A tradition in the making: Peter and friends fish Gulf

Two years ago a group of fishermen from Inverell, Warialda and Tamworth fished the Wearyan river in the Gulf Of Carpentaria with some excellent fish being taken - at the end of that trip another was organised for April 2004 (this year).

Members of that trip included tour organisers Greg Seagrott from the Aussie fishing club, Tamworth boys Peter Seagrott and David Corbett and Warialda fishing legends Robert Faint and Mark Legge. New additions to this year's trip were former Inverell Hawks coach and Aussie fishing club member Robert Monckton, Warialda's Ricky Krug and former Inverell butcher Malcolm Fowler.

The "big wet" in the Gulf Country this season was a very good one which is good for some great fishing. The only drawback to this is the condition of the roads from Boroloola out to the Aboriginal run Manangoora Station. Several phone calls in the lead-up to the trip indicated that the road to our destination was closed due to boggy conditions and washed out  river crossings. Finally with only seven days prior to our departure to go, the road was open to 4WD vehicles only with extreme care to be taken.

Due to the remote area where we were to fish, we had to go self-sufficient which included generators, fridges and freezers and enough food and fuel to last 14-15 days.

Three Holden Rodeos, all towing boats and trailers were loaded to the hilt and we set off on our 6000km round trip at 3am on Saturday, April 17.

We had planned to get to Manangoora Station on Monday afternoon and hopefully set up camp by dark.

After two big days of driving we arrived at Borroloola at 5pm on Sunday afternoon. We loaded up with enough fuel for 14 days and headed off for the normal 2-hour journey to Manangoora station at 7am on the Monday morning, but due to the terrible condition of the roads it took us nearly 4 hours to get there with the only mishap being broken boat rollers and a winch wheel snapping on one of the boats. We paid our $100 entry fee to the traditional owners of the property and set up our camp only about 5ks from the mouth of the gulf.

The first few days fishing was fairly slow by the gulf standards but we still managed to land about a dozen large barramundi, several good size black jew, several large salmon and plenty of javelin fish (grunter bream) and fingermark bream.

After about five or six days the fishing started to pick up with an average haul for the three boats for the day being in the vicinity of 100-150 fish which included javelin fish, fingermark bream, threadfin salmon, black jew and barramundi.

This continued for several days with plenty of fish being caught, but the drawback to this was the fact that our freezers were filling wish fish very fast.

Due to this we decided to try something different and planned a day trip out to Vanderlin Island which is about 20 miles out from the mouth of the Wearyan river.

The was a very tricky exercise due to shallow waters and high winds causing rough seas, but with the help of a GPS we navigated the treacherous trip in about 2 hours without any mishaps except for some very wet fishermen.

The day turned out great with some excellent fingermark bream being taken on fresh bait as well as tricky snapper and plenty of trevalley.

After lunch on a secluded sand beach we headed for the tackle boxes and hooked up lures which provided instant action. Rick Krug immediately hooked up to a monster barramundi which would have been in excess of 40lb in the old scale, but he was unable to land the monster. Action was great with the lures attracting some very good sized cod, coral trout, trevelley, queenfish and some very savage barracuda which smashed up our small lures.

By 3pm in the afternoon conditions calmed considerably so we decided to head back to the mainland while we had a chance to beat the windy conditions.

In all this was a great day, but we learned that a trip out to the islands was excellent but had to be restricted to calm weather only.

Back in the main river channel of the Wearyan we continued to pick up plenty of javelin fish and salmon, but due to our freezers being full we had to call in off 2 days early and head back home.

Another plus was the trading of our fish frames with one-clawed crabs from the locals which added a bit of variety to our usual fish meals.

In all this was a great trip to this remote part of our country. When considering a trip of this magnitute careful planning is a must with all the vehicles and boats in top condition.

Anyone wanting a great fishing trip should consider the long journey up to the gulf region where there are many rivers and streams that are much more accessible and can be fished with great success. These include the McArthur River which runs through Borroloola. There is a caravan park at King Ash Bay, with powered sites about 40 kilometres from Borroloola this spot is easy to get to. Another popular spot is Bing Bong (Mule Creek) which is also very accessible by 2wd vehicle.

The huge Robinson River which is accessible by Seven Emus Station is also an excellent fishing spot, but 4WD vehicles are a must. This spot is great in windy conditions due to the high banks of this magnificent river.

Due to netting restrictions in some parts of this country, this remote part of Australia will remain great fishing for generations to come.

Submitted by Peter Seagrott