Coral Bay
I've never been much at writing reports but with the wind & swell up I thought I'd give it a try.
I've been incredibly fortunate to have fished this area for 13 consecutive years 5 weeks at a time, the last 10 years in April/May & August/September.
Red emperor have been my principal target & I've caught my fair share with the biggest just over 11kg.
In earlier years sharks were not a problem & those hooked were of reasonable size.
Not so any more.
last year in one 5 week period I lost just over 30 x 24oz sinkers.
I've been here 2 weeks & the score is 17 x 24oz so far.
All of the spots I have in the 60-75 meter depths which have always produced good reds are now inhabited by very very big sharks. In earlier years it was possible to get sharks to the boat, retrieve most of the terminal gear & see them off. These days that's impossible because of how big the sharks have grown. I now don't get to see them.
Another fisherman I know had been out 4 times at the time I arrived & had lost 20 x24oz sinkers.
Still another had tried chain links but found these did nothing to deter the sharks.
Another friend of mine has fished the 90+ meter depths on a number of occasions this trip & has had little problem but caught very few red emperor.
It seems like my days of targeting Red Emperor may have come to an end & I'll need to concentrate on the 90+ meter depths with the occasional red & the many other varieties found in those depths.
Anyone thinking of fishing lesser depths would be well advised to have a big reserve of lead.
I consider myself very fortunate to have fished Coral Bay at a time when the taxman was significantly less of a problem.
Simo_
Posts: 1843
Date Joined: 13/11/06
Yeah i know what you mean, I
Yeah i know what you mean, I was up there a week ago and couldnt get a few big sharks to boat, I had to put line around rope tie off and drive boat to snap the shark off. As soon as I got sharked I moved on, most spost in 60s have sharks, you can see them on sounder...
Time to do a cull, we need to start lobbying before the election.
Bring on April
sea-kem
Posts: 14853
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Same same at Gnarloo, have
Same same at Gnarloo, have given up my 'top' spots as they're flooded with sharks. We got lucky with one lesser spot and only in 100m + did we have any luck.
Time for them to be fished, bring in the fin boats!!
Love the West!
Simo_
Posts: 1843
Date Joined: 13/11/06
Anyone interested in getting
Anyone interested in getting a group together to do something? I'm going the join the Shooter and Fishers party.
Bring on April
cruzy111
Posts: 274
Date Joined: 08/10/13
I dont really have an issue
I dont really have an issue with sharks as I just target Bluebone and the odd spango but I will say that at the start of this year A reasonable number of huge and I mean huge bronze whalers turned up off tantabiddi and they dont seem to be going anywhere soon. They all seem to be the same species maybe silky whalers? and all are 3m plus and super aggressive. The times I have been gt fishing if you hook a mackeral these things destroy them in seconds. They are the biggest bronze whalers I have ever seen in my 20 years here and dwarf the usual problem sharks we have had to deal with over the years.
Feral
Posts: 1508
Date Joined: 01/11/06
The problem up here is
The problem up here is people keep fishing the same spot long after the sharks roll up. Feeding them red after red just causes more of the pricks to roll up. Much better to shift spots as soon as they arrive or drag a few up and make sure they don't swim off.
Simo_
Posts: 1843
Date Joined: 13/11/06
I dont think this is the case
I dont think this is the case everywhere, spots I never got sharks on are now loaded, and as the first post said they are massive, you cant even get them to the boat. They need to be thinned out.
Bring on April
sea-kem
Posts: 14853
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Don't agree Feral, They are
Don't agree Feral, They are just there all the time now imo. You might be lucky to get one fish up then it's all over. That shouldn't be the case at all.
Love the West!
Lastchance
Posts: 1272
Date Joined: 02/02/09
100% correct Feral, people
100% correct Feral, people simply don't get the fact that if a shark is taking your fish, the fish stocks deplete and the sharks get bigger. I find it quite humorous when people jump on someone who bags out on reds on an overnight trip, but have condolences for people that get '5 to the boat but lost 4 times that amount to sharks'. Pretty simple, if you get sharked once, move away, and a decent distance too. Problem is also the trip justification - 'I've spent $XXX thousand dollars for this once a year trip so I'm fishing it regardless'. That's why there's heaps of sharks and SFA Reds now
dodgy
Posts: 4563
Date Joined: 01/02/10
I was fishing some seriously
I was fishing some seriously unpressured areas last weekend and had some major shark problems. This area would probably only see half a dozen rec boats a year.
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
sealure
Posts: 106
Date Joined: 19/05/12
I have always followed the
I have always followed the practice of moving to a new spot if hit by a big shark.
The powers that be would have us believe that there's no evidence the numbers are increasing. They obviously haven't fished over the extended time we have.
If the problem continues to increase at it's current pace Coral Bay will soon become a shark sanctuary by default.
I guess as long as the reef can provide adequate food humans entering the water will remain relatively safe.
Having witnessed first hand the aggression of some of the sharks up here neither my wife nor I would ever enter the water voluntarily.
The spotter planes will have to play an increasingly important role in protection as well as spotting whales, whale sharks & manta rays.
Simo's suggestion of joining the fisher & shooters party begins to take on meaning.
Simo_
Posts: 1843
Date Joined: 13/11/06
https://www.shootersfishersan
https://www.shootersfishersandfarmers.org.au/become_a_member
I just joined, if anyone else is in or joins let me know. Time to get something happening.
Bring on April
crano
Posts: 695
Date Joined: 04/11/09
Sealure
I have things up there exactly as you described. We did get a couple of good bags this year by travelling a long long way.
I did a trip out on boat called Couta Crazy. I am sure you have seen it up there. We went out to depths up to 170m using electrics. We caught a huge amount of fish and only lost two fish to sharks during the day which was a nice change. Saying that it does not feel like proper fishing to me but may end up being the only alternative.
Simo_
Posts: 1843
Date Joined: 13/11/06
Seems like really deep or
Seems like really deep or real shallow is the way to go. I’ve fished 6-15m in Exmouth with no sharks.
Bring on April
Lefty 44
Posts: 146
Date Joined: 04/12/17
So True
Red Emp spots in the 60-80m range are very bad.
We are going further North and South each year to avoid them.
To the point that we rarely target Reds anymore having moved out to the 100+ for Goldband instead but even then got sharked a couple of times this year.
Forget about the Mackies in close - Shark city. Have to go well north or south for those too.
A cull would work but trying to get one done......I'm not betting on it.
Curndog
Posts: 441
Date Joined: 21/11/16
How stupid is it they bang
How stupid is it they bang on about fishing for the future and looking after the fish stocks, yet at the moment you go out with 3 fishermen/fisherwomen and to try and get your demersal bag limit of 15 you end up going through about 40 + fish. A cull is the only way in my opinion these bullshit shark deterrents there using wont work. It's a joke