Just got back from Nanga Bay after 2 weeks of awsum fishing. 

I was lucky enough to get an invite from Darren to go to his parents place in Nanga for a couple weeks of fishing. They owned the Nanga station, before CALM bought most of it, along with the Nanga Bay resort and caravan park. Ted and Maureen sold off the resort and caravan park (that now looks like it has gone down hill with the new owners) a few years ago but kept the homestead and a few shacks above the caravan park. Also a small, 1400 arces, of land surrounding the place. As there were already guests in the homestead we stayed in one of the shacks and it was a fine place to be. Right next to the BBQ and spa.

Now i'm pretty keen on getting a stack of photo's to show all the unlucky ones back home how good a place you are at but with this trip the fishing action was pretty hot when they were on so a lot was missed out. Real hard to get the camera in your hands when your rod is buckled over.

Having Darren there with 30 years of local knowledge was invaluable. First up was his secret pinkie hole that produced at any time of the day or night. During the daylight hours we would be releasing 30+ fish, mostly undersize, and at night we would be releasing 15+ fish, mostly oversize. I have to say that when you get a monster pinkie hooked up, in 15m, with 30Lb line you really have a fight on your hands.

Just an inch too big..Lol

Another hump head.

And of course all the biggest ones were released. That Tony our chef for the trip.

I was told the Bluebone up there can get pretty big so we tried for a few days to target them but only ended up getting a few of the smaller ones around the islands and when we were on a coral patch. The little crab plastics had been given to us by a mate who lives in Alaska and heard us talking about targeting Bluebone with plastic crabs instead of trying to catch the fresh ones. Turns out they work fine but the fish just have to be there.

Trolling is not something that Darren or Tony were into but when i'm up north i think it is a must. After seeing some guys at the cleaning station on the beach with some monster Spanish Mackerel they were finally talked into it, if we saw a surface bustup only. Well on our way out to the coral patch in pretty windy and rough conditions we saw that bust up and i finally got a lure in. We hooked this fine longtail and i was keen to keep after them as they are, in my opinion, the finest eating tuna up north.

Well the guys couldnt see them within 20m of the boat anymore so were not keen to continue chasing them. Much to my disgust. Anyway after eating some tuna that night they had their eyes peeled for the rest of the trip. Unfortunatly we never got into them again.

There were plenty of surface bustups that we did chase around after but it always turned out to be little bonito.

Another one of those secret spots Darren had us going to was quite a large area to drift over for Black Snapper. (Bluelined Emperor/Grass Emperor). We hooked a few just over 4Kg but our keepers were in the 34-40cm range. The biggest problem with this area was the sharks. There are 28 species of sharks in the Shark Bay area and i'm sure we caught them all. We had stocked up on gear for the trip but found we had to make a run into Denham for more hooks. Bloody sharks. Anyway here is some Black Snapper for you.

Other than the fishing it was just have a brew and watch the sun set.

 Hey guys anyone been down to golden ponds lately what have u been catching if anything any info would be great cheers feel free to PM me if u like =)

3 DAYS wild fishing adventure in Thailand for father & son fishing  bonding trip.
This is Reza & Aydin very 1st time wild snakehead fishing trip in Thailand.
Not an easy task as I need to take into  account their safety , foods and clean & warm accomodation and yet still having fun chasing wild snakehead at the dam.

I want to make it a memorable & unforgettable once a lifetime father & son fishing adventure trip in Thailand.
Something they will cherish the great moment their had during this fishing adventure trip.

Alots of plannings is needed during the preparation for the trip & also chasing after fries mama toman pose a big challenge for  them.

I let the video do the talking......

There is a saying  " A picture tell a thousand words"
To me " A video show it all....." That's my style!!!

Click onto the youtube video below and follow us to Reza & his son fishing adventure in Thailand.
 

Enjoys ....

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM8qNcam8hg

Reza chasing his mama toman on topwater actions !!!- Awesome topwaters !!!

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9_arNrzB50

Highlights photos of the trip.

Awesome beautiful mama toman

Aydin 1st snakehead catch.

Sebarau catch...

Golden mahseer by the river...

With conditions like they have been over the last few days, we headed straight out from Hillarys again to chase some pinkies last night.  We took the bigger boat with the crew from Sunday night, plus another welcome “guest” that just wanted to watch and ask questions.

A quick trip out to be there around 5pm.  The current was still strong and the wind was light at first but did blow up a bit later on.  We noticed a baitfish ball on the bottom near our spot with what looked like a few larger fish around it, but as we were targeting pinkies we moved to our “known” spot.  It was fairly slow with a couple of undersized baldies and some nuisance fish.

Mark was fishing the front of the boat and had a floating mulie out on the baitrunner.  We could only really fish one floater as the current was opposite to the wind and any floater out off the back would just come back under the boat and make a huge mess with the other lines in the water.  After about three quarters of an hour, the baitrunner screamed off big time.  Mark let it run and then set the hooks.

What a first run this fish had on the relatively light gear!  Don’t you just love the sound of a reel screaming in protest as the fish on the end goes hard.  There was no doubt that that the fish was going to take the spool of line so “all hands on deck” to get everything up and start the chase.  This situation again showed how critical it was to have the Minn Kota so we could move off quickly – there was no anchor to pull up and no anchor rope for the fish to foul.  Off we go with the reel still screaming and Mark becoming very nervous about the amount of line he had left on the spool.  This was definitely a pelagic fish as it was at the top of the water column and wasn’t fighting like a shark or a ray.    

I think a lot of credit needs to go to the skipper for his work in following the fish.  He had clearly done this many times before and got Mark to position where he could see him so the boat could be appropriately maneuvered.  Mark was feeling a lot better with line being regained but the big runs just continued for 15 minutes or so.  We then had the fish under the boat and the “circle work” started and the tuna call went out.  Mark was going really well with the fight and the drag was backed off once we saw the fish.  A few nervous moments as it was circling under the boat at times but again the skipper did a great job in keeping it clear.  His skill with the gaff was also evident in a clean shot to the gill plate as soon as the fish broke the surface.  Let’s just say that Mark, and everyone else, was very happy to see it on board. 

I think we sacrificed our chance with the pinkies as we moved right off our spot and as we were moving back we did notice a school on the sounder.  To tell you the truth I don’t think anyone cared.  We did however pick up a 550mm dhu which added nicely to the big tuna.  The wind came up and the bite was slow so at 7.30pm we decided to call it a day.

Back home to measure, weigh and fillet the fish.  It went 13.5kg and about a metre.  We had bled it straight away and the flesh was perfect.  Consultation with the very helpful Fishwreckedapedia confirmed that it was a Southern Bluefin – couldn’t really be anything else given it had transverse lines and dots. 

On the way in we had all marveled at the fact you could catch fish like this so close to the shore off a major capital city.  How good is that!

 Headed out of Two rocks marina at 12:30pm sunday and went straight to the 40m line. Sounded around and saw some fish on the sounder so dropped baits. The sinker hit the bottom and just before i pulled the bail arm over i saw the slack tighten up on its own, I knew that was a good sign  and straight away i was on - turned out to be the 51cm baldie at the bottom of the photo there, he must have seen the bait dropping down to him and just smashed it. Dropped fresh bait straight back down, a few small nibbles then bang that 70cm dhuie pictured. Could still see some fish on the sonar so dropped again and bang a 56 cm dhuie, all this action in the first 10minutes of the very first drift I was wrapped. The mate i was fishing with hadnt got anything at that point and has never caught a dhuie before so he really wanted to get his first one on his new rod..The 56cm dhuie looked tiny against the 70cm model so i decided to release weight it back down cause we seemed to be on the fish and I was hoping he would get his first size dhuie. The bite kinda went off so we went back over the same spot, i let him fish this drift without me and within 5 mins he was on with something that looked friiggin BIG!  At first we called it for a big dhuie cause it was slow, strong and heavy but after a while it started throwing long fast runs into the fight so we thought maybe a nice sambo. Eventually up came the gummy shark pictured, i only took a shot of it cause it was the biggest one taken on my boat so far, all the other ones weve caught in the past have been alot smaller. He fought it to the boat and to me it looked like it had no fight left, it just floating there boatside so i lifted it into the boat. When it hit the deck it got its second wind bigtime, my boats mainly cabin with a smallish deck that fishes two just comfortably so there ended up being rods, tackleboxes and eskies flying around - it went friggin nuts.  I couldnt hold it in one spot so i straddled it with both hands at the back of its neck trying to pin it to the floor - that turned out to be my next mistake. The bloody thing stopped flapping side to side violently and started spinning round and round and round, I was wearing shorts and ended up sandpapered roar on the inside of my thighs, didnt feel it at the time but hurt later, took the photo and tossed the thing back- We kept fishing for about 15 mins and just hooked a few wrasse so decided to move on. Moved a little deeper into 45m and i got the 64cm pinky - i was on fire it was like i couldnt help catching fish. We drifted around a bit more, I got two more gummies but they were only 2/3RDS the size of the first big one and we called it a day. Great couple of hours off two rocks and looking forward to doing it again next weekend, thanks for reading!               

Wrote this last night but couldn’t upload photos, and still can’t.  Will upload them when I can.

Headed out again this evening with a couple of mates as the wind was predicted to be less than 10kn. 

Strange conditions but as although a gentle easterly was blowing, the northerly current was very strong to the point that the Minn Kota spot lock has us side on to the wind?  Our floaters were trying to “water ski” so had to be weighted significantly but completely failed to draw any interest.  We had to even “upsize” sinkers to hold the bottom with the “bashers”, even though Minn had us holding the spot.  Fat chance of the burley working in those conditions.

Started with a nice KG and 4 undersized pinkies, including no nuisance fish.  A school of bigger pinks moved through but we dropped both we hooked (very strange pinkie bites up to that point tonight with the fish seeming to suck the baits rather than smash them).

After considering my pinkie baiting strategy over the summer, I really wanted to give the flesh baits a good crack.  I like bonito as a pinkie or bream bait, and caught a few over the summer, so carefully preserved vacuum packed fillets came out.  A good slab on the snelled rig, and within a few minutes a nice pinkie took it - about 650mm and 3.75kg of quality fish.  Back down and 20 minutes later, when another school moved through, a bigger fish took my other type of flesh bait.  This was a feisty fish peeling 50m of line off in an instant given the light drag settings.  700mm and 4kg for another nice fish, and the “classic” was the “visitor” claiming it because he had just lost one from the school that “went to my line”.

Just on the matter of bait, my fishing over the last couple of days has reinforced the need to “change up” baits.  I fished the MAAC comp solo yesterday, “hiding” very close to shore in the morning.  Squid tentacle was the bait of choice for the fish yesterday, but today there was no interest at all.  My “nearshore” bag was ok and It is good to fish where you have to target different species, and get quality bait.  I do like the pinkies best though.

G'day 

We got out yesterday at gentleman's hours (1pm) yesterday! What a lovely change that was rather than getting up at 2am to go fishing.

Got out on the water an were greeted with very calm conditions. We motored out to Mewstones. There were heaps of boats already out there, the strange thing was that they were all anchored up on the 'wrong side' west side of the reef. We saw a couple people onto fish but not many, so we threw the lures in the water and began to troll the Eastern end of the reef, bang fish on! another quick troll another fish! Then people slowly started moving to the Eastern side of the reef which made trolling almost impossible, one boat in particular just stopped right in our trolling path (which was only about 40m to begin with (more of a circle). 

We then decided to chase some birds about 200m away with a few other boats, found a good school in about 6m of water. This time we just drifted with about 10 other boats (most of which seemed like actual fisherman not weekend warriors) - few boys on the fly, some with hard bodies and the odd one with plastic. We opted for the plastics. At one stage I wasn't even working the lure at all, just lobbing it into the general direction of the school and watching the fish fight over it! I even just dropped my plastic boat side at one stage and watched a 6kg Salmon suck it down.

All in all a great session Not sure how many fish we landed... Maybe 20 or more between the 3 of us including a couple bust offs!

It was really amazing that there were 2 distinct groups of boats fishing for salmon, at the reef (where we started) mostly the weekend warriors anchored up lobbing baits into the water. Then 200m away were all the actual fisherman all drifting together with no issues whatsoever all slowly following the school. Was really good to see a good group of boats all working together and having a laugh. Was a really special moment. Usually fishing in a car park like that is stressful and a pain in the backside, but this was something else!

 Gonna head out of two rocks tomorrow midday after the wind is supposed to drop so just wondering if anybody went out wide from there today or last weekend that can maybe give a tip or two on how far out or how deep they found any demersals. was thinking of heading out in a WNW direction and dropping if i see some good bottom along the way out to direction bank dropoff  cheers for any info 

Not having been back to the Berkeley for 2 years it was time to re-visit. Also another opportunity to showcase the stunning East Kimberley wilderness.
I went solo in my 5.1 Noble and joining me was Matt and his brother Mike. They hadn't been back for years after they initially visited from Karratha but Matt now lives in Kununurra and we fish together.
Again we left at the turn of the high tide to use the tide to our advantage for fuel economy etc

Ready for the trip.
Matt has a 4.55 Formosa Side console and 70hp Suzuki. Must say the Formosa handled the trip exceptionally well and that Suzuki Lean Burn was oh so frugal on the juice.
Some of you will no doubt recognise Matt and Mike

Weather was better than forcast and the coast was all lit up with post wet fires....

We reached the Berkeley after about 5 hours of cruising, no rush and headed up river to camp at the very upper reaches.

I camped on my boat but Matt and Mike had to camp in the rock but who's complaining?

Next morning awoke to smoke on the water....

Plan for this trip was to walk up the river to the waterfalls about 4km upstream fishing as we went.

Caught Sooties, Jacks and Barra.
Matt with the first Barra

Me with a solid Jack

Mike with the best Barra

Finally there

The next day I concentrated on Jacks. The upper reaches are full of Jacks and the water is gin clear.


I was throwing the trusty Trans am and soft plastics. Most of the day until the incoming tide slowed it was a fish on average every three casts. Was just a matter of floating along casting back into shore or along cliff walls and bouncing the lure around.
Matt and Mike join in

We were getting conflicting weather reports so decided to head to the mouth late arvo for a look out front.





Weather was good so we headed for home.
Nothing like the wind in your face as you cruise the Kimberley Coast

Sunset up the Gulf

Cant wait to get back.
See what your missing Barneyboy and Stoinka!

 plenty of bonito in the sound in albany at the moment

The missus and I made our first visit to Shark Bay. The first two nights we camped at Monkey Mia where we managed to catch a number of new species including my first Golden Trevally of 96cm. The following two nights we spent at the Denham Caravan Park from which we used as a base to explore the Francois Peron National Park. We wet the line at Bottle Bay and South Gregories and stuck our head into all the other bays for future reference.

We also visited the Ocean Park Aquarium which is a must for all keen anglers. The professional guide had some very good insights to the fish that are caught in our WA waters.

We plan to be back in the near future with the boat in tow and will spend some quality time exploring this exciting and pristine stretch of water.

YouTube clip - 

http://youtu.be/OKcNumaciXI

Hey there

Just a small write up of our latest trip to Wagoe over Easter.

http://www.westozanglers.com/newsfeed/2015/4/8/wagoe-weekend-15

Also make sure to watch the video in HD ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgiJuHCT-Pc

More pics can be found on our Facebook Page.

Tight lines Rob!

Day 3 saw another early start, and a return to the same region. However the first thing I noticed upon reaching the beach at the same time as the preceding day, was that the conditions were MUCH different. The low tide was not going to be for another couple of hours so the seas were much higher, but in addition to that there was a seriously pumping swell ripping across the rocks. These 2 photos show the difference a day can make.

I was scared that my beloved platform would be unfishable in these conditions, and sadly those fears proved well-founded. There was absolutely no way I could stand on the ledge. Aside from the fact that it was now totally underwater, the swell would have smashed me onto the rocks in an instant. I couldn’t even fish the same area, as if I tried to cast out to the same spot – I’d have to retrieve my lure over the ledge – which would have guaranteed that I’d donate some more expensive Japanese lures to the rocks, which I was anxious to avoid. Particularly as I was down to the last of the Zonks in the lure bag!
But after coming this far, I wasn’t going to let a bit of swell stop me. I’d learnt the previous day that the beach itself was close to unfishable due to the rocks – and I was keen to find another deeper channel to cast in. Heading further along the coast though, all I could see was high cliffs with sheer faces. There was no way to get right down on these cliffs – so I knew that if I wanted to cast, it would have to be from height.
I found one likely looking spot and decided to have a go. I tied on a cheap (sacrificial) lure to test the waters, and managed a few casts without a snag, so decided to chuck on my remaining Zonk and fish the mark seriously. After 2 fruitless days, I was both shocked and ecstatic when second cast in, my lure got whacked. Fish on! I knew straight away it wasn’t a big fish, but I didn’t care. I was almost certain it had to be a bass, and it turned out it was. Ok it was a tiddler, but after the amount of work I’d put into getting it and having caught it on a self-discovered mark in very foreign terrain, it was much more satisfying than I’d ever have thought a bait-sized bass could be, and I certainly had a smile on my face as I released it.

Having landed a fish after a couple of casts, I knew that this day could be my chance at a hot session on the bass. I put in another half hour at that mark with no more to show for it, so decided to continue my trek along the coast.

I found another mark which looked seriously fishy, but also seriously treacherous – both for me and for the lures. But stuff it – you only live once. Sacrificial lure back on, and it was time to cast. Sadly though after one cast and a momentary snag on the rocks, I realised there was no way to fish the mark properly and even if I did hook a fish, I’d never drag it over the shambles of rocks and whitewash I would need to in order to land it. So time to move on.

I then came across a mark that looked even more iffy to climb down to, but seemed to have a nice channel of water running out between some towering rock pinnacles. The water was heaving with foam and looked sure to have some predatory fish lurking beneath. After a few test casts with an el-cheapo lure, it was time for business. Zonk back on – 3 casts in – then bang! Fish on! I knew straight away that this one was a better fish, not least of all because it was pulling drag and I was hearing that Stella drag ratchet that is pure music to the ears. I knew it wasn’t going to break any records, but at least I knew I’d hooked something better than my previous sardine-sized effort. I got the fish shoreside and saw the telltale flash of silver, and then swiftly realised that the only way I was going to land this fish was to grab the mainline and pull it up 20 feet of rock, while hoping the hooks didn’t pull. Thankfully, lady luck was on my side today and I managed to get the fish to the top. A few quick photos before the release, and the pressure was now lifting from my shoulders.

I didn’t have long to go. I had to make it back to Marrakech by 2:30pm to return my rental car. In addition to that, rain was encroaching and my gillie/assistant photographer/girlfriend was making noises about me having made promises to stop fishing by 10am. So rod was swiftly back in hand, and the casting resumed. Around 15 minutes later I lobbed a cast at a likely looking spot just at the back edge of a piece of structure. I’d had about 3 cranks on the reel before the lure got totally nailed. Thankfully I’d tightened the drag since the last fish, as this one was hooked in gnarly terrain and I knew it was a much better specimen. The thing had some good weight, and I felt the telltale headshakes of a nice fish. As good as the Early Plus had been earlier in the day, it wasn’t until this fish that it really came into its own. Each time the fish surged it would absorb the fish’s best efforts and keep me in control of the situation, while providing plenty of lifting power to steer the fish out of where I had hooked it and into deeper water.

This time I was even more nervous about hauling the thing up the cliffs. I knew that the hooks on the lure were not huge, and there was no way to know how well the fish was hooked. I grabbed the mainline and began pulling the thing up. Thankfully though, I needn’t have worried. Evidently the lure looked as delicious to the bass as I thought it would, and he’d totally engulfed it. Sadly though, this meant that he’d have to be a lunch candidate rather than a release candidate – but there are certainly worse results than a freshly grilled bass eaten shoreside in Morocco.

All in all I loved the trip, despite not having caught any huge number of fish or any monsters. It’s an incredible place, and one that I’ll undoubtedly return to. I’m already investigating a trip with Abdel to a more remote part of the country to target bass reputedly in the 5-9kg range and am excited just thinking about it.

If you are interested in arranging a trip with Abdel, you can find him by emailing . If you want to find out more about my business Adventure Angler or buy any of the Yamaga Blanks, Owner, Sasame or Megabass products I used on this trip, you can find my site at www.adventureangler.net or follow me on Facebook at Adventure Angler UK.

Cheers,

Dan

When Mark Johnson contacted me last month somewhere in end march for a 3 days fishing trip in Thailand, I responsed to his requests promptly. Prior to their arrival, I made sure I've done all necessary arrangements  &  preparations for  everything to goes smoothly as planned.

The main objestive for this Thaiand fishing trip as Johnson wanted , is to have many fun for the boys, many catches and big giant fishes which these boys have never catch before back home.

Below the itinerary I planned for them -

Enjoys guys !!!

Day 1 - Barramundi lure fishing.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkyBYKKeMzU

Day 2 - Predators fishing for arapaima , redtail catfish and alligator gar.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOuwAKhsR5Y

Day 3- Variety species pond for snakehead, pacu and asia redtail.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvHFdKrqVUQ

I have taken  much effort to capture all their memorable fishing  moments during the 3 days fishing trip.

I will let these 3 days  video clips and photos be the testimonial of their wonderful time with us- Bkk Fishing Tour.

Highlights photos of the 3 DAYS fishing trip.

Barramundi lure fishing & fly fishing.

Mrs and I decided to make our first visit to Shark Bay. First night at Monkey Mia and I decided to wet a line right at the resort. A couple of other anglers commenting "only small ones here mate". I had seen two mackerel and a saily jump close to shore and was willing to try my luck. After first consulting Google Earth and Navionics on the iPad, it was evident that a gutter ran pretty close to shore. 

First step was to catch a live bait which turned out to be a whiting. I hooked the whiting to a 7/0 Gama with 80lb floro and slid it down the 30lb mono which I had casted in earlier. The mono was anchored with a 6oz weight at the business end. 15 minutes later the Daiwa SL50SHB started screaming and the hook was set into a feisty contender. I soon had an audience as I was not fishing far from the resort and some offers to gaff the fish were ignored as it was my intention to release whatever was at the other end. After a good fight I managed to beach my first ever decent Travelly - a Golden Travelly of 96cm, totally elated. 

A couple of quick photos and putting the measuring tape to good use, and the fish was released. It took ten minutes before the fish was strong enough to swim off and I had an inquisitive shark lurking close by to make the release interesting.

We still have another two days left to explore and will be using the Denham caravan park as our base. We will be going into Francois Peron National Park tomorrow and any advice on any good fishing waters is welcome.

Last night I got back from a long awaited trip to Morocco. I have split this report into 2 parts. Firstly because it's long and I suspect people will get bored! Secondly, because there are too many images that I want to post for the 1 thread.

As with any trip which involves fishing I was well and truly excited for it, however enthusiasm was even higher than normal for this trip for a number of reasons, including some respite from the cold of London and the opportunity to test out the just-released Yamaga Blanks Early Plus rods against the renown Moroccan seabass.

Seabass (particularly from the shore) are not my specialty, so I did some pre-trip research and got in touch with French angler Abdel Sabon who runs a seabass guiding operation in Morocco. Abdel advised that the region I had picked mid-way down the North-Western coastline definitely had some promise, which was very encouraging to hear. I was limited for time on this trip, so it was a great bonus that Abdel kindly arranged his friend Zakaria to join me on a day of boat-based fishing out of the port of El Jadida for my first day of fishing.
Upon struggling out of our accommodation in at an hour far too early to be called the morning to commence the drive to El Jadida, we were greeted by the unwelcome sight of the most intense fog I have encountered. It was impossible to see more than 1 or 2 car lengths ahead, which made for excruciatingly slow going on the drive. The mishaps did not end there unfortunately, with me realising I had forgotten the spools for my reels around 30 minutes into the drive (prompting a quick about face) and then shortly thereafter having a tyre blowout – which made for a very interesting solo tyre change in darkness without a torch whilst being hassled by beggars.

As a result of these delays, I was late in arriving at the port, and it meant that we would be setting sail a little later than desired. I was saddened to see however, that the fog had still not lifted.

As my bad luck was now fully expended (or so I thought), I was certain it would be smooth sailing from here on in – but it was not to be. After travelling about 40 metres from the dock, we ran aground. The perils of a low tide. But on the plus side, I got my first swim in Moroccan waters whilst helping push the boat off the rocks, even if it was in a fishing harbour!

Finally though, we were off. I was told that it would be a long slow steam to the first mark, so decided to flick a diving minnow out the back to try and troll something up on the way. Within less than 5 minutes I heard the unmistakable sound of a fish pulling drag and it was first fish on! A bonito rather than the bass I was hoping for, but a fish nonetheless. Quick snap and release for the fish, and on we went. Given how easy the fish was to catch we didn’t bother with a decent photo as we expected many more, but sadly it was not to be.

We tried a range of marks throwing every lure in the box, and only managed one more bonito for the day. Disappointing on the fishing front, but it was good to get out on the water, particularly after my 20 straight weather-related UK wrecking charter cancellation streak. It was also a great opportunity to test out the new Yamaga. The model I was using for my hard bait work was the Early Plus 92XML, and the thing was an absolute pleasure to use. I was using Megabass Zonk 120 minnows primarily, and it cast them an absolute mile, and was crisp enough that it transmitted every one of the trademark Zonk vibrations through to my hand. Given the depth of the water I was using a heavier rod for my soft bait work, in the form of the Yamaga Blanks Blue Sniper 77/3, which has long been a favourite of mine for light coral reef work and proved a great option for this heavier bassing work also.

Day 2 was to be a shore based session. Abdel kindly helped out once again, by letting me know a few marks in the region which had produced for him in the past. As soon as I got to the area, I knew there had to be fish there. I was fishing the low tide and the amount of structure I could see looked extremely encouraging. I only had a few hours to dedicate that day, but I was going to make them count and whip the water to foam as best I could in the time available.

The abundance of structure did however have its downside. The water was really shallow over a lot of the structure and in the space of the first 30 minutes I had walked a good chunk of coastline and lost a Zonk and a handful of Sidewinders with nothing to show for it. This was not going to be as easy as I expected.

Thankfully though I found a sweet looking ledge at the edge of the beach. Given the low tide I was able to get right out and stand on this, which allowed me to cast at the back of a lot of the structure without having to drag my lure over it. The only downside though is that you had to have your wits about you, as every now and then there was a larger than usual swell which ripped through meaning you had to quickly flee, to avoid being swept off your perch.

However…… Despite these waters absolutely screaming ‘fish!’, it was not to be. My allotted time was up, without a fish being seen. I was not discouraged though. For starters I’d seen some large bass-looking scales further up the rocks that let me know I was in the right place – but aside from that, there was just no way that water didn’t hold any fish. I had to come back. But first, I needed to console myself for two bass-less trips. Thankfully Oualidia has some great places for you to do this. The best oysters I’ve had in my life can be bought straight from the water (and shucked for you to be eaten in situ with your own drinks brought along) and we found a place that did a seriously delicious whole spider crab for the equivalent of 10 quid. Things could indeed be worse.

But with one day to go of the fishing leg of my trip – you can rest assured all I could think about was the morning to follow.

Part 2 - 'the catching' to follow soon.

Dan

Another cracker metro session out of Hillarys on the 'herring on roids' this morning with uncle and Jody.

Few fish for the smoker and 20+ released, all on cast lures of various persuasions.

Didn't take a lot of pics but heres a sample. Hopefully do it all again tomorrow weather permitting.

Hi friends on FishWrecked!

It has been a while since I've been around. I started Teacher's College in the fall and it had kept me very, very busy. I went through the longest drought without fishing (over 3 months) and didn't have anything to report at all.

Recently, a number of fortunate events aligned and I had the chance to visit Florida for a very short 5-day trip to visit family...and to fish my brains out. Conditions couldn't have been better and some of my long targeted species were finally captured...plus some very beautiful fish.

I caught 17 new species from 5 days of fishing, and there are many more species that were caught but I didn't photograph. I would figure a conservative guess of 40+ species caught during the 5 days. Florida had given me 102 new species over 38 total fishing days (between 4 trips). And yet, there are still lots of fish that the state has to offer. Unbelievable! I'll definitely be back!

Here are the stories to share. But I will post most of the fish pictures below. It is never the same without reading the stories though. You'll never realize the struggles we went through to catch some of these species.

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/2015/04/2015-florida-day-1.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/2015/04/2015-florida-day-2.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/2015/04/2015-florida-day-3.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/2015/04/2015-florida-day-4.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/2015/04/2015-florida-day-5.html

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca/2015/04/2015-florida-day-6.html

Yellow Sea Chub (Kyphosus incisor) - Species #413



Black Margate (Anisotremus surinamensis) - Species #414



Grass Porgy (Calamus arctifrons) - Species #415



Smooth Trunkfish (Rhinesomus triqueter) - Species #416



Initial phase Queen Parrotfish (Scarus vetula) - Species #417



Initial phase Stoplight Parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) - Species #418



Terminal phase Redband Parrotfish (Sparisoma aurofrenatum)



Peacock Cichlid (Cichla ocellaris)



Hornet Tilapia (Tilapia buttikoferi) - Species #419



Spotted Tilapia (Tilapia mariae)



Blue Tilapia (Oreochromis aureus) - Species #420



Pike Killifish (Belonesox belizanus) - Species #421



Jewelfish (Hemichromis bimaculatus)



Black Acara (Cichlasoma bimaculatum)



Mangrove Gambusia (Gambusia rhizophorae) - Species #422



Sheepshead Minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus variegatus) - Species #423



Blackear Wrasse (Halichoeres poeyi) - Species #424



Florida Pompano (Trachinotus carolinus) - Species #425



Bluehead Wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum)



Bermuda Sea Chub (Kyphosus sectatrix)



Rainbow Parrotfish (Scarus guacamaia) - Species #426





Dollar Sunfish (Lepomis marginatus) - Species #427



Brown Hoplo (Hoplosternum littorale) - Species #428



Atlantic Lookdown (Selene vomer) - Species #429



These are so beautiful I just have to show the second one I caught...





Other species caught but not photographed...

Sergeant Major
Spottail Pinfish
Slippery Dick Wrasse
Redtail Parrotfish
Porkfish
Tomtate Grunt
French Grunt
Bigeye Scad
Atlantic Bumper
Slender Mojarra
Sand Perch
Houndfish
Bandtail Pufferfish
Yellow Bullhead
Walking Catfish
Eastern Mosquitofish
Mayan Cichlid
Seminole Killifish
Golden Topminnow

Got a few good fish over the last 2 weeks

 As my boat is out of action  and the weather was pretty ordinary, thought I'd  give the North mole a try for Salmon. From about 10am to 11.30am it was going off with Salmon biting almost anything. The Salmon were that hungry at times, they would come right in to the edge of the mole and could be clearly seen. Bloody great sesh, but was pretty packed.

Hooked 6 and Landed 3. :)

Fished locally out of Hillarys today with Dad (uncle on here). Took a while to locate some fish but once we did it was good fun, if not a bit damp. Not real conducive to taking good pics but here's a couple that survived the wet environment.

All fish taking on trolled minnows or cast stickbaits. Pity the weather is going to poo for the next few days.

 just got back from a run along the coast and saw a big school of salmon busting up about 200 meters north of thr marmion angling club if any one is keen to have a go. One bloke and his young fella had them to themselves and were having a ball by the looks of it.

The best fishing buddy anyone can find is none other than our own wife.

I know...it not easy to convince Mrs to go for a wild fishing trip with us.

But then ...once you shown them the rope of catching the fish in the wild, it will be the gateway for more future fishing trips ahead.

Enjoys the video clips and photos for our husband and wife wild fishing trip.

DAY 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr0SGesC-cE

DAY 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH-TNIrt5Z0

DAY 3
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32plKG_xyiI

Highlights photos of the catches..

Headed out from Hillarys with the young one about 5pm this arvo to fish the 20’s and see if we could find some pinkies.  It was a little slow at first but once the burley started to work it picked up.

The first fish we called for a size dhu but alas it was one of those big moorwong.  We then started catching undersized dhu (there are so many out there) & pinkies (4 of each in total), fox fish and wrasse.  We must have attracted a school of KGs as the young one landed 2 by 470mm models in short time – they are really the quality by-catch.  He also boated a 7kg Port Jackson, and then it went quiet for a while.

As happens, a school of pinkies seemed to move under the boat about 6.45pm and my light rod went off.  No doubt this was a pinkie as it fought just like one and it is always nice to see the larger models in the net.  670mm and a good fish – a bit larger than the ones we got on the last trip.  The young one was straight back down for a solid hookup but the pinkie was just undersized.  They moved on, Luke hooked a huge ray that was cut off at the boat, and when the snook moved in (don’t you hate it when your bait can’t get to the bottom as the “undesirables” attack it on the way) we headed back to return by about 8pm.  A quick trip for a good result.

We started to catch pinkies consistently about this time last year, and they seem to be around again.  Here is hoping that land based members get a few with the forecast “blow” in a couple of days.

 out with my brother getting fresh mullet for upcoming kalbarri trip... Biggest so far is 45cm, plenty about with 12 already in the esky! (Mandurah)

hey guys,

myself and a cpouple of mates are heading up to Kalbarri from the 14th for a week of fishing.

just chasing a report on whats happening up there at the moment?

also the bait stores tackle stores up there.....am i better off bringing up my bait or is there some nice bait up there?

i would like to use the boxed squid and such

cheers for any input

Haven't posted much fishing related in quite a while so thought I'd put up a few pics and stuff from a recent trip up the coast. Started out in Gero at the start of March with two days planned out at the Wallabi Group before heading up to Broome. Two days in and cyclone Olwyn started to form off the North West heading towards the Exmouth Cape. That ruled out going anywhere and two days turned into around a week at the islands while Olwyn snaked down the coast. At one point it looked a little hairy as Olwyn passed through Shark Bay and the predicted track had the possibility of it going south, following the cliffs and to the islands as a Cat 2. Luckily, it turned more east and fizzed out over the land.

Anyway, the week at the islands was pretty cool. Not bad being stuck in a place for a week of waiting where all you can do is dive and fish! It was my first time at the Wallabi Group since I was a kid. Luckily I was in the company of two great guys who had spent most of their working lives fishing the Wallabis through the 90's and 2000's. Learned a lot about fishing the shallows and we never fished more than ten metres. Had a session most days chucking poppers at the plate coral for trout. First session we must have got around 30 trout from around 15 to 55cm in around two hours. Most the bottom fishing was mainly stopping for twenty minutes or so between being shown around to drop a hook for dinner. It was pretty mind blowing to be able to drop a hook over in a few metres of water and pull up size baldies up to 70cm. Also managed to bag a decent Dhu in the shallows that put the poor little calcutta in a world of hurt. Took a lot of video but regret not getting my camera out for many above water pics for most of the trip. Got a pic of the Dhu seeing it was my first shallow water Dhuie and the first Baldie of the trip.

Did a fair bit of diving in the deeper drop offs, Fish Point and the Brain Corals. I also managed a dive at the moorings near Big Pigeon. We were filleting up when the resident sambos showed up. Quickly chucked on the dive gear and jumped in with a bag of a chopped up trout frame for a bit of fish feeding. Put together a quick video yesterday. Feel free to check it out, some pretty big friendly fish!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRJETnTIYTc

The day before the cyclone was due to pass, the swell dropped and I was lucky enough to get a dive down on the Batavia site on Morning Reef. Straight away I was joined by 3 big YTKs buzzing overhead. It was a pretty cool dive and a wreck I've wanted to tick off since I was a teen. Mainly I took video of the wreck and will put something together in the next few weeks but I still got a few pics. Also, earlier in the trip we had a bit of a walk around West Wallabi Island to check out the Wiebbie Hayes forts.

After that it was pretty much just being shown around a few of the breaks and checking out where to get a feed of oysters. It was then back to secure the boat as that night Olwyn was coming. Prepared for the worst and hoped for the best and in the end we never really even got much of a rock going. That night amongst the islands the wind only went around 30 kts at it passed east of Gero. Next morning with a dead flat ocean we were off steaming north non stop till we got to Broome 4 days later.

We had a quick few days to restock and the girlfriend flew up to join us. We headed out to the outer islands off the Buccaneer Archipeligo. Not much great fishing to report this time around, bottom fishing was very slow for us out there so we in the end we just ended up chucking poppers at the reef gutters for Trevally and Queenies to keep ourselves entertained. Also with a bit of mudcabbing and chucking the net at whiting in the Lagoon.

After that we were racing the clock as the low that was ex tropical cyclone Nathan moved in from the Timor Sea. We were headed to a reef east of Scott Reef  about 200 k's off the coast from the Prince Regent River. After years of illegal fishing due to its proximity to Indo, the fishing is pretty dead here and nothing big or sporty lives around the reef but it was still a pretty amazing place. Between work we still managed to fit in a few dives and had some beautiful clear water. Diving shallow and down to 20 metres at the top of the tide when the current wasn't running. Also managed to have a quick dive on an old iron sailing ship that was lost in a cyclone in the late 1800's.

Just as we wrapped up we started to get the weather from Ex TC Nathan and had to run for the coast to hide for a bit. Stuck in a creek with the weather, at one point we managed to have a fish to feed the boat. We were anticipating the Barra to be firing with the warm water and were frothing at the mouths. Unfortunatley it rained and rained and rained that day and the Barra shut down. The only barra were the smaller models getting stuck in the cast nets. Bloody frustrating when you're seeing Barry all over but not taking the hook! Anyway we still had a feed of Jacks and Goldies for the boat as we steamed back down the coast to Broome.

Sitting back home in Perth now.... and it's bloody cold! I always get too distracted and forget to get many pics in these places but you always regret it when you get back home!

Cheers for reading!

I took the bride to Farnham and Olivia at Sandalford and got back from Margaret River on Sunday night. With an Easterly forecasted and brownie points in the bank I figured I’d chuck a line on Monday.

I often fish White Hills as it’s just down the road for me and with talk of Salmon around I figured it was worth a shot. I arrived at the beach just before dawn and sent out a balloon with a victim from a previous trip dangling under it. For next three hours I threw mulies and smaller baits but apart from a few bait-sized Whiting, I didn’t attract too much attention. My balloon bait was untouched.

At about 10am I threw out a decent sized whiting on one of my old-school Alvey outfits, set the drag and returned to the car for a feed. The day was shaping up like many other morning sessions – not much to show for my efforts but still nice to be on the beach for a few hours…

Then with half a sandwich down my neck all hell broke loose! First the birds started showing some interest in the water, then baitfish were jumping everywhere, then a bunch of herring beached themselves right in front of me and simultaneously my Alvey started to stared to sing. I didn’t even get to finish the sandwich!

As I ran to the Alvey I saw a heap of what appeared to be Salmon racing around in the shallows. After feeling some decent weight the Alvey reefed in the first fish without much effort – a fat 60cm Tailor! After dispatching that one I threw the Alvey gear aside and grabbed my ‘go-to’ Tailor spinning outfit which I had been casting earlier (graphite rod and Stradic 8000). I could still see the decent sized fish everywhere in the water and herring were jumping all over the place. As soon as my bait hit the water, bang! Another 60cm Tailor! Next cast another… As I already had two over 50cm I returned that one to the water.

I flagged down a couple of passing cars and told the guys what was going on so that they could get amongst the action. I then quickly scaled down to my Stradic 2500 and Nitro Viper and had a bit of fun catching two more on the next two mulies – both between 50 and 60cm. I then changed to a Halco Twisty for the same result… a fish just about each cast and all fat healthy Tailor. The schools came through on and off until about 2pm. I reckon I caught over 20 fish on 6lb mono with the majority being illegal and released because they were too big. The guys I flagged own also got a few which was great to see.

With the water so clear it was an amazing session and totally unexpected at that time of the day in such calm conditions. I have been fishing White Hills for over 30 years and can’t remember having such an awesome time on quality Tailor. I still reckon I was seeing Salmon in the water but maybe they just weren’t taking baits or lures? I’m wondering if the Tailor were just tagging along?

The missus had mentioned she'd like to catch something larger than a herring on our next fishing trip, so....

Picked up a 9ft Shimano sonic pro and put my symetre 4000 on it so she could flick out a whole scalie in hopes of a mulla

FIRST night in barri, FIRST cast she brings in this beauty like a pro. This photo does it no justice, while the length doesn't look like much there was some serious weight. She couldnt even lift it for a photo unless she was to grab hold under the gill plate, which we wern't gonna do as it was destined to be released. 

Second cast... what'd ya know nice size shovelnose on the little 4000 , handled it like a pro once again!

Not much action for me, landed a small lemon and lost a much a larger one. Difficult tryna get these girls out of the gutter when your fishing 20lb with a 60lb leader, also rushed the landing which resulted in a bust off.

Definitely not my first trip up there but was the first time being there during school holidays/long weekend. Have to say it's quite depressing seeing such a great place get raped and pillaged, buckets full of undersize bream or mulla and kids sticking their gidgee through anything that moved. Was enough to make me avoid the water till all the trash had left for the night.

Cheers

 Had my first trip out to the FADS yesterday. Went on a mates boat from Mindarie, with neither of us fished out there before, expectations were high. Got to the most northern FAD at first light and trolled past with a couple of skirts on, the second pass and bang double hook up, Chris lost his and I managed my first dollie. So stoked! set up for another pass and Chris lands his first dollie! Tried for a bit longer with no luck, flicked some placcies at them with no luck either. Headed to another FAD further south, which had a couple of boats on it, saw one boat get hook up after hook up, but we couldn't seem to spark any interest. Headed back in and fished around the bank for a bit, managed a stripey trolling back, along with a nice blackass, and pinky on the jig. Was a good day out with a few fish around, dropped a few on the jig, but I dont really want to talk about that....

Sorry not many photos, we didn't get round to it!