Fishing offshore on the South Coast is quite a harrowing experience when the icey southwesters pick up and the seas becomes choppy. Often the swell forms wedges where the wave drops off the back, making for a very slow journey in treacherous seas.

Without the right engine plane your ride home ultimately rests with your captain's experience in rough seas and his mental temperament. (or if he was outfished in some cases) Picking the right conditions to go out in is really left till the morning of the day as often taking the weatherman's prediction is your worst nightmare after a few alcoholic beverages the night before, especially when on holiday.

Going out from Peaceful Bay means launching from the beach and requires a 4wd and parking high in the dunes to avoid rising tides. Basic skills in retrieving on sand reduces the chance of bogging down along with making sure all hands are at work winching and ensuring the boat is aligned for a quick departure. When the swell is above 2 meters the mouth of the bay closes out and makes passage out extremely difficult and not worth the hassle.

King waves are reported every now and then and close monitoring of the ocean is word to the wise. Having listened to many stories from a professional fisherman who has spent most of his life on the Southern ocean, the importance of having adequate safety equipment, water and provisions to last if anything mechanical or electrical does happen out to sea and rescuing is required. Once you are out through the bay, looking back there are large white marker poles to align yourself up with when returning.

Taking a GPS reading at the mouth is the best bet, especially when the swell rises and the markers disappear from view. Heading along the coastline to the West passes many popular rockfishing platforms where hardy anglers target large samsonfish, yellowtail kings, salmon and bonito and find themselves tying off to large boulders incase of King Waves. The reason for extreme safety measures are the slippery rocks that are extremely dangerous when wet and strong currents/undertow rush past the deep ledges which are the best places to fish. A rugged up fisherman who enters the water on a rough day is taking his life into his own hands on the southern coast and safety measures should be taken in case an accident does happen.

The trip down to Rame Head is a solid half hour journey, but the anticipation of catching a big bottom fish can be easily satisfied by having a few trolled slices or lures out. Big schools of tuna and salmon are often seen on the way to 'the fishing spot' and a keen eye on the sounder never fails to find new intriguing ground or schooling fish. The albatross and seagull frenzies are the best way of spotting the boiling surface fish and more often than not in the summer months they will be solid salmon that pack a punch on most gear. The best bottom bouncing we have done at Rame Head has been in spots around 35 to 40 meters over nuggety reef ledges, causing many hookups on earth itself. Successful baits tend to be fresh herring fillets or fresh squid as mulies are picked off in no time and if you want to land the bigger fish you need to have a bait which will last.

According to a few locals the best fishing is around 12 miles out where there are a series of reefs which run parallel and are golden grounds.  Unfortunately we haven't ventured to these spots and the report remains unconfirmed. The current has always been too strong to fish and a brick would be required to hold the bottom in some circumstances.  We found the fishing just as promising in close for queen snapper, harlequin, sgt baker, breaksea cod, dhufish and a wide array of sharks of all shapes and sizes. Heading to the East from Peaceful Bay about 8kms aligned with the Irwin Inlet mouth and Tit Hill (you will understand why the locals call it this when you see it) is a spot called the gravel patch where rubble coral ground hold a wide array of fish.

Queen Snapper has been our predominant catch and the size is generally above 3kg and 50 centimeters and they take the top hook on almost every occasion. Feathered jigs are a favourite of the snapper and with a small strip of bait as an enticer they warrant their purchase in the tackle store, especially when they still catch when the bait has been taken. We haven't had to travel far to get into a lot of good fishing action out from Peaceful Bay and keeping a close eye on the echo sounder more often than not produces the goods.