WA
Offshore antics running amok this autumn KALBARRI
Stephen Wiseman
Early morning starts are required to get in amongst the activity of the toothy critters running amuck offshore; wahoo, macks and tuna are still plentiful from the Bluff to north of the Sand Patch. Best time is just after the sun hits the water for the macks and wahoo, with tuna smashing lures umtil well into the day and again just before sundown. Beach fishos have been watching tuna schools busting up bait balls late afternoon from in front of Wittecarra and one lucky angler fishing for tailor managed a mack from the beach. What a nice addition to the bucket there are plenty in the bay too and great fun on light tackle casting small soft plastics or micro jigs. Schools of better size fish can be found out on the white bank and the lumps/ coral patches 25-30m where the micro jigs work really well catching skippy. Big dhus are never shy on grabbing a tiny jig in these depths, so fish a heavy leader because the dhufish will completely inhale the tiny jigs and their teeth will wear through anything under 50lb in short order. The mullet run started early this year bringing along with them plenty of sharks to the nearshore. We have been picking a few up most nights on baits intended for mulloway
of tailor. Mulloway activity is picking up and, with the promise of a river coming down, it will only get better as will all the activity around the river mouth. Watch the muddy water areas as the tide changes, and fish the change of tide as that’s when most of the activity will happen. Whiting activity has been a bit slow but there are still some nice little fat fish to be had on the flats behind frustration and in front of the IGA car park. The rock hoppers and cliff climbers have been doing well with catches of pink snapper and baldchin groupers from south of town, any of the coastal gorges that are accessible will produce good fish but care is needed
A Kalbarri mack caught around the coastal cliffs. along with guitar rays. The guitar rays always blow my fishing customers’ away with the shear pulling power for their size. It’s the best time of year to be catching large mulloway off the beaches. Best chances are a few days leading up to the full moon and around the new moon, although at this time of year so long as you have a bait in the water, anytime of day or night it is a possibility. Fresh bait is always best for mulloway, next best fresh frozen mullet. While we have been
West Coast
when down on the rocks. Try Pot Ally as a good starting hole, it is easy to get down and onto the rock platform to the south side. Upriver has been doing well for mud crabs and a few blue swimmers, just enough for a tasting but a lot of hard work. Big black bream are still around and can put on a good show for their size with a few stretching out to 350mm. Down the coast at Wagoe, macks have been seen jumping just offshore but with the southerlies blowing ballooning has not been an option so it’s a waiting game until the easterlies kick in and then the activity will get hectic. As always take care on the water and make sure you have all the safety gear. having a great run on tailor, now they typically become difficult to catch and unpredictable, often they can be biting mid-afternoon yet none at sunset. They will have released their eggs last month, the majority moving off. As the water cools, larger class fish can be caught along the gutters and reef breaks. There are plenty of herring around now so try hedge your bets each way by baitcasting small pilchards on a gang of 3-4/0 hooks.
Lots of guitars have been stretching the arms of unsuspecting anglers.
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Ben Spadaccini caught a 62cm flathead at Leighton Beach late afternoon. It was caught 4m off the beach on the first cast on a Shimano Vanford on a Daiwa TD Black Pinster 641LFS on a ZMan MinnowZ. MAY 2023 101
