Fishing Broome And The Kimbeley. 10 Things You Should Really Know

December 22nd, 2011 | Author: Fishing_tips

1. Main targets

When fishing Broome and the wider Kimbeley area the fisherman has a large an array of angling opportunities to enjoy. Barramundi, threadfin and fingermark are among the more popular species in the rivers and estuaries contributing to the enormous expanse of Roebuck Bay.

Broome is also renowned for the black jewfish that live in Roebuck Bayand of course don’t miss the delicious mud crabs of the bay.

Coral trout, mackerel, red emperor and blue bone are amongst the popular reef species but there are many more available.

Sailfish, blue and black marlin, spanish mackerel, wahoo and dolphin fish are the commonest blue water species.

2. Fishing Seasons

The billfish season in waters offshore from Broome starts around April and runs on to October,but i can be a few weeks early or late. Sailfish are present in large numbers from roughly June to October. The optimum time for Barramundi fishing in Broome and the surrounding region is after the wet season through the “run off” in April and May and also in the “build up” late in the year.

3. Tides

The standard of fishing in Broome is very much tide dependent as the tidal movement in this region of the world can be massive at around ten meters

Billfish and some reef species for example are best fished one or two days after neap tides as the water becomes too cloudy after king tides.

Barramundi and many estuary species seem to prefer tides nearer to neap but still with some tidal movement. “No run, no fun” as they say.

But this is fishing and the rules change regularly according to climate conditions and location so the best bet is always to get friendly with the locals.

4. Best fishing

The best fishing in Broome is mostly in the period of late August thru to Nov for most species. Estuary species such as barramundi are also feeding hungrily after the wet season finishes around the end of March, give or take a month.

5. Getting there and Accommodation

Virgin Airlines and Qantas both have daily flights to Broome with connections from most capital airports in Australia. There is a massive range of accommodation from caravan parks to luxury beach front resorts and self contained vacation residences both in Broome town and also out at Cable Beach. The city typically fills up with general tourism in the peak of the dry season from June to August. The Shinju Matsuri or the “Festival of the Pearl” is usually held in early September. After this, accommodation becomes easier to get and at shorter notice which is good as September to October are usually awesome fishing months.

6. Geography

Broome is found on the north west coast of Australia in an isolated region called the Kimberley. The Kimberley is almost twice the size of the state of Victoria and three times the size of England. Broome is 2200 klm from Perth and 1900 klm from Darwin. Broome is found on a flat cape with the wide shallow expanses of Roebuck Bay on the easterly side and the long sweep of the gorgeous Cable Beach on the west side. All of the western Kimberley is often flat and the Broome area isn’t an exception. The soil is red and sandy as far as the eye can see and the foliage is sparse.

7. Population

The Kimberley is sparsely populated with only 40 000 inhabitants. In 2010 Broome had a population of around 16 300 and that has grown by over 50% since 1995. In the peak visitor season from June through to Aug the population of Broome will swell to around about 40 or 50 000. Lots of the resident population are aboriginal people with a significant part of the population descendants of the Japanese, Malay and other Asian people who came to Broome when the pearling industry was booming here from the 1880′s. It is quite a multicultural town.

8. Climate

Broome and the Kimberley are very much in the tropical section of northern Australia and as such they actually only have 2 seasons each year. The dry season starts from around April and runs to roughly September. No rain falls in these months with clear blue skies dominating and average daily temperatures often around 30. The wet season starts in October with increasing temperature and humidity and occasional storms building up to the start of the monsoon. This period is known. As the “build up”. The vast bulk of the rains fall from around Christmas to March or April and this is cyclone season.

9. Hazards and Safety

You would be excused for thinking the Kimberley has more perils per square foot than any other place in the world. Onshore there are almost all of the top 10 deadly snakes in the world, plus scorpions and a thousand other little biters especially near mangrove swamps.

In the sea it gets worse! The Kimberley is prime crocodile habitat to start, with both the smaller, often not aggressive freshwater crocodile and the larger very aggressive saltwater crocodile found in large numbers. “Crocs” were just about shot out of existence by hunters in the early days but they have been protected in Australia now since the 1970′s. And there numbers have been building up ever since then. Their common names are a bit misleading as both types of crocs can be seen in both fresh and saltwater.

Box jellyfish are present in these waters from October to April dependent on water temperatures. Their sting, if not fatal will be very painful and scaring. There are plenty of other creatures to be mindful of when fishing Broome and the Kimberley including many species of shark and sea snake.

Finally there is storms and intense weather to be aware of which can spring up swiftly between October and April with the majority between December and March. All really good reasons to use local information.

10. Fishing guides, lodges and charters

Fishing Broome and the Kimberley is a unique, wild, remote and exotic experience that will draw you back time after time. Your fishing experience and your results will be optimized if you use the local knowledge and services provided by the range of pro fishing guides, lodges and charter operators that are available.

Bear in mind that from June thru to November you need to book ahead to avoid disappointment. They frequently book out well in advance.

Paul Collery is a keen fishermen, traveller and writer based in Darwin Australia. His companies www.sportsfishingadventures.co.au

and www.flyfishingadventures.com.au have a range of unique fishing adventures to wild, remote and exotic locations around Australia, New zealand and the Pacific.