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Heading out of our home base in Port Douglas – Experience the best the Great Barrier Reef has to offer. There are several locations we visit depending on the weather, time of year, and species you want to target. We specialize in offering you a personalized reef experience you will never forget. Whether you would like to go sportfishing or just spend a day out on the reef snorkeling around a remote sand cay we can make it happen. Join us aboard our custom built 23ft sportfishing boat and enjoy the ultimate customized experience for you or your group
On our fishing trips you can expect good numbers of GT’s, Spanish Mackerel, Dogtooth Tuna, Black & Blue Marlin, Red Emperor, Nannygai, Coral Trout, and many other incredible species that call the reef home.
We depart from the Dixon Inlet Boat Ramp and will have you out on the reef in no time! Please make sure you bring a spray jacket, hat, sunscreen, camera, packed lunch and water bottle. We supply Soft Drinks and water.
All your Rods, Reels, tackle and lures will be onboard ready for you to go and we also provide cold soft drinks.
We recommend you bring the following :
– Packed Lunch
– Water Bottle
– Spray jacket for comfort.
– Sunscreen
– Hat
– Camera
If you have any questions at all before your trip, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We hope you have a great day out on the reef.
Kindest Regards,
The ECA Team
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We do have our own boat and head out fishing ourselves in Melbourne and interstate, but for the short time we had in Port Douglas, this day trip was worth every cent.
My mission was to catch a GT before I had children (I’m currently 6 months pregnant) and they made it happen!
Megan was incredibly attentive to ensure that the conditions were good by selecting the best day weather permitting given my circumstances. Alistair our charter operator was an absolute legend! He went above and beyond to make sure we had fish on board and what a session it was with 7 GT’s landed on the day.
I couldn’t recommend these guys more. For anyone wanting to catch a GT or even build some knowledge or experience with fishing the reef, don’t hesitate they are truly amazing! Thanks again East Coast Angling. It was a trip Steve and I will never forget!
Ryan my young skipper was one of the most professional, keen and knowledgeable skippers I have ever had. Even had his own YouTube channel.
Caught some nice fish on the cast and had an amazing snorkel. Full points for these guys… but book early.
Can't thank the team enough, was a pleasure to deal with.
Will be back for sure!
I spent 7 days fishing the Ribbon Reefs with East Coast Angling, and it was absolutely incredible from start to finish. The crew were top-tier—professional, highly experienced, and genuinely passionate about putting us on quality fish. Their knowledge of the reefs, tides, and fish behavior was next-level, and they were constantly adjusting our approach to maximize success.
We landed multiple GTs on topwater (a dream come true!), along with Spanish mackerel, coral trout, and other reef species. The boat was well-equipped and super comfortable, and the gear provided was top-quality for anyone not bringing their own. The mix of topwater casting and jigging made every day exciting, and the night shark fishing from the mothership added an epic twist.
The mothership itself was luxurious—spacious, clean, and perfect for relaxing after a big day. The private chef blew us away with fresh pastries in the morning and gourmet seafood dinners. The crew went above and beyond to make sure we were comfortable, and the service felt more like a high-end resort than a fishing trip.
If you’re serious about sportfishing and want an unforgettable adventure on the Great Barrier Reef, this is the charter to book.
I’ll 100% be back!
It began with the convenience of booking and the communication leading into the trip. The details of what to expect and the checklists of what to do were clear and timely. They made sure we all understood and accomplished the lead in tasks to be prepared.
Once we arrived on the mothership we were greeted with friendly and attentive staff. The captain and crew made sure we were comfortable. And the onboard chef made every meal an experience not to be missed.
The guides kept us on fish all trip. The weather caused some adjustments to the original plan, however the knowledge they had of the area and the experience of finding fish won out!
It was an amazing trip. Probably once in a lifetime coming from Montana. It was worth it.
100% recommend East Coast Angling.
I have had the pleasure of Nick’s company on more than a dozen day trips over the past 6 years as well as a multi-day trip to Cooktown. However, none of that could have prepared me for what I was about to experience on the mothership.
Everyone has some sort of bucket list of fish that they dream to catch. I caught every single one of mine out at Ashmore reef. Every expanse of sea we stopped to fish at was basically uncharted territory and there are no words to explain what a dream it was for a top water fisherman to be out there.
At many times we came across what you would call a “mobile bommie” which consists of so many GT’s you would be forgiven for mistaking it as a reef mass. I never could have imagined saying to myself “please don’t hook up!” but the fishing so was insane everyday that it became our most used phrase.
Photographs fail to completely capture the serenity and beauty of the vastness of the open sea. It’s in those moments where you take a breather from the fishing that you actually appreciate how blessed you are to be out there experiencing being somewhere that not many others can say they have.
I’ll never forget the wondrous memories; being amongst multitudes of airborne Spanish Mackerel, having a whale shark nosying up to the tender, screaming reels that just cannot be stopped and my favourite would had to have been catching a Māori wrasse off the back of the mothership.
Thank you Nick for helping me make my fishing dreams come true. A big shout out to Dean Silvester too as he helped make the trip extra memorable with his own wealth of expertise. Until next time! Oh and Dean, “should’ve gone…”
.These pictures were the GT we caught today on 20th November 2023.Most of anglers in this trip
got their PB fish during this trip.We fished around Ashmore reef. So many GTs and doggies here. The fishing was incredible here.This boat is cozy and beautiful .Most of us are anglers already fishing around the world . This
trip for us is one of the best We have ever had.
All the staffs and the boat owner work really hard.They’re really good at fishing and proving the best service you can get on a boat
My attraction to the trip was topwater fishing the outer reef, but what I ended up getting was half the trip fishing inshore reefs with sessions of bottom bashing. Watching fish get dragged up from the deep to only float away bloated was disgusting and hard to watch. To Nicks credit he did attempt to spike some, but to watch a nice Maori Wrasse just float away helplessly still hurts. Hard to write this review but it’s been a few months and I'm still so disappointed on what was supposed to be "A Trip of a Lifetime".
Don’t give your hard-earned money to this company, as they will take it and in return you will get hard done by excuses (which you pay for).
I have very little experience and came out with two good mates who fish regularly. Nick was patient and worked hard to make sure we all had a blast.
You can tell Nick genuinely cared and shared in our enthusiasm as we caught fish during the day.
I was lucky to get on some of the biggest fish I’d ever caught in my life. My arms were sore for a good two days!
Highly recommend the experience. I would gladly come back when next in town.
Great memories, thanks you Nick!
Jordan.
I will be back for that elusive GT! Thank you so much again Karl for the day! Your a true professional mate!
There is honestly no other fishing charter in FNQ that can compare!
The boat is immaculate and crew were very knowledgeable on the area to maximise our opportunities on quality fish.
Less than an hour travel time and we were casting.
Landed 14 big GT’s between 3 anglers for the day and had strikes from double that number at least with a couple of pulled hooks and bust offs.
Also landed red bass, coral trout, and cod.
But the GT’s were our main focus and was an amazing day on them, we didn’t even explore any of the other fishing options on the flats or jigging as the GT’s where too good to leave. At one stage we had a triple hook up with big GT’s going nuts, then as soon as the first of the triple was on the deck next cast and straight on so we had 4 in the boat.
The first GT in the boat was a big black beast 30+ kg and I knew it was going to be a good day.
From then on almost every school of bait had GT’s around.
I would highly recommend East Coast Angling, they are easy to deal with, well set up, top quality gear and Flynn knows his stuff. If you are anywhere near Cairns / Port Douglas these are the guys.
We enjoyed our half day out on the reef and although fish didn’t seem to be biting too much today the experience was incredible.
We will definitely be back! ????

































