thursday island

[D-CANMAN]

hello ausfishers , do any of you guys and girls know much about this place? heading up there soon for work/play but really dont know what to expect . mainly asking about accom,charters,car hire and weather. any info will be much apprecieated. thank you,,, d-canman

[choppa]

mate its been a looooooong time since i was there,,, but i can be certain that the hospitality and general feeling to the visitor hasn't changed,,,

i never had met a better and more friendlier group of people prior to my trip there,,, nothing was too much trouble,,,

fishing was (at the time) an extra bonus,,,, but more memories come from the friendships that were made,, and some still exist,,,

hope you find it the same way,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

choppa

[oldboot]

What to expect arround TI...... big fish and lots of 'em.

Bro'inlaw was posted up there for a few trips and another bloke I know is up there for a few years contract.

Aparantly when the fish are biting you better hang on.

The locals fish of the wharf with 80Lb hand lines

cheers

[Dr_Dan]

Love the place! Have been up there a couple of times now, just spent 2 months up there, looking to settle up there for work in the distant future.
Fishing is good around the island. Either of the wharfs produce good fish. The Customs wharf has 24hrs access, while the navy wharf has after hours access only. Locals seem to fish the Navy wharf more than the customs. Handline and PLENTY of terminal tackle. Can catch all sorts of fish off the wharf, mackeral, queenfish, OS trevally, cod, trout, permit, red bass, jacks, and an endless supply of highly decerative 'reefies'. Plenty of sharks tho! spent many a night losing all my live baits to unstopables on 100lb handline, good fun trying tho! Depending on when you are there, squid should be coming on throughout the summer. Either of the wharfs with squid jigs will produce. Best thing is to ask the locals, most are friendly in giving some tips, or just follow the masses and fish where and when all the locals are! Had a few staff while i was up there fishing off the hospital point, trout, reefies etc, queenies. One guy would spear along the ledge of hospital point, often get crays around there in the rocks. Just be really careful of the currents up there if swimming, run through at 7knots, too fast to swim against. CLosest thing us northerners will ever come to a decent rip.
There are two charters on the island that i know of. Tony's Island Adventures (6m Hooker CC), and Wis Wei charters (560 barcrusher??). TIA is probably the better option for fishing, tony is a local who has been chartering for a few years now and seems to have the place sussed out. Wis Wei does a fair few 'family' charters (snorkelling, picknic, bit of fishing), but will tailor his charter to what you want.
If you get the chance and it interests you, see if you can get accross to the Pearl Farm on friday island, run by a little old japanese guy (Takami??). He'll come accross and pick you up, give you a tour of the farm, show you some of his work, and put on THE best Japanese lunch you could ever imagine.

No need for car hire, could walk around the whole island in an hour. If you can find one, a pushie would be a god send this time of year. Getting bloody hot up there, and mostly calm winds. Hot, still, and sticky.

Accomodation is fairly limited. Can stay at the Jardine 'Resort', but bloody expensive. Couple of pubs up there have some accom, but not sure of quality or price.

Let me konw if you need any more info when you heading up, will see if i can point you in the righ tdirection. As i said, i loved the place, can't wait to get back. Was at the hospital, home, collected gear, and first livie in the water within 15min. Its the perfect place to be if you enjoy just sitting on the beach, fishing off the jetty, snorkeling, spearing, boating, and at the end of the day hitting the pub.

Plenty of photos of your trip, make us all jealous!

Dan

[Leeann]

Definitely prefer Weipa
Did a trip on a mothership from Weipa to Horn Island and the best of the fishing came from along the mainland (both offshore chasing pelagics to creek fishing for barras and jacks).
Fishing at TI was disappointing but then again it was blowing its butt off there at the time (apparently it blows a fair bit up there).
I must admit i wasn't impressed enough to return. At least they had cold iceblocks at the shops

[bondy99]

I also remembered that TI was once used as a refuge place for fishing pirates and crooks on the run from fisheries officers and police in general, how do I know this one would ask?, One of the marine teachers (at TAFE ) use to be a commonwealth fisheries inspector, but the fishing was great and the TI people themselves were very friendly. I missed out on work up there due to my age (48) but will be going up there for a fishing trip in about 3 years outside the cyclone season.

[D-CANMAN]

thanks heaps choppa,oldboot,dr-dan,leeann and bondy99. starting to sound good apart from the heat, but then that is why beer was invented! plus i forgot to ask if crocs inhabit-menace the island or the swimmers. thanks again, cheers d-canman

[Dr_Dan]

According to the locals, there are certain beaches and certain islands are safe for taking a dip in. Personally, i imagine if a croc is at one beach, it could be at any! In saying that i was happy to spearfish off the beaches, :S go figure! Have seen photographic evidence of a big one swimming past the hospital on it's way to Horn presumably. Couple of big buggers over on POW (prince of wales island), and i'm sure they could be anywhere. But then again, we used to get croc sitings at the local 'tourist' beaches in cairns and still do in townsville.

[Dr_Dan]

.......... and yes, the beer is cold, but damn it's expensive! Thursday island is bad enough, let alone further islands out. Paid $24 for a 6 pack of VB on murray island (was either VB or Fosters left by the time i got to the 'canteen')

[red rock cod]

Was there in February this year. Some absolutely brillant fishing on the nearby reefs. Got sick and tired of catching grassy sweetlip, 2 at a time. March April is when the sardines come in on the local jetties. Then the trevally and queenfish are really on. Tahe fluorescent bait jigs with you and a cast net as well. The only problem we encountered was the sharks. Some times it was just impossible to gt a bait or fish past them. Let the indonesians come in and fish for them they are thicker than fleas on a mongrel dogs back.

[bondy99]

Good on ya red rock cod, not wrong about the indonesians, no wonder their own waters is stuffed. The navy should sink em like the yankee submarine skipper came up underneath a Japanese fishing boat, about 3 years ago I think. Too bad the news got out though.