Augusta

Bring on the beach fishing

AUGUSTA Anthony Gillam

We here in Western Australia are truly counting our blessings, with no lockdowns or reported cases at the time of writing,

Cosy Corner is an excellent place to spend the day fishing and swimming with the family.

allowing us to move about freely.

So although we feel sympathy for the rest of the country, we are making the most of the emerging spring weather and getting out and about throughout the whole state. With an exceptionally wet winter, the countryside is now carpeted in an amazing display of wildflowers; an extra benefit for those able to travel.

As the new season unfolds it presents many opportunities to take advantage of the nice weather and explore new fishing areas instead of falling back on the old faithful areas. Although not all spots will prove to be winners, there is nothing wrong with having a bit of an explore. Augusta has plenty of land-based areas to have a try, many that have not experienced very much fishing pressure.

BEACH FISHING

Beach fishing can be a rewarding experience with a range of fish cruising the coastline, many of which are sought after for their fighting or eating qualities. This month I will cover a number of beach fishing sites that I have found to be well worth a try. Jays Beach

This surfing beach is closest to The Colourpatch and although known to be great for catching a wave, it is also a great place to get a range of whiting. Sandies, King George and yellowfin are all common catches, especially near the reef areas near Deere Street. Commonly used are the standard paternoster or running sinker rigs as the bottom is generally sandy. Casting close to the exposed section of reef and slowly winding in will generally get a hit from whiting, flathead or skippy. The best baits are squid strips, fresh fish pieces or worms. If tarwhine are about then coral prawns will also do the job. Flat Rock

Just south of the marina

entrance you will come across two small sections of beach intersected by some rocks and reef. These both

have some deeper channels that always hold some form of fish, depending on the time of year. There are always whiting and tarwhine with skippy, herring and garfish also common catches. During the salmon run the beach is known as the hospital beach, where numbers of salmon congregate, many bearing the injuries caused by sharks. Floating a mulie up the channel usually results in one of them tearing off with it. Dead Finish

Heading further south towards the lighthouse, this little section of beach to the left of the disabled fishing jetty provides some great fishing all year round. There are sections of sandy holes between weed banks where you find sand whiting and King George whiting with the odd flathead or flounder. Garfish and herring are also frequent visitors.

Walking north along the beach you will locate a prominent sand channel that heads right through the reef areas out to sea. This is like

a funnel for sea life, and you commonly see bronze whaler sharks head straight in to run up and down the

beach within 20m from shore. Standard rigs for the smaller fish and a short length of steel trace with a 7/0 or 8/0 circle hook embedded in a whole herring or salmon fillet for sharks will provide a day’s entertainment. There are large rays around so soaking a big bait is probably not the way to go if you can sight cast for sharks. Try predicting where they are heading and drop the bait far enough ahead not to spook them. Most sharks can’t resist and will soon having you hanging on for the ride of your life. I have had large bronzies jumping free of the shallow waters multiple times, looking more like a mako than their more sedate cousins.

Ringbolt Bay

This little bay is tucked away off Leeuwin Road down a bit of a sketchy track that is definitely not for your average shopping cart. At the bottom of the track is a decent car park and a set of steps runs down onto a short, sandy beach that is sheltered by the granite outcrop of Point Matthew. Not only is this a great little fishing beach, it is also a nice safe place for a swim in the middle of summer. Rocks, sand holes, channels, weed and reef – this place has all the ingredients for epic fishing.

Known as a regular garfish haunt, some big specimens can be landed here all year round. They love a small piece of sand whiting on a floating line, and surprisingly will aggressively fight for a bait that is cast out dangling below a small float, and then wound back in to shore. King George whiting are frequently caught here, as are herring and skippy. During the salmon season it is not unknown for the bay to be filled with hungry salmon eating everything that moves as they make their way up the coastline.

Skippy Rock Beach

Turning from Leeuwin Road onto Skippy Rock Road will lead you to the turn-off to Skippy Rock Beach. A short, brisk walk along the track at the end of the car park heads down to a long section of white, sandy beach where you can walk and fish for hours. It is aptly named as there are some excellent sized skippy caught there at times, especially in the vicinity of Skippy Rock itself, where there are some deep holes.

Unfortunately, the holes are caused by some pretty big surges that make it difficult to fish at times. I would try a plastic blob with a couple of metres of leader below it with a 2/0 hook and coral prawn for bait if reasonably calm, but most times a paternoster rig will be needed. Walking along the beach looking for holes or gutters can result in a mixed bag of herring, skippy, whiting and flathead. Rumour has it that the odd mulloway can also be located at times, but the whispers are very faint and usually are associated with crusty old anglers who are very secretive about where they actually fish. Deepdene Beach

Accessible by 4WD drive from Cosy Corner Road, this large beach can be difficult to drive on at times but with a bit less air in the tyres and some careful manoeuvring it is generally OK.

There are plenty of features on this beach, they change frequently and sometimes the fishing can seem a bit barren, however, mulloway, sharks and large samsonfish can all be caught with a bit of patience. Set yourself up for a night fish or an early morning session, throw a big bait out and sooner or later you will end up with a hefty sea dweller of some sort. Don’t forget to have a fish for the bread-and-butter species either, as they are an added bonus for the dinner plate, and also make excellent live or cut baits for target species. Cosy Corner

Cosy Corner Road leads off Caves Road before the Hamelin Bay turnoff, and ends at a large carpark. There’s a decent set of steps on the left of the carpark that leads down to a short beach that is absolutely packed with the features you want when looking for likely fish-holding locations. There are gutters, holes channels, reef, weed beds and long sandy stretches. All of these hold fish, and during the salmon season the schools travel so close to the shore on occasion that you can just about catch them by hand.

There are also yellowtail kingfish and samsonfish patrolling the shores in small mobs, and they will monster live baits, lures and dead baits. They can easily be observed

Blake Muller landed this nice dhufish on a bottom bounced octopus tentacle in Flinders Bay.

The beaches near the Augusta marina provide great fishing opportunities within 5 minutes from the town centre. Now that’s a great western version of a male blue groper landed on a charter trip in Flinders Bay.