Australian Fishing Expeditions

August is rapidly approaching, the small black marlin have turned up off Cairns and the big girls will surely follow from early September through December. The South East trade winds haven't stopped and this will push the marlin into the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef. They should be there in good numbers and now is the time to ensure you have a booking with one of the top boats and Captains that we represent. You will be well looked after by our professional crews and spoilt by the onboard luxury  of the boats. If you want to upgrade to a luxury mother ship we certainly have one to suit your taste and budget.

Julie and I have spent the offseason researching some of the best Barramundi fishing spots Queensland has to offer. We have been having some great fishing along with friends, Captains' Ross Finlayson and Darren Haydon.

We are very excited about the Barramundi expeditions we can offer you for the remainder of 2010 and for 2011. From live aboard trips on the magnificent 56 foot "Kekoa" out of Weipa from April to July to trips out of Karumba with one of Australia's top Barramundi guides, Lance Butler to a private Lodge in the heart of "Big Barramundi " water in the Gulf of Carpenteria.

If you want to experience the thrill of tangling with a giant black marlin or Australia's legendary Barramundi then give Julie or Laurie a call and we will design and exclusive charter just for you. We also specialise in corporate charters.

Tight lines.

As a black marlin mother ship or for a cruise along the Great Barrier Reef you will be treated like royalty. "Laura J" will be in the Cairns region from late September till late November and we still have a couple of available time slots for trips aboard this luxurious yacht. Service and congeniality are second to none with their onboard chef serving five star meals using the freshest seafood and local produce. We have some special deals going so give us a call and we will put a package together for you.

Here are all the highlights from the 2009 black marlin season........

Luke, "Dingo" and Dean on Kekoa, Tim, Davo and Muzza on Calypso, Jarad, John, Ant and Andy on Shaka have done a great job this season with all their guests having some of the best fishing in years. It is a tribute to their dedication and professionalism that everyone wants to come back.

Our preferred sportsfishing boats and mother ship are all filling up fast for 2010 and 2011, so give us a call and we will plan your next expedition to Cairns or elsewhere.

Here are all the fishing stories and highlights from the Great Barrier Reef for 2008.

The 2008 marlin season marked the 30th season on the reef for Captain Laurie Wright. Joining him again on the deck were the two best crew, being David (Davo) Cassar and Jared (Dingo) Boshammer.

Also to top the year off, Captain Laurie Wright was inducted into the Cairns Hall of Fame. A great year saw the return of many friends and regular clients and some amazing weather conditions and some fabulous fishing.

After an epic 30 hour flight, Laurie and I, and our good friend Barry Kyte, arrived in Anchorage Alaska. An overnight stay at the Captain Cook Hotel, and we were up and ready for our 8 day stay at Kvichak (pronouced Kwee-jak) Lodge. We meet our group of 12 anglers and boarded the Super DC-3 for a 50 minute flight down to the local village of Iguigig situated on the opposite side of the Kvichak River from the lodge. A short jet boat ride and were docking at the front door (literally) of the lodge. Here we finally met the owner Mike "Slim" McDowell and his fantastic staff. After a refreshing lunch and the group was keen and eager to get on the River and chase the famous sockeye salmon.

With the salmon running 8-10 deep up the river, it took us no time at all to perfect the "sockeye swing". It was a never ending snag and jag and hang on. The sockeye gave us a good run and some great thrills with their aerial acrobatics and with an 8 knot current running down river, if they got out in the current it was mayhem. After releasing 100's of salmon, we did not take much convincing from our guide, Scott "Bama" Wilkerson, to try some deep trolling for rainbow trout. We had some awesome afternoons, releasing 20 plus "bows" with Laurie releasing the biggest at 24 inches. The next treat was fly fishing for grayling on dry flies in the shallows on the Kvichak. It is an amazing river system that supports so much fish life and variety.

Slim flew us over to the Katmai National Park (south of the Kvichak) in his float plane, where we got up close and personal with heaps of brown bears....check out the bear photos....watching them hunt and feed on the salmon was spectacular.

After 8 fun filled days with plenty of fish and lots of laughs, Slim flew us back to Anchorage by float plane. This was truely the highlight of the whole expedition. Flying through Lake Clark pass, where the mountains reach for the sky and the glaciers are as tall as skyscrapers, was a vista that Laurie and I will never forget. We are definitely going to make another visit to this amazing part of the world in the not too distant future. If you would like to join us on the next expedition, please drop us an email at julie@australianfishingexpeditions.com

A special thanks to Slim, Bama, Jarod, John & Mary and Barbara.

Here are all the highlights and fishing stories from the Great Barrier Reef 2007 marlin fishing season. Please take the time to read the stories and look at the the great photos.

Thanks to Dave and Dingo for being the best crew on the Reef and especially thanks to Dingo for supply us with some of the great fishing photos used for the web newspage.