Augusta

Looking forward to the cool, calm weather

AUGUSTA Anthony Gillam

The next time I start wishing the weather would warm up I think I might give myself a slap across the head with a wet fish. After months of stinking hot, dry heat I am quite looking forward to the cooling off that comes with autumn. The only good thing about the heat was that it made the flies drop like flies (literally) so at least there was a reprieve from those buzzing menaces for a while.

Now that school is back Augusta has quietened to a semblance of what we locals are used to for most of the year. There seems to be much more room on the river to drop some crab pots Sumi showing off a decent example of a southern rock lobster destined for a gourmet meal.

A typical Flinders Bay mixed bag caught by Augusta Xtreme staff member Campbell Muir and his family on a recent day trip.

in or hunt for a few whiting. I’ve even seen a few of the locals venturing out in public who generally go into hiding until the tourist tide recedes.

With the WA border opening being canned for February it became obvious that West Australians had decided to continue the spirit of having stay-cations in the lower half of the state with record numbers venturing into Augusta. It was good to see that not only were they coming into town, they were also catching fish and enjoying the pristine ocean and river environment locals sometimes take for granted.

The river has been a hive of fishing activity with large tidal movements (relatively speaking) ensuring that the water in Hardy inlet was crystal clear and a real joy to be in on and under.

Black bream have come all the way downstream to the ocean now and some really thick shouldered specimens have been taken right up to the cut out into the ocean. Being one of my favourite fish to target I did the odd kayak sortie into the river to suss out where they were. It wasn’t difficult to locate them as they seem to have taken over anywhere that contains rocks, snags or drop offs. The Blackwood River and Hardy Inlet provide any number of ideal locations to throw a bait or lure and it was a matter of time before you picked up a hot spot. Some spots were a fish per cast so I can only imagine how many are about. River prawns were by far the best bait with paddle-tail grubs in natural colours working almost as well. If you are into catching for a feed, those fish living in the saltier

water of the Hardy Inlet are far superior in flavour.

Jetty fishing is currently pretty hot especially on the Ellis Street Jetty where it has been a raffle as to what species would turn up next. The normal herring and whiting have been joined by flathead, flounder and bream with salmon and tailor also making an appearance. Bait fishing has been successful on most common baits, however, flounder, flathead and tailor have responded better to soft plastics and hardbodied lures. Anything resembling a prawn or bait fish bounced off the bottom have been snapped up by the ambush bottom dwellers whereas tailor have been hitting metal slice lures and small hard

bodied lures close to the surface. Berleying with pollard, oil and mulie pieces improved catches significantly.

The Augusta crab fishing scene has been pretty quiet so far with a really late start to the season. This is in line with the crabbing right down from the Perth metro area into the southwest where things also got off to a slow kick off. That being said, there are signs that it is picking up and some of the few caught have been exceptionally sized. Try using chicken wings, necks or spleen to avoid having a tug-of-war with a monster stingray of which there are many. Easter looks promising!

The whiting fishing

continues to be very good not only in the Hardy Inlet but the cut at Colourpatch and along the beaches and rocks all the way around to Boranup. Yellowfin whiting, sand whiting and King George whiting have been pretty much everywhere with a bit of sand. By the sheer number of people crowding the area it has been pretty obvious that the channel at Colourpatch is producing the goods. Currently there are several really big sandbars from the Hardy Street jetty area through to the Dead Water and the yellowfin and King George whiting have been easily visible traversing through the clear water while on the feed. They are smashing cockles and prawn pieces with glass shrimps and worms also showing to be their kryptonite. Light lines are key and keep the weights as light as possible. Slowly retrieving your line is key and you will be amazed at the increased amount of hits compared to letting it sit on the bottom. The inshore and offshore fishing conditions have been variable to say the least, flat calm for a few days punctuated by gale force conditions

Denny managed to land this feisty Black Point pink snapper while on a charter trip with Leeuwin Marine Charters.

Campbell Muir showing a typical example of a Hardy Inlet black bream caught on a hardbodied lure.