a 6.0 m Polycraft Frontier centre-console,
kitted out with a 150hp four-stroke Honda
outboard and a 200l fuel tank.
The launch
A detailed discussion of our itinerary before we
left ensured we were all familiar with what was
about to happen. Pete’s house in Broome acted
as a staging post from where supplies were
gathered, gear assembled and boats packed. We
then towed both boats to Derby, and launched
at the top of an early morning, out-going tide
in preparation for the 70km open water leg
down to King Sound.
Initially the water was very dirty and laden
with top-water obstacles in the form of large logs
and branches. Gradually the water cleared, and
after about an hour the rocky peaks of Lachlan
Island appeared on the horizon – the start of the
Buccaneer Archipelago. Once we gained the
sheltered waters of the islands, we detoured
through the Inland Sea for lunch and some
fishing. The first fish came in the form of some
small trevally, while I also got smoked by a
monster mangrove jack that unexpectedly
emerged from cover to souvenir one of the lures
Fisho editor Jim Harnwell had loaned me.
After waiting for the tidal f low to subside,
we headed further north to tackle the aptly
named Hells Gates. After safely negotiating
the standing waves and white water of this
notorious passage, we motored past the
entrances to Cone Bay and Strickland Bay,
and by mid-afternoon arrived at our first
campsite. Silica Beach is a ridiculously scenic
white sand beach on the northwest shore of
Hidden Island that provided a sheltered
anchorage for our first night.Croc Creek
At dawn it was back into the boats. Travelling
along Yampi Sound to the south of the iron
ore-laden Cockatoo Island, it was a short run to
the mouth of Croc Creek. When we arrived the
low tide precluded access to the campsite, so we
passed the time by fishing. A short session
casting lures into the shadows of the steep,
rocky shoreline produced half a dozen jacks,
some of which were kept for lunch.
When the tide returned, we motored a short
way upstream and moored our boats beneath a
steep waterfall. We then scaled the stainless
steel ladder to an idyllic campsite beside a
freshwater pool at the base of a second
waterfall. At this site there are the concrete
remains of a campsite built by a local fishing
club, but the steel shelter was destroyed during
a cyclone. We camped here for three nights
and, yes, we did see a crocodile in the saltwater
section of the creek.
On our second day at Croc Creek we
motored around to visit Silver Gull Creek.
There is a tiny settlement here, originally set
up by BHP as a water source for its nearby
iron ore mines. It has since been abandoned
by BHP but is occupied by a couple named
Mal and Shelley. We shared some beer in
return for a swim in their spring-fed water
tank, then filled our water containers before
heading for the fuel barge at Dog Leg Creek
not far around the corner.
On the way home we had a quick offshore
fishing session. John quickly dragged up a
lovely scarlet sea perch that took a knife jig at
around 40m. That was enough for tea so, with
the sun setting, we headed in.Cone Bay
With full fuel tanks and water containers, we
regretfully left Croc Creek and headed south
for a campsite on the shores of Cone Bay. We
were heading towards home now, but we still
had four nights in Cone Bay from where we
would launch our primary attack on the
barramundi. From a fishing perspective, our
time here was the highlight.
Our campsite put us within easy reach of
some creeks that, according to Pete, should
provide great opportunities for barra. He wasn’t
wrong. Each day we headed for a creek on an
out-going tide and spent several hours casting
lures amongst the snags or trolling up and
down the main channel. The barra weren’t as
active as Pete had hoped but Steve, Serg and
I were all successful in catching our first. Pete
and John are old hands when it comes to barra
and they caught plenty too. We also caught a
range of other species including fingermark,
queenfish, trevally, cod and blue salmon.
The highlight came on the final day. I was at
the wheel as we trolled around a snag-laden
fork in the channel. Suddenly Serg hooked the
biggest barra of the trip! As it took to the air in
a spectacular display I tried to capture some
photos and drive the boat simultaneously.fishingworld.com.au | March 2015 | 63The boys used lures exclusively during
their trip, with casting, trolling and
jigging all producing fish.
ABOVE RIGHT: Martin with his first
and so far largest queenfish, a staple
sportfish of the Kimberley region.