Never been a better time
I was going to do a blog post about fishing in Cuba, but figured, what’s the point. Nobody will be even thinking of that for a while, so, why not do one about coming here, to the wonderful Whitsundays.
The area is already well marketed to those with some sense of adventure who want to hire a “skipper yourself” luxury yacht, and I have even done a few blogs about this option, but have not done one specifically for trailer boat owners.
I can think of few places I have ever fished, and that is a LOT of places, where so many options exist for relatively small boat owners to access so much variety and opportunities to fish for different species, all with relatively protected and safe cover.
Be it creek, reef, flats or blue water, all these options, with all the usual target species abound within this 74-island paradise with its anchor destination of Airlie Beach being amongst the best serviced in Queensland in terms of excellent boat ramps and accommodation options.
We have excellent boat ramps with launch pontoons and all tide/weather safety at Port of Airlie, Coral Sea Marina and VMR break wall ramp plus an additional excellent facility into the Proserpine River and Proserpine dam. Accommodation in a number of boat friendly resorts, through excellent camp grounds and many camp sites on the actual islands it offers a world of opportunity, not just to the yachting holiday makers which have helped make the Whitsundays famous, but equally to individuals, groups of mates or families. From hard core fishing focused, to the more layback camping trip with enough fishing included to keep the cook happy and everyone well fed this area offers variety, access and safety I don’t think any other area comes close to. As trailer boat “campers” you have the safety measures put in place by years of a major tourism industry and books like “100 magic Miles”, while generally considered the bareboat “bible”, it offers information for the trailer boat day tripper or island camper that is unquestionably the best of any location in Australia.
I spend a lot of time around the islands and know a 6-meter boat can access just about everything. When the wind is up it can fish around the mainland bays, or with reasonable boating skills can still cross the passage to fish the outer islands and find plenty of shelter under the high peaks of the sunken mountain range which formed this amazing archipelago eons ago. Fringing reefs, blue water corners and bays all offering opportunities for the famous reef and pelagic species which have made the great barrier reef such a bucket list destination.
Many of the islands also have great camp sites and large estuaries, some running deep into the islands to offer great fishing for mangrove Jacks, barramundi, Grunter and mud crabs. Let google earth be your friend here because on windy days in particular they can offer awesome fishing in mill pond conditions and often within a few minutes of some of the island’s better campsites.
For those (like me), bitten by the salt water fly bug the area offers arguably one of the best salt water flats fishing experiences in the world, and all accessible with relative ease and at a relatively low cost.
A bit of planning, watching for tides, checklists and some homework on local QPWS island campgrounds/permits https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/whitsunday-islands/camping or mainland resorts can all feed into making a Whitsunday boating dream come true, just using your own trailer boat. A 12-hour tow from Brisbane just about gets you here, on generally decent roads and well serviced. A few things to consider
1. We have very big tides. Choose larger tides if you fancy fishing inshore in the creeks and smaller tides for the reefs and deeper water.
2. Check QPWS for island camping rules and permits i.e. No fires or generators on shore
3. Most of what you need in terms of provisions, fuel and spare tackle is easy to buy in Airlie Beach but once you are on the water you need to be pretty self sufficient but can get provisions, fuel and water at Hamilton Island marina and IGA or you can get back to Airlie Beach within an hour of almost any of the popular sites.
4. Use google earth to plan your trip and have contingency plans for campgrounds and anchorages. Usually from January to about October the prevailing winds are SE.
5. You can do a trip wide to the actual Great Barrier Reef but in a 6-meter boat it needs to be under 15 knot winds.
6. September and October are usually stunning weather and generally calm seas.
7. Bring snorkel gear and consider lightweight stinger suits all year around even through stinger “season” is considered to be October to May.
8. Spearfishing if very restricted in the Whitsundays so just about too hard to bother with.
9. Reef and Estuary species pretty much all year around. Mackerel in mid to late winter and tuna in summer. Mud crabs are in the rivers moist of the year but hard to find from September to mid-December.
10. The ramps in Airlie itself are very safe. No problems leaving a car and trailer parked for a few days. Proserpine River car park is more isolated and does have the occasional issue.
11. Consider “mixing it up” with a few days in a mainland resort or camp ground and a few days on an Island campground to take in the best of both worlds and allow weather related flexibility. Outside a really peak holiday weekends, you will always be able to get a camping permit for the islands.
12. Get a GBRPMA zoning map and check for green zoning and fishing regulations.
13. Islands have poor to zero phone reception in some areas such as Whitehaven Beach so a sat phone is handy and working VHS radio essential.
If you are planning a trip, or even thinking about it and want to know a little more, just drop me a line here and I will see how I can help. Take advantage of my 35 years of local knowledge and allow me to help you fall in love with the place like I did. Just be careful however. I came on 6 months working holiday……and never left.