Fishing Australia

This week I pick up things half way through an amazing trip to Exmouth in the western most corner of our country.

The winds on the gulf at this point were much more typical with the south east breeze dying right off by noon.

We boarded “here fishy fishy” a wonderfully decked out sports fishing boat run by local Shane Wunhym.

Shane took us to a soft coral bommie in the middle of the gulf aptly named “monsters”. Within 10 minutes schools of unbelively bug massive golden trevally moved in to the burley trail. To be able to throw in a lure and tease up and hook such large goldens just meters from the back of the boat was something special…and the fight was the icing on the cake.

Shane gets some awesome Spanish mackerel, coral trout, rankin cod and other species and I have a feeling I’ll be seeing him again one day.

During the trip we also took the time to visit Vlamingh Head and chat to locals about Exmouth itself which has a fascinating history much of which revolves around the Naval base that put the area on the map. The submarine tracking station is also an interesting side topic to learn about when immersed in a nature based adventure.

On the Thursday the south easterly was still up so we hit the west side beach on the inside of Ningaloo reef which is nicely sheltered in these conditions.

At around 250 kilometres long Ningaloo is the largest fringing coral reef in the world.

The inside of the reef has brilliant coral bomies and marine life and the outer edge, which is effectively the start of the continental shelf breaks the ocean swell. These breakers are visible from the beach and in some places they are just 400 meters from the shore!

Game fishing starts just 5 minutes from the main trailer boat ramp at Tantabiddi. Last trip we tagged sailfish and marlin with the beach dunes still well in sight-too easy! This year we had decided to concentrate our efforts even closer to shore.

The waters between the beach and the main reef, which are known as the lagoon, are flushed by tides of clear warm ocean water twice daily, and with this comes some amazing fishing conditions.

Effectively the lagoon offers surprisingly big fish in protected shallow waters and seeing that the road travels along the beach and offers good access in many places, everyday Australians can explore and fish much of this oasis via Exmouth with just a car and a national park day pass.

Just be sure to grab a copy of the marine park and national park rules so you can work in with the authorities who manage this place and keep it in great condition.

Being able to beach launch the Kayak wherever you like opens up a stack of extra options and the lagoon is also a fly fishing nirvana.

With this in mind I had specially planned to give the all new Hobie Pro Angler kayak its first test in the tropics by fly fishing from the craft in the Ningaloo lagoon. Little did I know I was I for a real treat.

The Pro Angler has a stack of new things that any keen kayaker should check out and furthermore it is stable enough to stand up and fly cast from which adds a whole new dimensions to Kayaking.

Heck I could spend a month utlizing the feartures of the kayak while taking in the sights and fishing of Ningaloo; it’s quite simply as good as this scenario gets.

While anyone could have a ball catching good fish on bait and lure in Ningaloo either from the beach of from a kayak I wanted real challenge for me and the craft; and I got one.

Hooking and fighting golden trevally around the beaches bommies on fly from a kayak is one of the most unique and exciting experiences I have ever had. It is a combination of fly fishing, boating and sight fishing that melted into one intense challenge and I get goosebumps just thinking about what a blast!

Heck I just want to get back in that water and learn more about the place and the craft…writing about it is getting all too much.

In the meantime special thanks to:

Australia's Coral Coast (www.australiascoralcoast.com)

True Blue Bonefish (www.truebluebonefish.com)

Capricorn Sea Kayaking (www.capricornseakayaking.com.au)

Ningaloo Tours 'N' Travel (www.ningaloo-tours-travel.com.au)

Novotel Ningaloo (www.novotelningaloo.com.au)

Exmouth is just 1 hour and 45 min flight from Perth and skywest.com.au has some great package specials to the area.

See you on the water.

Rob Paxevanos.