Capt. Greg “Harry” Harriman is our Company Director and resident fishing fanatic. This is the man who at his wedding declared to his wife he loved her more than fishing; everybody in the room knew that was a lie. We sat down with Capt. Harry and got his story, well the brief version anyway.
Why fishing?
Put simply I love it! You never stop learning in life and fishing is the same, you’ll never know it all. So I guess it is the mental stimulation. I always have to be on my game, planning the day and adjusting to the prevailing conditions making sure that the clients get the best possible results.
What’s your fishing background?
I have a lifetime of fishing experience beginning on the south coast of New South Wales. Starting on the beaches and Lake Illawarra, some of my earliest memories of fishing are my parents hiring tinnies on the lake; they would read books while I fished. As I grew older I graduated to the rock ledges and developed a love of land based game fishing at Jervis Bay. I bought my own boat before I had a car to tow it and went chasing the fish rather than waiting for them. Throughout my adult years I have had the privilege of fishing the length and breadth of Australia as well as many locations around the world.
I have dedicated the past several years of my life to integrating myself into the charter fishing industry here in Australia. As a guide I have worked my way across the Top End of Australia and now call Cairns home. During this time I have developed a good reputation and have established a following of clients whom I now consider close friends.
Do you have a philosophy to guiding?
Yes and we have a mantra to help implement this philosophy:
“When a client lands a fish, that’s good angling; if a client loses a fish, that’s poor guiding”.
As guides we are educators and facilitators. We have to educate our clients in techniques and piscatorial behaviors in order to facilitate their successful angling adventures, not just on charter with us, but also for their own fishing pursuits at home.
For example, the tackle we use on charter is not the standard tackle most clients would use at home fishing their local waters, so we teach the correct techniques for the effective and efficient use of this tackle. This is instrumental to facilitating a successful charter for every client.
Simultaneously we teach the clients the basic principles of fish behavior and habitat throughout the charter, these basic principles can be applied to just about any body of water anywhere; this in turn facilitates a more successful angler back on their local waters after their charter.
Why the Coral Sea?
The place is amazing just in itself, let alone the fishing! There is always something happening out there whales, turtles, sharks you name it, there’s always a show.
Fishing wise there is so much structure on the Great Barrier Reef it works as the worlds biggest FAD (Fish Aggregating Device) it’s no wonder there are so many big fish there. Out wider in the Coral Sea itself the isolated reefs and islands work like truck stops beckoning the big pelagic wanderers to call in and refuel. All this is on our doorstep, beckoning to be explored.
Why an operation of this nature?
The Coral Sea is a frontier destination for sportfishing enthusiasts worldwide. There is a demand from these anglers to fish more remote areas in order to satisfy their desire to successfully battle these hard fighting behemoths of the cobalt currents. The same can be said for the northern Great Barrier Reef and Cape York.
Successfully mounting expeditions to these frontier destinations takes the right equipment, logistical skills and local knowledge. That’s where we come in, we have the knowledge, the skill set and the equipment to make our clients dream fishing holiday a reality.
