STORY & PHOTOS: STEVE HUNT

It was something of a coincidence the first time I met charter skipper Shane Cole. I had been sent to Port Lincoln in South Australia to help restore power supplies after the devastating bushfires of Black Tuesday, January 11, 2005. After a couple of frantic weeks at work, my workmates and I were sitting beside the beautiful Port Lincoln marina having some lunch, when we noticed and admired a brand-new 36ft Black Watch sportsfisher that was appropriately named Pelagic.

It wasn't until some days later back home in Adelaide that I discovered that Pelagic is an exciting new charter operation targeting the fish-rich bluewater that surrounds Port Lincoln. I rang the owner, Shane Cole, to enquire about a trip and he told me that he too had lost his house and most of his posessions in the bushfire. But in the same breath he also invited me on a three-day exploratory trip out to the legendary Rocky and Greenly Islands, such is the enormous generosity of the guy. Needless to say, I couldn't pack my bags quick enough!

A patch of blue
Port Lincoln is a 650km drive from metropolitan Adelaide; a trip that seemed to pass with ease in anticipation of the three days that lay ahead. I met Shane and his two mates Simon Lawrence and Michael Dodd early the next morning as the twin 350hp Cummins diesels broke the predawn silence. As we cruised through the Port Lincoln marina it was bursting into life as this thriving fishing port heralded a new day.

I had toyed with the idea of bringing along some of my own fishing gear but as I looked around the boat I was glad I hadn't bothered. Everything aboard was quality: Wilson Live Fibre rods coupled to Penn International 16s for trolling, and Shimano TLD 20s with Backbone series rods for deepwater jigging. There was also an extensive array of quality skirted lures and top class minnow lures like Rapala CD 18s and Yo Zuri Hydro Magnums. The gear was enough to make a self-confessed tackle rat like me drool.

As we rounded Cape Donington it was clear that conditions were not ideal as the persistent south-easterly threw up an annoying 2m wind chop. We passed through the prolific whiting and snapper grounds of Thorny Passage without a thought of targeting these prime table species: we were after much bigger game on this trip. The harsh winds abated somewhat as we cruised past Williams Island and set a course for the Cabbage Patch, a legendary deep water reef system 40km to the southwest.

As the sounder readings continued to fall to a depth near 100m, the water temperature began to rise until it reached the magical figure of 18? C. That's when we saw the tuna. Schools of southern bluefin were busting up the surface everywhere, flagged by the telltale signs of diving seagulls, gannets and terns as they feasted on schools of terrified, fleeing baitfish. As we lowered the outriggers in readiness, the adrenalin was coursing through my veins already.

We slipped a couple of tuna skirts back to the fourth wake on the outriggers and ran a red-headed holographic Yo Zuri Hydro Magnum down the centre. This is the dynamite tuna lure down this way; it swims straight and true even up to 10kt and has an enticing wriggle that these bluewater speedsters just can't resist.

It was no coincidence that the Yo Zuri was the first lure to be smashed as our lines crossed the path of the highly-mobile school of southern bluefin. It was Shane's Accurate Boss Magnum 665H that was screaming as the electric blue torpedo on the other end put its head down and scorched off into the depths. It was the classic tuna fight: fast and powerful followed by the trademark dogged stand-up affair as the bluefin swam in ever diminishing circles beneath the boat.

A lovely southern bluefin tuna of around 20kg surfaced near the stern and we quickly slid it through the transom door. A few quick photographs and the bluefin was tagged and released for a second chance at life. The working tuna schools surrounded the boat everywhere we looked, so it didn't take long to get connected again. It was my yellow tuna skirt that got nailed soon after and after another drag-squealing fight a second 20kg southern blue was tagged and released.

Autumn is tuna time offshore from Port Lincoln; good numbers begin to show in late February on the fish's annual migratory run down south. The pristine waters are alive with these hunting schools all the way through March, April and May and the numbers begin to taper off into June. Both southern bluefin (up to 40kg) and their smaller brethren the striped tuna (skipjack) are prolific in the area at this time of year. Shane rang me a couple of weeks later to tell me they had landed half a dozen albacore on their latest trip. With these three species on tap it makes for a wonderful, easily-reached offshore sportsfishery. And Pelagic Charters are the guys to take you there, expertly putting our pulsating lures right under the noses of lit-up bluefin time after time in one of the most hectic day-long sessions I can remember. It was arm-stretching, back-breaking stuff and everybody onboard was sporting a huge grin from ear to ear, as they reflected on the amazing scenes.

As we neared our overnight anchorage on the northeastern corner of Greenly Island, we were met with a mind-blowing finale to an amazing first day.

The area was teeming with a massive school of tuna that were whipping the surface into a frenzy as frightened baitfish rippled across it for as far as you could see. It was a war zone out there! As Simon trolled through the mayhem all three lures were smashed in unison as the sound of three screaming reels drifted away on the afternoon sea breeze. A triple hook-up on 20kg bluefin: what a way to end our first day. It was one very happy but exhausted crew that slipped into the anchorage against the awesome profile of Greenly Island.

Greenly's gropers
Greenly's anchorage holds some spectacular sportfishing opportunities: monster yellowtail kingfish up to an astonishing 46kg (this record specimen was caught in April 2004) frequent this area during the early morning hours as they move along the granite drop off to search for food. They are caught with live slimy mackerel and fresh torpedo squid bounced seductively from the outriggers in water depths of around 35m. Bronze whaler sharks are also very common in the area and we released several big bities during our stay including one arrogant bronzie of more than 4m long.

A chorus of raucous screams and grunts awoke us the next morning as the playful sea lion pups boisterously greeted the start of a new day. After breakfast we headed the 10nm back to Rocky Island. On the way we picked up numerous skipjack tuna on the trolling lures but the prolific bluefin had mysteriously disappeared. It may have had something to do with the full moon or rougher weather or possibly a combination of both.

The bottom topography around Rocky features huge vertical precipices just loaded with all types of fish. The morning bottom-bouncing went well with a host of species including nannygai, swallowtail, silver trevally and numerous rock cod, but it wasn't until we moved into some calmer water for lunch that Michael Dodd hooked one of the true giants that Rocky Island is famous for.

His Ugly Stik slammed forward as if it had been hit by a steamtrain and his Abu reel screamed in protest as the big fish charged off some 40m below. It was a brutal tug of war for a long while before Doddy finally began to regain some valuable line. I took my vantage point on the flybridge and was first to see the huge blue slab-sided fish break the surface. At more than 30kg it was easily the biggest blue groper I had ever seen. Doddy was absolutely ecstatic with his unexpected capture.

Our next plan of attack was to troll around Rocky Island's barren granite coastline in search of kings. Two large poppers were placed on the outriggers while the ever-reliable Hydro Magnum was working its magic down the middle. After our second circumnavigation of the island Simon turned to the east in our quest. Not long after, two of the lures were hammered simultaneously.
Unfortunately my line went limp immediately courtesy of the treble on the Hydro Magnum being turned into a mangled mess that resembled a pretzel. Doddy's fish, however, was still connected in a big way and his Okuma continued to scream in one unending burst of raw power. And when I say unending, that's exactly what it was: Doddy was unceremoniously spooled by a huge fish.

Rocky road
Our next stop was an awesome looking reef system east of Rocky Island that showed a plethora of big fish lurking with sinister intent. Time to break out the jigging gear. TLD 20s filled with 80lb braid with 100lb wind on leaders were the weapons of choice. It didn't seem to matter what jig we sent to the bottom as the fish were hungry and very willing to latch onto anything that moved down there. Knife jigs, Sea Rocks, Sure Catch Power Jigs, 200g Raiders and some more obscure brands of jig were all hit with monotonous regularity.

Shane was away early with a big fish on his second drop, and it gave his Boss Magnum plenty of curry before succumbing to the inevitable pressure. It was one of the dream fish Shane had been hoping to find on this trip, a magnificent 22kg samson fish, that broke the surface and he punched the air in jubilation. After the obligatory photograph session the samson was quickly tagged and released. Brad Smith from the University of Adelaide tagging program had supplied the tags for this trip to help in understanding the migratory habits of the enigmatic kingfish. Now all we needed were some kings.

As if on queue the screen went black with a huge school of fish: kingfish and plenty of them. A couple of hours of frantic jigging followed as one kingfish after another intercepted our jigs with a rod-lunging crunch. They weren't the monster kings that we had hooked before but at up to 15kg they were respectable fish nonetheless. You certainly knew you had one on after cranking one up from the bottom 50m below. The action continued unabated until, tired and sore, we gave it away for the day.

The odd school of skipjack broke the monotony of the cruise back to the anchorage at Greenly Island.

After a magnificent barbecue tea the intrepid anglers settled back with a few beers as we again reflected on what had been a magnificent day. Only the scream of the reel as another large bronze whaler shark swooped on our balloon-rigged tuna fillet drifting 30m astern could break the serenity of this magical place.

More fresh nannygai, swallowtail and trevally ended a productive early morning session before steaming to Coffin Bay where Shane was to lead several more charters over the ensuing weeks. It had been a wonderful three days fishing the offshore waters around Rocky and Greenly Islands. The 36ft Black Watch Pelagic handled the conditions beautifully and cruising at 24kt means more fishing time for the paying customers.

This place must surely be one of the most exciting new sportsfishing locations in Australia. After all, where else can you expect to battle with bluefin and skipjack tuna, albacore, monster kings, samson fish, huge blue groper, an endless supply of sharks and a wealth of other table fish? Port Lincoln bluewater: it's doesn't get any better than this.