Rottnest Island
Submitted by SHADEAN on Mon, 2018-01-22 08:51
Hi new to all this .. I purchased a 4.5 M Aluminium boat with a 50 hp mercury motor .. My Question is can it get to Rottnest. And if it can what is the best time.. Might seem pretty silly questions to experienced boating community but when you a first entry owner you depend on the advise of experienced anglers and boaters
Just added a photo of the boat .. took me awhile to learn ..Lol
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Ryan C
Posts: 1575
Date Joined: 08/07/10
short answer yes - but read below
hi mate , yes a 4.5m boat can get to Rottnest and ive done it many times before BUT use caution before heading off on a journey like that in your first boat, Rottnest is like a mythical location to many people without a boat but there is much better fishing at times in Cockburn sound, off Hillarys, off Mindarie etc etc , maybe start out off hillaries inside the reef head south down to Hale Rd or similar and anchor and burley or Cockburn sound until you get a feel for weather conditions and how your boat handles , you dont want to get caught out when the weather turns to shit (as it always does!) and not be used to how to operate the boat in less than average conditions . wish you the best but take it slowly and enjoy the experience without feeling the need to fish 50m deep in tbe first 2 trips!.
cheers
SHADEAN
Posts: 4
Date Joined: 10/01/18
thanks
Thanks Ryan .. I have taken it out to Cockburn Sound a couple of times and to garden island this month of January.. I did check the Sea breeze app before going and the boat did not do too bad , hence the question .. thanks for the advise appreciate it ..
bleicester
Posts: 219
Date Joined: 10/09/14
Rotto convoy
There is a Rotto convoy that takes a heap of boats in March if you can wait that long. I did it a few years ago and highly recommend it.
www.biawa.asn.au/pages/rottnest-safety-convoy-2
Just check boat length with them as they do have minimum size limits depending on where you depart from
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Rob H
Posts: 5806
Date Joined: 18/01/12
Are you talking about “going
Are you talking about “going to Rottnest” or going fishing past Rottnest?
This time of year is almost inevitably windy and I wouldn’t want to be out there in a 4.5m with 25knots sthly.
Especially with not much experience.
Having said that on a flat calm day a run to Thomson Bay is only about 25 min at 20 knots.
Id suggest get some time up in the boat, some knowledge on how it runs and wait til April when you tend to get decent calm stretches.
Then team up with another boat.
Once at the island, if you get some accomodation you can explore to your hearts content as there is always a sheltered side to explore.
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
SHADEAN
Posts: 4
Date Joined: 10/01/18
Thanks
Thanks Rob for the advise .. I was thinking of going fishing at Rotto.. we got the Boat in December ..I have spend some time on the boat but have only been around Cockburn Sound and Garden Island and the boat did not do too bad, hence the question... So I thought I will be a bit more adventurous and I appreciate your advise and will probably wait until April but in the meantime spend more time on it until then ..
Travis p
Posts: 727
Date Joined: 28/07/16
launch at leewin boat ramp
head downstream follow the ferry to thompsons bay pick your days coming back can be very tricky even if you decide to follow ferry on the way back the ferry cruises around 25knots i would go there first thing in the morning and head back before afternoon breeze comes in.
id also stick to the 1.5 rule 1.5 sea 1.5swell and 15knot wind anything over dont go.
wont catch em sitting at home!
Francis
Posts: 326
Date Joined: 17/06/08
I like that rule...
I like that rule...
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
I dont necessarily agree
I dont necessarily agree with the swell part of the equation.
Swell can be your friend, as much as your enemy. Any decent swell will increase, and even break over ground that on a flat day you may not even see the reef close under the surface. You can use this to develop your local knowledge about where and where you shouldn't go on the flat days.
Whilst you are moving, as long as you remain aware of it when side on or running with it, swell should not cause you any dramas.
Fish! HARD!
Rob H
Posts: 5806
Date Joined: 18/01/12
Besides of course shallow
Besides of course shallow breaking water, the only thing that makes a sea rough is wind
Swell, tide, current etc will make it worse but on their own without wind are nothing along with rain, clouds etc
Kimberly a bit different but we are talking local west coast
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18054
Date Joined: 11/03/08
as mentioned you gotta pick
as mentioned you gotta pick your days. when we got our first boat we fished in no more than 30 mtrs for about 2 months until we got the feel of it in various conditions and our boat was about 1mtr bigger. i have heard of many misshaps due to lack of experience in rougher conditions such as a following swell which can flip a tinny real quick . spend the time getting the feel of it and dont be in a rush to get out there. As Ryan has mentioned , there is many places to fish and take home a feed weather it be the bread and butter species like sand and kg whiting or the odd snapper or dhuie taken on shallow reefs. every boat will handle different in all conditions. Number 1 rule is safety first.
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
Helen
Posts: 597
Date Joined: 06/02/10
I think you should try it
I think you should try it out on Thursday and take me to rotto with you seeing i need to go over on Thursday hehehe.
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randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
To give you an indication, i
To give you an indication, i have a 5m 4mm plate ally runabout that i take 25 mike off the coast. I have 44 years experience on the water including comercial vessels.
I was hoping to get to rotto on friday for this weekend, coming home sunday. But the forecast for sunday is shit so we wont be going.
As others have said, pick your days. Perhaps even find a companion boat to go with the first couple of times. Make sure you have the right safety gear and log on / off with sea rescue. Every now and again, marine safety do an excorted convoy trip across to give first timers a chance to get experience with the trip across and some knowledge of entering the bays.
Good luck.
Fish! HARD!
Ryan C
Posts: 1575
Date Joined: 08/07/10
shadean
out of interest mate what sort of boat did you get?
SHADEAN
Posts: 4
Date Joined: 10/01/18
rottnest
..2006 Bermuda 450 Island Coral aluminium boat Mercury 50HP just added a photo at the top .. took me awhile to work out to upload it ..Lol
Ryan C
Posts: 1575
Date Joined: 08/07/10
nice
cool boat , just get a feel for a few differrent conditions in it and youll be right , dont be fixated on Rotto though as you may be dissapointed as a lot of people are when fishing there.
beau
Posts: 4104
Date Joined: 24/01/10
Im with Ryan, theres not much
Im with Ryan, theres not much more you can catch out at Rotto that you cant catch fishing Five Fathom Bank or 3 Mile reef