Family Fun on the water The water temperature is heating up already on the coast so we should be starting to see some good variety of fish coming through in November. We headed out yesterday on a little "Half Day," 5 Hour fishing trip. Decided to cancel Saturdays trips as the forecast and actual were up around 25-30 knots. The general consensus was that our guests wanted to leave at 11.00 am and be back at 4.00 pm. Usually not a great time of the day for fishing but this trip is more about being out on the water, enjoying throwing in a line and just having some fun. Turned out to be lots of activity - hooked onto over 50 fishing in that time, not a lot of keepers but we were on the spot and it's all about hooking on, learning and fun. Sarah booked her parents on for this trip as a gift. They had a Bacon & Egg Burger freshly made and ready for them when they arrived and a coffee to wash it down with. This was devoured while we were waiting for other guests to arrive. They took home a couple of good sized fish for dinner and looked like they thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Conditions were magnificent - blue skies, a light breeze, no swell - ideal. Spanner Crabbing is closed now until late December so it's all about the fishing and fun till then. If you are after a few hours on the water with lots of laughs, check out our 5 hour fishing charter
Family Fun on the water
The water temperature is heating up already on the coast so we should be starting to see some good variety of fish coming through in November.
We headed out yesterday on a little “Half Day,” 5 Hour fishing trip.
Decided to cancel Saturdays trips as the forecast and actual were up around 25-30 knots. The general consensus was that our guests wanted to leave at 11.00 am and be back at 4.00 pm. Usually not a great time of the day for fishing but this trip is more about being out on the water, enjoying throwing in a line and just having some fun.
Turned out to be lots of activity – hooked onto over 50 fishing in that time, not a lot of keepers but we were on the spot and it’s all about hooking on, learning and fun.
Sarah booked her parents on for this trip as a gift. They had a Bacon & Egg Burger freshly made and ready for them when they arrived and a coffee to wash it down with. This was devoured while we were waiting for other guests to arrive.
They took home a couple of good sized fish for dinner and looked like they thoroughly enjoyed the trip.
Conditions were magnificent – blue skies, a light breeze, no swell – ideal.
Spanner Crabbing is closed now until late December so it’s all about the fishing and fun till then.
If you are after a few hours on the water with lots of laughs, check out our 5 hour fishing charter
Great to be back on the water! It seems like it has been so long since we had been out fishing. In fact it was over two weeks which is a long time when you rely on your weekends to survive. After all the rain and winds, and boy, did we cop a lot in one hit!, we were hoping to see some turn around in activity with the fishing. They say "Drought on land, drought at sea" and this was certainly starting to show that was the case. Each trip out, it was a matter of - what can we expect today and getting grimmer each week. We were lucky enough to have a Maxi Day - that's a 12 Hour Deep Sea Fishing charter. One for the keen fishermen. So out we went, passed the Barwon Banks and beyond. It was tough at times but by the end of the day we were throwing back Trevally. Picked up a nice mixed bag but mainly Trevally on the day. Sunday was a different storey. A Full Day Charter - 9 hours, so much that much shorter than the Maxi Day but it was hard work. Hardly any fish on board but had a few guys having a bit of a Christmas break up and they still enjoyed being out on the water, having a few beers, dropping a line in and being away from it all on land. The BBQ lunch didn't go astray either. :) If you are looking for a bit of an end of year break up - get away with the boys, give Paddy a call on 0412 155 814 and jump on board Crusader 1 for a few hours. You can also book on line or simply check out our website - www.sunshinecoastafloat.com.au
Great to be back on the water!
It seems like it has been so long since we had been out fishing. In fact it was over two weeks which is a long time when you rely on your weekends to survive.
After all the rain and winds, and boy, did we cop a lot in one hit!, we were hoping to see some turn around in activity with the fishing. They say “Drought on land, drought at sea” and this was certainly starting to show that was the case. Each trip out, it was a matter of – what can we expect today and getting grimmer each week.
We were lucky enough to have a Maxi Day – that’s a 12 Hour Deep Sea Fishing charter. One for the keen fishermen. So out we went, passed the Barwon Banks and beyond. It was tough at times but by the end of the day we were throwing back Trevally. Picked up a nice mixed bag but mainly Trevally on the day.
Sunday was a different storey. A Full Day Charter – 9 hours, so much that much shorter than the Maxi Day but it was hard work. Hardly any fish on board but had a few guys having a bit of a Christmas break up and they still enjoyed being out on the water, having a few beers, dropping a line in and being away from it all on land. The BBQ lunch didn’t go astray either. :)
If you are looking for a bit of an end of year break up – get away with the boys, give Paddy a call on 0412 155 814 and jump on board Crusader 1 for a few hours.
YES - Here at Sunshine Coast Afloat we do school excursions for High School Students. Marine Studies and Recreational Studies students gain benefit from these trips. The trips usually incorporate a 5 hour deep sea fishing & Spanner Crabbing charter, followed by some lunch from the fish shops in Mooloolaba where they get the fish straight from the Trawlers. We then take a walk along the dock to view some trawlers and a quick look inside the Tuna Factory. These trips can be adapted to cruises if fishing is not the key component. Our tours are based around what the students are studying at the time. If it's sustainability, we can talk to them about how Mooloolaba was a thriving hub, what happened, the impacts and how things have changed to now. The current relationship between fisheries and the trawling industry and how they work together. If the subject is more about boat licensing, rules and regulations - we can talk about what is required for different levels of licensing - Commercial and or Recreational. This is an early morning start but exciting day out for students and teachers. Hand on and certainly not the normal type of field trip. This time of the year is also perfect to be out on the water as we generally see Whales and Dolphins on our venture along with a cheeky turtle that is trying to eat our Spanner Crabs.
YES – Here at Sunshine Coast Afloat we do school excursions for High School Students. Marine Studies and Recreational Studies students gain benefit from these trips. The trips usually incorporate a 5 hour deep sea fishing & Spanner Crabbing charter, followed by some lunch from the fish shops in Mooloolaba where they get the fish straight from the Trawlers. We then take a walk along the dock to view some trawlers and a quick look inside the Tuna Factory.
These trips can be adapted to cruises if fishing is not the key component.
Our tours are based around what the students are studying at the time. If it’s sustainability, we can talk to them about how Mooloolaba was a thriving hub, what happened, the impacts and how things have changed to now. The current relationship between fisheries and the trawling industry and how they work together. If the subject is more about boat licensing, rules and regulations – we can talk about what is required for different levels of licensing – Commercial and or Recreational.
This is an early morning start but exciting day out for students and teachers. Hand on and certainly not the normal type of field trip. This time of the year is also perfect to be out on the water as we generally see Whales and Dolphins on our venture along with a cheeky turtle that is trying to eat our Spanner Crabs.
What a fantastic day of good quality fish on board the Full Day (9 hour) Deep Sea Fishing Charter last Saturday. As always heading out on the full day we all have high hopes and expectations but to have good weather, a great bunch of people on board, a good feed, some fantastic fishing, even 30 odd Spanner Crabs (keepers) as well, makes for a great day out on the water. Once of those days when it all comes together and you have that smile on your face because you have delivered! Photo is a great pick up - Samson fish So far, Winter is proving to be what we all hope for, particularly since we got hit with unruly weather the first 6 months of the year. Spanner & Cobia are the target fish for winter. Have not had a lot of Cobia on board as yet but seeing some good sized Snapper appearing. Still have another month or so of winter so get out and enjoy fishing sunset. We will be continuing our afternoon/evening trips a for a while yet and have started some 5 hour trips coming back in at 8.00 pm to catch the sunset fishing. Head over to our website to book online or call Paddy on 0412 155 814
What a fantastic day of good quality fish on board the Full Day (9 hour) Deep Sea Fishing Charter last Saturday.
As always heading out on the full day we all have high hopes and expectations but to have good weather, a great bunch of people on board, a good feed, some fantastic fishing, even 30 odd Spanner Crabs (keepers) as well, makes for a great day out on the water. Once of those days when it all comes together and you have that smile on your face because you have delivered!
Photo is a great pick up – Samson fish
So far, Winter is proving to be what we all hope for, particularly since we got hit with unruly weather the first 6 months of the year. Spanner & Cobia are the target fish for winter. Have not had a lot of Cobia on board as yet but seeing some good sized Snapper appearing. Still have another month or so of winter so get out and enjoy fishing sunset. We will be continuing our afternoon/evening trips a for a while yet and have started some 5 hour trips coming back in at 8.00 pm to catch the sunset fishing.
Head over to our website to book online or call Paddy on 0412 155 814
Overnight Fishing Trip cancelled - Of all the times for the weather and play havoc, it was that one night. All the planning and excitement of heading out overnight again, gone. The winds came in fast and furious but didn't hang around which was good so we managed to get a small 5 Hour trip out on Saturday afternoon. Typical of the 5 Hour charter, a bit quiet but Shalmaine pick up a nice Amber Jack which I'm sure she'd be happy with. Sunday, we headed out to the Barwon Banks on a Full Day of fishing. Matt bought on a group of guys which were great company. South Easterlies crated a bit of chop which the few that didn't take their motion tablets felt but some great fishing on the day. Lost a couple of big fish. A few good long hard fights to bring them in but lost them. That Cobia that got away is one of those fish that will be spoken about for ages. :) All in all, a good weekend of fishing. This week is looking awesome from a weather perspective. We have a couple of trips this week with a few spots available and with such nice conditions this is definitely the time to be out on the water. Grab the added bonus of seeing the Humpback Whales!
Overnight Fishing Trip cancelled – Of all the times for the weather and play havoc, it was that one night. All the planning and excitement of heading out overnight again, gone. The winds came in fast and furious but didn’t hang around which was good so we managed to get a small 5 Hour trip out on Saturday afternoon.
Typical of the 5 Hour charter, a bit quiet but Shalmaine pick up a nice Amber Jack which I’m sure she’d be happy with.
Sunday, we headed out to the Barwon Banks on a Full Day of fishing. Matt bought on a group of guys which were great company. South Easterlies crated a bit of chop which the few that didn’t take their motion tablets felt but some great fishing on the day. Lost a couple of big fish. A few good long hard fights to bring them in but lost them. That Cobia that got away is one of those fish that will be spoken about for ages. :)
All in all, a good weekend of fishing. This week is looking awesome from a weather perspective. We have a couple of trips this week with a few spots available and with such nice conditions this is definitely the time to be out on the water. Grab the added bonus of seeing the Humpback Whales!
This is one for the hard-core fisherman! Sunshine Coast Afloat’s Overnight Deep Sea Fishing Charters are the only overnight fishing adventure on the Sunshine Coast! On this 18 hour charter, our experienced crew will take you deep, deep into the ocean, all the way to the Continental Shelf. These tours are carefully planned out around the moon cycle, tides and fishing reefs, to ensure ultimate fishing success! We’ll take you to a number of closely guarded locations that have proven themselves as fantastic night fishing locations. These charters target snapper in particular, but large Pearl Perch and other night predators are certainly in our scope as well! This charter is only run during the winter months when the weather is more stable, as it relies heavily on favourable weather conditions. Winter is also big time snapper season, and they love to feed at night! Sunshine Coast Afloat only takes a maximum of 12 passengers on these trips (despite being able to comfortably fit plenty more!) designed for maximum comfort and plenty of space. With sleeping accommodation for up to six people at a time, this charter is designed for maximum fishing time! Dinner, breakfast, snacks and non-alcoholic drinks are all included. Mother Nature usually only allows us to run a maximum of eight trips per year, making them all the more special and exclusive! Dates for our overnight charters are released in May for the winter – July is booked out and we only have a couple of spots left on our August 26th trip. September 9th is started and will probably be our last for the season so if you have been thinking about these trips I'd suggest you get in quickly.!
This is one for the hard-core fisherman!
Sunshine Coast Afloat’s Overnight Deep Sea Fishing Charters are the only overnight fishing adventure on the Sunshine Coast! On this 18 hour charter, our experienced crew will take you deep, deep into the ocean, all the way to the Continental Shelf.
These tours are carefully planned out around the moon cycle, tides and fishing reefs, to ensure ultimate fishing success! We’ll take you to a number of closely guarded locations that have proven themselves as fantastic night fishing locations. These charters target snapper in particular, but large Pearl Perch and other night predators are certainly in our scope as well!
This charter is only run during the winter months when the weather is more stable, as it relies heavily on favourable weather conditions. Winter is also big time snapper season, and they love to feed at night!
Sunshine Coast Afloat only takes a maximum of 12 passengers on these trips (despite being able to comfortably fit plenty more!) designed for maximum comfort and plenty of space. With sleeping accommodation for up to six people at a time, this charter is designed for maximum fishing time! Dinner, breakfast, snacks and non-alcoholic drinks are all included.
Mother Nature usually only allows us to run a maximum of eight trips per year, making them all the more special and exclusive! Dates for our overnight charters are released in May for the winter – July is booked out and we only have a couple of spots left on our August 26th trip. September 9th is started and will probably be our last for the season so if you have been thinking about these trips I’d suggest you get in quickly.!
We finally had a full weekend of great fishing and weather conditions. We did a "Mega Day" - 11 hour fishing trip on Saturday. Not a trip we do often. It was great to see a lot of our regulars on board and after the mid week flare up of weather, it gave for some good fishing out wide. A great variety of fish on board ranging from a nice big Tusky, Tea Leaf Travalley, Wrasse, Moses Perch, Banana Fish and a beautiful Clown Fish which obviously went back. Poor Zoe nearly had a fit when a Crested Tern, that is a bird for all you fisho's, got tangled in Tony's fishing line. It was all hands on deck to save this poor little thing. Zoe nurtured him to recovery, mind you I think he was happy nestled into Zoe's chest while recovering but soon after releasing him a Booby bird tried to attack him but that soon sent him off. Our usual Dolphin visit is always a bonus. Sunday was a small 5 hour fishing charter - lovely conditions out on the water with a lot of Happy Moments coming up, more than we've seen in a long time. A few (just) undersized Snapper were caught but a few of the passengers managed to hook a nice Grassy Sweet Lip and a good size Mowong. Slightly frustrating as it was clear from the sounder information that the area was solid with good sized fish under the boat! It was nice to see some women on board and Julie hooked up a nice Trigger Fish .
We finally had a full weekend of great fishing and weather conditions.
We did a “Mega Day” – 11 hour fishing trip on Saturday. Not a trip we do often. It was great to see a lot of our regulars on board and after the mid week flare up of weather, it gave for some good fishing out wide.
A great variety of fish on board ranging from a nice big Tusky, Tea Leaf Travalley, Wrasse, Moses Perch, Banana Fish and a beautiful Clown Fish which obviously went back.
Poor Zoe nearly had a fit when a Crested Tern, that is a bird for all you fisho’s, got tangled in Tony’s fishing line. It was all hands on deck to save this poor little thing. Zoe nurtured him to recovery, mind you I think he was happy nestled into Zoe’s chest while recovering but soon after releasing him a Booby bird tried to attack him but that soon sent him off.
Our usual Dolphin visit is always a bonus.
Sunday was a small 5 hour fishing charter – lovely conditions out on the water with a lot of Happy Moments coming up, more than we’ve seen in a long time. A few (just) undersized Snapper were caught but a few of the passengers managed to hook a nice Grassy Sweet Lip and a good size Mowong. Slightly frustrating as it was clear from the sounder information that the area was solid with good sized fish under the boat!
It was nice to see some women on board and Julie hooked up a nice Trigger Fish
Winners of Trip Advisor 2017 Certificate of Excellence, Sunshine Coast Afloat is your number one pick for deep sea fishing charters on the Coast! Sunshine Coast Afloat’s award winning Deep Sea Fishing Charters have a wide range of options to suit everyone. From first timers diving in to try their hand at fishing, to the experienced, avid fishermen! Our tours range from half a day to overnight, and everything in between. Our shorter charters are ideal for the beginner looking to try their hand at a bit of fishing. A fun and enjoyable trip that offers a tantalising taste of what you’ll experience on longer trips. This trip is far more focused on having a fun time offshore. There’ll also be plenty of amazing marine wildlife to observe! The longer charters are perfect for the more experienced fishing enthusiasts seeking a true deep sea fishing adventure. Wanting to chase that trophy fish! On these longer charters, we’re able to travel beyond where recreational boats feel comfortable, meaning less fishing pressure and with a little skill, more fish! Fishing equipment and bait is included and all legal fish are yours to keep. They’ll be gutted and gilled for you by our crew. Ready to throw straight on the BBQ when you get home. Our sunrise and sunset/evening charters all include snacks, fishing tackle, soft drinks and water. With varying departure times, Sunshine Coast Afloat’s range of deep sea fishing charters are a fantastic way to get out on the water and have a great time on a lovely, large and safe vessel, regardless of your fishing ability! Our friendly and highly experienced crew will show you the ropes and take you on an award-winning adventure to remember!
Winners of Trip Advisor 2017 Certificate of Excellence, Sunshine Coast Afloat is your number one pick for deep sea fishing charters on the Coast!
Sunshine Coast Afloat’s award winning Deep Sea Fishing Charters have a wide range of options to suit everyone. From first timers diving in to try their hand at fishing, to the experienced, avid fishermen!
Our tours range from half a day to overnight, and everything in between. Our shorter charters are ideal for the beginner looking to try their hand at a bit of fishing. A fun and enjoyable trip that offers a tantalising taste of what you’ll experience on longer trips. This trip is far more focused on having a fun time offshore. There’ll also be plenty of amazing marine wildlife to observe!
The longer charters are perfect for the more experienced fishing enthusiasts seeking a true deep sea fishing adventure. Wanting to chase that trophy fish! On these longer charters, we’re able to travel beyond where recreational boats feel comfortable, meaning less fishing pressure and with a little skill, more fish!
Fishing equipment and bait is included and all legal fish are yours to keep. They’ll be gutted and gilled for you by our crew. Ready to throw straight on the BBQ when you get home. Our sunrise and sunset/evening charters all include snacks, fishing tackle, soft drinks and water.
With varying departure times, Sunshine Coast Afloat’s range of deep sea fishing charters are a fantastic way to get out on the water and have a great time on a lovely, large and safe vessel, regardless of your fishing ability! Our friendly and highly experienced crew will show you the ropes and take you on an award-winning adventure to remember!
What a weekend! Saturday started off with a 7 hour SUNRISE fishing trip. These winter morning sunrises are just spectacular to see, worth getting up for. We then turned around and did a 5 hour SUNSET charter. The sunset trips do quite well over winter, especially the smaller trips. We tend to see quite a bit more action in the evenings. On Sunday, we had the pleasure of having the Warner Recreational Fishing Club out on a full day fishing charter. The conditions were glorious so there was no reason not to head out to The Barwon Banks. The decision was made not to do Spanner Crabbing as they were keen to get out fishing, their trip had already been cancelled once due to bad weather. In fact, they were that keen, we left an hour earlier than we usually do but it seemed to have paid off. There were a lot of good fish on board - some good Travelly, Snapper, Tusk fish, Moses Perch, Spangled Emperor, Red Throat Emperor, Gold Spot Wrasse and Maori Cod. We even hooked onto a good size Gummy Shark - obviously she went back safely into the water - which always provides the lucky person with some great action. The day was full on, what you hope every day could be like. Dolphins played on the bow wave of Crusader for quite some time as we headed out to our location. Turtles were sighted, fishing was great and everyone had a good BBQ lunch and nibbles to fill up on. John was given a Rod & Reel as a gift from us for booking a group. One of the testimonials from the weekend. We are always grateful to receive such wonderful feedback from our guests. It makes all the efforts of our team
What a weekend!
Saturday started off with a 7 hour SUNRISE fishing trip. These winter morning sunrises are just spectacular to see, worth getting up for.
We then turned around and did a 5 hour SUNSET charter. The sunset trips do quite well over winter, especially the smaller trips. We tend to see quite a bit more action in the evenings.
On Sunday, we had the pleasure of having the Warner Recreational Fishing Club out on a full day fishing charter. The conditions were glorious so there was no reason not to head out to The Barwon Banks. The decision was made not to do Spanner Crabbing as they were keen to get out fishing, their trip had already been cancelled once due to bad weather. In fact, they were that keen, we left an hour earlier than we usually do but it seemed to have paid off.
There were a lot of good fish on board – some good Travelly, Snapper, Tusk fish, Moses Perch, Spangled Emperor, Red Throat Emperor, Gold Spot Wrasse and Maori Cod.
We even hooked onto a good size Gummy Shark – obviously she went back safely into the water – which always provides the lucky person with some great action.
The day was full on, what you hope every day could be like. Dolphins played on the bow wave of Crusader for quite some time as we headed out to our location. Turtles were sighted, fishing was great and everyone had a good BBQ lunch and nibbles to fill up on. John was given a Rod & Reel as a gift from us for booking a group.
7 Hour Deep Sea Fishing Charter review
One of the testimonials from the weekend. We are always grateful to receive such wonderful feedback from our guests. It makes all the efforts of our team worth it.
The next few months we will be seeing the whales as well so it’s always a great time of the year to bring the family out, head out on a smaller trip – do some fishing, and see the wonderful humpback whale migration, and the other marine life.
It's only Tuesday but it seems like quite a long time ago that we were out Fishing off Mooloolaba. With some extremely erratic weather conditions - which we have all been experiencing the last 4-5 months no doubt - it's been great to have finally been able to get back to sea last last couple of weekends. Saturday's trip was a Full Day Private Booking for Stuart's 21st birthday. Celebrating with family and friends we headed out wide towards the Barwon Banks but had to eventually come in closer due to the choppy conditions. It's always disappointing when you can't be at the destination you originally planned for but there was still a lot of activity on board and everyone seemed to of enjoyed the day out on the water. Sunday started with a 5 hour charter and a handful of guests on board. Fishing was tough in the morning but we turned around and did a 7 hour trip after that. We find the sunset fishing in close can be quite good, which was the case. Kim organised a group of family and friends to come out for Jamiee's birthday and they decided to have a BBQ which was a nice touch to the trip for everyone on board. A good variety of fish about at the moment. Predominantly Snapper already, which we are all hoping will be plentiful this winter. We have also seen quite a few Cobia as well, along with lots of trevally, Sweetlip, Mowong, Trout and the usual tuskies etc.
It’s only Tuesday but it seems like quite a long time ago that we were out Fishing off Mooloolaba.
With some extremely erratic weather conditions – which we have all been experiencing the last 4-5 months no doubt – it’s been great to have finally been able to get back to sea last last couple of weekends.
Saturday’s trip was a Full Day Private Booking for Stuart’s 21st birthday. Celebrating with family and friends we headed out wide towards the Barwon Banks but had to eventually come in closer due to the choppy conditions. It’s always disappointing when you can’t be at the destination you originally planned for but there was still a lot of activity on board and everyone seemed to of enjoyed the day out on the water.
Sunday started with a 5 hour charter and a handful of guests on board. Fishing was tough in the morning but we turned around and did a 7 hour trip after that. We find the sunset fishing in close can be quite good, which was the case. Kim organised a group of family and friends to come out for Jamiee’s birthday and they decided to have a BBQ which was a nice touch to the trip for everyone on board.
A good variety of fish about at the moment. Predominantly Snapper already, which we are all hoping will be plentiful this winter. We have also seen quite a few Cobia as well, along with lots of trevally, Sweetlip, Mowong, Trout and the usual tuskies etc.
