Mighty Milkfish!

To some anglers..........salt water fly fishing is the pinnacle of the sport!

Exponents of the long wand are often seen as a dodgy lot....not well understood by fellow anglers. Sometimes the effort for reward just does not seem to stack up. But then fly anglers often have a totally different mind set to the rest of us.

A magnificent barra from the upstream Archer River

Often its not about quantity (I can catch 100+ barra a day on lures when the run off is in full swing), its more about the quality. The harder it is to entice a fish to eat your carefully chosen presentation, to skillfully place that "imitation" baitfish / frog / crab / insect or worm, the more they seem to enjoy it.

And then we have those very special fish..........you know, the ones that are considered the Holy Grail of fly fishing.

• Indo Pacific Permit
• Monster Tarpon
• Golden trevally
• Bonefish &
• Milkfish

What's this....milkfish!

I know that this list is no all encompassing so don't reply and tell me that I should have included this and that. This article is not about comparing targets, singing the praises of this fish over that etc.

Its all about getting a closely held secret out.....that at certain times of the year, when conditions are right and the tides and moon help nature do its magic......we have the spectacular milkfish as a prime target up at Aurukun, in the magnificent Archer River.



Golden Trevally....on fly!

Personally, I am not a keen fly fisherman - I do own 4 outfits however and have dabbled in the art on numerous occasions. I have landed a tripple several times (Barra, queenie & GT)...easy you might say.

But the mikfish is an entirely different proposition!

And we do have them, and we do have the guides that know how to catch them!

What a magnificent specimen - check out that powerful tail!

So, if chasing one of the worlds premier light tackle fly fishing targets gets your heart pumping!
If you love the challenge of placing that imitation "thing-a-ma-gig" right in the slot!
Get stoked by the mighty tail swirl as the metre long milkfish engulfs your fly!
Or just enjoy the smell of burning skin as the powerful beauty peels of metre after metre of line and backing!
You will need to sit down, take stock and reflect on what just happened over the last 20-30 minutes.

GOOD LUCK.....BRING IT ON!

www.aurukunfishingcharters.com

This could be you!

The Pace was set.....by Simon!

Oh how I love this job....to be able to write about the fantastic fishing on offer up at Aurukun is rewarding enough. But to have it all penned by a very happy client is awesome. Check it out here!



The mighty Pikkuw (means crocodile in native language)

Hey Les,

Just a quick one to send those pics I promised and to pass on our many thanks to Terry and the boys up on the Pikkuw.

What a fantastic trip Nathan Shaw and I squeezed into just a few short days. As usual Terry and Ian went right out of their way to put us onto good fish and make sure we had a great time. The new tenders were a pleasure to fish from, well fitted out and perfectly desgined to explore the endless waterways up there.

 



Is this a good barra Terry?

What about this one?

Just a typical "small" barra

With the super low tides at that time, we found the Barra waiting on drains during the last part of the run out. Walk the dog lures with a pause right at the edge of the drop lead to some great surface strike`s and a few memorable sessions.



Metre long queenies....we just love em!

How's this for a queenie

Yeah!....another monster!

Out the front on the first morning we found hoards of big Queenfish smashing the whitebait and our surface lures were met with instant action. Watching packs of metre-plus Queenies shouldering each other out to monster your lure right at the boat was exciting stuff and lead to double, even triple hook ups on line burning fish. After half a dozen or so were boated we headed back up river to chase other species. 

 



WOW!......toga's!

These are quality all right!




This is s nice toga

After pouring over the maps one night, we singled out a large freshwater lagoon up the mighty Archer River and trekked into it the next day. After a slow start, we found a flooded swamp arm with plenty of shade and the Toga were home. Skipping soft frogs along the top had instant results and after repeated strikes Nathan hooked and landed an 80cm model in tight timber. What followed was an awesome session, watching saratoga leave a bow wave`s as they honed in to smash a surface lure is hard to forget. At one stage a "Tea Bagged" lure hanging from a branch lead to a huge Toga leaping clear of the water to swat it out of the air like an insect. After too many strikes to count Nathan ended up landing 3 big fella`s, and left me with the age old storey of the one that got away.

 



Now that's a nice jack

I guess this is what the river is named after!



Nice little river trevally

Back in the river on the last morning we headed up the Watson into the fresh. What a beautifull part of the river as it leaves that salty tidal influence. We busted out the light gear and nailed small Barra, several Jacks, Archer fish and Trevally to end an awesome few days.

Cant possibly sign off without giving Mark the Chef a mention. He runs a tight ship and kept us all very well fed with a constant stream of hearty dishes. Nothing better than coming back at sunset after a big days fishing to a Queenfish Nummus washed down with a cold beer, thanks again mate.

 

Its my water hole!

 

This is Terry....recognise him!

 

This is a quality barra fishery....second to none!

 

This was my third trip up to Aurukun, and I am already planning another return visit. The location, fishing and effort that Terry and the boys go to has to be seen to be believed - a magic place.

Simon Pace

Thanks again Simon....I'm sure we'll see you there again real soon.

Comments from a Client .....GOLD!

We all know that in this day and age of modern technology, we can say and do almost anything as far as marketing goes. But the very best form of marketing is "word of mouth" from a happy client, one willing to tell you how it is, and prepared to put their name to it.

And so I'm going to let Mal Shultz "tell it like it is", or more to the point, how his group found us!

"Hi Les,

A little late with our photos of some good fish caught on our last expedition under the guidance of your team of Terry, Ian and Mark the resident on board chef, but better late than never. 

We normally do not repeat our fishing trips as there are so many places to discover and enjoy. However after last year when 5 of us  had a fantastic time catching Barra, Jack, Jewfish and many other species, four of us guys from Taree in NSW  decided to make an exception and revisit Aurukun and the Pikkuw.

Obviously catching fish is the great attraction. However there are many elements to a great fishing holiday and catching fish is only one of them .

Its larger than life up here!

Firstly there is the wonderful experience of being in a truly remote and largely uninhabited part of Australia.  We all love that and it seems like a common thread in all our fishing expeditions. We also well appreciate and acknowledge that it is a privilege to be allowed to fish in these traditionally owned waters. . 

The boys are cruising!

Secondly, the element of a very relaxed atmosphere, friendship and fun created by our hosts was the core of a great holiday. Terry  Ian and Mark again went out of their way to ensure we were all safe, well looked after, fed and entertained.   How Ian can remember all those jokes is beyond me! 

Trent Jennison , pictured here with Noel Gilmour

Noel Gilmour with his very own!

Terry and Ian never stopped exploring their favourite spots and kept striving to ensure we caught fish despite a slower season to last year. Their persistence was rewarded to our delight with several large Barra being hooked around and above the one metre mark.   Trent Jennison, pictured here with Noel Gilmour, topped the class with a 1.2 metre monster and I later joined the club with a 1.04 m Barra. Rob Moore had caught a 1.02 metre Barra last year and a 93 cm Barra this year. Noel also hooked a couple of one metre “horses” this time but was outgunned into the mangroves.

Terry Holman is obviously a very conscientious guy, a great guide and managed all daily matters with quiet precision and good humour. Thank you Terry.

All in all we can thoroughly recommend a fishing experience to Aurukun and Aurukun Charters.

There is a great temptation to pay another visit sometime in November when we believe the bar is raised even further at this great fishing location.

Thank you to all involved in this charter.

Mal Shultz, Noel Gilmour, Rob Moore and Trent Jennison

Taree NSW."

 

I can assure you that I have changed nothing in the above text apart from removing a couple of spaces between words......how good is that!

 

And just to top it off, Mal proves that he has a sense of humour too with this little "explanation" of why mates will go on a fishing trip and do silly things Ha Ha!

 

"You might note a pic of all of us wearing orange hats. Our first year was our initiation of casting into tight spots .The amount of times we cast into trees with Terry and Ian having to yank lures out was enormous. As the leaves would fall Terry said we were worse than the defoliant Agent Orange!

 

The official "Agents Orange"....lovely guys!

Subsequently we had caps made up in Orange with an embroided tree and fishing rod with a lure up in the tree and big letters say “Agent Orange” on the front and Aurukun Fishing Charters  on the back. Terry was invited to take the micky out of the worst casters of each charter. He kept them for our second visit and thus the picture."
 

Good as GOLD!

So, when are we going to see YOU up here?

Kind regards, Les & the Pikkuw Team
www.aurukunfishingcharters.com

Autumn in Aurukun!

Sato has been a regular client of our chief guide, Terry Holman, for many years. He just loves his fishing and generally comes to Cairns & Tropical North Queensland at least once a year.  If memory serves me correctly, the only time that he has not come here in recent years was the time he got married!

Many of us can remember the heady days when many keen Japanese anglers came to our region...we always marvelled at the quality of their new and innovative tackle / rods / reels / lures and all sorts of goodies like nets and fish holding devices. These days, due to the economic downturn, we don't see an many Japanese tourists to our town....but the ones that still come here, do so for a particular purpose, a PASSION!

And why wouldn't you travel thousands of miles to experience the wilds of remote Cape York.
To wake up in a pristine wilderness. Listen to the birds herald the start of another magic day. A hearty breakfast and its off to the Watson or Ward or Archer or South Arm or the Love!

The barra are still on the chew as can be seen in these shots - they are having an absolute ball.
Will they be back....you bet!

Well done Terry & Mark!

NOTE - We still have some dates available this June / July.
Why not put a group together and come fish with your mates....you will be stoked!

See you up there.... www.aurukunfishingcharters.com

Big Barra at Aurukun!

 

When you run a remote fishing charter its sometimes darn hard to get PROOF!

The clients tell you that they had a ball..........that the guides were fantastic........and that the fishing was awesome. But I know you guys need proof, you need to see some pics to prove it.

Thank God, and no pun intended here, but our guide Ian Convoy (i.e. The Lord) has just returned from a five week stint up at Aurukun Fishing Charters. And oh boy, has he got some proof of how good it was. Sure the fishing has been a bit slow on occasions, and this has been the case right across the Top End of Oz due to a relatively weak "wet season" this year. But there certainly has been some magic fishing moments. (And lets face it....a quiet day at Aurukun is an awesome day anywhere else!)

This is a nice 120cm salt water barra!...is he happy!

Clients are stoked with fishing out of our new tenders, they ride superbly, are a very stable platform to cast from and have heaps of room for clients. Our chief guide, Terry Holman, has done a superb job in the fit out of these vessels. You can see that years and years or guiding experience has taught Terry exactly what is needed to make a sportfishing vessel a pleasure to fish out of. Nearly every client has heaped praise on Terry's tireless efforts to help make their charter the absolute best - we are very lucky to have him.

Check em out....our brand new tenders.

And while in remote Cape York, fishing wilderness rivers, in a tropical paradise and catching quality fish like these, what else is important? Food...glorious food! And by all report out chef Mark is doing a superb job here too. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our dear friend Max Pantacchini, for his assistance, guidance and support of Mark this past few weeks. His input has been invaluable.

And yes....its not always about barra. There are other quality species right on our back door too!

Queenies....a great light tackle sport fish!



They come in XOS sizes too!

We even have the black jew...from the beach mind you!

In the coming few months we are having film crews descending on the Cape to shoot marketing footage for our operation. More on this in later bulletins so watch out for some exciting action to come on your TV screens.

Praise the Lord....yes, its Ian!

And if the above wets your appetite to come experience some of the best barra action in Queensland, all is not lost. We do have some dates available in June & July, prime fishing months in the rivers and tidal estuaries of our region. Give our booking agent Pam a call on 0448 563 586 or drop her an email at sales@aurukunfishingcharters.com We would love to see you here!

TESTIMONIALS:
How's this statement from a repeat client...Philip S!
"I have fished the Cape on 56 occasions....and Aurukun is absolutely the BEST!"

Check us out at www.aurukunfishingcharters.com
Regards, Les