Well
and truly into the Spring weather pattern now with the southerlies picking up
around midday. The pelagic species have left
for
warmer currents, so the fishing gets harder as the weather makes it difficult
to get to the better spots far from the river mouth.
The
smart guys are still hiring but heading north where the weather is better,
Gnaraloo, Coral Bay and Exmouth are still
good
destinations this time of year.
Exmouth - way to go
George
Raffa is a frequent hirer, and has been going to the Mackerel Islands for the
past 4 years or so with my 7.8m boat.
This
year the island is closed, so he had to switch destinations and Exmouth got the
thumbs up.
Staying
in a waterfront canal rental, he and his group had the boat tied up to the
jetty and only had to jump aboard in the morning and head out.
However
they mainly chased marlin and sailfish so had to travel around the cape to the
west side.
But
it was all worth while for them landing 5 marlin and two sails out of multiple
strikes and follows.
He
said that trevally and queenfish were in short supply but they got a few
spangled emperor to make up.
Gold-spot
trevally, GT's and dolphin fish added variety
All
of the group achieved some firsts. Ric and David their first marlin, and Paul
his first sailfish.
George
got his first marlin, sailfish, and dolphin fish.
Mackerel
and tuna added to the species list
as
well as some good sized coral trout.
7.8m boat trip
The
day was good, 4 knots forecast all day,
4 days after the full moon (far enough away to be fishable) and a bite
time at 1.30pm.
The
plan was to launch at 9.30am, be on the spot by 11am ish and get a few good
fish. Ashley van Viersen, Brian Mosley, Frank Rystenberg,
a
backpacker by the name of Amine and myself loaded up with gear and bait with
plenty of room aboard the 7.8m boat.
I
was quiet to start, but gradually picked up with a baldchin to Amine and big
sambo for Frank that was released.
Ashley
then took the catch of the day with this 9kg red emperor. We moved to a spot
that I thought would fish
well and put the anchor down, only to have to
reset it as it would not hold, another half hour wasted!
We
sat on anchor for the rest of the time, landing multiple double headers of just
size pink snapper which were released, waiting for the big ones.
I got an 8kg dhuie, Ashley
got a smaller dhuie and big snapper and the rest of the catch was baldchin,
good
sized snapper and a few more sambos. In the end we were getting smashed by
sharks each drop.
We
headed back with 2 good category one fish each.
As
predicted all the good fish came during the bite time.
Hook Line & Sinker TV
crew
Andrew
Hart and Nick Duigan from the TV program Hook line and Sinker called in wanting
some help getting a segment on big tailor.
The
bite time was for 4.30pm so we met at the boat ramp at around 4.00pm.
I
had a quick look at their tackle and noticed they only had small poppers. I
advised them to quickly buy a few bigger Halco Rooster poppers,
that
are the lure of choice for the tailor at Black Rock.
Andrew
Hart and Nick Duigan cast poppers in the wash at Black Rock. The swell was up
and it was like a washing machine
out
there. I was driving their Barcrusher trying to keep it out of the breakers but
close enough for a cast.
A
few hits were dropped and one fish lost at the boat, but Andrew eventually
hooked up.
The
fish was a good one as well, about 5kgs.
Catch
them on Foxtel.
Exmouth Gulf Trip
My
trip to the bottom of the Exmouth Gulf was a bit disappointing. We were
expecting to catch, most trevally species, cods, spangled emperor, queenfish,
mangrove
jacks and the like in shallow water, but it was not to be.
We
stayed in the cottage which was comfortable but a bit expensive for what it
was, and had to drive 45 minutes each way down to the creek
where
we could launch the dinghies 3 hours before and 3 hours after high tide only.
launching
at the creek and we also launched a couple of times over the beach but had to
wait for the tide to come in
Most
of the fish were far between and when we did get one it was on the small side.
Brian
Mosley with a wolf herring, Frank Rystenburg with an average cod
and the
biggest trevally for the trip!
Really
nothing special at all!
The
gear of choice, Shimano Stella 5000's Quantum Reels, Penn Affinity 4000,
Shimano Power Spin all fitted to
6-10lb
spin sticks and spooled with 20-25lb braid. Did the job, if a bit over the top
for the fish landed, but we were told
that
bigger fish abound! March/April would be a better time to visit when the water
is a lot warmer.
Spinifex
circle
Sturt's Desert Pea
Frank's Desert Pee
We
then tried bait fishing up the mangrove creeks,
where we got a few mangrove
jacks, and better cod for Paul Youngman.
But
the sand flies were very bad and we were not prepared! Rid Tropical Strength
only works for 15 minutes and the sand flies are ferocious!
We
are still paying for it now with legs and arms scratched to bleeding!
The
best fish came on the last day in the last few minutes on the way back to the
boat ramp. Brian cast his chrome slice to a rock structure
that
we had flogged the day before and came up tight with this queen fish.
Bite of the month was easy pick this month.
Ashley Van Viersen's big red emperor caught off my 7.8m boat early this month
was a prize catch. Fishing in 53m of water
well north of the Murchison River Mouth this fish gave Ashley a lot of curry on
his spin outfit.
Kalbarri Offshore & Angling Club Local
Comp.
18th August
A few more good fish during the club comp.
Dhuie
and baldy for Brett, Nik had a good
snapper from the ocean, and a mulloway caught in the river for Lui,
Popular Northern Destinations
Island
Manager: 9184 6444, Drew
Norrish & Traci Nathan
The main camp on Thevenard Island is
closed until further notice. However Direction Island is still a good option
and bookings can be made.
Check out the website: www.mackerelislands.com.au
Ashburton Resort
Ashburton Resort. Phone 9184 6586 email: admin@ashburtonresortonslow.com.au
Website: www.ashburtonresortonslow.com.au
Gnaraloo Station
Gnaraloo contacts for accommodation:
Barbara: 9315 4809
Email: bookings@gnaraloo.com.au
Website: Gnaraloo.com.au
Game,
Bottom and Beach Fishing Action
These
links will take you to Youtube showing some great action video clips taken from
my
boats and also a very good mulloway from the beach.
Archived
Newsletters
After
a lot of effort on my part, you can now view all my past newsletters in my Blogs.
I
have made six blogs; you can view all of my 2005 newsletters with photos @
And
from January 2006 to December 2006 with photos @
And
from January 2007 to December 2007 with photos @
And
from January 2008 to December 2008 with photos @
And
from January 2009 to December 2009 with photos @
And
from January 2010 to December 2010 with photos @
And
from January 2011 onwards with photos @
And
from January 2012 onwards with photos @
They
are quite long URL’s so add them to your favourites.
Remember if you rent our accommodation
in Kalbarri you get big discounts on our boats.
This is the one I go by!
