A feature article in the RM Williams “Outback” Oct/Nov 2010 written by Dion Isaacson. Great photo’s too Dion, nice work as usual. Thought we’d better publish it on the site.
Ten years ago Jim Alston was paragliding when he hit a thermal. His chute folded and he plunged 30 metres to the ground. He was very lucky to survive and spent the next 3 months in hospital, then a year recovering.
“I was lying in a hospital bed, having doctors tell me that they didn’t know if I would ever walk again, “Jim says. “I was staring at the ceiling for months and months.
I had a little wish that if I ever got better and could walk again, that I would live on a remote island somewhere, like Robinson Crusoe. It was my favorite story when I was a kid.”
Jim decided his new venture would be call Wilderness Island Safari Holidays or WISH.
When Jim did walk again. He and his father chartered a plane and went scouting for his dream island. Years of paperwork, title searches, approvals and, most importantly for Jim, the permission of local Indigenous people resulted in the creation of Wilderness Island in Western Australia’s Exmouth Gulf five years ago.
Wilderness Island isn’t found on any conventional map it is roughly 40 kilometres east of Exmouth. Jim and his family have lived in the area for five generation – he grew up on nearly Yanrey Station, where he mustered cattle before his accident.
Around this time Jim met ‘Harry’ Butler (his real first name is known only to himself and his closest friends, Harry is a nickname inspired by the famous Australian naturalist), who helped him set up WISH.
Jim and Harry had something in common – the former steel fixer injured his back when he fell 50m through history Derby Jetty after a rusting grate gave way. A lengthy convalescence followed while Harry dealt with a long list of injuries, including five crushed vertebrae.
“Jim had this idea for the island that I knew very well,” Harry says. “It was a great idea and I thought, ‘My back’s stuffed, his back’s stuffed so let’s put two stuffed spines together and see what we can come up with’.” Harry doesn’t wear shoes and survives on beer, cigarettes, steak and sauce.
But 10 years experience as a fishing guide – despite the fact that he doesn’t eat fish makes him a major attraction for visitors to the island.
Jim spent $6000 on timber, building materials and power tools to add basic facilities to the island. “I left Perth in a hire truck with $20 in my bank account and a cartoon of baked beans,” he says. “If I got hungry along the way, I’d chuck a can of baked beans. I borrowed a mate’s barge and brought all the gear over here.
Harry and I just lived here, checking out the fishing and learning where we were going to put everything.” The two worked hard to make Jim’s dream a reality and they learnt a lot about each other in the process.
Jim knows the boundaries; Harry is not a morning person. “I have a coffee and a smoke, then on the second smoke you’re safe to talk to me,” Harry says.
“It was just me and him living over here for a long time,” Jim says. “We were just digging holes and putting in posts, and catching a fish for dinner (Jim’s dinner anyway – Harry ate steak and beans).
The locals around Exmouth started hearing about Jim and Harry setting up camp and the amazing fishing in the area. “People would ask, ‘Can we come?”’ Jim says. “I would just say, ‘It’s a bit rough – the fishing’s good but you’ll be swagging it on the beach’.”
The fishing is undeveloped and the area is still quite unknown, but it is starting to attract attention.
Jim loves meeting new people and introducing them to the beauty of the remote north-west. His previous tourism experience includes working on the Kimberley Quest cruise ship.
“We had a group of fly-fishermen here and they caught 52 species over 10 days,” Jim says. “These guys’ fish all over the world – Christmas Island, Mexico, Vanuatu and Hawaii – and they reckon it’s the best fishing they’d ever done.
We had Peter Morse here last year – he’s a pretty well-known fishing identity – and he took out a world record for a Spanish mackeral while he was with us. He reckons it’s the best flats for fly-fishing in Australia.”
The island is about 1.6km long and 800m wide, and features sandy beaches, limestone cliffs, sand dunes and mangroves. With no human habitation other than the camp, which can accommodate 10 people in twin-share safari huts, the island is almost undeveloped, supporting a range of plants and animals, including prolific birdlife.
Jim is mindful of the island’s unspoilt environment. “We run a commercial operation with minimal impact,” he says. “We take hardly any fish and no one takes fish home to Exmouth.
What’s caught on the island is consumed here and 90 percent of the fish caught is released immediately.”
Apart from fishing and relaxing on the beach, the other major drawcard on Wilderness Island is whale watching. Between July and November the annual humpback migration passes the Exmouth Gulf. “We go out and find a pod of whales; you turn the engine off and most of the time the whales come over to you,” Jim says.
“You’ve got a whale that’s 12-13m long; some are three times bigger than the boat. We’ve never had any sort of aggression from them; they are just curious. I think the whales are people watching, as much as we are whale watching.”
Wilderness Island has brought a big change to Jim’s life, and he couldn’t be happier.
“Harry is a pretty good teacher,” Jim Says. “For years he’s been trying to tell me things about the ocean, then one day I said, ‘Hell Harry, I think I’ve got it. It’s just like the bush, but it’s covered in water.”
(Story + Photo’s by Dion Isaacson) As Featured in R.M.Williams OUTBACK Issue Oct/Nov 2010)
Another “rave review”. Featured in the Skywest Out-There in flight magazine, photo’s and article by Dion Isaacson. We’re always getting rave reviews from everyone who comes to the island. Read and make a comment at the bottom of the post.
Do you remember the last time you spent a night under canvas? The last time you found yourself an isolated location, looked up to the sky and lost yourself in a vast blanket of stars?
Hmmm … thought so. Sounds like it’s about time you took a break and fell asleep with the wind rustling your tent and the sound of waves rolling up the beach. If you’re already hoping there is a day spa, some chic cafes and a shopping mall down the road, Wilderness Island is not for you.
But here is your chance to strip away life’s excesses and spend time in a place where the only traffic is the odd hermit crab crossing your path on a beach walk.
Wilderness Island is located roughly 40 kilometres east of Exmouth and can be best described as a spot where the desert meets the sea. At any time, you will find a mix of families, fishermen and backpackers call it home for the week. The Island can accommodate a maximum of eight peoples in four twin-share safari-style cabins (Now we can have groups of 10 in 5 cabins). While not luxurious, they are certainly comfortable, and I found that the combination of hiking, fishing and sea air meant I slept very well at night.
Central to the camp us a communal meeting/dining tent where people can catch up during the day. Outside is a large deck from which you get great views of the ocean and a large dat bed to help you indulge in a novel.
At night, you’ll find everyone around the camp fire, where conversation runs late into the night, in keeping with the eco-friendly policy on the island, the camp is powered by a 12-volt solar system.
The island is run by two colourful characters, Jim Alston and ‘Harry’ Butler, he is not the ‘real’ Harry Butler: his last name is Butler but his mates thought his first name should be Harry and are sworn to secrecy on what his real name is.
You can easily spot Harry – he never wears shoes and despite living on an island, he doesn’t eat fish.
Jim is a local boy of some five generations. He grew up on nearby Yanrey Station and knows this area well. He loves meeting tourist and wants them to experience the country that he has loved his whole life.
Wilderness Island is best known for its amazing fishing: in fact, fly fisherman from all over Australia are leaving there passports at home and are coming to experience what has been describes as some of the best saltwater fly fishing in the world.
I travelled with Rob Paxevanos from the television series Fishing Australia, and we recorded two episodes there in May. He describes it as the best flats fishing he had experienced in more than 150 shows. “The water is so clear that you can see the fish, know if it’s the species you are looking for and cast your lure straight to it”, he enthused.
On one trip to a secret fishing spot near the island, we caught a huge variety of fish – brassy trevally, golden trevally, some large queenfish , Malabar cod, coral trout and mangrove jack.
The island has a large, comfortable eight metre boat to get the best fishing spots. It draws only 40 centimetres, so Jim and Harry can take you to quite, shallow bays of crystal-clear water – and don’t be surprised if you see dugongs and turtles on your travels.
I joined some backpackers on a walk to a remote mangrove creek and we went fishing using small pieces of pilchard as bait. They were casting their lines and landing baits just under the eve of the mangroves and before the ripples had settles, they were fighting some good-sized mangrove jacks.
We took a couple of the best fish back to camp that night and cooked them Vietnamese style, with island-grown lemongrass and a sprinkle of turmeric.
Harry is more than happy to take you out looking for mud crabs n the mudflats nearby. Is it a great experience to head out each day to look for your dinner – quite a change from the fight for a parking spot at the local Woolworths.
Harry was quite confident out there without shoes, despite the fact that a decent chomp from a mud-crab would probably chop off your toes. I think he must know every mud-hole out there on those flats and he used a long loop of wire to hook the crabs on. Later, Jim cooked up a fantastic feed in a wok on the campfire: Singapore chilli mud crab. We enjoyed it with a crisp glass of Western Australian semillion.
Jim wants the rustic nature of the Wilderness Island to remain intact. “Enjoy it for what it is: it’s a beautiful piece of coastline, a beautiful environment,” he says. “Respect it, and learn that you can actually enjoy yourself in an area like this and not have an impact.”
The island has a policy with regard her policy with regard to fishing: no fish are to be taken back to Exmouth. What is caught there must be consumed there but in practice, almost all of the fishing is ‘catch and release’.
That’s not to say you will get hungry – Jim promises everyone some great feeds of local fish and has a terrific menu to satisfy hungry tummies after a big day exploring the island.
And it’s not just humans who like to take time out around Wilderness Island. For 5 months between July and November, humpback whale mothers and their calves take breaks here on their migration south to colder waters. Then, the fishing rods are stowed and it’s time to just observe and experience awesome nature at her best.
Jim says the best way to see the whales is to stop the boat and turn off the motor: nearly always, then, whales will come up to the boat to assuage their curiosity.
He has photographs of various people almost touching the gentle giants’ noses. That’s the wilderness for you.
A feature on us in “Snagged – Western Australia’s Fishing Magazine” – December 2010 publication.
Wilderness Island on the eastern side of Exmouth Gulf is a great place for a visit because you can catch so many different types of fish that are right at your feet. This article is about one of my best trips to Wilderness Island.
The night before I was to fly back to Exmouth my Dad asks me to text my friends and see what they are doing for the last two days of the holidays. Luckily they where doing nothing which was great because my Dad told me that we were going camping at Wilderness Island!
The next day I got packed quickly as I was so keen to get to the airport and back home. When I landed my Nana and Pop picked me up and took me straight home where Dad was waiting for me in the shed with my two friends Braden and Luke. They had already packed up the boat and were eagerly waiting for me to get ready, so I quickly unpacked my suitcase and packed my backpack for camping. It didn’t take long and I was ready so we hopped in the car and went off to the boat ramp to launch the boat. Conditions were fantastic with the water as flat as glass. It was a looking like a great day was just around the corner.
We went to look around some good fishing spots before we got to the island to see what was patrolling the reefs. We pulled up on a spot that was on the way to the island where Dad had caught some good fish before. It didn’t take long before we were catching big golden and brassy trevally which go really hard on light tackle.
Braden was using my 4 pound rod that he loves so much, I was using my normal 20 pound rod and Luke was using his 20 pound outfit sporting a hardcore Saltiga reel. Our trip was off to a great start with some good fish caught and released.
We had just pulled up the anchor to leave when we noticed some tuna busting up close to the boat. By the time Luke cast his soft plastic in the direction of the tuna it had 
seemed to have disappeared but just as Luke was about to lift the softy out of the water a 17 kg tuna smashed it and took off at warp speed. The reel was screaming as the tuna was moving so fast. He fought it for about ten minutes before getting it close to the boat but it stayed deep and did not want to come up. Luke struggled to drag it up close to the surface but it took one last big run which he wasn’t ready for causing him to almost go over the side and smashing his reel into the boat. When Luke got back to his feet the tuna finally was spent and having no more energy it came quietly back to the boat. It was a big tuna but it was that tired it would not swim away so we kept it, putting it in the esky. We continued on over to Wilderness Island.
When we arrived at the island we grabbed everything and carried it up to the camp. Dad started to cut up the tuna straight away so it was as fresh as possible for sushi entrée before a nice feed of sausages and steak.
After dinner we went down to the water with the rest of the tuna carcass to see if we could catch a shark. Because sometimes you can get big tiger sharks and hammerheads we used my big GT rod, set up with a wire trace and a big hook. I began by berleying up the water and then we sat back waiting for the sharks to do their part. We didn’t have to wait for long because it only took about 5 minutes before we had a shark on my rod. Braden had first turn with my rod, but it was only a small black tip reef shark which we quickly released. We went back up to the camp to drop off the big rod so we could have more fun on our small rods.
Braden had his line in the water first so I didn’t put mine out in case he hooked up quickly. Straightaway he was on. This shark was a bit bigger than the first one because it just kept on swimming. After Braden finally landed it we realised that he had caught a baby tiger shark as it had really cool stripes and distinctive shaped teeth. Braden dragged it up the beach then I jumped on it so we could get the hook out before letting it go. We caught a lot more sharks that night but it got a bit late, so we went back up to the camp and climbed into bed to be ready for the day ahead.
In the morning we had breakfast while deciding that we would go and try to catch a big queenfish. We jumped in the boat before heading to one of my dad’s favorite big queenie fishing spots. When we arrived you could see a lone queenfish swimming in the shallows chasing baitfish. We had a cast at it but it wasn’t interested in our lures and just swam off in the opposite direction which really sucked. Keeping our eyes open it was not long before we spotted another one, just a bit further ahead of the boat. We all feverishly chucked our lures at it but the same thing happened again – no interest whatsoever. Our luck didn’t get any better either. The fish just weren’t interested in playing, with another four refusals from big queenies before we decided to move and look elsewhere.
Unfortunately things didn’t get any better. We had one of the worst day’s fishing ever with only a small mangrove jack and small queenfish for our efforts. Deflated, we headed back to camp as it was starting to get late. When we got back my friends and I thought we would go for a walk to the rocky point of the island where the currents push past with the incoming and outgoing tide.
Finally our luck improved and we started to catch a few fish but I got my lure stuck on a rock so I climbed down the ledge to grab it. The rock that I stepped on crumbled under my weight and I fell onto the oyster covered rocks. When I picked myself up I noticed there was a lot of blood in the water. Then I looked at my hand and realized there was a big gash on my wrist.
Luke and Braden help me climb back up the rocks to head back to the camp which was a 1.5 km walk. Braden and Luke were a little spun out but I was fine because I just
wrapped my wrist up in my T shirt and we started walking back. When we got back my Dad’s friend Jim, who owns Wilderness Island got a big container of disinfectant and put my hand in it. Jim gave my Dad a pin to get out all the small bits of dirt and shell but he didn’t want to hurt me so I had to do it myself. It didn’t hurt much anyway. The one time it did hurt was when my dad sat down next to me and said, “Nice job,” and patted me on the leg where I had a lot of small cuts but it was funny at the same time. Braden and Luke had gone for a walk while I was getting fixed up. They came back a little while later to tell me about how they had a great time catching whiting and mangrove jack on poppers which I wasn’t impressed about missing out on.
The next morning we got up, packed our stuff and then went for a quick fish in the mangrove creek behind the camp. Because it was low tide we could walk up the main creek where we caught a few Yellowfin bream before we noticed a small feeder creek, so we walk in to investigate. It turned out to be a big feeder creek but the mouth was blocked by some rocks so fish could not get out. We walked up it a bit for a look and could see heaps of big fish swimming around. We started casting our lures which were instantly smashed by good size jacks and cod which was amazing. After all that fun the fishing died down and the tide started to come in so we all walked back and had breakfast before packing up the boat to leave.
Once the boat was all packed up we left to go looking for queenfish again where we were the day before. On arriving we could see a really nice size queenfish slowing swimming along a shallow bank. Braden and Luke both cast towards it but it is Luke’s lure the fish turns onto and inhales, instantly hooking up. Another queenie comes out of nowhere and hits Braden’s lure but somehow he lost it. Meanwhile Luke’s fish was going off, jumping out of the water and cart-wheeling around all over the place before finally he lands a ripper over one metre. With smiles all-round, especially for Luke it was time to head home. What a great ending to a fantastic fishing trip.
With the school holidays starting soon, I’m sure we will be going camping again so you can read about that in the next magazine. Till then, get out there and have some fun fishing with your friends.
Michael Price
See Michael Thomson (Thommo) from Channel Nine’s “Just Add Water” in action on Wilderness Island. “Thommo” was there for a visit with 2 of his sons, James and Sam.
Right from the shallows in front of the lodge and on the first cast with a popper Thommo hooked something large, and you should see how this fish kept him going for the next 40 minutes.
Pulling something this big within minutes of casting is not unusual at the island.
Thommo spends some quality time with the 2 guys behind Wilderness Island. You really get a sense of the passion these guys have for their little piece of paradise.
Wilderness Island is a fishing and ecological paradise in Exmouth Gulf in North West Australia that offers small groups an exclusive and unforgettable experience on their own private island.See Harry Butler in action in stealth mode catching the huge mud crabs.
The eastern side of Exmouth Gulf seems to be one area of our vast coastline that’s still relatively unknown to most folk, seemingly swathed in mystery and spoken of in hushed tones by those who have been there. Very little has been written about it in the fishing press over the years, and I for one have long thought it would be well worth a visit.
Despite operating a fishing camp at the top end of the gulf for a number of years, I never managed to find enough time to make the effort and get across there during my days working out of Long Island.
Fairly recently I somehow stumbled upon a website for a place called Wilderness Island that was situated on the eastern side of Exmouth Gulf. I found it interesting that I’d never heard about it through the fishing grapevine, and no-one I spoke to about it was any the wiser.
Then out of the blue a few months ago, Western Angler got a call from the Wilderness Island crew, who wanted to get someone up to have a look at the place and sample some of the fishing on offer. I didn’t have to be asked twice when I was invited to join Russell Waterman and Scotty Coghlan on the trip.
Jim Alston is the man behind Wilderness Island and he’s got plenty of the right credentials needed when tackling a project like this. Jim grew up on a couple of the local cattle stations situated right on the edge of Exmouth Gulf, so he knows his way around this neck of the woods like few others. He’s one of those blokes who’s very good with his hands and a bit of a jack of all trades, and also spent some time in the Kimberley on Kimberley Quest honing his guiding and hospitality skills before having a crack on his own.
But best of all he’s an honest, likeable, knockabout sort of bloke with a passion for what he does.
Together with his right hand man and No.1 fishing guide, “Ningaloo Harry” Butler, Jim basically spent two years living and building the Wilderness Island camp from scratch, at the same time fishing around the area when time permitted to get things properly sussed. They’ve been joined by Exmouth local and charter skipper Shane Wunhym and between the three of them they seem to have most bases covered.
Our first impressions of Wilderness Island were very favourable, despite a wetter than average trip across the gulf in Shane’s big eight-metre ali rigid hull centre console, punching straight into a 15-knot easterly most of the way. I don’t reckon I’ve been that wet in a boat since Miles Leahy and I slogged 30-odd miles from Bernier Island back to Carnarvon into a stinker of a southeasterly in my 5.1m Westerberg, when every wave hit our starboard quarter and drenched us to the skin.
Once we’d reached our destination, my initial thoughts were how much the camp reminded me of Bluey Vaughan’s legendary One Tree Beach, both in the rustic charm of the camp itself and the geography of the adjacent coastline. Pretty high praise indeed I know! Wilderness Island is obviously not anywhere near as isolated as Rob’s camp and doesn’t have some of the spectacular features unique to the Kimberley. It also lacks the major river systems scattered throughout the area that produce the abundant freshwater run-off and the associated red-hot barra fishing.
There were still plenty of similarities though, with the coastal geography of the area around Wilderness very different to what I’d been expecting. While there were the vast mangrove systems that I’d imagined, the area also abounded with beautiful sandy beaches, countless rocky headlands and islands, shallow offshore reefs and crystal clear water.
The camp itself was set atop a substantial cliff face around 30 metres above the high water mark, offering you magnificent views looking west out across Exmouth Gulf. It consisted of a main mess, dining and living areas combined under the main roof, with corrugated iron at the bottom to bench-top height and above this was heavy duty shade cloth that allowed light and breezes in but kept any mozzies and sand flies at bay.
A well-equipped kitchen with solar power, gas cooking facilities and refrigeration, and a large stainless steel workbench, occupied half of the main area, while the other part boasted a large dining table, comfy lounges, well-stocked bookshelf and, of course, a bar!
Out the front of the main living area was a large, shaded deck with some of the best views imaginable looking back towards Exmouth across the gulf. A perfect spot to unwind and watch the sun go down after a hard day’s lure casting if ever I’ve seen one.
A barbecue area and fire pit at the bottom of the decking was another great place to relax, while right on the beach was a private, rustic bathroom complete with piping hot shower and bathtub, courtesy of a 44-gallon drum and a good fire.
Accommodation is in permanent safari type tents with canvas roofs, shade cloth sides and wooden floors. Maybe not quite the Ritz, but certainly comfortable enough and definitely insect free.
The first couple of days at the camp were great, with some enjoyable light tackle sportfishing close to camp and a good feed of mud crabs from just around the corner at low tide, courtesy of Harry’s eagle eye and deft work with a crab hook.
We started to settle in and relax as we got to know our hosts Harry, Jim and Shane and they too probably breathed a sigh of relief as we managed to get a few runs on the board early in the tour. Having been on the other side of the fence, it was always a nervous time showing visiting fishing journos around as you’re really hoping that the weather co-operates and the fish turn on.
On day three, Jim stayed back at camp to do a few chores and welcome a couple of private boats that were due to arrive from Exmouth. He also made start on a new project; clearing a bush airstrip to enable clients to fly into Wilderness Island rather than do the 45km crossing by boat. So with Shane skippering the boat and Harry acting as our guide, Scotty, Russ and I set sail early in the morning and headed south from camp.
Hanging in close to the shore in the lee of a steady easterly, we had a ball casting poppers to big, acrobatic queenies we found on some shallow sand flats. Russ discovered the joys of lure casting and that there was more to fishing than tangling with his beloved bottom fish, and a few nice jacks and malabar cod extracted from some rocky outcrops rounded off the day as we headed home in ideal conditions.
Back at camp that evening over the traditional beer or two on the balcony, we learnt that Jim was going to join us on Shane’s boat for the next day’s action. I suggested that maybe a ‘fishing shootout’ between the Western Angler crew and the Wilderness boys might be a good idea and create a little friendly rivalry. Jim reckoned that local knowledge would stack the odds heavily in their favour, but we were just glad that the local boys were going to pick up a rod and have a crack at the fish.
We commenced the day again in the shallow mangrove-lined estuary system known as Deep Creek, where the queenies kept us entertained for the first couple of hours before going off the bite. There was plenty of action on smallish Halco Roosta poppers and it was certainly gloves off as the challenge began to heat up, and any semblance of angling etiquette quickly went out the window.
Next stop was a small dropoff at the front of another creek where giant herring are known to frequent. We all switched to small chrome lures and despite a couple of hits, the odd flash of brilliant silver and one blistering run, we just couldn’t stay connected to what may well have been giants. Motoring around the flats and up a couple of the bigger creeks we saw good numbers of sizeable golden-tailed fish that Harry identified as permit. One of the holy grails as far as saltwater fly anglers are concerned.
Shane and Harry reckon that it’s a pretty common occurrence to see good numbers of permit, all that they need to do is nail a few good fish and the swoffers will come from everywhere. It must be said though it’s probably easier said than done!
Once the easterly died down we moved further offshore to a shallow coral shoal known locally by the very encouraging name of Monsters.
The rivalry between the two sides had continued to develop throughout the course of the day and it was now really every man for himself. As soon as the fish were located and someone was on, lures would sail from every direction towards the hooked fish, which was often accompanied by a few mates. The school consisted mainly of big golden and brassy trevally.
Jim enjoyed the relaxed day’s fishing, generally with a book in one hand and a baitcaster in the other. Every now and then he’d nearly jump out of his skin as his lead-head jig got nailed and his tranquillity was shattered.
We had a ball for the duration of the morning, so much so that our proposed lunchtime arrival date back at camp was postponed until mid-afternoon. It was a great way to get to know the crew from Wilderness Island and they really appreciated having a fish and a laugh with Scotty, Russ and I. And as Harry read out the final scores of the day while we cracked a well deserved coldie back at camp, the 15-all scorecard was just about the perfect ending for a great trip. I’m hoping that a rematch next year could be on the agenda!
Darryl Hitchen was one of the pioneers in sportfishing in WA and has been throwing lures from boats almost all his life. He’s written for Modern Fishing and ran his own guided fishing business in the North West before returning to Perth.
Full credit and to Darry Hitchen for this honest article. Special thanks and full kudos to Scotty Coghlan and Russell Waterman from Western Angler for the use of this feature and review of Wilderness Island.
Scott Coghlan finally does some long overdue Exmouth Gulf exploration out of a new fishing camp at Wilderness Island and discovers incredible sport-fishing in a stunning unspoiled natural setting.
THE east side of the Exmouth Gulf is one of those places that had been on my fishing wish list for many years, without ever being ticked off.
When I bought my first saltwater fly rod many years ago, Roland Venables at the legendary Crackel for Tackle entranced me with his tales of shallow water sight fishing for a wide range of species. He pulled out pictures of nice queenfish and trevally taken in waist-deep water that was as clear as a New Zealand spring creek, and I just knew I had to fish there.
It has always been at the back of my mind ever since, and yet it never quite came to pass until early this year. For a variety of reasons, one of which had always been the extra day of travel to get to Exmouth compared to Shark Bay, things never seemed to fall into place for some serious gulf exploration.
I did have one day down the bottom of the gulf a couple of years ago with Jamie Chester, which produced some exciting fishing for giant herring and trevally around a little sand cay, but really only offered the most tantalising taste of what the area had to offer.
So when the chance arose earlier this year to spend a few days camped on the east side of the gulf at a spot known as Wilderness Island, there was never any doubt I would juggle my other commitments around to make sure I took advantage of what shaped as an exciting opportunity for a dedicated lure chucker like myself. As it turned out, I was not to be disappointed…
WILDERNESS Island is a relatively new fishing camp set up on the east side of the Exmouth Gulf by Jim Alston.
Jim’s family ran neighbouring Yanrey and Koordarrie stations for many years and although they have since moved to Jurien Bay, he saw the opportunity to create a unique getaway for sportfishing enthusiasts in what he describes as a “fishing and ecological paradise” and has been working towards that end for the last couple of years.
I say sportfishing enthusiasts because while the fishrich waters of the gulf are close at hand, Jim and his expert team, guiding duo Shane Wunhym and ‘Harry’ Butler, are dedicated to promoting a sustainable catch-and-release fishing experience at Wilderness, where only a couple of fish, or maybe mud crabs, are kept for the table during the stay and anglers take memories, rather than fillets, with them when they depart.
Although he has guided all around the world, Shane is an Exmouth boy whose father Michael, was one of the pioneers of game fishing in the area, and has committed to basing his business out of Wilderness, while Harry knows the gulf like the back of his hand, having fished it commercially and recreationally for a number of years.
Wilderness Island offers the chance to either have a fullyguided fishing trip with this pair, or bring your own boat and explore at your leisure, or even combine both. There are also some kayaks provided on the island as another way of exploring the local waters, and I’ll certainly be looking at taking my Hobie up there in the future, as I reckon the area is absolutely tailor-made for some serious kayak fishing.
The beauty of Wilderness Island is that there are so many options easily accessible – there are shoals offshore that offer something of a bluewater experience, shallow flats perfect for wading or prospecting by boat and countless crystal clear tidal creeks full of fish, and mud crabs.
The beach right in front of the main shack at Wilderness offers some great light tackle fishing when there is a bit of water over the reef, and the south-western point of the island has some superb rock fishing from low ledges for just about anything that swims in the gulf. And because the east side of the gulf is generally unaffected by fishing pressure, there is a huge range of species available to anglers.
Over the four days we were there we would have caught around 25 species, and seen many more, and that was even with a few noticeable absentees. The top end of the gulf is not that far away either, making a day trip out to chase billfish and other bluewater species another option.
In reality, if our experience is any sort of indicator, the hard part will often be deciding exactly what to do next, such is the range of angling opportunities on offer.
Our team of three anglers visited Wilderness in early May, after an invite from Jim to come up and sample the fishing on offer.
Darryl Hitchen and Russell Waterman headed to Exmouth via Kalbarri, where they caught up with WAngler columnist John Bormolini to catch some longtail tuna and spanish mackerel.
Due to work commitments, I skipped Kalbarri and flew straight to Exmouth, where I spent a relaxing night at the Novotel Ningaloo, which enabled me to blow out some cobwebs by throwing a few lures around the marina, catching one little GT and having a couple of other hits in an enjoyable hit out.
Russ and Darryl did the donkey work with all my fishing gear and arrived right on time the next morning, and it wasn’t long before we hooked up with the Wilderness crew for the first time, got the introductions out of the way, and packed Shane’s 8m boat for the trip over.
Within a few a minutes of arriving at Wilderness I had an itchy casting finger and headed down to the beach in front of the shack with my light spinning gear.
Getting There:
WILDERNESS Island is not really an island; it is part of the mainland, but gets cut off at high tide.
The main method of access is by boat from Exmouth Marina and when the tide is up Shane’s 8m ally drops off visitors in the creek just behind the resort, which is full of bream, jacks and cod. If the tide is down, there is mooring for a couple of boats at the southern tip of the island, just a few metres from shore in a deep hole that always has enough water under the keel. Another option is to fly in by light aircraft, with a small airstrip a few hundred metres inland from the resort.
Directly in front of the camp is a large fringing reef platform that stretches out about 100 metres and it proved to hold good numbers of fish, despite the shallow water.
It was almost too good to be true when some small queenfish duly charged into the shallows to smash hardyheads right at my feet and offered an easy way to open the account, on a small popper.
A short time later I heard some shouts coming from the balcony and turned around to see some frantic finger pointing. I figured they had seen some baitfish being attacked, so started to work my way back along the beach toward the shack.
I had only gone a few metres when an exploratory cast with the same popper saw a huge bow wave bear down on the lure.
The fish had three or four goes at the lure, which I teasingly kept jerking away from under its nose as it became more and more aggressive, before finally hooking up solid in a spectacular spray of whitewater followed by a sustained thrash of the tail out of the water as a big queenie tried to get some traction and put the pedal down.
This was a 6-7kg fish and in water not more than 30cm deep, it had its back out of the water as it peeled line off the reel. It didn’t get airborne, perhaps because the water was simply too shallow to allow it to manage an upward trajectory, but it was nonetheless spectacular as the queenie hared across the shallows.
I wasn’t expecting something so big on the light gear, but was pretty confident I could land the queenie in the shallow water if I was patient.
Unfortunately, it ran me around some weed on its charge across the shallows and I was just about to wade out to try and free it when the line went limp. While disappointed to lose a good fish, it was an exciting start to the trip.
That afternoon, we would wander a few hundred metres up the coast to watch Harry catch a feed of succulent mud crabs, before enjoying a great light tackle session along the same stretch of beach, catching small GTs, queenies, cod, barracuda and other assorted species as the sun dipped and the tide rose.
That evening, I even tried some late night poppering under a stunning full moon with a large Halco Roosta for GTs, without success … perhaps on another night I might have had more luck.
The next day found us up early working creek mouths from Shane’s boat for big queenies and we enjoyed early success, with horse specimens nailing Roosta poppers and Saltiga stickbaits in typically spectacular hits.
There was a frenzy of early activity and it was great fun sight casting to cruising queenies in the shallow, clear water, but as the sun and tide rose the action slowed markedly. We dropped a couple of giant herring and keen fly anglers would be interested to know that we saw a lot of permit during the morning, usually spooking them as we idled along parallel to the shore.
Towards midday, we ended up in deeper water over some coral chasing trevs, but aside from one hit Russell had from a good brassy, it was pretty quiet and we decided to head back to the camp for a relaxing afternoon. A late stop on the way in saw me nail a solid mangrove jack, on an X-Rap pulled past a very fishy looking rocky overhang. The jack charged out and smashed the lure with extreme ferocity, but fortunately I was awake enough to apply the brakes before it made it back to the sanctuary of its rocky home.
We rounded out the day’s fishing by wading out to the edge of the reef platform at the bottom of the tide that afternoon and flicking little poppers around for small queenies and GTs. Darryl went for a quick dip after snagging his Twisty in a reef hole and came up for air vowing to bring his goggles and snorkel next time for some closer exploration of the underwater wonderland.
What To Take:
We arrived at Wilderness Island with a mixture of spinning and baitcasting gear, and I mainly used a 2.1m flick stick and 2500 size reel for creek and shore work, spooled with 5kg braid. For bigger stuff, I used a 2.4m Daiwa Saltiga combo, spooled with 20lb Fireline, which was more than adequate.
It would be worth having some stiffer gear in case you run across some big GTs, while I would also take some lighter bream gear, with 2kg braid, for flats and creek work next time. I won’t visit Wilderness again without fly gear, as the opportunities for feather flinging are endless.
A nine-weight outfit would be ample for most things Wilderness will throw at you, but also having lighter and heavier fly gear would allow greater flexibility. Lure-wise, we threw a wide selection of minnows and poppers/surface lures of varying sizes, as well as metals, jigs and plastics.
There are so many species available to anglers that it is worth having a wide range in the arsenal. The only time we used bait was when Darryl put out a floater from the back of the boat in 8m of water, and when he and Russell were chasing mangrove jacks around the rocks.
The following morning would see us working the creek mouths again and it was a similar story, with early queenie action before things quietened down.
We pushed up one of the creeks and it was so clear you had a perfect view of anything ahead of us. We startled countless turtles in the 2-3m deep water, but of more interest to me was the huge number of permit we saw dash past. There is no doubt fishing this particular creek as the tide drained it, and again as it started to fill, would offer a great chance for tangling with one of these revered sportfish, especially for cautious fly anglers.
When the queenies went quiet, we headed out to a spot in about 7m of water. It wasn’t long before the trevs showed up, goldens and brassies, and made for an enthralling session on relatively light gear. Soft plastics, minnows, poppers, jigs and metals all worked, with hooked fish invariably followed to the boat by a number of their mates. At one stage, all five people that were fishing were hooked up at once, with four of the trevs landed, and then released after quick photos.
With their willingness to hit lures and downright stubbornness when hooked, plus the fact I reckon they are a striking looking animal, I just can’t get sick of goldens.
The brassies are easily mistaken for GTs and while their yellow tails and fins give them away, they put up a pretty similar fight to their bigger cousins when hooked and certainly tested my 9kg spinning gear. The fishing just seemed to get better and better and my day took a pleasing turn when I decided to try a River 2 Sea Gecko minnow.
In the next half an hour, virtually every cast produced a hit or a hookup on a mack or trev as the Gecko worked some magic. There were weary casting arms and biceps as we headed back to camp, where fish curry was on the menu, and yours truly whipped up a bowl of custard for dessert – splendid! Our last day on the island possibly even topped those before it, as Darryl, Russell and I explored the limestone ledges and tiny little beaches at the south-west tip of the island with gear more suited to bream fishing.
At the top of the tide, we had an absolute ball on an incredibly diverse range of species, which were willing lure takers in the crystal clear waters. There were heaps of small queenies, spangled emperor and little GTs, along with an assortment of other species, including flathead, dart and hefty yellowfin bream. At the very southern tip of the island, schools of little brassy trevally and GTs attacked anything we threw in the water relentlessly, while Darryl finally managed to wrestle ashore one of the many sizeable mangrove jack that were cruising the ledges we were fishing from.
It was fish-a-cast stuff as the tide started to empty out, with Russell also having a good spaniard follow his Roosta popper.
The Facilities:
ACCOMMODATION at Wilderness is basic, but comfortable and more than adequate for the keen angler.
Several small cabins offer sleeping quarters for up to 10 people, and these ensure a restful night free of sandflies and mosquitoes.
The main shack, which sits atop a ridge overlooking the beach, offers the centre for activity and is where most downtime is spent, as it is the dining room, shade during the middle of the day, bar, and centre for tackle adjustment. The balcony offers spectacular panoramic views of the gulf and is perfect for enjoying a cooling afternoon siesta when the sea breeze is in, or for taking in a spectacular sunset.
There is a hot saltwater shower down at beach level, which is all about location, location, location.
Jim and his team offer fully-guided stays, or anglers can bring their own boats, and all meals are provided.
They don’t allow fish to be taken away, preferring to help preserve local fish stocks by promoting catch and release angling.
For more information on rates and availability visit www.wilderness-island.com.au or ring Jim on 0409 430 688.
Harry told us that in another few weeks it would be possible to catch big longtail tuna from this same stretch of coast, and even in less than a metre of water directly in front of the camp, as they followed schools of garfish into the gulf, with big GTs another target at times.
Seeing the incredible fish life at our feet – it was like the most magnificent natural aquarium – it wasn’t hard to believe you could catch just about anything at Wilderness Island. As the water levels dropped, the other boys headed back to camp, but I decided to wade the flats at the mouth of the creek. I saw several small schools of painted sweetlip cruise past, while catching more little queenies, and the odd GT, bream and grunter.
There were occasional baitfish sprays as the creek system emptied out, and I could have sworn I heard a barra boof up the creek at one point, my inattention nearly causing me to step on a buried stingray at one point. It was hard not to be impressed with the sheer diversity of sportfishing targets around Wilderness – we had more than enough things to do and didn’t even get around to targeting permit or big GTs, while it was a bit too early in the year for spaniards and longtails.
Sailfish are another option in the waters close to Wilderness later in the year.
There’s not just fish around Wilderness either – I’ve already mentioned the local mud crabs, and we saw dolphins, dugongs, sharks, sea snakes, turtles and countless stingrays.
There’s also abundant bird life and whales and manta rays are yearly visitors to the gulf, while kangaroos and bungarras call Wilderness home, so there’s plenty to entertain nature lovers. But in essence, the camp is aimed primarily at the keen sportsfisher, and certainly has much to offer.
With a vast array of species, and a diverse range of angling opportunities, Wilderness Island is sure to establish itself as a favourite destination for WA anglers in years to come. I’ll certainly be back there again … quite probably with fly rod in tow and my first permit in mind.
