Weekend Escape With Ash Vagh - OCEANARCADIA

During the Covid19 pandemic it has been difficult for many people to get out and still do the things they love. Luckily living in Broome we are so fortunate to have such incredible places to adventure out to with hardly anyone around. As a diving and fishing enthusiast the tricky thing with Broome is the tidal movements, this means the vis can be only a metre or so in front of you when diving the big tides. I mainly dive the Neap tides (small tides) which obviously clears up and makes it easier to spot fish. Coming off the last Neaps I headed out with two mates on two separate days and we’re lucky to snag a wet season dive which was an epic time.

Day 1

We left at 3am and headed south to a couple of spots to catch the early. There was a fog over the creek and I couldn’t see further then about 15-20m in front of the bow of the boat. I used my gps to make it out towards the the channel as it is super shallow.

On our way out we came across two guys on the bank shouting out to us. They had struck a bombie in their tinny and put a whole in it that you could fit a 750ml drink bottle in. They were lucky enough to get to land and catch a lift from us back to their car. As the tide was lowering we managed to still get back out and head to a couple of spots. The weather was so eerie as the fog hadn’t cleared and there was a lot of moisture in the air. We pulled up to the first spot and there was fish everywhere and the vis was pretty good. The fog didn’t clear until about 10am but by then we had a few fish on board and cruised to a couple other spots to scope some ground and plug a couple more fish. We ended up with a few fish that day and were happy to hear those boys got their boat sorted and were safe and sound. Always have to look after each other out there the ocean and weather is so unpredictable.

Day 2

The second day we went was a little different. Vis was clear and no fog. We managed to head to a few new spots we found the previous day and got a few fish. At our last spot a big Spanish Mackerel decided to circle my mate. He called over to me as I was in the boat and his gun wasn’t equipped to shoot such a big fish. As soon as I jumped back in the water the fish swam over to me (as they do) out of curiosity. I went down and he started to arc away from me so I shook my gun and plugged it just behind the pectoral fin. As soon as you hit a Mackie they go off unless you stone them or break their backbone. I was lucky enough that this guy ran out of steam and didn’t required a second shot to stop him. I swam it over to the boat as quick as I could before the sharks and was lucky to land it.

Overall, two epic days when the weather is hit and miss this time of year. The Mackie weighed in at 18kg and measured 1.4m, shot with a Rob Allen Tuna 1200 fun with a reel. Remember to always dive with a buddy and I hope you guys enjoy the vid!! - Ash Vagh

SHOW ASH SOME LOVE ON ALL HIS SOCIALS!!