As most of you know, Scott – aka the hunter-gatherer – loves fishing, or more specifically catching fish. Catching a barramundi is on his list. Sadly a lot of his efforts this trip are what he describes as casting practice. I estimate to date about a $500 spend on a couple of fishing charters and boat hire; the elusive barramundi remains elusive. On the plus side, that money has covered a site-seeing/fishing helicopter flight, a day’s boat hire in a beautiful, beautiful place, and a big catch of blue salmon.
From Mt Isa we backtrack a little to Cloncurry, then head north to Karumba, a small settlement of about 530 people on the the Gulf of Carpentaria. The only stop on the Matilda Way between Cloncurry and Normanton, just south of the Gulf, is the Burke and Wills Roadhouse. It gets very busy with caravaners, road trains and campers as there isn’t another stop offering fuel, fried food, terrible coffee, and very dusty campsites over this 400km stretch.
The road becomes narrower and narrower as we get closer to Normanton and then Karumba which bills itself as the outback by the sea. There are long sections that are single lane; when you see a massive road train coming towards you it’s wise to take to the side as they certainly won’t. You can’t blame them in the wet season when the shoulders will be all sludge and mud, and at hundreds of tonnes they don’t want to get stuck. But guys, this is “the dry”, move over just a little won’t you?
The Gulf is so vast and so shallow there are only two tides a day. This is the first fishing charter – no barramundi but they caught loads of Blue Salmon – not a salmon as we know it, but a firm white fleshed fish that cooks well and tastes good. They were fishing in only a couple of metres of water. To get 20m of deep water you have to go 60 nautical miles (three times across Cook Strait).
The compensation for no barra is stunning sunsets. In this part of the world the sun slowly slides to the horizon then BAM! It’s gone, and 10-15 minutes later the most beautiful colours paint the sky. We take a trip out to a sand island – remember it’s all very shallow – for sunset drinks, and it is as if there’s no-one else in the world – aside from the other 15 people on the boat of course.
The heli fishing charter out of Normanton is worth it for the view of the landscape alone. It’s extremely flat so it’s difficult to grasp the magnitude when you are driving through, but from the air you see and fully appreciate the expanse. The Flinders, Leichhardt and Norman Rivers, among others, drain into the Gulf and take long winding routes to get there. Scott is fishing the Norman and the system amazes us with its multiple twists and turns – and the crocodiles sun bathing on the banks. Chris, the pilot/fishing guide tries his best and takes Scott to several different places on the river, but some days the fish don’t bite. The crocodiles bite every day.
Now we are back on the east coast we hire a small boat for the day and spend it out and about the islands off Mission Beach. It is a glass calm day and the temperature is about 30 degrees, water temp probably about 22. We try trolling with a lure; we try bottom fishing with bait – no bites.
Never has the hunter-gatherer had such a stretch of poor fishing. Fortunately we enjoy exploring the islands and swimming off the beach at Dunk Island so the day is still perfect – except for the lack of fish. Fortunately for us the fish and chip shop is always open.
