Day out with Avenger Gold Coast Fishing Charters

Posted on September 17 2015 by admin

A friend and I booked in to Avenger Gold Coast fishing charters 5 hour half day offshore fishing charters. And it was certainly worth our while! Highlights from the trip include landing a large Cobia, comfortable boat, great value for money and the excellent customer service provided by Chris the skipper and Pat the deckhand.

The charter departed at 6am. First things first, Chris provided the obligatory safety spiel, great tips on rigs and bait presentation, dealing with current and advice on how to land the target species. We then headed out to the Gold Coast offshore reefs - a couple of kilometres from the coast. And we were fishing in no time.

Cobia had been landed in the days before and was the target species for the day. It didn't take long for the action to begin. Cobia started taking slimy mackerel baits. After dropping one or two (presumably) Cobia, the third was well hooked and the fight was on. After a number of runs away from the boat we knew we had a big fish on the line. 15 minutes a later an impressive 25kg Cobia was landed. Our mission was accomplished by 8am.

Landing such a nice fish added to the relaxed atmosphere on the boat. I found the banter between the Chris the skipper and Pat the deckhand to be rather entertaining. These guys obviously easy going and enjoy lots of laughs, but are serious with customer satisfaction. When the fishing did get slow Chris was happy to search for better fishing grounds. In fact he moved the boat a couple of times.

The tackle provided was Shimano Blue Water series With Penn Senator reels with braid and mainly double Paternoster rigs. The bottom rig was a double gang for larger baits, and the top rig was a single hook for smaller strip baits. Pilchards, slimy mackerel and live baits were provided for bait. The tackle was issue free and well maintained. There was never any shortage of bait. Livies were floated out the back on an unmanned reel whenever possible to maximise our chances of more fish.

Chris made an interesting point on lost tackle. When the fishing charter absorbed the cost of lost rods and reels, he'd see one rod lost a week - at least. After the policy was changed so that anglers have to pay for lost rods and reels, only one rod was lost a month. I was astounded that any business could absorb the weekly loss of $300 rod/reels. That's something like a $15,000 expense over a year - wow!

In contrast with the forecast, a 10 to 15 knot wind had unexpectedly kicked up out of the south east. While conditions weren't exactly perfect, the boat was very comfortable and dealt with the wind blown swell easily. She was powered by twin Suzuki 250hp engines which quickly moved us between fishing spots. The main fishing area was sufficient space for the group of 11. I appreciated the absence of poles around the perimeter of the fishing deck. Even with the boat at capacity it was easy to find a space. It was critical during the fight with the large Cobia to swap sides and keep clear of the engines/props - which was easy managed due to the boats layout.

Further to the point on excellent customer service Chris went out of his way to fillet and distribute the 25kg Cobia amongst the anglers. As Chris moved the Cobia onto the pontoon to fillet, quite an audience had gathered, including some very impressed tourists from overseas. I should mention that Pat the deckhand was also very responsive to any requests for assistance, baiting hooks and fishing tips.

See Avenger Gold Coast fishing charters website for more information. You can book Avenger Gold Coast fishing charters via Smarter Fishing Charters. Half and full day charters are available for groups of up to 12 anglers.

Cheers Gary