you rent our accommodation you get big discounts on our boats. Have a look on my website for the details, and check out the savings.


5-day weather forecasts, http://www.buoyweather.com/ go to virtual buoys, pick the location you want. This is the one I go by!


Big bait – big fish
Laurie

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