Made the annual pilgrimage to Ningaloo over the Easter break. Was a great trip this year, ticked off a few firsts and some PB's as well.

First couple of days were slow. Nothing taking on the troll and the bottom bashing was only producing a few fish. We have put this down to the full moon. Very few birds working the bait, and everything was a little quiet except for the sharks. They are worse every year and this year was no exception. 2 out of three solid fish lost bottom bashing, only way to beat them was to fish shallow, or continually move around when they arrived.

Day 3 and after the moon had passed and the fishing turned on! We were getting solid fish past the sharks and the pelagics were on the chew. This year the wahoo were everywhere! We regularly would get multiple hookups. The mackerel were present but finding them amongst the wahoo was a challenge. One fish on my list was a 20kg+ Mack. I tried for days, and the deckies were getting macks and all I could get was Wahoo, lots of Wahoo... It became a running joke as I would lose my temper when a 15+kg Hoo surfaced not a Mack... Noticeably missing this year were the Yellowfin tuna. Last year we were getting 2 for every three fish but not a single one this trip.

We had 6 days of magic weather, with regular glass offs and the ability to fish dawn till dusk. We were all exhausted but with the weather due to turn bad over the weekend we had to make the most of it. After 6 days the deckies headed home as their freezers were full and I was on my own for the last week of the trip. A trip into town for fuel, water, beer and the weather report was made, and the report was ugly. Strong wind forecast for 5 days straight. It was too late to run the boat up coast to the ramp and the decision was made to hold out and hope for a change in weather.

The wind arrived over the weekend as forecast and with it came the seaweed. This made trolling singlehanded near impossible as the sea condition was extremely rough and the lures would weed up within minutes requiring a full reset. Over the next few days I scavenged deckies from other camps and we fished through the bad weather for not much. The wahoo that were thick throughout the week had vanished and bottom fishing wasn’t possible in anything more than 30-40m as the swell and wind made caused excessive drift speeds. Much beer was consumed while we waited for the weather and the fishing to improve.

After a couple of days of wind and weed, there was a small improvement allowing me to get out singlehanded again. I was on the hunt for my 20kg+ Mack! Again the fishing totally changed, and the bait was showing thick all through the water column. I had a solid hit on one rod, but after a short fight the hooks pulled... Whatever it was had serious power and weight, and lacked the high speed of the wahoo we had been catching. I set the lures back and began the troll again. With suspected weed on the center rod, I left the boat running into the swell at 6 knots and went to clear the line. Halfway through the windup the lure got smashed and the fish took off. There were some acrobatics as i had to keep the pressure on the fish, get back to the front of the boat to switch off the engine, and dodge the other lines that were still out, all while rolling in 2m seas. Miraculously the hooks held and after a long battle i got to the leader and my first look at the fish. Even down deep I would see it was a mack and a BIG one! Again, some more acrobatics and I had the fish boat side, the leader in one had and the gaff in the other. Somehow I managed a perfect gaff shot (something my deckies can attest isn’t common!), and hauled my fish over the side. FINALLY, my 20+ mack was on the deck and I celebrated with a lot of hooting, a few selfies and self high fives!

The fish was way too big for the kill tank, and I considered heading back into the beach to clean it. I decided to wrap it in cloth and continually water it under the gunwale so I could continue fishing. I trolled for another hour without a strike and then bottom bashed for a few emperor, but the drift was too fast still. I dropped the lures back out for another troll towards home, and decided to throw out a skirt my deckie had left behind. I have never fished skirts, and expecting little from it, it was sent out on a cheap BCF rod with missing eyelets coupled with an ancient penn slammer that has been living under the seat of my boat. (my other trolling reel had a melt down after a wahoo smoked it and was seized). After a while I noticed the rod tip pulling down intermittently on the skirt and assumed again it was seaweed. Again with the boat jogging into wind I went down try to shake the weed off the lure. After a few jerks the lure pulled back, this happened a couple of times before BANG, it connected properly and the reel was screaming. I was fast running through the line on the spool, when the fish started tail walking towards the horizon with my boat driving itself the other way! As soon as I saw it was a billfish, I resigned myself to the fact I would most likely lose the fish without someone to assist and settled in to enjoy the show. I managed to slow the fish but the boat was blowing down on the line with no way for me to clear it over the cab and the rods in the rocket launcher. So while rolling in the swell with the rod in one had, I gingerly shuffled around the cab onto the front deck where I could fight the fish sitting on the windscreen!

After a long fight I got a hold of the leader, and then realised it wasnt a small marlin as i thought, but a sailfish! (my first sailfish) I managed to walk the fish to the transom to get it in through the swim door so I could get the hook out. A few photos later, I swam the fish boatside for 10 minutes until it recovered its colour and managed a successfull release! ANOTHER first and ANOTHER fish ticked off my list! As dissapouinting as it was not to share the moment with someone, landing these fish singlehanded is a memory I will never forget! 

Over the last few days of the trip, the weather and seaweed didnt improve much, but the fishing did. I got myself a couple of deckies from another camp and we hit the demersals one last time. Fishing was slow initially, and we worked to find the fish without the sharks. After some exploring new ground we found them, and managed our bag limit within an hour! Its amazing how you can find the energy to wind from 100m when the fish are biting! 

The final day I had to run the boat down coast in some nasty head sea, and as soon as I cleared the sanctuary zone, I dropped the lures in for a troll as I wasnt making much ground fast in the copnditions. Trolling home boated a couple of mack tuna (my first tuna in 2 weeks!) and another nice spanish to top off the fewwzer for the long drive ahead. 

Its only been a week, but Im already planning next years trip! This time we will bring electric reels to fish deeper and hopefully beat the sharks to some of the bigger fish. Ningaloo is a truly special place! 

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