The One! Two! Tropical Northern Queensland Punch

Part One

As the big silver cat thrummed through the waters of Cape York Gulf toward Seisia, I reviewed the past week's myriad fishing opportunities presented by Carpentaria Seafaris. CS has been in operation for almost two decades. The brainchild of Captain Greg Bethune, these week-long mothership-based trips allow intrepid anglers to access numerous river systems flowing east to west into the Gulf of Carpentaria. So it was here on the bow, traveling toward the Aboriginal community which serves as the home wharf for our mothership, Tropic Paradise,  that I had some quiet moments to gather up all my impressions from the adventure.


Having been lucky enough to experience this trip numerous times I refer to Carpentaria as the Ultimate Fishing Camp for Adults. Using the 62 foot catamaran style mothership as your home base, anglers deploy each morning to fish for any one of 60 species within easy reach. The real beauty of this setup is in the options - based on current weather, tides and season you are able to fish fresh, estuary or saltwater - or all three in the same day. Basically, from your bunk to the best fishing spots can be all of 4 minutes although most anglers are up before it is light enjoying tea, coffee and breakkie ( breakfast) in order to prepare for a long day on the water. Your hostess loads up a mid morning snack and beverages for you, your partner and your guide - everything goes in the skiffs and you are off. Here is the hardest part of any day - where to go first? Flats for permit, golden trevally , sharks? Up river to cast in the snags for barramundi and bream? Or is it out to the salt to look for tuna, cobia and spanish mackerel? Aren't these great decisions to have to make? American anglers find the species unique to Australia are of particular interest. These include the Barramundi, Queenfish ( Queenies), Giant Herring and the Indo Pacific Permit. I would be remiss if I did not give the awe inspiring saltwater crocodile a mention - not that we are angling for him, we are instead keeping a wary eye out for him. On this particular trip we only spotted three "salties" but one was a very memorable 12+ feet. All 12 of those feet were sunning down the beach from where we cast for Blue Salmon, Catfish, Spanish Mackerel, Giant Herring, Baby Queenies and Jacks off the beach on our first day out.

Here is the scenario for Adult Fishing Camp. Anglers land at the one strip, one building, one room Bamaga International Airport and are met by Carpentaria Seafaris staff. The maximum number of guests for any trip is twelve. Greg or another of his staff drives the eager group of fishermen 18 miles along red dirt roads where endless bush is punctuated by tall red termite mounds. Excitement is high among the tired travelers and upon arrival in Seisia and the wharf they explode from the van ready to jump on board. Within 30 minutes, post room assignments and basic safety discussions,Tropic Paradise is motoring out of the harbor. The first run will take us about 8 hours south to one of a number of rivers. Logically, we anchor in the southernmost destination planning to work our way back up the coast over the next days. During the trip south most guests take the time to unpack, get to know the other guests and staff and, of course, to rig rods. Arrival time dictates whether you can fish the first day. The only scheduled airline flying into Bamaga from Cairns is Regional Pacific and arrival times vary. No matter as the crew will maximize your fishing any way possible - as I said, they have been at this a long time! We did have the opportunity to get a few casts in on our arrival day which calmed everyone down a tad. The first night we were snugly anchored up in the Jackson River, a full moon was rising and I could smell fragrant dishes being prepared for dinner. The river rushed by and I was titillated by the calls of unfamiliar birds and much mysterious splashing. Cold white wine in my hand I leaned over the back to watch the 400 lbs Queensland Grouper who usually came to hang out under the boat looking for scraps ( these are "pets", no one fishes for them) - I am utterly content and so ends day one.

Over the next 6 days we fall into a comfortable routine. Up and dressed at 6 AM, breakkie, fish to lunchtime ( or you are welcome to take food and stay out), fish your heart out until dark, appetizers, dinner, fish stories and bed. Life is dang good. Both conventional fisherman and fly fishermen have an equally great time on board. Upriver fishing is fascinating for many reasons. The scenery is amazing - as you move further inland you are either surrounded by thick, tall mangroves or you may be fishing the base of a high red dirt bank which has recently fallen down. Big, deep snags abound providing habitat for all sorts of bream, jacks and certainly the coveted barramundi.

 In the fresh water, you may even be lucky enough to capture a Saratoga ( related to Arawana). As rivers become creeks or small tributaries you may be pushing through vegetation, again, we do keep an out for snakes and crocs and for branches with green ants. These vicious little guys will bite and hang on even if you pull the body and accidentally leave just the head - it can be a little creepy.  Nevertheless, as you travel back down toward saltier water, the fish variety changes again. The river flows faster and heavier on it's way to the Gulf and this is where the big fish love to follow the tides into feeding grounds. Surprisingly large GTs ( Giant Trevalleys), Queenfish, Barracuda travel some distance up river. We see almost constant flocks of seabirds working over predatory fish schools in the river mouths.


 We were intensely working some snags around a quiet bend when the peace was shattered by a pair of 40 plus lb GTs chasing prey along the same shore. These two monsters were airborne not 10 feet from me then gone in a flash. It took at least 5 minutes for my heart to assume a normal beat. One can still catch the mighty and acrobatic Barramundi down river and interestingly, you will see them change from a copper brown in the fresh to silver in the salt. Another Barramundi fact is that they all start life as males but become females as they mature ( no personal comments here). Traveling into the actual river mouths you usually find deep bends and rock bars where fish gather up depending on the water flow. Casting to underwater structure or tidal change lines produces a Pandora's Box of fish species. often it pays to "over rig" yourself because you just don't know what you might catch next; Mangrove Jacks, Wolf Herring, Diamond and Golden Trevally, Estuary Cod, Tarpon, the list goes on....

Each of the rivers we fish on the  west coast of Cape York; Scardon, Jackson, McDonald, Doughboy, Cottrel and Crystal Creek all have unique and productive flats inside and out. These flats feature fantastic sight fishing for large Golden Trevally, Queenies, sharks and, recently, Permit! The American fishermen have been thrilled with the discovery of a genetically separate species of permit than the fish found on the Atlantic coasts of Florida, Bahamas, Mexico and Central America.


 The permit being a notoriously hard fish to catch combined with hunting for them in this remote location makes it a highly desirable target. If the wind and sun cooperate you might get to cast to actual schools of permit as close as 20 feet. Real life dictates that the wind and sun will not cooperate but what a thrill for us to see numerous schools of big permit (10 to 40 lbs) over the 6 days and be able to get some well aimed casts off. The conventional fishers just laugh at the fixation we fly fishermen have with the permit. " Suppose you are headed out to the flats again or do we even need to ask?" they would laugh.  Oh well, what do we care? We have enjoyed a front row seat to the teeming life of the flats as we search for our Holy Grail Permit.

Late one afternoon we observed a big Hammerhead thrashing his way through a school of mullet, his final pounce including a perfect arch in the air, head down, mouth open, inhaling the largest mullet on re entry into the water - again, nothing but awesome.  A few times a large Mud Crab ( Muddies) would paddle by, waving a huge claw threateningly, just daring one of us to try to catch it. Other unique captures on the flats were Giant Herring over a meter, more trevally of all kinds and even tuna.

Speaking of tuna... even though the conventional fishermen give us grief, we sometimes take the opportunity to  follow them out to deeper salt water in the mornings when the wind is slake. This is the perfect time of day to look for the numerous species of tuna who call the Gulf their home. Again, we look to the birds to show us the way to the tuna schools. Generally it takes 5 minutes or less and you are in hot pursuit of the roiling, thrashing school moving at crazy speeds. There is nothing quite like sitting in a boat as a feeding frenzied school moves past you. Silver bullets of tuna shoot through the air chasing bait and violently crash back down. The noise is sometimes so great you would swear you were standing right under a waterfall. As suddenly as it is upon you, it has flowed past and the sound has become instead that of a nearby flowing river. The raw power and speed of tuna will never cease to amaze me, hooking one is always an adrenalin rush as you wait to see if it is of a size that you can manage on a fly rod or if you will be spooled within a minute. Longtail and Mackeral Tuna will keep you busy and, in turn, the tuna usually attract sharks within a very short time. Hammerheads, Tiger and Bronze Whaler Sharks are prolific in these waters. The conventional fishers will also have opportunities at sailfish, mackeral and cobia



We are often treated to other wonderful animals as we explore the salt; dolphin, turtles, many stingrays and manta rays.  Many interesting bird species are native to Cape York, so many in fact that Captain Greg is planning to add bird watching trips to his repertoire. I am always particulary taken with the harlequin pelicans, so much more formal looking than the poor drab cousins here in America, and the shy Jabiru, a stork-like bird often standing over 6 feet tall. You see one striding along the beach at a distance and it is easy to mistake for a person beachcombing. A great morning this trip brought a surprise in the form of a whale. One of the skiffs had left a bit early when suddenly we could hear the guide excitedly calling on the radio - " You have to see this!" With the speed that would have made the muster captain proud, everyone deployed in skiffs and headed out to the Gulf. In 3 minutes we were practically in the spray of the whale's spout. We were lucky enough to follow not one, but two whales for about 20 minutes.



Those six days went in a flash. We covered many miles, anchored up in 3 different places and explored 6 river systems. We fished hard, ate great food and shared the camaraderie bred in those special circumstances of a remote location. Upon the return to Bamaga airport, Greg presents each guest with a commemorative cd from their trip. I feel this is the icing on the cake and a wonderful memory to share with friends and family.

I am happy to say that Carpentaria Seafaris continues to deliver an incredible experience. The operation is smooth, consistent and just plain fun. Thanks Captain Greg, Captain Al and crew - you did it again! I smiled there on the bow, reminded that a permit eluded me on this trip and knowing I would soon return.

You will need to be in Cairns the night prior to your Carpentaria Seafaris trip departure date. We recommend 2 days if you can. This way you can recoup from the long flight and there is plenty to do in Cairns.



Flights for Australia depart from Los Angeles and San Francisco. You will stop in either Sydney or Brisbane and connect to your flight to Cairns. Most flights leave stateside late at night, and you can arrive in Cairns before noon ( 18 hours later but 2 days later due to crossing the international dateline - don't worry, you get your day back when you return home). Qantas, United, American and Air New Zealand are all good options.


How to Book:
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