North West Island (Capricornia Cays NP)

[NAGG]

Hi Everyone

North West Island has come on the radar for a future trip (mid 2017)- the place looks amazing.

I know bugger all about the place but my understanding is that you can take your boat over on a barge along with your camping gear etc & base yourself on the island.

I'm after as much information as I can get my hands on to aid in planning - but also access in & out of the cay - where to fish , what to target , camping information , barge cost & your experiences

I'll have my 5m side console to fish out of .

Thanks in anticipation

Chris

[rtp1984]

Hey Chris.

I spent 2 weeks over there in august. Had a ball.

In a nut shell. Camping areas are good, with toilets. There are a lot of birds in the island. They make noise all night, and will shit on everything. You will want tarps over everything.

A 5m boat should be fine on the barge.
The lagoon is dry at low tide, some access in and out in the boat is 2-3 hours either side of the high tide.

There is good fishing a few kms from the island, to as far as you want to motor too.

i went with a big group (23 blokes), so we had lots of gear, but the numbers of blokes made for the work to be shared, but carrying everything up and down the sand get really old very quickly, so make sure you don't take unnecessary gear.

How many are you looking to go with?

Hit me up with any questions you have mate.

Cheers Rob

[NAGG]

Hey Chris.

I spent 2 weeks over there in august. Had a ball.

In a nut shell. Camping areas are good, with toilets. There are a lot of birds in the island. They make noise all night, and will shit on everything. You will want tarps over everything.

A 5m boat should be fine on the barge.
The lagoon is dry at low tide, some access in and out in the boat is 2-3 hours either side of the high tide.

There is good fishing a few kms from the island, to as far as you want to motor too.

i went with a big group (23 blokes), so we had lots of gear, but the numbers of blokes made for the work to be shared, but carrying everything up and down the sand get really old very quickly, so make sure you don't take unnecessary gear.

How many are you looking to go with?

Hit me up with any questions you have mate.

Cheers Rob

Thanks Rob ...... really appreciate that

At this stage I have no idea of how many - atm 2 boats but as I said planning is in it's infancy ...... I wouldn't mind if it turned out to be 4 or 5 crews .

Yeh I'll have to watch what I take ..... I'm in the middle of packing for our long haul (Syd-Tinaroo) - I just shake my head when I look at what I'm going to take .

If I think of anything specific I'll send at an SOS

Chris

[Owen]

Take two anchors, plenty of rope and a hessian bag.
Bury one anchor and put a sand bag on top.
Use the other on the beach to hold the stern.
You won't need it unless it blows up, but easiest just to set it with a float.
The "sand" is crushed up coral and can wash away from the anchor on change of tide.

[NAGG]

Take two anchors, plenty of rope and a hessian bag.
Bury one anchor and put a sand bag on top.
Use the other on the beach to hold the stern.
You won't need it unless it blows up, but easiest just to set it with a float.
The "sand" is crushed up coral and can wash away from the anchor on change of tide.

similar to what we did at Hinchinbrook ...... use a pulley system

from the photos I've seen it looks like there is no water at low tide inside the lagoon

Chris

[Owen]

from the photos I've seen it looks like there is no water at low tide inside the lagoon

Chris

That is correct.
In a big cat we need 2m of tide to get in and out
I imagine you'll have a slightly bigger window.
If it's choppy the worst part is right at the entrance marker.

[rtp1984]

114624

Dont forget get to take lots of beer.
It tends to evaporate over there.

[NAGG]

114624

Dont forget get to take lots of beer.
It tends to evaporate over there.


not too much "Beer" in that lot :P

[scottar]

not too much "Beer" in that lot :P


"When in Rome"......... If you can't handle it Chris you can always stay south of the border. A mate goes up there a bit. They take a kayak or two for going backwards and forwards to the boats. After seeing some of the footage they bought back, it is not the sort of place I would be keen on an evening swim to or from the boat. Their group are predominantly divers - one thing he did mention was that any loose gear (read dive compressor) had to lifted into some sort enclosure for secure stowage during transit on the barge which with heavy gear isn't a whole heap of fun. He loves the joint. Haven't had the opportunity myself as yet.

[joffo81]

What do people do for fresh water on NW?

[scottar]

Got to take it with you I think.

[rtp1984]

You can organise through the barge, they have 200l drums that they drop on the beach, and film up from a tank/ pump on the barge.

[Dignity]

Haven't been there for near on 20 years and miss the place. With fresh water we had to take it with us, usually the barge operator supplied the drums.

[Ringy35]

Hey mate, we are heading out there this weekend again!!

Where to fish: Douglas shoals would be within reach with your boat on a half decent day. That's a nice easy area to find some fish. Otherwise Broomfields is pretty close and is not bad in about the 20m areas...

What to target: you name it!!!!! Pretty much anything mate. Red emporer, coral trout and Spanish mackeral are usually our goto... all the other reefys come up there as well!

Camping: designated campsites are everywhere just beyond the tree line. Long drop eco toilets out there as well which are surprisingly clean and don't stink! As mentioned there are birds everywhere!!! So take earplugs and a tarp to tie up over everything. Take your own water out there and there are designated areas to store fuel as well.. might have to walk around a bit to find them.
Take 2 anchors as mentioned.
And we take a lantern to hang out in front of camp if we are fishing into the night... we spent a while trying to find a camp area one night after most of our beer "evaporated"..... lol

Barge costs: ???? Never used it...

Our experience: We never want to come home!!! Lol. One of the most perfect places on the planet!!!!
Have a look on youtube for "bound for north west 2016" one of our trips out there.
Any other questions feel free to ask!

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

[Moejoes]

Hey Ringy
No fishing this weekend for reef fish up north ....... Better take heaps of beer instead ::)
Coral reef fin fishCoral reef fin fish (https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/fisheries/species-identification/reef-fish) closure dates for 2014 to 2018 are:


21 October 2014 to 25 October 2014
19 November 2014 to 23 November 2014
10 October 2015 to 14 October 2015
9 November 2015 to 13 November 2015
28 October 2016 to 1 November 2016
26 November 2016 to 30 November 2016
17 October 2017 to 21 October 2017
15 November 2017 to 19 November 2017
6 October 2018 to 10 October 2018
5 November 2018 to 9 November 2018

Tidal waters within the following boundary are closed waters for coral reef fin fish:


from the northern tip of Cape York along latitude 10°41' south
to longitude 145° east
to latitude 13° south, longitude 145° east
to latitude 15° south, longitude 146° east
to latitude 17°30' south, longitude 147° east
to latitude 21° south, longitude 152°55' east
to latitude 24°30' south, longitude 154° east
to latitude 24°50' south, longitude 154° east along latitude 24°50' south to the mainland shore along the shore to the northern tip of Cape York at latitude 10°41' south.

[Ringy35]

Hey Ringy
No fishing this weekend for reef fish up north ....... Better take heaps of beer instead ::)
Coral reef fin fishCoral reef fin fish (https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/fisheries/species-identification/reef-fish) closure dates for 2014 to 2018 are:


21 October 2014 to 25 October 2014
19 November 2014 to 23 November 2014
10 October 2015 to 14 October 2015
9 November 2015 to 13 November 2015
28 October 2016 to 1 November 2016
26 November 2016 to 30 November 2016
17 October 2017 to 21 October 2017
15 November 2017 to 19 November 2017
6 October 2018 to 10 October 2018
5 November 2018 to 9 November 2018

Tidal waters within the following boundary are closed waters for coral reef fin fish:


from the northern tip of Cape York along latitude 10°41' south
to longitude 145° east
to latitude 13° south, longitude 145° east
to latitude 15° south, longitude 146° east
to latitude 17°30' south, longitude 147° east
to latitude 21° south, longitude 152°55' east
to latitude 24°30' south, longitude 154° east
to latitude 24°50' south, longitude 154° east along latitude 24°50' south to the mainland shore along the shore to the northern tip of Cape York at latitude 10°41' south.

Cheers mate, yeah we knew this. We organised the trip a few months back, not thinking about the dates too much... for the last 2 years a couple of mates have come up from Victoria as they have the melbourne cup long weekend.
We weren't too happy when we realised these dates a few weeks back!!!!!
Plans are to do alot of trolling for mackies, diving and scope out some new ground for future trips... still alot of fishing to be done out there without chasing the bottom fish. Tuna, trevally, mackeral... and as you said... put a few more boxes in the boat! Haha

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

[NAGG]

looks like the plan will be for a 3 week trip from 19th June - my understanding is that this is a pretty good time of year (weather wise) & the fishing is not too shabby .

i just need to get my head around the 3 weeks part & what to take

What does everyone do for ice on the longer trips ?

Chris

[Owen]

What does everyone do for ice on the longer trips ?

Chris
You can bags of get ice sent on the barge but it'll be three parts melted by the time you get it.
We take solar panels and fridges but have used gas fridges in the past.
An old gas fridge out of a caravan is a good option.
We also take an esky full of block ice which is only used to store ice. But that's only good for a week.

[NAGG]

You can bags of get ice sent on the barge but it'll be three parts melted by the time you get it.
We take solar panels and fridges but have used gas fridges in the past.
An old gas fridge out of a caravan is a good option.
We also take an esky full of block ice which is only used to store ice. But that's only good for a week.

I will have an 80lt engel , a couple of batteries & 200W Solar ....... I've been making up 1.5 lt bottles of Gel which is good for a couple of days in the boat esky ..... if I make up 4 of those it takes up about half of the freezer section :(.
Block ice ..... yes that takes care of the first week . I may have to hire a gas fridge for the 3 weeks

Ahhh the logistics of it all

Chris

[Homer_Jay]

Only problem with solar is the camps are very shady if leaving fridges/solar at camp.

we only went for a week and took and esky for camp and left a 40lt engel on the boat with a solar blacker on the roof. Worked well for a week.

[The Mad Cat]

Quote "I've been making up 1.5 lt bottles of Gel"

Hey Nagg, how do you make up Gel?

TMC

[Owen]

Only problem with solar is the camps are very shady if leaving fridges/solar at camp.



That is true
I have removed the regulator from the panels and put it in a box near the battery.
I then made 5 x 10m lengths of 6mm square twin cable with Anderson plugs so I can put the 2 x 125w panels on the beach.
I only use as many as needed, but as the voltage drop at 50m is only 2-3 volts and the panels put out 18-20 volts it works well.

[NAGG]

Only problem with solar is the camps are very shady if leaving fridges/solar at camp.

we only went for a week and took and esky for camp and left a 40lt engel on the boat with a solar blacker on the roof. Worked well for a week.

Hence the two batteries - keep the panel in the sun - 5m lead to the battery & hopefully not to far to swap them over each day

[NAGG]

Quote "I've been making up 1.5 lt bottles of Gel"

Hey Nagg, how do you make up Gel?

TMC

I had access to a heap of those blue gel packs ....... just give them the snip & pour them into bottles .

Chris