King Ash Bay Fishing Club

What can I say, fishing.
The only down side is the informal caravan/ camping sites, with power cords and water hoses just run over by inconsiderate campers making short cuts. The bar, entertainment and kitchen at the fishing club are the best I have experienced so far.

If you like fishing, this is the place to be. Great amenities, phone, store and service station.

OK if you are there for fishing but otherwise there is nothing to see. Area surrounding the camp is a disgraceful rural slum and junk yard. Camp itself is good with good bar and food.

This was our first visit to this remote fishing club. We traveled via Barkly Homestead in winter 2022 and stayed in our van in the unpowered area, which is known as Genny (ie Generator) Flat. Water is available at Genny Flat but power is your own challenge. Two ablutions blocks are available, basic but satisfactory.

Roads are dirt and might be sprayed with water if volunteers with truck licences are available. Otherwise it's dust stirred up by those who drive over the 10kmh speed limit.

We stayed for four weeks alongside family and friends, all of whom have been regular visitors. Safe fire pits are allowed and evening drinks by the campfire was a daily treat. That's when stories about enormous gropers gulping your salmon catch get told. True it is; the groper we saw several times was wider than the tinnie and pounced super fast! Plus the spinning sharks were a similar nuisance.real your catch in fast unless it's a toadfish or catfish.

Our camping site overlooked the McArthur River, complete with one large territorial crocodile that basked in the sun on the far bank or mimicked a log floating up or downstream. Crocs are about, a few quite large, so swimming isn't recommended.

The local shop is small but they do very well with covering off most supply needs; groceries, frozen or fresh, frozen meats, dry foods, icecream, bait, fishing tackle, petrol and diesel, shirts, hats, and so on.

The local Groper Bar is a social hub that opens most nights, offers a small menu selection and a good bar, and runs raffles on Tuesday nights. All are welcome to use the club. If you need a GF meal, best to talk to them in advance. They were kind and looked after us very well.

The fishing ranges from good to fickle for both point fishing (might mean you drop your line at a point) or trolling (ie you potter along in your tinnie and drag a lure past possible fish haunts). We fished a lot and did okay within the various specified catch limits). Just one Barra for me though; lots of cod, a queenie, some fingermarks, a salmon, amongst others.

The weather was pleasant, normal for July.

You don't have to be a club member to stay there, although membership does offer some lower site prices and raffle privileges.

KAB is a long way from anywhere. The closest town is Borroloola 41km away, 20km sealed plus 21km of regularly graded dirt. Borroloola has a couple of servos and grocery stores, a hardware store, a vantage point at the water tower, an airstrip, police station, and so on.

If you go there, safe travels.

Absolutely love this place. We sort of found it by accident and we are so happy we did. The unpowered camping area by the river is gorgeous, nice flat sites with shade, lots of water points and the cleanest amenities blocks I have ever seen. The sunsets are spectacular here. The bar and grill is great - really yummy food at very reasonable prices, the shop has an extraordinary range, and there is a lovely community feel about the place. We didn't come for the fishing - just to relax - but I do hear the fishing is great, especially if you can get around on the river. There is also fishing charters available that are pretty reasonable. Can't recommend this place enough, and can't wait to come back someday!

This is a real community of travellers and people who live and work here. Everyone is so friendly and goe out of their way to help you.
Having a great Bar and Grill supermarket service station and mechanical workshop on site make your stay so easy.

"When are you leaving? " is the most likely thing to hear as a new visitor to King Ash Bay Fishing Club. It's not meant as a slight, you are just parked in a camp site that a couple of been using for 20 years which they consider to have landing rights and dibs on the prime position you have beaten them too by days.

The place is a delight and no wonder 100s of greys come and camp to fish for months on end during the winter months.

Order your resupply early and get used to drinking "Great Northern" mid or heavy at the come-as-you-are bar. Complete the experience and get a gaudy sun shirt to wear at Darwin airport so that you can spot other fortunate souls to have stepped back in time to a fishing spot the world forgot.