The preceding marlin fishing with Captain Tim Richardson on the Tradition was a complete success. So, I approach the second part of this journey with a calm demeanor: eight days of fly fishing on a Nomad Expeditions boat.
I spend the night at the Shangri-La in Cairns, and the next day I continue northward by a small plane to Musgrave, a small bush airstrip. There at the river, we are greeted by a skiff and the Nomad guides, who transport us to the mother ship anchored at the mouth.
Queensland - Barrier Reef
We sail from Musgrave to the Claremont Islands and then continue northward each day, fishing the well-known Blight Reef and reaching as far as Horn Island, an island just off the northernmost part of Australia, not far from Papua New Guinea.
The Expedition Boat: the Odyssey
The Nomad Sportfishing mother ship has four superbly equipped skiffs that can be loaded onto the deck using a crane, which gives us flexibility.
Most of the time, we travel northward at night to a new reef. The skiffs are fantastic, making it easy for us to navigate every sandbank or island. The equipment on the mother ship Odyssey is very good; it has everything you need on board – even a bar! At the end of a day of fishing, you can relax there with cold drinks. The service on the ship is excellent, and the cuisine is truly outstanding.
Some days are very windy and stormy. This especially complicates fly fishing, as the wind sometimes gusts at 50 km/h and the water in the flats is often murky. Moreover, the sun is usually absent, making it difficult to spot fish. Due to the high waves, we can't reach the outer reef, which is most disappointing because the best spots are usually there.
At the beginning, I try exclusively with the fly rod, often together with Don Jonston, a friendly American and experienced saltwater fly fisherman.
We manage to land many beautiful fish like Spanish mackerel, sharky, emperors, queenfish, etc., but it's initially quite challenging with the GTs (giant trevally). Eventually, I succeed in catching a golden trevally and a giant trevally on the fly rod, and Don does the same. I even snap two fly lines during the fight. The spots with many bommies (underwater rock formations) have the highest chances of GT bites, but unfortunately, they're also the areas where we often lose them. I mostly fish with the 8-foot #14 fly rod, but even heavy fly fishing gear can't easily stop a GT. There were truly exceptional fish caught, and everyone had their successes.
The Nomad Sportfishing Crew - Halex, Chad, Chris, and Gavin - is highly experienced, and there is much to learn from them. They know the best spots as they have conducted this expedition several times before. However, we also explore new fishing locations from time to time.
We, the fortunate 10 anglers, are truly a great group. We not only had fantastic catches but also shared many laughs and got along exceptionally well. Our group included:
Andre de Botton, Chris Fletcher, Don Jonston, Hardy Mclain, Peter Roberts, Tim Ryan, Mitchell Smith, Darren Hocking, Stephen Smith, and myself.
