First trip report at last!! Super salmon fishing!!
Submitted by worldfisher on Fri, 2011-05-06 13:56
Hi guys,
Its good that i can finally make my first catch report after arriving in Australia. Up until now i haven't started on the cycle trip but have managed to catch some fish nonetheless.
A big thank you must be said to Ben (goodz) who very kindly took me out on his boat for some fishing out of perth. Although we didn't land the big one we had a great time and managed to land one sambo on a butterfly jig. Unlucky for me, the one got spat the hook, just as i caught sight of him below the boat. You can't win them all! on the way back to the boat ramp we stopped and tried for some squid at one of Ben's favourite spots. Nothing took the jigs to begin with but on dusk they came on the bit,e and we soon had a good few in the esky which i would be lucky enough to taste a few days later at a bbq. It was great to get out on the sea for the first time and get more of an understanding of the fishing over here on the west coast.
Since that trip a good friend from India came to join me for ten days. The plan and mission was to hire a camper and head south to catch some salmon. From what i had read this seemed like the best bet to get Abbey onto some decent fish. And although there has been mixed reports of fishing we figured with 7 days looking for fish we would surely get something. Unfortunately the weather was against us so for the first few days we looked around the forests and national parks hoping the rain would pass on. We decided to follow Ben's advice and head to a beach that has produced for him in the past (thanks mate!). Reaching the beach we realised it would be a bonus to catch a fish on top of staying in such a beautiful spot.
There was a report of Salmon the week before but for the first day things were dead quiet. I flicked a wedge for a while and was pleased to get a little lively herring on my first cast. I caught a few more before calling it a day. A few other guys fishing hadn't had so much as a touch so it wasn't just my bad luck!
On the second day we were starting to doubt whether we would ever see a salmon, let alone be lucky enough to land one. Then the question was whether to sit tight and wait it out, or run around the countryside looking for the fish. We opted to stay put as we were sure it wouldn't be too easy to find another great spot within spitting distance of the water to park our van .
Later in the day we were pretty happy with the choice to stay, as the ultimate sight for a fisherman greeted our eyes. A little way down the beach the water was erupting as little silver fish fled for their lives! An attack was being launched from below by a big shoal of plump salmon while from above hungry gulls dived to catch the confused baitfish. It was definately not a good time to be a small fish! we sprinted down the beach after grabbing out rods and before i had even stopped running a wedge was flying in the direction of the action. Almost instantaneously the lure was smashed by a good fish and braid whistled from the spool. Abbey was also in to a fish on the first cast but unfortunately the braid was cut on the reef. After five minutes of carefully playing my fish the line went slack and i reeled in to find a bent treble!
Next cast i was again immediately into another salmon which wasn't as lucky as its buddy as the hooks held good. By this time Abbey had returned from the van and with more lures and leader and was frantically trying to tie a new leader to the braid before the fish vanished from the beach. I was into my third fish as Abbey cast a popper behind the breakers. Abbeys popper was taken quickly but in his excitement he struck far too hard and snapped the leader. The excitment was obviously getting to him, leading to silly mistakes. After a few words he played the next fish like a pro and it wasn't long until he had caught and release four beautiful salmon. The grin on his face said it all! I couldn't belive our luck and also couldn't wipe the silly smile from my face. We kept the first fish as it was plenty to eat and another ended up being kept as it took the lure deep and couldn't be succesfully released.
After catching a couple i changed the metal slice for a skitter pop and was amazed on the first cast when a greedy salmon followed the lure nearly onto the sand. At the last second it grabbed it and took a long run back into the breakers where it scooted back and forth jumping and shaking its head in a bid to throw the hook. As i was playing the fish i noticed something in the corner of my eye which turned out to be a herring hopping about in a mere couple of inches of water. Unbelievably a salmon was right behind the small fish almost beached on the sand with its back poking completely out of the water. The herring got lucky and made a dash for it, before its pursuer could turn and follow! unbelievable!
As the light dwindled the salmon slowly melted away back into the deeps so we decided to call it a day and head back to cook our catch. From what i had heard it seems salmon is a an aquired taste but it was perfect fried with a little garlic!
Sstaying for a few more day in the hope of another run proved more or less fruitless. I managed one more salmon casting a lure at dusk and a few herring but that was it. It didn't particularly matter though as we were still on a high from the previous days session. We had fulfilled our mission and were very pleased with the result.
So hopefully the luck will continue as I cycle up the west coast. I plan to leave perth in the week so hope to see some of you guys along the way!
All the best, Scott
scotto
Posts: 2470
Date Joined: 21/04/08
well done.
thats some fat salmon right there mate. good work
jeremy-j
Posts: 336
Date Joined: 31/08/09
awesome report mate.That
awesome report mate.
That first salmon is a cracker.
till
Posts: 9358
Date Joined: 21/02/08
Nice size, good to see you
Nice size, good to see you got one, not many round this year ;)
Spicey
Posts: 219
Date Joined: 17/01/11
Good report
Well done on getting into a few. Good pictures and great report.
dkonig82
Posts: 2091
Date Joined: 06/07/10
Good work on the salmon and
Good work on the salmon and the report.
Some nice sized ones there!
When asked by a non-fisherman 'how many fishing rods do you really need?' the correct answer is either:
n+1 (where n is the number of fishing rods you currently own); or
n-1 (where n is the number of fishing rods which would cause your significant other to dump you.
sarcasm0
Posts: 1396
Date Joined: 25/06/09
Gday Scott
Sounds like a great trip down south. I have been getting a few squid also, if you would like next week I am free on tuesday morning if you would like to head out for a few hours of squidding early?
Sorry I haven't contacted you yet, I still have big holes in our floorboards, but this weekend should hopefully sort that out.
Bryan
grantarctic1
Posts: 2546
Date Joined: 03/03/11
Top report
Great report Scott, It gets very exciting when the Salmon come on the bite, good to see you persist and have a taste of salmon fever.
Look forward to your next report.
Cheers Grant..
Goodz
Posts: 2332
Date Joined: 20/07/09
Nice one Scott! Was waiting
Nice one Scott! Was waiting for you to put this report up!
So glad you guys got into some salmon down there, I'm jealous! Has been great to have a fish with you and meet you and Abbey, good blokes! I recommend anyone catching up with Scott on his travels northward, pleasure to fish with!
Lets hope we get a few more fish tomorrow hey!
Hobie-Wan
Posts: 119
Date Joined: 04/10/08
That was a great read - very
That was a great read - very well written. That first salmon is enormous. Top job guys.
Just1morecast
Posts: 917
Date Joined: 04/12/09
Awesome stuff guys, was good
Awesome stuff guys, was good to meet yas at Bens! Sha
Forever learning with fishing
Adam Gallash
Posts: 15645
Date Joined: 29/11/05
Hey Scott
Top report mate, have you got any rough dates for your trip north or where you plan to be?
Cheers,
Adam
Site Admin - Just ask if you need assistance
worldfisher
Posts: 103
Date Joined: 06/03/11
Hi Guys, Thats for the
Hi Guys, Thats for the comments and glad i could share something back at last. another report will be on the way soon as Ben and I got lucky a couple of days ago!
Adam, The plan is to climb on the bicycle in the next few days and start heading North. I plan a couple of stops along the way in Kalbarri, maybe jurien, steep point and shark bay/quobba. So i'm hard pushed to give any exact date when i might arrive in Exmouth. A rough guess would be three weeks but don't hold me to that. I'll keep in touch and let you know my progress as it would be great to meet up.
Bryan, hope to see you for some squidding soon!
All the best, Scott
www.worldbiker.blogspot.com
sarcasm0
Posts: 1396
Date Joined: 25/06/09
Just got home and checked weather
Was about to call you when I read this, its a bit windy tomorrow morning and the swell is up a bit for my small boat:( However Wednesday afternoon could be a good option.
Ill be in touch,
Bryan