The 2016 Halco Abrolhos Islands Fishing Tournament

            2016 PRE-TOURNAMENT

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        The Abrolhos Islands in Western Australia is 60km west of Geraldton. Lying in the stream of Western Australia’s warm, southward-flowing Leeuwin Current, the marine environment surrounding the Abrolhos guarantees an incredible fishing experience. The 2016 Halco Abrolhos Islands Fishing Tournament is officially in full swing, and with the Halco boys reputation on the line, they’re buckling down to some serious fishing. While we eagerly await their current comp update, we want to share with you some of the pre-tournament highlights. Heading to the Abrolhos Islands a week early for a slice of the action, Jadon Wilder (Madeyes soft plastic designer) offered some insight into the extreme fishing conditions he encountered on Western Australia’s Coral Coast.    

  Day 1 on the water began fishing deep. We chose to use Madeyes Paddle Prawns in 5″ layered with an array of OctoSkirts to entice whatever species were nearby. This combination worked a treat, with Justin landing a nice Spangled Emperor and Trout in no time. The sharks soon found us, moving in and wreaking havoc, so we shifted to the shallows. Paddle Prawns and Flick Sticks were the weapon of choice here. “After losing a big Baldie at the boat due to not using a net, I decided to use heavier gear. RIGHT CHOICE as this monster came along and gave me hell on 30lb gear.” *Note to self, clean lens when taking pics of PB fish- Jadon Wilder. This beast was happily released after a quick photo. Coral Trout and Spangled Emperor were abundant on the shallows, but soon it was time to move on. We found a lump about 15m deep and thew on a few Paddle Prawns. Ben hooked up quickly to a Sand Snapper (Painted Sweetlip) in time for a photo and release. Snapper, Trout and Sweetlip couldn’t resist our super stretchy Madeyes. The new pink fluoro colour was unstoppable. Jig-jig-pause… jig-jig-whip! The final day we couldn’t resist heading back out deep, this time towards the South of the Abrolhos Islands. Wind and current certainly weren’t cooperating, and made for a hard day fishing. Weather factors aside, this region proved to be abundant in fish life. Jadon managed to find a break between wind and sharks, and hooked onto a nice Dhufish, and Ben found himself a vibrant Baldachin Groper. All in all it was a super successful pre-tournament warm up session at the Abrolhos. The new Madeyes Paddle Prawns were absolutely dynamite on a huge range of species, and the OctoSkirt was a strike-effective addition to the jigs. We are confident in the new colour range and can ensure the new Halco Madeyes range reflects our ethos of a high quality and effective product