This one was a Rowley Shoals trip with a difference: while most Reel Teaser charters are hard-core sportfishing enthusiasts, this one had four kids on board who were all keen to be a part of the action. After six days in sportfishing paradise, they came away with a string of captures the envy of many far more experienced adults...

There would be little or no argument amongst West Australian boat anglers that the most highly-regarded species in the southern half of the State would be our very own Westralian jewfish, Glaucosoma hebraicum.

The name "jewfish" was officially attached to the species way back in 1846, when Dr John Richardson published a scientific account of the species, recognising its uniqueness with the common name "West Australian jewfish".

Everybody knew G. hebraicum as jewfish or jewie for the next hundred years or so, and although there was always potential for a spot of name confusion between our jewie and an east coast mulloway's other common name, nobody really seemed to have a problem with it.

 There are a couple of stories around about how the dhu name came to exist...

Bluewater staff members Ché Carson, Liza Harvey and Hal Harvey joined Neil Dearn, John Weekes and Mick Holt, on board Reel Teaser Charters out of Broome in the last week of November, for a very late-in-the-season Rowley Shoals expedition aimed at exploring the outside of the atolls with poppers and jigs. There was no trolling planned and no expectation of encountering the wahoo, sails and tuna the area is famous for, as it was too late in the year for them to be about in any numbers...

Check this out - a big spaniard in anybody's books.

Nomad Sportfishing are well known for their Coral Sea charters targeting giant trevally, billfish and dogtooth tuna. In April 2008 Bluewater's Hal Harvey fished the Bugatti Reef system with...

Cottesloe is about as much in the heart of the metropolitan coastline as you can get, and Daniel Bedo gets down there to take some pics that he has been kind enough to share with us.

Cottesloe has always been good for tailor, and this summer has been up to scratch. These fish were schooling south of the groyne, choppers but well legal: 

 and some more...

 Here's the reason they're around, most likely; nice big fat baitfish in near the reef:

 

 And for the divers rather than the anglers now, check out this for a school of pomfrets that would make you think you were on a tropical reef somewhere...

 

 and some more...

 and lastly a lone whiting, a master of disguise in a seascape where there is nothing to hide behind...

 That's it for now. We reckon some of those pics would be a surprise to many Cottesloe regulars. Thanks to Daniel the photographer, and Brett who forwarded them on.

All pics Copyright Daniel Bedo

Bluewater Melville store manager Nick Bailey fished with ex-Bluewater-Scarborough part-timer Mark Rochfort (Rocky) at Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.

Things went well for Nick, with a decent sail on the troll one day, followed up by a massive sailfish on a popper the next day. There were also some decent GTs into the mix...

Mark 'Rocky' Rochfort, the operater of Shorefire Charters on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, hosted Japanese anglers Matsutani (recently ex Seven Seas custom tackle manufacturers) and Yasuda for a week's mainly jigging around...