Augusta

AUGUSTA Anthony Gillam

Slowly but surely as winter arrives the hope that this salmon season will crank up to anything other than a faint murmur slowly drains of the beaches. Some of the sizes have been extraordinary with one lucky visitor to town currently waiting for the ratifying of his pending Australian record with a 38cm, 658g monster snaffled while having a family holiday during Easter. They have been

taking lures and bait without really having a preference, if it was put near them it was fair game and was just a matter of which was first to take the hook. If one throws the hook another is there to take its place.

The herring are in full force in the Hardy Inlet where they are competing with a plethora of King George whiting, tarwhine and black bream. It is not unusual for a mixed bag of these species to end up going home with you, often with some garfish and salmon trout thrown in for good measure. River prawns and cockles are always excellent baits for all these species with glass shrimps and bloodworms also readily accepted.

Shore-based fishing locations that are currently hot spots for King George whiting and herring are not hard to find. The channel at Colourpatch, the jetty at Turner Street and the East Augusta side of the Dead Water have been alive with both species and with the clarity of the water currently excellent it is not hard to spot the fish as they swim around in front of you. Combine that with a good pair of polarised sunglasses and it is pretty easy to spot the fish. If using soft plastics or hardbodies lures any of the smaller prawn styles will work.

For kayak fishing and small boat fishing success in the river move around while concentrating on the obvious channels. Great catches can be had especially around the turn of the tides that correspond with early morning and late afternoon. Some of the best fishing I have found has been in less than 1m of water and sight casting to specific fish. Another excellent way to pick up fish is by trolling a hardbodied lure behind you, this allows you to cover plenty of water and serves to hone in on where the more aggressive species are currently feeding. I have recently picked up herring, whiting, tarwhine, black bream and salmon this way. At other times pink snapper and tailor are added to this list so there are not many desirable river dwellers that won’t have a try. In regards what speed is best, I find that slow trolling picks up most fish, however, if you want to narrow down what you are looking for, herring and tailor seem to be more aggressive strikers once you get around 6 knots.

There are some excellent black bream right throughout the system at the moment from Sues Bridge right through into the Dead Water and they are one of the more

aggressive strikers currently getting about. With plenty of tidal activity recently there are numerous tree branches and even small trees and bushes that have created the perfect environment for black bream to strike from cover. They will hide out before ambushing anything that looks like a meal passing by. Taking advantage of the water clarity an angler can target these areas for the best results. Get in as close to the wood as possible and work a lure or drift a bait into the zone. Prawn style hardbodied and soft plastic lures are definitely in favour at the moment as are whole large river prawns. When rigging prawns, successful hook ups all seem to be on those that are rigged from the tail through to the head rather than the other way around. Once the fish is hooked make sure to keep the pressure on as they will cut you off on their favourite snag in a heartbeat.

The crab numbers being caught in the river has just about dropped to zero, so overall it was a pretty disappointing season. Although there was a bit of a surge for a while it wasn’t really anything to talk about. It seems the crabs and salmon are determined to play hard to get. There’s always next year!

Flinders and Hamelin Bays are still fishing well and although there have been some monumental showers of rain and the odd gale force wind, overall there have been plenty of good days on the water. Best catches have

The gape on this dhufish illustrates just how big their meals can be. Gavin Pedrochi with his pending Australian record herring landed while shore-based fishing one of the bays in Augusta. This fish took a set of ganged hooks suspended under a plastic blob.

away with every receding tide. Frustratingly few and far between the schools have been small and on the whole most have stayed out in the deeper water preferring it to avoid the warmer waters in close. That being said, schools keep coming along so the opportunity remains to satisfy the yearly salmon fever.

One thing that has been obvious is that the herring migration has been in full swing despite their salmon cousins not playing the game. There have been herring thick and fast everywhere, in the river, along the rocks and all Jithu Stephen and Blake Muller show how it’s done with a great dhufish double in Flinders Bay. been in the deeper waters from around 50m upwards and on some of the bigger lumps that show up on the sounder. Squid, mulies and octopus are definitely the best baits for the bigger fish and as usual soft plastics are killer on dhufish, pink snapper and breaksea cod. Berkley Gulp 6” paddle tails in glow white continue to be the best of the lot, however, it always pay to swap and change if you are not getting results as the favourite can change from day to day.

Beach fishing along the coast is still providing salmon and herring with Hamelin Bay to Boranup popular. Deepdene and Cosy Corner are also having good showing of skippy and small bronze whaler sharks. It pays to check them all out if you are looking for a feed as the best catches seem to move around from day to day. It doesn’t take long to find where the fish are, just look for all the cars.

Rock fishing at this time of the year, especially with some of the heavy rainfall, is dangerous at times. Careful consideration of where and when you fish must me done. Unpredictable weather can quickly affect the fishing conditions and slippery rocks are a recipe for disaster. • Please remain vigilant when rock fishing; wear a life jacket and tie off to something solid. You can hire one for free from Augusta Xtreme Outdoor Sports at 66 Blackwood Avenue Augusta - the local tackle shop and font of all local fishing knowledge. Look for the big green sign on the roof, it’s right next to the BP Service Station in the centre of town.