magine this: You are awakened pre-dawn by vaguely familiar noises. Splashing. A boof! More splashing. It's fish. Queenies and trevally. A barramundi and a couple of threadfin salmon. They've cornered a school of mullet in the shallows and are feeding just metres away from where you sleep. There's only one thing to do. Roll out of bed, grab a rod and start fishing. Back at camp the billy boils and your guides are making ready for the day.
Robert Vaughan's Kimberley Fishing is a dedicated sportfishing operation, and Bluey is a career fishing guide having spent over twenty five years guiding people from all over the world to the world's best fishing - Kimberley fishing.
We take fishing seriously and it follows we are serious about our fishing tackle. Clients can use the Camp's quality fishing tackle unconditionally, which means there is NO charge for loss or damage, or they are welcome to bring their own tackle. But don't come under gunned: Kimberley fish are tough customers, and they live in a tough environment. They give no quarter, so nor should the angler. Prepare for burnt thumb leather and screaming reels pushed to the limit.
Casting and trolling rod/reel combos in the 8, 10 and fifteen kilo classes cover most situations, as will 8, 10 and twelve weight salt water fly gear. New generation braid line is much preferred to monofilament. Twenty and thirty pound braid is recommended on plug casting and spin casting outfits, while fifty pound braid is ideal on blue water trolling outfits and those times when we slug it out with bottom brawlers like blue bone and black jew.
Please note: If bringing your own tackle, fluoro or high visibility braid lines are much preferred by your guides.
Fly casters and lure casters should gear for a diverse range of conditions and target species. Fishing scenarios will include narrow tidal creeks where a short cast is all that's needed to tempt a barramundi or mangrove jack, to wide, crystalline flats where a prodigious cast might be the only way to present a fly or surface plug to a cruising threadfin salmon. There are rock bars, deep river snags, and boiling tidal currents concentrating massive bait balls and their pelagic predators making for a blue water fishing frenzy. And speaking of bait, your guides are expert in the art of throw netting. A bucket of freshly caught poddy mullet can turn a slow lure session into a reel smoking, red hot jack attack.
When it comes to lures and flys, basically, our policy is the more the merrier. There are simply too many excellent commercial lures available to recommend any specific brand, while favourites come and go, then usually, come around again. As to colour, that can be an endless, if not entertaining debate. Suffice to say, all the popular barra and blue water lures from shallow runners to deep divers will get eaten. Same with poppers, fizzers, soft plastics, lead-head jigs and heavy metal. And any salt water fly remotely resembling a bait fish is a savage strike getter. Importantly, lures should be fitted with strong salt water hardware.
Robert Vaughan's Kimberley Fishing prides itself on having good equipment. Boats are a fleet of two 6.1 metre (21 foot) poly long boats. These revolutionary boats are just as at home out in Admiralty Gulf's blue water as they are prowling the shallow flats or pushing up narrow tidal creeks into secret top pools where the salt and fresh water meet. Both are in commercial survey, carry the approved safety equipment and have an angler friendly layout. Roomy and stable, they are customised to fish three anglers in comfort and safety.
Please do not change the attitude and style that prevails at One Tree Beach. This is why we the fishermen keep returning.
GEOFF SMITH
Perth Western Australia
