Fishing Report #15 May 4th 2006 - Courtesy of Scott Forbes

The cooler mornings and evenings have started to set in, although the days are still reaching a pleasant 28-32degrees. The wind has been unusually strong for April and the water temperatures around the west side have dropped for those taking a dip. Whiting have started to show up in numbers along the beaches inside the gulf. Dave from the book shop is trying to get in as much fishing as he can before his property sells and he moves south. Last week he was fishing the beaches south from the Bundegi sanctuary along to the golf club and catching a bream a cast. He kept a few for dinner and enjoyed the rest of the time releasing the hardy little fish.

A few English guys aboard the boat Sticky Fingers have been having a ball up here chasing all sorts of fish. They managed to land a 25kg mackerel using a floating mulie just outside the marina which gave them a good feed for the week. The boys also landed some red bass and more mackerel off Tantabiddi during one of the calmer days.

Kevin Cotterel has advised us that over the last week he has caught and released over fifty various species of trevally on soft plastic lures along the west side access roads. Kevin is an eager angler who gets good results. He practices fishing for the future and is always happy to talk fishing with anyone. We welcome him back again to Exmouth for the cooler months.

Squid have started to show up in the waters around the marina. Favoured colours this week for squid jigs have been orange and pink. There’s plenty there, but make sure you leave some for the next outing. A fresh feed of calamari is delicious, especially if you grab some fresh prawns from Kailis, who have now opened up for the season.

Kath Ward and partner Brian Beard from Australind are on holidays in Exmouth and have been fishing the areas surrounding the Muiron Islands. Kath outfished her partner with a mixed bag of rankin cod, spangled emperor, mackerel, blue lined emperor and flathead keeping them busy. However it was the 80cm coral trout which Kath caught that really got their mouth watering!

An unusual catch of a 42cm mangrove jack outside the reef off the Millyering visitors centre was reported this week. The same guys caught a 9kg yellowfin tuna and have been enjoying catching and releasing many other species.

Another big story this week was the capture of a 12kg Spanish mackerel off Bundegi Jetty. The bait schools of hardy heads have moved in to this area, bringing large predatory fish with it.