Well , after the best part of a 30 year wait - I finally got to fish Weipa . While I always wanted to tow my own boat there & do it under my own steam the development road kept that idea in check .
A littleresearch and talking to several of the local guides had me making a bookingthrough Allan Philliskirk’s operation (Fish’s Fly & Sport Fishing Charters) www.weipaflyfish.com.au for a fully catered 6 night 5 fishing day charter staying in the Lodge at Weipa Caravan Park & fishing mates Garry & Dave would join me.
After meeting with the boys in Brisbane we flew into Weipa on Sunday afternoon - transferred to our accommodation where we met up with a few others who were also chartering with FFSFC - Good blokes too . Attachment 36954 Now I have to say , this is a great set up with enough room to sleep 10 anglers - has a lounge & dining area – outdoor area …… & comes with your ownChef ( Breakfast & Dinner) - very schmick & well received after a big day on thewater. Dinner was certainly restaurant quality - We were lucky to have Sebastian ( a German on a 457 visa ) for the first 4 days - his creations were as good as it gets (Duck , Beef , Lamb were to die for) .
OK - so how was the fishing I hear you say ? ….. Well as always expectations werehigh & we were going there to experience pretty well the full gamut - Creeks , Inshore , Offshore ( had all the gear) but good old mother nature had her way & pretty well limited us to the creeks & some near inshore options which was a little disappointing .
We caught plenty of small barra fishing creek drains & rock bars with the addition of the ever presentqueenfish , blue salmon , cod - and afew fingermark , jack , pikey bream ….. all lurecasting. Some of the rock bars up in the skinny water just screamed JACKS! But they weren’t listening with falling water temps & barometer . Enough was caught to keep us interested with fish landed on a regular basis but it didn’t quite get there . There was a cool session fishing topwater forbarra in drains with lots of boofs & fish landedAttachment 36955Attachment 36956 Attachment 36957
We did manage a couple of sessions fishing along the beaches south of Weipa which sawthe better barra landed casting to rocky outcrops with hard bodies & softplastics - One little run for me saw 6 landed on 4”Happy Rock Softies – Fat heads rigged on3/8th jig heads - A fewfish lost & quite a few missed opportunities …… The other boys did well on landing blue salmon & the odd queenie. Attachment 36947
For me the fishing highlights were about lost fish - A hook up with a blue bastard ( a local slatey) which I couldn’t stop on 30lb baitcastgear making it some 70m to an isolated piece of rock ……. Despite full drag & thumb on spool . Next was thelittle 1 hr session we had throwingpoppers & stick baits at a great looking shallow reef for GTs - Garry landed one of around 8kg which was part of a pack attack where both our lures were hit next to each other . I had my backside handed to me by a big GT - locked drag on 50lb & I didn’t stand achance …… Seeing Garry pull his rooster popper away from a 50lber next to the boat & the other dozen or so hits we had on both topwater / subsurface stickbaits ….. plus pulled hooks . As Gaz said to me – that session just cost him a lot of money (hisfirst popper GT) has got him hooked ….. $$$$ Attachment 36958
We also had little session fishing micro jigs on a bit of reef where I was snipped off on a mackerel & Garry lost what looked like a fair old black jew when his braid tangled with the level wind on his reel ……. Pretty big head shakes were felt while holding the braid while Garry tried to sort things out. Unfortunately the unseasonal 15-20knt winds made it difficult but we did try & the experience had us wanting more.
I have to give a big plug to Weipa Fly & Sportfishing & particularly our guide Jason Owens - The boats used (Hooker Cyclones) are brilliant and extremely well set up –Jason’s boat running a Helix 12 SIsounder ,Talon power pole & 80lb minn kota make for good fishing. Jason lunches kept us invigorated & casting but most of all he clearly was going out of his way to find us fish in difficult conditions– certainly not afraid to do the miles with most runs exceeding an hour from the ramp to get away from the locals & other guides. All that & really good company as well . Most morning we all got away together so gotto speak to the other skippers (Fish ,Bargy & Justin Duggan) back at the lodge …… They were in constant contact with each other during the dayreporting on the fishing & conditions with most crews heading different directions in such a vast system . Most certainly an A+ operation
So that’s abrief run down on our trip to Weipa …… Most certainly a return trip would be on the cards & with the knowledge gained highly likely.
Attachment 36937Attachment 36944Attachment 36945
