Coral Sea Kaleidoscope

How does one fully experience the richness this planet has to offer? Those afflicted by angling fever have a ready platform for immersion in wild environments to match wits with some of the fastest, most colorful and spectacular animals in existence. Travel possibilities offer sojourns that produce an afterglow that can last for months and years.

Amidst myriad options, we sometimes encounter a circumstance that stands head and shoulders above the rest, something so compelling and mind-boggling that we’re never really the same thereafter.

Maybe that sounds like pure hype, but I just returned from a journey that literally captures the very essence of what we seek in high adventure and transcends any fishing I ever dared dream. After years of working as a fishing guide, I equipped a 41-foot sloop for every kind of sport fishing that can be encountered and sailed from home base in the Florida Keys to the remote corners of the world’s oceans. I figured I’d do so until either broke or dead, whichever came first. That lasted nine years. With a young son and ailing wife, it was time to tie up at a land base for a while to sort it all out and safeguard our future. We ultimately washed up in eastern Australia, and that’s why I ended up stepping off a plane in Cairns and taxiing to a boatyard for my new job with Nomad Sportfishing.

I knew the young Brisbane-based operator of the company, Captain Damon Olsen, and I’d spent some time previously fishing the southern Great Barrier Reef with the fledgling version of the same outfit. That didn’t prepare me for the sight of the enormous, ultra-modern 80-foot mothership Odyssey. Even though perched on blocks in the yard and days away from inaugural splash-down, a full charter schedule had already been booked to the remote sunken atolls and reefs of the Coral Sea. Damon, the man blazing this trail, turned out to be a 28-year-old ex-civil engineer who felt unwilling to let a few challenging logistical details interfere with his wonderous dream.

Damon impressed me with his guts and vision. The customers would be ferried back and forth on a weekly schedule, he said, up to 300 miles offshore by seaplane. We’d cater to every kind of fishing interest, from high-tech spinning specialists seeking giant trevally and dogtooth tuna, fly fishing for anything and everything and even seeking 1,000-pound-plus black marlin on heavy tackle. Four custom skiffs and two fully rigged game boats would accompany Odyssey.

The operation would remain offshore for up to six weeks at a time, providing unparalleled access to areas seldom or never fished along the entire length of the Great Barrier Reef and out to the tiniest, most remote reefs and pinnacles in the Coral Sea. Accordingly, Damon made sure that the Odyssey contained state-of-the-art satellite telephone communications and HF radio, with all fishing locations and trips recorded on a pre-trip plan with Australian officials so air rescue would always be accessible if needed.

And So It Began

Now in its third season, Nomad Sportfishing moves successfully forward, thanks to the corruption if not complete mental ruin of a growing, elite clientele from all over the world who know they can get this kind of fix in only one place. Most guests overnight at Hamilton Island in the famed Whitsunday Islands, centrally located along northeastern Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The following day involves boarding a Cessna Caravan seaplane and traversing some of the wildest, most remote reefs and islands in the world until landing next to the anchored Odyssey.

Stepping off the pontoon and onto the dive platform at the stern, eager anglers cross paths with dazed and dazzled veterans from the preceding week, all of whom nurse sore muscles and strains from daily brutal fish fights. After getting settled and grabbing a snack, the enthusiastic anglers find themselves clambering onto skiffs for a taste of the day’s first blood.

I never stopped enjoying the parade of stunned faces, happy smiles, excited questions and observations, all on account of seemingly endless crushing strikes and epic battles. During a three-day interlude at Wreck Reef last year, for example – a trip exclusively limited to fishing from the four 18-foot skiffs – guests tried casting a variety of offerings. This included giant poppers and stickbaits with heavy custom spinners for 100-pound-plus giant trevally on reef shallows, saddleback groupers (called coral trout locally) and cubera-like bohar snapper (red bass to Aussies). We also trolled and made casts in blue water for yellowfin tuna, wahoo, sailfish and marlin along with deep-jigging vertical walls and edges for dogtooth tuna.

At one point, captains Tim Baker and Ed Lester wandered into blue water, trolling in near flat-calm seas and cloudless skies, and we could see them both stop almost immediately in response to hook-ups. The VHF radios crackled to life with excited reports of multiple wahoo strikes, and Damon and I were re-setting the tackle on our skiffs to come join them. Moments later pandemonium transplanted tranquility as we were inundated with hunting packs of sizable wahoo from 35 to over 100 pounds as they crushed the teaser, inhaled trolled minnows and stickbaits, skyrocketed frantically over 15 feet into the air and circled like neon-striped torpedoes as we released one after the other – sometimes on both sides of the boat at once.

We tossed out handfuls of bait chunks while free-lining some chunks with hooks, dropped jigs, fired out big poppers and, most deadly of all, twitched and walked oversized versions of the new Nomad Stickbaits (they look like giant Zara Spooks, rigged with 300-pound-test split rings and 8/0 hooks). The pack members initially pounded all offerings until they slowly calmed down and became less inclined to pull the trigger. That became the signal to go back to trolling to round up another hyper-aggressive bunch.

The final tally after two and a half days of full effort in four skiffs: about 250 wahoo releases, endless numbers of dogtooth tuna, mahi mahi to 30 pounds, yellowfin to 70 pounds, a scattering of sailfish and two blue marlin hook-ups on wahoo gear.

Despite the considerable combined years of experience of the crew, including Coral Sea fishing pioneer David Green, no one had experienced anything approaching these results for wahoo.

Damon also later booked a special fly-fishing trip in the same area. Captain Gavin Platz of Tie N’ Fly Outfitters led the charge, and as before, the massive aggregation of wahoo didn’t disappoint. Releases included 60-odd wahoo out of literally hundreds of hook-ups with fish to 75 pounds.

Junkyard Dogs & Billfish

Two of the roughest, meanest, most aggressive denizens of the Coral Sea are dogtooth tuna and giant trevally (GTs). These Indo-Pacific species represent dominant predators with the GTs growing to at least 150 pounds and marauding everywhere from the flats and lagoon shallows to the deep vertical drops and walls. The doggies – unique among tuna with their large, sharp, recurved fangs – show a distinct predilection for long territorial interludes at specific reefs and seamounts, growing to 300 pounds and more.

A recently completed 5-day interlude at an uncharted and unnamed section of the outer Great Barrier Reef produced 244 GTs released that weighed 33 to 110 pounds – including a 48-pounder on fly. One pleasant surprise took place a week earlier when one of Captain Ed Lester’s anglers (in a skiff, mind you) successfully fought and released a 250-pound black marlin.

Tussling with one of these behemoths on stand-up tackle or fly rods from an 18-foot skiff 300 miles out in the middle of nowhere will not help you to be a balanced individual. Counseling and de-briefing will definitely be in order. The Nomad operation quickly realized that anglers needed battle gear to retain a semblance of sanity, and they developed tackle equal to the task, coming up with a whole line of gear that’s available on the mothership or at www.gofishaustralia.com.

With word of all these amazing catches spreading throughout Australia, it became little wonder that marine scientists contacted the Nomad operation.

They set up a program to conduct special all-release charters with barbless single hooks to install and monitor radio tags on giant trevally and dogtooth tuna. Customers can even purchase their own radio tags and receive information on “their” fish, which helps support this much-needed pioneering research effort.

Huge reef fish notwithstanding, no all-encompassing angling experience in the Coral Sea would want to ignore the presence of the greatest known concentration and migration of the largest black marlin in the world. Prior to establishing Nomad, Damon, like most of the top red-blooded young Australian captains, for years received baptism by fire in the rough-and-tumble annual September to December fishery for giant blacks, the heart of which is from Lizard Island in the far north to Cairns.

His expertise in this specialty, and that of captains Tim Baker and Ed Lester, subsequently led to outstanding success in this highly competitive fishery, including feats such as landing multiple granders in a day and notching one released fish pushing 1,300 pounds. This all came as completely mesmerizing to me, a lost Florida boy witnessing at times five lit-up giants swimming behind us in a bait spread. I could only shake my head in amazement when hearing the disappointed exclamation of Damon as a “little” 800-pounder pushed in front of a fish nearly twice its size to wolf down a rigged swimming scad.

The culmination of all this took place when Damon gathered a wide range of anecdotal observations and on an educated hunch booked an entire group of marlin-seekers on a charter to a remote outlying reef in the Coral Sea. As usual he figured right – fish showed up everywhere, and all members of the party caught and released at least one black marlin. We caught most of the fish slow-trolling live 12- to 25-pound yellowfin tuna. Unlike the crowded waters during the season off Lizard Island, his was the only boat within 100 miles.

On still another typically stupendous trip at remote Kenn and Frederick reefs, we nabbed blues, blacks, stripeys and sails all in the same charter. At times we’d swing in a bit too close to the edge and hook quadruple headers of dogtooth tuna or wander near diving birds and see every line go down under the assault of big, voracious yellowfin tuna. In addition to all this action, I haven’t even touched upon deep-jigging forays with soft plastics that produced massive groupers and snappers.

It’s probably not surprising that some guests want to take an afternoon off now and then to scuba dive or snorkel the shallows. They quickly fill mesh bags with big, fat lobsters and later enjoy them for dinner along with whatever else the chef’s planned.

What joy it is to hear the merriment of extraordinarily happy human beings who cannot believe their good fortune to be in these virgin waters far out in the remote Coral Sea. Even as a former charter boat captain and guide, I’ve never experienced anything quite as spectacular as the fishing trips from the Odyssey – and I doubt if you have either.

Scott Bannerot, based in the Florida Keys and Australia, holds a Ph.D. in marine biology. He’s written numerous articles, co-authored The Cruiser’s Handbook of Fishing and is currently at work co-authoring Wingnut’s Complete Surfing. Scott does freelance guiding, biological consulting, captaining, boat deliveries and photojournalism. Visit his web site at www.scottbannerot.com.

Where To Toss The Bags

Major airlines worldwide service Sydney and Brisbane, the two main Australian ports of entry most convenient to making your way to Hamilton Island, the seaplane departure point for Nomad Sportfishing Coral Sea Adventures. Both Jetstar and Virgin Blue offer domestic connections from these international airports to the island.

Depending on flight timing, you can overnight at the Palm Terrace, Reef View Hotel, Whitsunday Apartments or the decidedly upscale Beach Club. The same company manages all four of them, with Nomad clients receiving a discount.

My favorite lunch and dinner restaurant on Hamilton Island is Romano’s, offering fabulous Italian cuisine. For breakfast, customers and I agree that the buffet is exquisite at The Pool Terrace Restaurant. All guests on the island, regardless of accommodation choice, can access beachfront activities such as swimming, snorkeling and windsurfing. Additional activities include paragliding, sea kayaking, personal watercraft, tube rides, go karts and float plane and helicopter rides.

After the fishing trips I especially enjoy champagne picnics at various locations in the Whitsunday Islands, including famed Whitehaven Beach and Heart Reef. A relaxation center there offers a full array of treatments such as massages, which makes all the more sense after muscles get stressed all week from the massive bruisers in the Coral Sea.

The Coral Sea fishing season runs May to December, and excursions to the southern Great Barrier Reef and Fraser Island extend January to April. Weather will be generally tropical to subtropical with refreshing trade winds. Frontal passages normally tend to be mild with just short-term showers, so expect mostly sunny conditions. Centers of passing high pressure systems feature periods of calm seas, clear skies and light winds. Even when it’s blowing hard, however, flat water can always be found inside the protected lagoons, and monstrous fish also regularly patrol there.

He’ll handle seaplane flights to and from the Coral Sea, accommodations, meals and fishing aboard the Odyssey – and you’ll also find out that draft beer on the boat is free. Conventional tackle is readily available on board the mothership, but fly anglers should arrive with all needed gear.

Bring Your Camera

Australia comprises a vast continent about the size of the continental US, with urban sophistication along coastlines and the incredible Outback composing much of the interior. Down Under includes the longest-known continuous human culture on earth, the Aborigines, who have been around 40,000 to 60,000 years.

If at all possible, spend a day or two on either side of your trip in Sydney or Brisbane. Of course the famous Opera House in Sydney and the former Olympic stadium and grounds present great camera fodder, as well as many other attractions (www.sydneyaustralia.com). Brisbane (www.visitbrisbane.com.au) features water parks and great native wildlife zoos, including the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.

Even if you don’t append some continental exploration time to your Oz trip, you needn’t worry too much about what to do after the fishing on the Odyssey. Buy or rent an underwater camera if at all possible. Above water, you will fully treasure the marine beauty of the Coral Sea reefs, with its isolated sand cays featuring nesting sea turtles and seabirds; below the water’s surface, snap memories of the shimmering shallows packed with colorful reef fish as well as an array of sea life at night attracted to the built-in underwater hull lights of the mothership.

On my last trip, the hostess dived off the back of the Odyssey to swim with a humpback whale that wandered by – a rare experience and great photo op indeed. In addition, just about everyone likes to beach comb on the desolate islets, with photo subjects including huge varieties of birds, butterflies and other interesting species. Amazing seafaring history includes visiting assorted shipwrecks, the vestiges of which can still be seen on shallow reefs or at the bottom of same. One interesting plaque can be found on Porpoise Shoal at Wreck Reef. It commemorates the survivors of the wreck in 1803 of a ship commanded by famed (but apparently not always accurate) navigator Matthew Flinders. He secured everyone on this tiny sand cay and then amazingly rowed back to Sydney in a lifeboat, returning in company with two other ships to carry off all of the people, not one of whom perished in his absence.

Other Notes of Interest

the Coral Sea

• Official Name: Coral Sea Islands Territory, with its primary feature the Great Barrier Reef.
• Geography: With the exception of a colony on Willis Island, it’s composed of small and uninhabited tropical islands, reefs and atolls northeast of Queensland, Australia.
• Area: 780,000 square kilometers or 484,670 square miles, extending east and south from the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef.
• Government: A territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and administered from Canberra by the Territories Section of the Department of Transport and Regional Services. The Coral Sea is visited regularly by the Australian Navy, with weather stations on many of the isles and reefs. A small staff runs a meteorological station on Willis Island.
• World War II History: The Battle of the Coral Sea became the theater for a major naval battle between Japanese and US aircraft carrier fleets in May 1942. No clear winner emerged, but the encounter set the stage for the decisive Battle of Midway a month later.