Fly fishing is definitely resurging, particularly in Exmouth, and flyfishing guide Brett Wolf (True Blue Bone Fish) has been researching Exmouth's possibilities over many years, to ensure he can offer his clients a top quality experience along the Ningaloo coast.  Brett has landed many permit in his boat for other people, but finally got to cast at one for himself on his birthday this week, and first cast landed this beauty pictured below.

The weather has been nothing short of sensational for the Christmas/New Year break with glass conditions and not much wind over 10 knots throughout the day and night.  Water temperatures have been around 25-28 degrees, while the outside temps have been heating up towards the 40s.  Holiday makers and locals have taken full advantage of the conditions, and there are plenty of sunkissed faces around the town!

Jason Woodhouse is up from Perth with his family and friends, using a Bluewater Hire boat to get amongst the action.  The crew have managed to land a good mixed bag with cobia from the areas around Peak Island, gold band job fish in 70m+ off the Muirons, sailfish in the gulf and mahi mahi in the 40-70m areas west of the Muirons. As you can imagine, they are having a great holiday.

For Christmas Day the staff at Bluewater Tackle World took to the ocean in search of some marlin.  The crew aboard Sugar Daddy tagged a 200kg blue and landed a massive wahoo using Black Bart lures. The crew aboard In Deep put out a Christmas tree lure and caught a striped tuna to use for teasing up billfish. They managed to raise a sailfish, a black, a blue and a striped marlin. Unfortunately none of the fish were landed, but it was still a great experience to witness four species of billfish in the spread in one day. 

Two other boats in the area tagged a 40kg black, a 200kg black and dropped a 200kg blue marlin. The day before, Ryan Mumford tagged his first big fish, a blue marlin estimated at 250kg. Bernie Vale from Coral Bay Ocean Game Fishing Charters took his vessel Mahi-Mahi II from Exmouth to Coral Bay, and landed a 64kg yellowfin tuna on the way. He also tagged marlin and hooked a massive billfish in waters over the 1000m mark. 

Christmas has fired for the second year in a row with big billfish and as I write this the radio is crackling in the background with guys reporting a tagged 250kg blue, a dropped ‘monster’, a 40kg yellowfin tuna caught and many other smaller billfish raised.

Deon Visagie from Perth is up here with his 24ft boat Proplan. In one day they caught an 18kg cobia, an 18kg cod caught on a Rapala X-Rap, a barracuda, GTs, mackerel, emperor and lost two massive wahoo beside the boat. They too are enjoying their time here, while some others are having no luck at all and finding it hard to find fish. But, that’s fishing for you: you can never guarantee anything.

Meanwhile the shoreline along the gulf has improved with whiting amongst the mullet schools, but beware of the sandflies at the moment.  The queenfish have continued at Bundegi, along with GTs along the beach towards the Navy Pier.  Anglers must remember to stay 100m away from the pier when fishing.

Happy New Year!