PLANNING A STEEP POINT LBG TRIP

Steep point is the most Western point on the mainland of Western Australia, located in the Shark Bay world heritage area it is known as one of the most remote locations in Australia, and hosts some of the best land-based fishing Australia has to offer. As soon as I first laid eyes on the location I was immediately addicted, and one trip was never enough, the moment I was packing my car to come home I was already planning my next Steep point mission!

Huge Cliffs dropping into deep water, with reliable offshore winds available many months of the year, it really doesn't get much better. The main fishing ledge is North facing, so for the wind to be at your back which is what's needed for gas ballooning a southerly is ideal

TIMING THE TRIP

Steep point is predominantly a summer location but can really be fished all year round, this is due to the southerly winds that blow during the summer months that are needed for gas ballooning & the warm current that bring the pelagics. Southerlys will usually start to blow late October early November and by May the Southerly wind will begin to swing to an eastly wind.

The prime months most will agree are December-March when the temperature is at its hottest but the fishing matches

As for moon phases, in my early days I always used to plan my trips around the full moon. The days of the actual full moon almost always seem to be quiet however the fishing picks up 4-5 days before and after the full, so I would normally arrive at the point 2-3 days after the full, this would give me a day to settle in, set up my camp & the next day the fishing would be on.

These days I have moved my trips to be over the new moon as I have found fish to feed hard over the new, if I'm doing a 10-14 day trip I will opt for the new moon to be smack bang in the middle of the trip. Both the Full & new moon options provide bigger high tides which are prime when targeting pelagic fish from land

CAMPSITE SELECTION

Camping at the point its self is the best option as you can fish right next to your camp set up which will in turn maximise your fishing time, the ledge is basically split up in two, the left side being the oven camp which has 3 campsites within its self and then on the right is the fault line, which has 5 campsites within.

Another option is camping on the beach at Shelter Bay, however this more suits if you planned to fish the back cliffs rather than the point its self.

Once you’ve decided on your trip dates & a prefered camping location its time to book your campsite online, this can be done at https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au

Shelter bay camp

GETTING TO DHI/STEEP POINT

A few days prior to leaving i get the ranger on the blower on 08 99483993, to get a track condition update, find out if theres any closures & even see if theres any crew due to leave on the day im coming in so i know to look out for oncoming traffic along the track

PERTH TO OVERLANDER

Once ive packed the car & Im ready to leave town, I have a checklist that I first go over, with all the small things on it, this is a last-minute insurance item, your about to venture to one of the most remote places in Australia, YOU DO NOT WANT TO FORGET YOUR TOOTHBRUSH!

Perth to Steep point is going to take you 10-12hours

Perth to the Overlander roadhouse is 700km, this is the last fuel stop before the offroad section, so fill up & get any last-minute supplies (the hours of the roadhouse normally 6am-10pm so plan accordingly)

50km before the Overlander is the Billabong roadhouse, often with better food & cheaper fuel, keep this in mind.

Geraldton the last Town

On the drive-up, Geraldton is your last proper supply stop, this small town has all your usual take away stores, plus supermarkets, BCF, camping shops etc, so if you forgot any supplies now is your chance to get them, after Geraldton there is minimal shops so no chance of supplies.

For Fishing supplies, you can't go past Geraldton Sports centre, they have a full range of your higher end gear that you'll need for the ledges & prices that often beat Perth prices

440 roadhouse is 24 hours and just north of town, a bigger roadhouse, good for trailers

*HOT TIP* Try not to leave Perth on a Friday or weekend, if you have any car/trailer problems on the way up businesses can often not help over the weekends & you'll be stuck in a remote town with limited options, if instead you travel early in the week, it gives you more options for troubles.

THE TRACK AND PREPPING FOR IT

After The Overlander it’s a left turn, good few k of road and then another left at the Useless loop turn off, once it goes to gravel this is where I do my first tyre pressure drop, dropping to suit the vehicle im in, normally to around 30psi.

My second tyre drop is either done at the information bay / sign on bay or at the T junction, this is where I will drop the tyres right down to suit the car and conditions im in, anything from 20-15psi range.

At the T junction you can either turn right and that will take you to steep point and this is where the track gets a lot worse & becomes a true 4x4 track, or you can tun left and head to false entrance, this is a good spot to split the drive as from here its only around 20 minutes to get to false entrance which is always worth a look, popping for tailor here is one of my favourite past times.

TRACK CONDITION

The condition of the track changes throughout the year, depending on recent rains, how many cars have been over & if it has been recently graded/worked on.

At times the track can be horrendous, going in a convoy of two cars is always preferred, if there's two or more cars 2-way radios are a must have item, it’s a good idea to pull up a few times and check your load, keep an eye on your trailer, check bearing temps etc

*HOT TIP* if you're coming into steep point in the morning 7am-11am you can expect oncoming traffic, most people are leaving their steep point trip first thing in the morning, plus people leaving the island, I personally enter steep point late afternoon & during the night and find minimal oncoming traffic if any

SPARES SPARES SPARES

This track can be bad, expect the worst bring spares, I cannot stress this enough.

The most common problem on the track is trye blowouts, there's many sharp rocks ready to rip out a side wall & ruin a day. Two spare tyres is ideal, as if you blow out a tyre on your way in, this is going to limit your driving/exploring once you get into the point, if you’ve already used your spare tyre you're not going to want to drive around and risk another blowout.

A good tool kit to suit your car & trailer is a no brainer, but also make sure its easily accessible, you do not want to be unloading your totally loaded car to find a 10mm spanner.

Trailers cop a hammering on this track with the corrugations, I've personally broke and seen many broken. Once again two spare tyres is ideal. Check the wheel bearings before you leave Perth & have spare bearings or better yet a complete hub assembly, this is much easier to change if it goes wrong on the fly.

A sever trailer breakdown, the steep point track claims another…

Trailer leaf springs are known to heat up and crack, check the condition before leaving and if you want to be really safe bring a spare, the U bolts are another one that can break easily, there a small item to bring spares of.

Other items I bring to make life easy in case of dramas is

few nice blocks of wood, these aid in jacking cars and trailers up in soft sands.

a few bits of Rio bar to assist in any bush repairs.

extra ratchet straps

random nuts and bolts.

Zip ties

Duct tape

CAMPING AT THE POINT

Camping at the point you need to be fully self-sufficient; it can be hard work at times, the conditions are harsh, temperatures are often 40+ and howling southerly winds will break apart all but the best of campsites.

Camp headquarters

A good shade and wind brake is essential for staying out of the heat & a place for cooking food to stay charged ready for the next bite. Over the years I've found the best option is the use of camper trailers, they set up easy, give you plenty of storage for the drive in & can basically block out the wind 100% which is a must have for cooking, over the last ten years ive been hiring cavailier campers, you can get onto them via this link https://campertrailerswa.com.au/

The next option would be to run a marquee, this is a common option to most people due to the low cost, the first thing youl need to do is decide how your going to close it in, fit for purpose sides are an option however your standard BCF marquee sides will often not survive the harsh winds, if you use tarps they often act as wind sails and are very hard to keep in place, a good replacement idea is to use shade cloth, this will block out the sun & reduce the wind without causing the wind sail effect.

**HOT TIP** There isnt any sand to put pegs into for holding backs tents, marquees etc, theres a few hooks drilled into rock here & there, its a good idea to bring your own sand bags to allow tie down points

Power

For me 240v power is a must have big ticket item, I run a honda eu22i generator that powers our fridges, freezers, vac sealers & lighting, it burns around 4l for 10 hours so plan accordingly for how long you're staying, we run one generator to power the whole camp however we never go without a spare generator. You have to realise your whole trip can depend on a generator, if it fails you can be forced to abort the trip.

Keeping things cool

The next must have item is a chest freezer, we normally run 1 freezer for every 2-3 people. These get loaded up quickly as packs of 1kg garfish baits start piling up & by the end of the trip its replaced with 20kg of fillets per person. Per car we will have a minimum of 2 car fridges one for our food and we keep the other for drinks, this assists salad and veg from getting damaged by blokes wildly rummaging through a fridge looking for a drink after a hot bite on the macks.

Rubbish

All of your rubbish at Steep point needs to be taken home with you, this can add up over 10-14 days so be smart to begin with, remove any un needed food packaging in Perth before you depart. When it comes to cold beers it has to be in cans, as these can be crushed for ease of transporting home, remember to bring extra bin bags and double bag all your rubbish bags so they won't split & leak in your car on the way back home.