Ok so we have spent a couple of nights in a little town called Rosebery, now it was time to get serious on two fronts, the 1st was showing the family tourist sites, the 2nd Fishing. We headed down to a small town on the west coast called Strahan. Strahan is infamous for numerous convict escapes from Sarah Island and more importantly famous for its Mount Franklin Water (Franklin, runs into the Gordon which runs through Strahan) and its amazing array of fish. We would be staying in a little settlement about 25 minutes from actual Strahan called the heads. The heads is how everybody remembers growing up and has all the facilities to make life comfortable. I was fortunate enough to have a few family members hook me up with a boat, which allowed us to manoeuvre our way out through Hells Gates and South down the coast , setting pots for crayfish in various spots and launching long lines in waters about 70 fathoms deep (approx. 140m). I was thinking to myself, the long lines themselves were a mission getting to the surface, when bang I got a massive hit and it was on . After several minutes of good fighting and me trying to not show my weaknesses, I finally got the fish to the surface, I had just caught a nice Striped Trumpeter. The reason I write this is my uncle said his been fishing these waters for 45 years and had never caught a Striped Trumpeter on a long line, it took me 20 minutes (go figure). Anyway after punching back against a 4m swirl, we pulled the pots where we got 15 Crayfish and entered back to the safety of Hells Gates. The next day we took the whole family out fishing for cocky salmon and showing the girls the penguins that roost around the light houses. Cocky salmon are a really easy fish to catch, just use a silver wobbler and spin off the beach or trawl in a boat and further to that they are quite a nice fish to eat. So in the 5 days we spent at Strahan we caught and ate Crayfish, Trumpeter, Flounder, Abalone, Salmon and of course gummy shark (Flake), now that's what I call living.
The Township of Strahan is placed over looking Macquarie Harbour and is a must see for anybody venturing through this part of the world. There are a couple of caravan parks within the township, if unpowered sites are not for you and a lot of tourism activities including 4WD tours, Quad biking through the sand dunes and the Gordon river cruise.
Score Strahan Heads 91/100
Tips Strahan does not have a predictable tide, it fluctuates a lot more then the normal 6 hour rotation. Local knowledge is a must when fishing in these parts, while the locals may not give you their secret spots, they certainly will ensure you catch something. Do the Gordon River Tour
