Remote River Man

Back in 2010, I packrafted down the King Edward River in the Kimberley, and caught lots of sooty grunter along the way. I believe it was the first major solo packrafting expedition ever conducted in Australia - I was completely alone for about a month, and loved every minute of it; all sorts of people paddle up that way now. Sooty grunter are incredibly aggressive up there - I normally used a one-inch metal spoon on a handline, but I reckon just about any shiny lure would do. Rarely waited more than 30 seconds for a hook up. No cleaning, no gutting, just straight on the coals and then straight in the stomach. Deep freshwater pools with lots of pandanus roots and shady water lily cover seem to hide the biggest ones. Most reliable source of protein for the hungry explorer....

Thanks for the input, everyone. I'm leaning toward a GME fixed mount for the new boat.

My new Polycraft Drifter 4.5 will only come with two rod holders in the back, so I'm looking to add 4 more along the sides. The easiest option seems to be the ones that clamp right onto the side grab rails (saves drilling into the Polyethylene). Does anyone have any advice on which ones to buy, or experience/comments on any rail-mount rod holders they like? I've seen some that are basically thick stainless steel wire, that clamp right around the cylindrical side rail: https://www.whitworths.com.au/deck-tech-stainless-steel-adjustable-rail-mount-rod-holder-25mm Any advice welcome.

Black CC - From my understanding, saltie sightings as far up as Geikie Gorge are quite rare (it's got to be a pretty serious wet season), and the Parks Dept. immediately relocates them if they find them (bad for tourism). Occasionally you'll get the odd sawfish up that far too, but not often. I suspect sawfish are rarer these days because their front end gets caught in old, abandoned fishing nets quite easily - just a theory though. One year, the Fitzroy was so flooded, there were whole dead cows and uprooted trees floating down the thing. Big wet seasons can be hairy. I wouldn't be caught dead (or, rather, would probably end up that way) in a kayak or canoe in Kimberley salt water (I've survived the ocassional tinny trip, though). After coming across a 16-foot croc that had pulled a fully grown steer into the water in the Ord River, l definitely stick to larger boats (and never lean over the side to pull up a fish). When bushwalking up there in saltie country, I always toss my billy can (attached to a long length of para cord) in the water to get fresh drinking water. Much safer than kneeling at the bank :). Ivanhoe Crossing near Kununurra and Cahill's Crossing between Kakadu and Arnhem Land are both notorious spots where crocs have nabbed a few fishing folk over the years. The biggest thing I've caught on a handline up that way was an 11-foot hammerhead, which eventually snapped my 30-lb. test mono, much to my relief. This was up in the King George Falls inlet, a beautiful place. I did have a large barra on once that would have been close to a metre, but lost it quickly. There are some absolute monster catfish up there too, and the biggest Indo-Pacific stingrays I've ever seen. Keeps you on your toes....

Yeah, Rebel, it's definitely my favourite part of Australia - a true gem of a place, especially in the hard-to-reach spots. Here's a more recent journey from 2013. I've never filleted a single fish in the Kimberley, in all the many years I've been traipsing/paddling around the place. Everything from sooty grunter and estuary cod to queenfish and barra gets cooked whole in the coals (or buried in an Aboriginal-style 'ground oven', sealed up tight to keep the moisture in) - no cleaning, no scaling. Then the flesh is easily pulled away from the spine and devoured when it's ready.

Looks like you had fun. I know the region quite well. I believe I'm the first person to ever conduct a major solo packraft expedition in the Kimberley (gliding down the King Edward in May 2010, from memory).... and I've explored a lot of other beautiful areas there as well (look up The River With No Name, from 2013 - that was an awesome trip too). It's unforgiving country, and physically demanding, and I can tell you from experience that living on sooty grunter, water lily bulbs and hibiscus flowers isn't the worst thing in the world... but it does get old in a hurry. Male freshwater crocs can get quite territorial, especially where water levels are low and/or they're in breeding mode. Wouldn't want those needle teeth in my flesh, that's for sure. But I've swum with them in many a Kimberley creek plenty of times, no problems. Usually they're just curious. I think the best plan is to not look like a bite-sized fish.

Up here off the Bundaberg coast, mackerels of several species are pretty common. I've had good success trolling 3-4-inch metal spoons, and wondered what the rest of you folks like to use to target them. And if you use metal spoons like I do, which specific ones do you prefer? I had an old Halco for more than a decade, with silvery metal colour on one side and a glittery reddish colour on the other, which has caught me plenty, but alas, lost it recently and am looking at what others use in the modern lure range. I've heard the vibrating blade lures are pretty successful too, both for inshore and deeper water. Thoughts?

I'm a kayak fisherman who has finally bit the bullet and bought a 4.5 Polycraft with a 60HP Yamaha high-thrust on the back - my very first time owning an outboard despite my (ahem) advanced years. I've been looking at assorted videos, and everyone seems to have varying opinions about outboard flushing. I've also noticed that there are collapsible flushing buckets available that you stick under the motor in your driveway or wherever, fill with water and flush the motor that way, rather than using the earmuffs method. Can anyone tell me if immersing the motor in a bucket after fishing is better or the same as flushing with the muffs (bucket method sounds slightly more foolproof to me), and also, when doing either, do you run the engine in neutral or at a low idle (700 revs or so). Total newbie question, I know, but I'd love to hear from the experts. I'd hate to blow up a brand new Yammie or do something equally embarrassing :).

Great account! Up here in the Bundaberg region, sight fishing for juvenile marlin (2 metres or so) is pretty common off the northern end of Fraser Island. There are plenty around, especially in the warmer months, and the water is usually crystal clear across the sandy stretches. It's about 60kms from the mainland, though, so a bit far for my 4.5 metre open Polycraft, from Coral Cove. There's a reasonably sheltered anchorage at Rooney Point, just west of Fraser's northern tip.

Sure thing, Neil. Here's the same spot from a different angle. You can find a few random videos from my various expeditions around the globe on the Remoteriverman YouTube channel, too, if you're interested in having a look. Kimberley, Borneo, West Africa, South America, BC Canada, etc.

I've done a dozen or so solo treks up in the Kimberley in WA over the past 40 years, and been to some amazing places, both on foot and by packraft. Here's a waterfall on a creek with no name, about 70 kms northeast of the Mitchell Plateau airfield. I spent 27 days alone exploring it to and from the sea (caught a nice barra on a handline at the mouth, too :). Only way in or out was by chopper. Magic.

Yamaha Brisbane (biggest Polycraft dealer in Australia) recommends NOT using ethanol fuel in its new outboard engines, according to their 'How to look after your Yamaha 60' video, anyway.

I've got a new 4.5 Polycraft fishing boat on order, and am currently sorting out which accessories to add. I'll want a decent marine radio (doubt I'll ever be going more than 15 kms offshore) and was wondering what everyone's thoughts were on the pros and cons of a handheld versus a fixed mount radio. Having a waterproof handheld means you can go overboard with it in an emergency (while the fixed version stays with the boat and likely won't be useable in a capsize). On the other hand, I understand the range of the fixed radios is considerably superior to handheld ones. Any advice for a newbie boat owner welcome!

There's a place called Koastal Kayaks up here in Bundaberg, Queensland run by an avid kayak fisherman named Dave, who custom-makes kayaks of various types. Super-high quality yaks and he's always happy to answer questions. This region has tons of fish-worthy mangrove creeks, dams and good-sized rivers for the avid kayak fisho. Here's the one he made for me, called a Crusader Fisherman. It's got a nice balance of speed and stability and is a dream to paddle. I've caught hard-fighting mack tuna at the blue-water mouth of the Burnett River, mangrove jack from rock bars on Coonarr Creek, flatties in the Elliot River and school mackerel just offshore, less than 800 metres from my house in Coral Cove. My wife has a standard Dragon Kayak from a shop (she likes the extra stability and ability to cart crab pots around) but I prefer the versatility of this yak. Here's a photo from the upper (freshwater) reaches of the Burnett River near a spot called Smith's Crossing, upstream from Bundaberg.

Great job, Derek. There is some incredible useful information here for kayak fishos of all levels.

Hi - I was browsing through the 'What do you like about the Fishraider site?' thread and a few people were mentioning 'Tapatalk access' as a plus for them. First time I've ever heard of it. What exactly is it, and what does it do?

Up here off the Bundaberg coast, the weather's cooling off a bit, which means the snapper season is coming fast. I don't have a lot of experience targeting them specifically, but I sure love to eat them so I'm going to make a real effort to get a few this year. For other species, I mainly fish with lures (soft plastics, plus metal lures for mackerel trolling) but I understand half a pilchard on a 6/0 suicide hook is as good a method as any for catching snapper. I've never bothered much with burley, but have been told it helps a lot for snapper fishing results. Any tips, proven techniques or bait presentation suggestions (I've heard different views on the use of sinkers, for example) are very, very welcome to this snapper-fishing rookie - cheers!

Thanks, Neil... yeah, it's an interesting area for fishos up here. Kind of a borderland between southern and tropical species. We get snapper, tailor and winter whiting when the temperature drops and barra, mangrove jack and reef species firing up over summer. We're the southern limit of queenfish too. Plenty of creek systems to explore and a healthy supply of mackerel just offshore (I've even trolled for them on calm days from my kayak). I shall aspire to a 101cm flatty PB like yourself - wow, that's a monster. Up in QLD, we have to give any duskies over 75cm back to the ocean (which is fair enough) but rest assured, any 70cm numbers are going straight into the beer batter :).

Newbie to the site from Coral Cove, QLD, near Bundaberg. Got a Polycraft 4.5 Drifter coming my way in August. Until then, I'm doing some kayak fishing...

Excellent post. We often forget just how quickly it can all go pear-shaped, and how little time there might be to grab what you need when everything hits the fan. The Life Cell looks like just the thing - thanks for the post mate!