No Sharks in Shark Bay!
Mal Taylor, Kenn Williams and Chris Whelan
What an incredible trip we had, venturing far out to sea from Denham to tackle the ‘big ones.’
Early Thursday morning, Chris, Mal, and I set off in Mal’s 4x4, leaving John Kelly behind as he was under the weather, thanks to Mr. Covid. After an 800-kilometer journey north, we arrived later in the afternoon and settled into our apartments.
We had planned for two days of fishing, but the weather had other ideas, leaving us with only Friday to head out. In hindsight, it was a wise choice, as Saturday turned out to be far from ideal for boating!
We cast off at 8 AM, beginning the two-plus-hour journey into the deep blue waters west of Dirk Hartog Island. Once we reached the fishing zone, it was clear we were in for a treat. The skipper’s charts led us to prolific reef areas where we had an abundance of catches.
The day was a success with plenty of big snapper, goldband, red emperor, cobia, coral trout, and even a beautiful rankin cod that Chris reeled in. The seven of us on the charter brought in a few off-target species as well. Fishing in deep water, over 100 meters, was exhausting, and by the time we wrapped up at 3:15 PM and began the 2¾-hour journey back, we all felt we had truly earned our keepers.
Chris had arranged for skilled filleters to prepare our catch for the freezer, and we brought it all back home in perfect condition.
A true highlight of the day was the number of whales we encountered. We saw 30 to 40 of them throughout the day, many up close, breaching with their enormous white bellies before crashing back into the sea. The bay between the island and north of Denham was teeming with these magnificent creatures.
We also enjoyed some great meals locally and met up with Murray and Leslie’s daughter, Katie, who manages the Denham Discovery Centre. We shared a few rounds of drinks at the local pub before calling it a night.
On Sunday morning, we made the long trip home, thoroughly satisfied with our adventure. It’s an experience we’ll definitely need to repeat.
A big thanks to Chris for organizing everything!
Kenn
