Forty Mile Beach (Gnoorea Point / 40 Mile camp)

Forty Mile is a run-in fishery: as the tide floods across the flats and up the channels off Gnoorea Point, the bait moves and queenfish, trevally and blue salmon follow it in. The point shelters a mangrove-backed bay with a natural boat ramp a short walk from the caravans, and the camp is one of the City of Karratha's two nature-based camp grounds — the only one west of town, about an hour's drive south-west. Five-metre tides mean the water you cast into at breakfast can be a walk away by lunch.

From the beach, the rocks around the point and the channel edges, spin metals, stickbaits and poppers for queenfish and trevally, and keep at it as the tide floods, because that is when blue salmon push onto the flats. Fish the run-in rather than the slack — the bait and the bite both move with the water. A boat off the natural ramp opens up the channel edges and the deeper water off the point, where slightly heavier spin or bait rigs earn their keep around the tide changes — and a Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence is needed to fish from a powered boat. Barramundi turn up occasionally in the warmer months, so a shallow hardbody rolled along a mangrove edge on a summer run-in is a side bet rather than a plan.

Queenfish and trevally carry the shoreline off the point and the rocks, and blue salmon — blue threadfin — work the flats and channels as the tide comes in. Barramundi are an occasional warmer-months bonus along the mangroves, not a reason to make the drive. Any barra you keep must be 550–800mm, 2 per day and landed whole — check the current DPIRD guide before keeping anything.

Start on the point near the bottom of the tide and follow the water in, moving with the bait rather than waiting for it. Plan every launch off the same tide chart — a boat left on the wrong side of a five-metre low stays there until the water comes back. In peak season, book and pay online before you arrive and check in with the caretaker, who directs you to a site. Wrap and bin fish offal rather than tipping frames into the bay — it is a City rule, and nobody wants to share a camp with what a frame pile attracts.

The natural ramp and the point are a short walk from the camp, so a first-light cast is a matter of walking out of the van with a rod. From Karratha, take the North West Coastal Highway south-west and turn off onto the 40 Mile Road — about 56–65km and an hour from town, on gravel the City's road-condition table most recently listed as open to all vehicles. On site there are toilets for day users only, sullage disposal points and bins for household rubbish, but no drinking water, and every campsite needs its own chemical toilet. From 1 May to 30 September camping is $16 a night or $96 for seven, booked online, with a cap of 28 days in any three months; from 1 October to 30 April it is free but limited to three nights per 28 days. The sheltered bay suits kids for a cast from the sand at the top of the tide, but this is croc country, so keep children out of the water and back from the edge and the mangroves.

The run-in is the window: it pushes bait across the flats and along the channels, the slack goes quiet, and a big low leaves the natural ramp a long way from the water — the City warns boaters to allow for the 5-metre tides. The dry season, roughly May to September, is when the camp fills and the weather settles, and the breeze tends to build through the day, so boat trips beyond the point are morning work. From November to April the camp sits in cyclone country — the City closes it ahead of an approaching cyclone and reopens it once the threat has passed, so pack up at the first DFES Advice for this coast — and the heat is a hazard in its own right.

The mangrove edges and creek mouths that hold the bait are also saltwater crocodile habitat — the Department of Transport warns that crocs inhabit Pilbara coastal waterways, and 2024 brought more confirmed sightings on this coast than the previous decade combined, including a weekend closure of Cleaverville Beach. Fish from the sand and rocks rather than wading the mangroves and creeks, take care launching and clean fish well away from the water's edge. Five-metre tides flood the flats fast, strand boats and cut off anyone who has walked out at low water, so know the tide before you go. There is no drinking water on site and summer heat is severe — carry water, tell someone your plan and wear closed shoes on the rocks and flats.

From 1 May to 30 September the City of Karratha charges $16 a night or $96 for seven nights, booked and paid online before you arrive, and you check in with the caretaker on site. Stays are capped at 28 days in any three months, and Cleaverville is a separate ground with its own cap. From 1 October to 30 April camping is free but limited to three nights per 28 days. Rates can change, so check the City's fees and charges before you go.

There is no drinking water at 40 Mile, so bring all of it. The City provides toilets for day users only — every campsite must have its own chemical toilet — plus sullage disposal points and bins for household rubbish.

Queenfish, trevally and blue salmon are the regulars, caught on metals, stickbaits and poppers from the beach, rocks and channel edges, best on a moving tide and especially the run-in. Barramundi turn up occasionally in the warmer months. A boat from the natural ramp opens up the channel edges and deeper water off the point.

The 40 Mile Road is a gravel road roughly an hour from Karratha, and the City of Karratha's road-condition table most recently listed it as open to all vehicles. Drive to the conditions, check the City's road-condition page after rain or a cyclone, and remember the City closes the camp ahead of an approaching cyclone.

Saltwater crocodiles do turn up on this coast. Parks and Wildlife confirmed more Pilbara-coast sightings in 2024 than in the previous decade combined, and Cleaverville Beach, east of Karratha, was closed for a weekend that year. Treat the mangroves, creeks and tidal flats at 40 Mile as croc habitat: don't wade them, take care launching, and clean fish well away from the water.