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The afternoons in the gulf have been a total glass-off, and many people have been targeting squid in small dinghies and kayaks. Success has prevailed for most anglers resulting in a fresh sweet feed of calamari for dinner. This is especially great fun for kids. After dark the flashing ‘Squidgy G jig’ has been working well and there has been plenty of garfish about too. Apparently there are also many squid off Bundegi, however, it is a little further to run in a small craft as the Bundegi ramp is still not in use.
Aaron Rampling took his mum, Judy, out for Mother’s Day in the hope of secretly helping her to catch her first marlin. Judy was happy just to be on the water, but when a small black marlin jumped on the line she was even more excited. The fish pranced at the stern and after a tussle with the rod and reel, Judy finally had the tag put into her first marlin. The Billfish Foundation print out embossed certificates for tagged billfish for members that state the angler, boat, skipper and area the fish was tagged. I’m sure she will be happy to join up and frame such a certificate of that significant catch, as well as assist with research.
The new Ockta jigs have been creating a storm with one customer claiming that his son caught more spangled emperor using the odd looking jig than he did using bait. The red emperor have continued to show up, but in smaller sizes. Some customers have been unsure of the fish they have been catching and releasing - and they are believed to be crimson sea perch. It is good that they let them go because they were unsure, but it does pay to have a fish guide book onboard for those days or you might miss out on a good dinner!
The Exmouth Game Fishing Club has had its AGM and the new committee for 2008 has been elected. There are some new faces on the team and there is always room for more, especially this year with the building of the clubhouse. The secretary position is vacant at this stage. It is to be a paid position and involves duties such as taking minutes at monthly meetings, mailing correspondence, responding to emails and membership processing. If you have an interest in this, please contact the president Jeni Gates on 9949 1315.
Pictured this week is the much-asked-about photo of Nick Brame with his 28kg mackerel that was mentioned in a recent report. It was caught off Tantabiddi using mullet as bait .
Text and pics © Bluewater Tackle World |
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April and May are usually the best months of the year as far as weather conditions go for Exmouth, and this year is no different. It’s been a great run of perfect boating conditions now for a few weeks and everybody seems to be making the most of it, with more excellent fishing reported in the past week.
Pelagic fish activity is firing along the Tantabiddi stretch. Plenty of billfish are being encountered with most fish surprisingly being reported in less than 60m of water. Fishing tackle representative Colin Fieldhouse was in town for business during the week but managed to slip out for a quick afternoon fishing session from Tantabiddi. The action was red hot with Colin catching a couple of big mahi mahi a 15kg wahoo as well as three strikes from billfish resulting in small black marlin being tagged. It was Colin’s first billfish from Exmouth waters and was released after a couple of photos. The mahis have been a nuisance at times for those chasing billfish, with the bulls often attacking every lure in the spread causing tangled line. With the size of the mahi mahis being up to 10kg, they certainly are not the most co-operative of fish to handle for a quick release when they come to the boat.
Col Fieldhouse and Ant Simper keep a bull mahi mahi under control
Bottom fishing is as reliable as ever, with most boats fishing west of the Muirons reporting good catches of rankin cod, spangled emperor and red emperor as well an assortment of other desirable species. Goldband jobfish, pearl perch and robinson’s sea bream are the main catch out from Tantabiddi, with most of the boats concentrating fishing in depths of between 90-110m of water.
A few queenfish and trevally have started to show at high tide along the access roads on the west side. The big schools of hardyhead baitfish haven’t arrived in big numbers yet although the a few turning up at Trisel access, so it won't be long .
Text and pics © Bluewater Tackle World |
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The weather has been superb for the majority of the school holidays, with light easterly winds and minimal swell. With the near perfect boating conditions, most boats have been fishing out from Tantabiddi, where the fishing has been excellent. Dolphin fish are prolific under the big patches of floating weed, and small black marlin are being hooked and caught every day with most fish being reported in depths between 60-100m of water.
Spanish mackerel are still a little quiet with only a handful being reported. We did however weigh a big mackerel caught out from Tantabiddi in a small dinghy during the week, which weighed 28kg. We will hopefully have the photo of that mackerel for next week’s report.
The Michaels family from Mandurah had an amazing half-day's fishing out at Tantabiddi in their boat Satisfaction. The plan was for mum Lisa to catch a marlin on her brand new hot pink Bluewater custom 24kg outfits, and it took less than a couple of hours trolling for that plan to come to fruition, with a feisty little black marlin nailing the pink soft head Richter lure trolled right in close behind the teaser.
Think pink!
Lisa played the marlin out perfectly bringing it in close enough for the tag to go in and for a couple of quick pictures beside the boat, before being released. It was then five-year-old Hayden’s turn, so Lisa was dropped back on the shore in exchange for Hayden. Hayden was keen on catching a couple of bottom fish and that didn’t prove too hard. Fishing in 30m of water Hayden landed a 76cm coral trout and 77cm rankin cod in successive drops.
Bluewater Exmouth's Ant Simper helps Hayden Michaels show off his catch.
That was enough bottom fish, so the marlin lures were put back out, a quick troll resulted in a brief marlin hook up and a couple of big dolphin fish which topped off what was a great day.
Fishing inside the reef at Tantabiddi has been worthwhile for the ever reliable spangled emperor and squid which have been picking up in recent weeks. Learmonth jetty has been quiet although there are few school mackerel being caught at high tide .
Text and pics © Bluewater Tackle World |
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Ron and Karen Armstrong from Mandurah are up for the school holidays with their two children Michael and Jessica, and have been enjoying some beautiful weather and good fishing out from Tantabiddi. Fishing out near the 100m line they have boated spangled emperor, red throat emperor, robinson's sea bream and young Michael with a little bit of help from Mum Karen boated a big red emperor.
Michael and Karen Armstrong with a very nice red emperor taken out from Tantabiddi
Squid numbers are starting to pick up in the Gulf with the water clarity cleaning up significantly over the past fortnight. The squid have been found both north and south of the Marina and although the size is a little small at the moment there seems to be plenty out there which is a good sign for the upcoming season. Yellowfin whiting are also starting to show up along the gulf beaches in numbers and Bundegi beach has been fishing ok for a few bream and whiting too.
Longtail and mackerel tuna are common out in the Gulf. The tuna have been feeding on the big schools of baitfish particularly out from Bundegi. There have been a few other fish amongst the feeding tuna with some big trevally and queenfish also caught amongst the schools. The odd spanish mackerel is being caught out at Coopers Shoal with late afternoon being the prime time.
Matt and Linda Swinney from Perth have spent a few days in Exmouth this week and enjoyed excellent fishing on a multitude of species. The couple have fished light gear all week and have thrown around lures catching an assortment of big trevally, longtail tuna, spangled emperor and even a few squid for the dinner table.
Sailfish and marlin are being caught each day by those prepared to spend a few hours trolling skirted lures around. Most of the action from all reports seems to be coming from west of the Muirons Islands, and out from Helby Bank.
Text and pics © Bluewater Tackle World |
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EXMOUTH NEWS 2008 04 14
School holidays have started and the town is once again packed full with people, all eager to make the most of this perfect weather and get out and amongst all the fish.
The Marlin fishing picked up after the new moon with lots of boats reporting billfish activity out from Tantabiddi and west of Lighthouse Bay. Small Black marlin between 30-80kg in size have been the most common catch although there is still the odd larger fish being hooked as well as some big wahoo and dolphinfish.
Spanish mackerel have been noticeably quiet around the Tantabiddi side with the Murion Islands offering the best chance to get amongst the mackerel. Veronika Bosnjak was fishing at the Islands last weekend and caught her first mackerel, a whopper of 26.8kg taken on 8kg line class. Veronika was fishing on the local boat “Reel Easy” and as well as the big mackerel they went on to catch red emperor, goldband jobfish and plenty of spangled emperor.
Veronika with her 26.8kg spaniard. Reason there is no line left on the reel - they used the same outfit again after boating the first big mack only to be spooled, trolling in 12m of water. Fish not seen but it took 1000m of 8kg and is still going!
Young Hayden Michaels, who is possibly the keenest 5yr old fisherman you will ever meet, had an excellent days fishing out at Helby Bank with dad Steve and friend Bandaras. Hayden showed up the two more experienced anglers by catching an assortment of big rankin cod, spangled emperor, tomato cod as well a handful of longtail tuna which were caught trolling on the way back in to the ramp.
The bottom fishing reports have been excellent all round with most boats reporting plenty of tasty fish being caught. Red emperor, spangled emperor, rankin cod and scarlet seaperch are the most reported catch. The best area to try has been west of the Murion Islands and out from Peak Island in depths of 70-100m of water.
Exmouth gulf has plenty of big longtail tuna busting up most afternoons. The Tuna bust ups have been widespread, with reported action from as close as a couple of hundred metres out from the Marina all the way up to Bundegi and out around Nor-West reef.
Text and pics © Bluewater Tackle World |
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We certainly had a bit of inconsistent weather during the week; pouring rain one day, clear skies the next! The heavy rain we encountered has no doubt kept a few people indoors this week, as reports haven’t been coming through as regularly as normal. Those that have ventured out amongst the weather breaks have been reporting good fishing. Spanish mackerel and dolphin fish have kept those trolling lures along the back of reef at Tantabiddi busy, with hook ups a common occurrence.
Bottom fishing has been productive too, with boats coming in with good catches consisting of red emperor, rankin cod, coral trout and spangled emperor. Fishing west of the islands has been the most productive area with some boats reporting catching the red emperor in as shallow as 20m of water.
Exmouth resident Aaron Rampling had an excellent day of fishing out near the islands during the week. Aaron has recently taking up fly fishing, and had a great introduction into this challenging form of fishing with some notable captures taken on his new 10wt outfit. Aaron and his mate Ben had set up a berley trail, and were casting flies right out the back and stripping them back up through the trail. First fish to hit the decks were a couple of quality spangled emperor, followed up when Aaron hooked on to what was a decent Spanish mackerel. Aaron carefully played the mackerel out only to lose the fish at the side of the boat when a mob of sharks decided that they wanted the fish more than him.
After re-rigging with new leader and a new fly, Aaron was once again in the thick of the action hooking into a mystery fish amongst a big pack of sharks. Convinced he was just fighting a shark, Aaron was trying pretty hard not to give it an inch and to get it as close to the boat as possible in quick time. It wasn’t until it was at the boat that he realised that it was in fact a quality fish he was fighting. The fish turned out to be a big green jobfish, a spectacular catch on the fly rod especially considering it was one of the first times he had picked up the gear. The boys continued to fish, dropping baits down to the bottom on conventional gear resulting in a few rankin cod, cobia and more spangled emperor.
Aaron Rampling with his fly-caught green jobfish.
Squid and spangled emperor are keeping the dinghy fishers content with plenty being taken not far from the ramp at Tantabiddi. For the shore based fisherman there has been northern salmon, queenfish and small trevally being caught at the various access roads south of Lighthouse Bay.
Text and pics © Bluewater Tackle World
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How sensational has the weather been recently?? We have been blessed, particularly over the Easter weekend. Those anglers that managed to get time out to fish thoroughly enjoyed the calm conditions and balmy tropical temperatures.
The coral spawning has begun and some areas are thick, especially on the current lines. These areas can hold species such as dolphin fish and small black marlin. There is also a lot of weed about at this time of year and this can be held up in the current lines as well.
Last week the blue water was pushing in close to south passage at Tantabiddi, and with it came the fish. Cathy Catoni from Trigg was here for three days, and on her first day she was trying for a marlin in a short time frame of just half an hour. Cathy was lucky enough to stumble across one that was estimated to be about 40kg. Using 10kg line class, she took only a short while to bring it to the boat. She got some great pics before releasing the little critter back to its playground.
The next day Cathy caught her biggest coral trout on a lure, and the following day she caught her first spanish mackerel! Needless to say, she had a fantastic trip.
Cathy Catoni with her biggest coral trout, measuring 70cm and caught on a lure in five metres of water! Easter 2008.
Suzanne Simmons enjoyed her first day out fishing in Exmouth, after having lived here for sometime now, and landed a giant trevally that was ‘huge’ as well as a shark, that was quickly released. Her smile was far bigger than the fish, I’m sure, as she told me the story: it’s great to see the enthusiasm on peoples’ faces when they talk fishing.
Have you heard of the great Shark Australian Count? This project is now the largest community shark count in the world, and you can help. There are dedicated weekends, including this weekend, and general sightings can be logged on through the AUF website. There are wonderful prizes to be won for participating and all participants who register receive a free Fantastic Fish Calendar. For further information or a free sticker, please drop in to Bluewater Tackle World Exmouth.
The Exmouth Game Fishing Club is holding its annual general meeting on April the 29th. The venue will be finalised at a committee meeting tomorrow, so keep reading this report each week for the information. Nomination forms will be sent out this week to members and we are looking forward to having many more people join the committee as 2009 is bound to be a big year with the building of the clubhouse. If you would like to become involved, any assistance or ideas are greatly appreciated. Please contact the club president on 0408 905 448 for further information .
Text and pics © Bluewater Tackle World
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Exmouth News 2008 03 - GAMEX reports |
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It’s a great time of year to be in Exmouth. The weather forecast for the next week is fantastic with clear skies and light winds forecast and fish action aplenty with everyone reporting excellent catches. The water around at Tantabiddi has cleaned up markedly in the last week and as a result the inshore pelagic scene is back to normal with all the usual species back in abundance. Spanish mackerel, shark mackerel and yellowfin tuna are taking trolled minnow lures along the back of the reef. Sailfish and marlin are appearing right in close to the back of the reef too with lots of people reporting hook-ups in as close as 30-40m of water.
Exmouth Gulf is starting to clear up also with longtail tuna schools abundant, and with some big mobs of queenfish also being found harassing the baitfish schools. Spangled emperor and blue lined emperor catches are being caught on the bottom out near Exmouth reef with the occasional spanish mackerel taking floating baits in the same area.
Last week’s Gamex tournament was a huge success, with 54 boats competing. Everyone who fished Gamex 2008 was a winner, with various fish caught, daily prizes for boats, lucky spot prizes and general all round fun and camaraderie. The official winners for the different sections were:
* Highest Point Scoring (HPS) gamefish other than billfish or shark on 1&2kg line class thanks to IGA Exmouth. Harry Butler aboard Kamsin with a 7kg long tail tuna on 2kg line class.
* HPS gamefish other than billfish or shark on 3&4kg line class thanks to Coral Bay Ocean Game Fishing Charters. Jan Prince aboard Awesum with a 22.3kg Spanish mackerel on 3kg line class. This would have broken the state and national record, however, Jan’s daughter holds that current record at 22kg and Jan decided not to submit it.
* HPS gamefish other than billfish or shark on 6&8kg line class thanks to Exmouth Automotive and Boating. Ric Karniewicz aboard Playpen with a 22.4kg Spanish mackerel on 8kg line class.
* HPS gamefish other than billfish or shark on 10to60kg line class thanks to Home Hardware. Clay Harvey aboard Elvis with a 15.9kg spanish mackerel on 10kg line class.
* HPS billfish on 1to15kg line class thanks to Kailis/Exmouth Pearls. Rowan Smith aboard Home Run with a 149.2kg black marlin on 15kg line class.
* Heaviest Billfish on 24to60kg line class thanks to Exmouth Smash Repairs. Tom Miller aboard Knot Fore Shore with a 106.6kg black marlin on 24kg line class.
* Champion Boat Tag and Release shark thanks to Budget Car Hire. Reel Easy with 11 tagged sharks.
* Champion Angler Junior thanks to Toll West and Toll Ipec. Rhys Clatworthy aboard Reel Obsession with six species on five line classes.
* Champion Angler Female thanks to Engel. Jan Prince with seven species on seven line classes.
* Champion Angler Male thanks to XXXXGold. Ben White aboard Renopegel with five species on six line classes.
* Champion Angler Tag and Release Billfish thanks to Hotbite. Brett Hall aboard Freespool II with six marlin.
* Champion Boat Tag and Release Sailfish thanks to Taylor Marine. In Deep with four tagged sailfish.
* Champion Boat Tag and Release Marlin thanks to Reel Teaser Charters. My Vice II with 11 tagged marlin.
* Champion Boat Overall thanks to Caltex Starmart Exmouth. Team Awesum with ten species on ten line classes.
Here are some of the highlights from the tournament as we reported them at the time:
March 14th - There was the provision in the rules this year for one night's fishing, and the crew on In Deep took advantage of it in the best possible way. Scott Magowan, Matt Gates, Paul Besnard and Shaun Battye went out for a broady session, and in what must rate as one of the rarest scenarios in the history of West Australian game fishing, had a double hookup!
The big glow light at the stern gave away the presence of big fish before any of the baits were taken. Battye was on the rod for the first hookup, and confident that they had a billfish attached, the other lines were quickly cleared - all except the rod Gates was on, which ground to a halt with the second hookup before it reached the surface.
Battye's fish was a handful, clearing the surface at the back of the boat in the lights and showing all the crew that it was definitely a broadbill, before scorching down 100m and spitting the hook. Curses. Gates' fish stayed connected to his 24kg gear, and was eventually boated successfully.
At 45.7kg, that's a new State record claim for a broadbill on 24kg. Gates is the one with the biggest grin!
A couple of other outstanding captures yesterday include a 22.3kg spanish mackerel on three kilo tackle for light-line specialist Jan Prince on Awesum - the fish is as long as she is!, and a 5.8kg queenfish on two kilo for Rhys Clatworthy, also on Awesum.
March 13th - How's this for a big fish from a little boat! Jeni Lerch's 4.9m aluminium Home Run, powered by a 50hp Yamaha, isn't the kind of thing you see featured in Marlin magazine, but she wasn't about to let that stand in the way of her one day's fishing in Gamex.
Angler Rowan Smith was charged with the rod, and tasked with catching his first marlin ever. It was 15kg gear and a proven lumo skirt that was to be the downfall of this black marlin, now a pending State record. While the fight was spectacular with the marlin high-jumping all around the boat, handling the fish at the end of it all was the biggest challenge.
Jeni is a featherweight, but Kurt Decker and the marlin weigh about the same; plus Smith and all the gear made for a hefty boatload for the trip home. After nearly swamping Home Run (seen in the background above), the little Yamaha proved its worth and was still able to get the boat up on the plane so that they could drain the water out.
The fish will be taxidermied by Martin Thompson. There aren't many marlin weighed at Exmouth these days, so not many opportunities to compare estimates with actuals, but Jeni was pretty happy she called this one for 150kg. They radioed it in as 130kg to cover themselves, but all on board were leaning towards the 10:1 figure.
March 12th - Tayla Clatworthy aboard Reel Obsession tagged her first sailfish today! Her older brother, Rhys (aged 15), fishing aboard Awesum, is no doubt stressing that his younger sister may beat him at his last (year) chance of winning Champion Junior Angler.
About 25 billfish tagged so far today, but it an early finish as we have the Bundaberg Rum Pizza and Pasta night tonight. Late start to fishing tomorrow, and the weather looks good, so (EGFC President and Bluewater Exmouth boss) Jeni reckons there will be a few boats broadie fishing tomorrow night. And she's going to fish tomorrow, so look out!
1000 hours - radio troubles back at base are making regular updates a challenge, but we do know there were 30 marlin and five sails tagged yesterday. About half the fleet are fishing for billfish, and the rest did very well yesterday with longtail tuna, and spanish mackerel.
March 11th -
1030 hours: Tayla Clatworthy, a junior female angler fishing Gamex, has just tagged a 40kg marlin on six kilo line class. She caught it on Halco hardbody!!! Sensational... and about a dozen or more tagged already today.
March 10th - Gamex is on and it came with a flying start. Tracey Rushford on Reel Teaser had a billfish hooked up seven minutes after lines in on the first day. Hers was one of 27 marlin tagged for day one, along with two sailfish.
Matt Niikkula, also on Reel Teaser, tagged and released this big blue, estimated at 350kg on 60kg tackle, which would have eclipsed the State record but is still swimming.
Jan Prince on Awesum has a pending State and National record for a spangled emperor on 2kg class.
Text and pics © Bluewater Tackle World
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