Kalbarri

WA West Coast

Great captures through seasonal transition

KALBARRI

Stephen

Wiseman Winter weather has slowed down the offshore fishing but the breaks in between storms have allowed some intrepid anglers to venture out and get amongst the pink snapper and occasional rankin cod. Most fish are going 60-70cm, and can be found in waters from 10m out to 50m. Best spots have been down around Red Bluff in 24m.

One old-time local had a great trip just past Bald Face. The first drop produced a 65cm baldy and second drop was a donkey at just under 70cm. With his two personal best baldy in the box, he headed off home but not before a quick lure toss for the hell of it. Within minutes the Bream have been on the bite recently.

line screamed with what was to be a very large mack estimated over 20kg, but was lost at the boat.

River fishing has been the go for those not wanting to chance a river mouth washing, and what a range of fish have made there way to the box? Big mulloway are still on the chew from Chinamans all the way up to the Pens, one nice fish at 135cm was taken opposite the IGA just after sundown.

Bream have been on the bite in abundance all around the Pens and up river around some secret spots not disclosed by one local. Micky D was out testing his transport barge recently and tossing in a little rod just in case. The fishing was slow but a very nice bream was taken mid afternoon up river somewhere, the fish may look small but Mick is 2m tall and has a hand that can cover a dinner plate, so the fish is reasonable by comparison.

Last reports of water temperature out wide were in the low 21ºC so we may well and truly be into the winter cool down and cold water from the south. Look close inshore for pinks and baldchin feeding on crustacean smashed up in winter storms.

Stay safe and be careful around the river mouth at this time of year as it is truly rough and deserved of its reputation and name – ‘The Washing Machine’.

From page 112 we doing when putting our survey results to DPIRD? Negotiating a catch share allocation? Or giving DPIRD feedback on where we want to future catch levels to be set? DPIRD say the sustainable take is 667 tones, of which we the recreational sector have now ‘negotiated’ a small share of, while the commercial allocation seems wide open!

Garfish have been abundant; we have been seeing them offshore in schools and the bay is full of a wide variety of age groups. Currently there is a ban in place on the take of southern garfish, DPIRD had stated there will be a review on the take of this species during 2022. We should be very wary on how the return to fishing for garfish is negotiated, making sure the recreational share allocation is not eroded, more importantly that there is not an open-ended commercial increase. Alarm bells should also be ringing for the future allocations of demersal species. We should all stand for sustainable fishing levels, but still need to stand up for the recreational sector share of the allocation while doing so.

It’s the time of year beaches start to widen and there is good fishing from well-formed beach gutters. Tailor will be well worth hunting for with the average size of gutter fish can be around the 50cm and larger models are often caught casting lures to the reef breaks.

As usual, the new and full moon are the best times to target mulloway. With well-formed gutters creating deep nearshore water, it’s the time of year to be trying for a surf mulloway on artificial lures. It’s a difficult task to set yourself but very rewarding when achieved. Chances of success are greatly improved by choosing the correct conditions and location. Look for structure, a gutter or a near shore reef, ideally a day with enough swell to have the wave breaking over the deep water combined with a high or rising tide. Lure choices would be diving hardbodies around 15cm or similar sized soft plastics, I prefer to fish a curl or paddle tail and work them slowly with the lift and drop of a long rod, bouncing the lure along the bottom. Don’t be afraid to go over the same spots later in the day as fish will move in and out with the changing tides. You will catch tailor in the process often large ones.

PRODUCT NEWS

New Samaki T-shirt designs

When Samaki started the design process for their new collection, they had one goal in mind, to get you from the boat to the dock at speed, no shirt changeouts required! Their aim was to design apparel that represents all of us anglers – a detailed design that truly appreciates each species.

The result is a range of top-of-the-line cotton tees with some super cool icons, ranging from detailed drawings of your favourite species, to quirky fishing concepts.

Two of the most striking designs are the Barra Boof and the Snapper, both of

which are a fresh take on a creative art style called ‘gyotaku’. Gyotaku is a traditional Japanese way of printing fish, done by covering the fish’s body with ink or paint, and placing thin paper over it, and the effect is striking. To gyotaku your catch is to hold its memory firm for life, recreating that epic moment when you landed your personal best.

Available in white and night sky, the Snapper and Barra Boof shirts are available in sizes from small to 3XL.

The Secure Your Load tee offers a new take on getting your XOS catch from A to B – strapping it to the roof of your car! Available in vintage white and cobalt, the Secure Your Load tee is available in sizes from small to a 2XL.

There’s also host of other T-shirts in the range featuring species such as tuna, mangrove jack and marlin. If your favourite species isn’t included in the T-shirt range, it’s almost certainly represented in Samaki’s range of UPF 50+ fishing jerseys. Species featured include the GT, mud crab, coral trout, sailfish, dusky flathead, mahimahi, red emperor, mako shark, tuna, marlin, mangrove jack, Murray cod and Australian bass.

The Samaki apparel range also includes boardshorts and walkshorts, caps and straw hats, vented long-sleeve shirts, face shields and sunglasses.

You can follow Samaki @samakifishing on Facebook and Instagram for updates, or check out the new website at www. samaki.com.au. - Samaki