WA
North Coast
Are the cold starts worth it? DAMPIER/KARRATHA
Troy Honey
I can hear you laughing already, cold in the Pilbara? Yes, it actually can become very cold in the mornings and nights with 2021 certainly feeling a lot colder than previous years. For the southerners visiting the region of Karratha I am sure it is very enjoyable weather, especially with the idyllic 28ºC it reaches during for the majority of sunlight hours but for the hot weather conditioned locals, it is freezing. Well, are the colds starts worth it? Yes, they are. Getting an early start in the cold and dark mornings is certainly a benefit towards making the most of the daylight hours, but what I am referring to is more the wind. June and July in Karratha has seen cold windy mornings being the more common conditions, but we have had ample afternoons and evenings where the wind has dropped off, balmy temperatures and silky smooth oceans. What this provides are opportunities to target demersal species, such as red emperor, in the dark during tide changes. Any fishing in the dark obviously has risk associated with it so it goes without saying that all safety precautions should be in place to avoid disaster. Once set up, fishing for demersals in the dark can be a very rewarding one, in fact, the best catches of red emperor, saddletail and rankin cod I have seen have come from sunset or night time fishing. Baits are the go to option here as well as many of the glow in the dark jigs and soft plastics. It still gets cold here in Karratha
at night, but early starts for the day aren’t the only way to go. Demersals, such as red emperor and saddletail, as well as rankin cod, blueline and spangled emperor have all been firing during July and this will continue throughout the next months of August and September. Head out past the 40m mark behind the island for your best chance to get amongst
fighters if that is what you are chasing. Bluebone fishing has been hit and miss around the archipelago as can be expected in the cooler months, but they are still there, but you just need to work a bit harder for them. Using their natural diet of rock crabs or fresh caught octopus will put you at the forefront of success, as well as fishing the spring tides
The blue swimmer crabs are really starting to thin out in numbers in the bays, but the king prawns, which are plentiful right now, can be found from Nichol Bay right around past Cossack. During the calm nights that we are experiencing during this dry season, you will find the prawns feeding in the moving tides, with Nickol Bay being a great place to start. Using a bright night light to light
The author nearly lost a good sized Spanish flag during a recent session to the hungry gold spotted cod that chased the flag all the way to the surface before taking a bite and finding himself a part of a double hook up.
A hard fighting chinamanfish caught on PE2 tackle by the author in 15m of water behind the islands. them. The low tide change has been working better than the high tide change but both changes are the most productive time, especially when lined up with a sunrise or sunset. Cobia, chinaman fish and trevally are also being caught by the demersal fishers and all three are great
who are out there working the region hard. Threadfin salmon are being caught in the bays and creeks in surprisingly good numbers and size for this time of year, with the spring tides again being the best time to target them. One thing you find in the northwest
with masses of tourists camped out and searching for every hungry mud crab they can find. The mud crab population in the Pilbara is a very healthy one although I do have some reservations with the extra pressure it is receiving due to Covid. Fingers-crossed
during the last couple of hours before the high tide change through to an hour afterwards. Fish close to the shore, over rocks and bommies from very shallow to deep waters of around 10m. This is where the bluebone will be feeding during this time.
While generally not as prized as the iconic red emperor, blueline emperor are still a 5-star table fish that make you work for it all the way to the surface.
Fishing in the Pilbara does not have to be all about big demersals or pelagics. The aggressive fighter and top-rated table fish, the Spanish flag can be found all around the coastline and take just about any bait or small rig setup.
up the water and a prawn dab net, try either motoring slowly along or anchor up and dap for the prawns as they pass the boat under the light. They are attracted to the light so it is more of a case of the prawns will find you over you finding the prawns. The king prawns are big and sweet, but you will have to battle the trawlers
of Western Australia is that the larger tides are generally the most production times to fish. It is often more ideal conditions for a day on the water during the neap tides, but the larger tides carry a lot more food and this is what stirs the fish up to feed more. No run, no fun, as they say. The local creeks are all getting a great workout
the international borders are opened as soon as possible to get thing back to normal and find a good balance between anglers and fish stocks. Although, my fingers are really crossed for swift and strong action on the massive shark problem that threatens the fish populations more than any other factor currently. AUGUST 2021
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