I have been around for a while now and thought it was about time to put up a report (actually turned into a bit of a long-winded story). My brother in law Matt and I just got back from False Entrance on Friday after what turned out to be a really nice trip with a few mates of ours.

We left Sunday week ago at 4am from Gingin on as it turns out one of the worst days we could have chosen to travel on. A strong cold front hit in the morning which we outran up until the Billabong roadhouse. Looking on the radar on the way up it seemed as though the rain wasn't too strong around Shark Bay so we were optimistic that the road would be nicely dust free with a little rain and we could setup camp in dry, albeit windy weather. Once we got off the tarmac on the useless loop road it was good for a while but the rain continued to come and the road had turned into a salty mud pit. The ute and camper-trailer copped a "life-reducing" layering which will no doubt induce an unhealthy dose of cancer even with a pressure wash.

We dropped off the trailer after arriving at 3pm at the spot where we camp and went off for a look at the swell on the cliffs to see if it was worth having an evening bottom bash.

It turns out it was a bit rough for a fish after a long day so we set up camp with a couple of beers and got prepared for an early start in the morning. With September being the off-season for fishing in that part of the world we weren't expecting the world from this trip but we usually go home with a few fish from our annual winter/spring visit.

So we got going nice and early on Monday morning with a strong southerly wind to get our balloons out hoping to get on the board early and get one-up on the rest of the crew that were arriving later in the arvo. It turns out it was a slow day with poor water visibility and nothing coming out to play except for the odd bolt-cutter. It was quiet on all front with the balloons, hard-bodies, SP's and baits all coming up empty handed.

The rest of the crew arrive about 4 and obviously they hadn't missed out on much. They hadn't done any setting up at camp but decided to put a couple of balloons out for the setting sun. Finally just after 5:30pm my reel started screaming with a good run that added some much needed excitement to the day. After 30 odd seconds it went for another brief run then the fight left and a dead weight retrieve took over. Got it in sight and saw half of a decent sized Spaniard. Got it up the cliff and it came in at 9.5kg which yielded a healthy 6.5kg of fillets. We were on the board!! As it turns out after 5 trips up to False this was my first Spanish Mackerel so it was well over due.

On Tuesday it was more of the same with progress quite slow although the weather was getting better with the winds dropping off a bit leading up to the new moon on Wednesday. So with 4 balloons out and no action on those a couple of us try on the bottom with some baits with Mark pulling up a couple of sized pinkies. I manage to get busted off a couple of times on a suspected baldy taking a fancy to my scalies but unfortunately I lost all 3 battles even with 50lb fireline and a locked drag - . The only other thing caught was a couple of Longtoms and more bolt cutters which Matt seems to be catching most of.

Roll on Wednesday and with a poor day yesterday Matt (brother in law) and I decide to try and get our balloons in the water before dawn incase we are missing out on an opportunity. The baits are out and mine is slowly moving against the current which is a bit strange but with no bait skipping on the surface and no line taken, I thought bolt-cutter. So I dragged it in with the customary small splash on the surface my suspicions seem confirmed until I see a pectoral fin that seems out of place on a blowie. I reel in with a bit more purpose to eventually see a mack in the water and yell for a hand with the gaff before I pay any more taxes. We get it up and it tips the scales at 12.5kg.

With it's tail bitten off that would explain the small splashing but we worked out it was probably on the line bleeding out for about 10 mins!! Very lucky to get that one in the ice box. The wind turned mid morning to a north easterly so we moved spots and went to the washing machine. Matt's balloon was on the way out while I was concreting in some rod holders on the cliff when it was smoked with a powerful run. After a spirited fight suspicions were confirmed and a 1.3m bronzy was landed. This was a regular pattern for the next couple of hours with a couple of other sharks caught. There were plenty of large tailor around which we were spinning at but with soft mouths the 5 or so hook-ups didn't materialize into a catch. The wind had done nearly a full 360 from the morning so it was back to the point for a ballooning session in the afternoon. The low-light feeding time produced again for a timely 14.8kg mack for Mark. Meanwhile Matt has caught/been debaited by another couple of bolt-cutters. I think his tally for the trip at that stage was 7 with no edible fish on the board and frustration really starting to set in!!

Thursday was very similar fishing to Tuesday but with lighter winds and not many fish around. With the lack of action all round and a need for something to do I decide to let my balloon out across the bay on the SSWerly wind. I had caught a pinky on my balloon a couple of years ago deep in the bay like that so I figured I may as well give it another shot. After about an hour the rod loads up and balloon goes down and I feel a few small head shakes. I had let out around 700m so it was a long skull drag in. It was history repeating itself with a nice 4kg Pinky landed.

The last catch of the day was another shark to add to the count which was hooked on the fin by Tom resulting in an epic battle for only a small shark. With the day done discussions move to the pack up and trip home tomorrow. Leaving at lunchtime means time for an early fish so we are there at sun up on Friday. Setting up only took a few minutes and I'm the first with my balloon heading out. Bait goes off the cliff and I lose sight of it into the whitewash. It's only out about 50m when suddenly a Spaniard launches itself 3m up out of the water with my bait in its mouth and it's on for young and old. Peeling line at will with it's first run it soon tires and after about 5 minutes I get it to the cliff. No taxes which is a relief and the result is a 26kg monster!!

Only 5cm off the Fishwrecked record of 163cm so I think it's a PB that I think I'm going to have for a while. I haven't had much experience with macks but it seems fish like this don't come around too often - well for me they don't anyway.

20 Minutes later Marks bait got nailed and he landed another good sized spaniard at 22kg.

An awesome end to the trip!! That took me over 20kgs of fillets so Matt who ended up with 10 North-west Blowies and a shark for the trip, ended up taking some fillets home in the end. Always a great place to go and as usual can't wait til the next time we are up there.

Sorry it got a bit long I hope it posts ok and the pics show up. Cheers for reading.