May 2008

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

MURCHISON BOAT HIRE MAY 2008 ELETTER

A very busy month for the boats. Every one wants to go north to Mackerel Islands and Gnaraloo. The 7.8m spent a week at Thevenard Island before making its way to Gnaraloo where it has been for most of the month.
I made a dash up to Gnaraloo to service the 7.8m and have a look around, and get prepared for my trip up there
at the beginning of June, the boys were getting into some good red emperor & big Spangled emperor!
I am going up with some mates from Perth to take over the 7.8m boat at the end of the hire.
Saves me the tow up. (I hope they leave some waypoints in the GPS)

7.8m boat trip early May
Merv Hopkins runs a very busy business in Perth and has been trying to get away for a fish for a while.
He eventually made it up here with some mates, but was unlucky with the less than perfect weather
that restricted the fishing. They did do OK considering, and got into some good fish and achieved some angling firsts.
Having the new 7.8m boat helped in the conditions and made for a much more comfortable trip.

Scott Davies landed a fine 11.5kg mackerel. First fish on a lure. (Didn’t think they actually caught fish he thought)

Followed up with the biggest fish he has ever caught, a +-15kg sambo that was released.

Brian Duke was well pleased with this 14kg yellow-fin tuna taken from the dirty water off Red Bluff.

Huge sand snapper for Merv, big 6.25kg snapper for Norm Davies (Biggest he has ever caught) and a sambo for Merv again.
Merv and crew stayed in our accommodation units and picked up the boat discounts that go with the package. See http://www.murchisonboathire.com.au/accommodation2.htm for the great discounts.

Business trip to Gnaraloo
Seeing as the 7.8m boat had been at Thevenard Island for a week and then at Gnaraloo for another week I felt
that it probably needed a service so shot up there last week to case the place out and do the said service.
I hope to bring you pics of some of the best fish from those hires.

We skirted the southern edge of Lake McCleoud

Got the tourist pic at the “King Waves Kill” sign

Entered Gnaraloo Station. Take note here, my 7.8m boat is too high to get under the sign:

Use the gate on the right to get through!

The girls at Gnaraloo Station clean the shacks and remove the garbage with this handy vehicle

XXX size tuna
Ritchie Kirk, John Slattery, Rob Slattery, Mike Stacey, Ray Graffin, Ricky Cottingham, Des Hewitt, Lindsay Hughes,
Geoff MacEwen, & Peter Jones were part of a group of guys who come up every year & have been
for the past 25 odd years! They have been hiring the 6.1m boat for at least 6 years and target mackerel mostly.
Following are some pic of some of the better fish they caught this year.
Ritchie Kirk recons they did better this year than they have for a while.

21kg yellow-fin for John

Ray Graffin’s tuna, Ray was over from Queensland and is a avocado farmer over there and recons he has never caught a fish before other
than a whiting or something he says. Mike Stacey’s 19kg Mac the biggest for the trip!

Paul Ashton and family, all the way from Cairns in Queensland were over doing a tour of the west coast.
He was after the 6.1m boat but as it was up at Gnaraloo he had to settle for the 5.3m boat.
It did not stop him getting amongst the fish just past the Sand Patch.

Skippy, morwong, a small dhuie and an uncommon gold-spot trevally

Bite of the month

I have to award “Bite of the Month” to Norm Davies with this beautiful pinky caught on a floating mulie
out the back of the 7.8m boat. They don’t come much better than this Norm.

You would have come across “Same Shirt Andy” before; He is part of a group of frequent hirers and have taken the step to
buy their own boat. Unfortunately the boat was not ready for their trip so had to take a last hire with the 6.1m.
They all got into some fine fish and one big mackerel by the looks.

Kalbarri Offshore & Angling Club, Local comp 24th May 2008.

Brett Bain had 4 bream to win the river section (All release live back into the river) and Paul Maindok got a 10kg estuary cod.

Thevenard Island
Last year the 6.1m boat spent a lot of time up at Thevenard Island in the Mackerel Islands group off Onslow.
It is also up there this year.
Helen will take your accommodation booking if you would like to visit. Phone her on 9184 6444
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 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 snapper
Beach mulloway

Or go to the Adventure Bound website and view them there. Click this link.
http://www.adventurebound.com.au/news/latest/youtube_kalbarri_wa_offshore_episode.html
Noel and Robyn are willing to accept bookings for my boats at Port Gregory
I will deliver the boat down there for 2 or more days hire for free.
& return it to Kalbarri for you.

Remember if you rent our accommodation in Kalbarri 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