Why is it that every time the deadline is nigh, I happen to be relaxing in some tropical paradise? It is such a distraction. I tell you, the life of a jet-setting international Superhero and itinerant Piscator is a hard one folks.
Since my last story, about the final arrival of my new boat in the Solomon Islands, I have been to West Australia and back here to Zipolo Habu again, avoiding NZs wintry blasts as much as possible, and really working on the tropical relaxation aspect of my fishing.
The Aussie trip was once again a blast, they are a hard case bunch of guys over there, fun to fish with for sure. Amazingly, this trip, nothing actually went wrong, blew up, seized solid or sank…..kinda a first for us, as this has in the past been one of the features of our trips to western Australia’s more remote northerly fishing spots.
“The very long and very straight road into Shark bay, ocean on one side, edge of the dry hot desert on the other”
Based in Denham, the only town in the huge Shark Bay area, we were able to explore a huge area of water, basically an area twice the size of the hauraki gulf, with the huge Peron peninsula separating the bay into two halves. This feature, you’d think, would be awesome for giving you heaps of nice sheltered waters in the case of any slight zephyrs that may waft about the place, eh. Yeah, well, good luck with that….everything in shark bay tends to be on a roughly north/south axis, and the winds we have always come across there have been pretty much southerlies, honking straight up the guts of the gulfs. With a knot or two of tide racing in against a nice 15kn of breeze, with the water being seldom more then 15m deep but mostly under 10m, this leads to some pretty …… stimulating, and not slightly wet, rides in the boats we use up there.
Our first trips, heading west, across the open waters to the waters north and south of Dirk Hartog Island, a forty mile ride each way, were long, bouncy and frustratingly fishless trips. well, not entirely fishless, sorry, that is wrong.
This is because Australia, being blessed with hordes of poisonous, deadly and otherwise unfriendly to human terrestrial lifeforms (the famous drop-bears and hoop snakes among others), is also home to some pretty gnarly critters in the fish department. I am not talking about the box jellies (eek!) or the sea snakes (eeek eeek!) here either, but basically unfriendly fish species. The biggest “bugger” of the lot is a seemingly innocuous critter, the Nor’west Blowie. Fair bastards they are. Aside from their poisonous flesh, they add the attraction of teeth like bolt cutters (such being their nickname) and the happy habit of traveling in seemingly endless, ravenous packs.
No lush tropical paradise here, but the fishing’s darn good!
These darling creatures will hit baits, soft plastics, trolled lures, darn near anything, and once you find one, all you can do is up anchor and head for the next spot, because you will not catch anything else again in that spot. And just when you finally find a spot blessedly clear of the blowies, then you can bet your bottom dollar the darn sharks will turn up.
These darling creatures will hit baits, soft plastics, trolled lures, darn near anything, and once you find one, all you can do is up anchor and head for the next spot, because you will not catch anything else again in that spot. And just when you finally find a spot blessedly clear of the blowies, then you can bet your bottom dollar the darn sharks will turn up.
Nothing makes you grow suckers on the bottom of your feet like the sight of a pair of ten foot tiger sharks sitting just off the stern of your boat, I can tell you. Shark Bay (there being a strong hint in that name folks, basically an official “You Have Been Warned” from the Aussies) is one of those places that rate right up there in the Absolutely No Swimming department.
After a couple of trips of forty or so nautical miles of pounding out and back, we finally found us a nice spot, just off the tip of Cape Peron. So much nicer, as it was only a 20nm trip there and back, launching from the Monkey Mia ramps, running more or less north to the tip of the peninsula.
Turtle Bay, Dirk Hartog Island
Extending from the tip of the cape is a long shallow series of reefs and bars, stretching miles to the north and a more distant chain of islands, but with all the waters from the huge gulf barrelling out to hit these 5m deep banks, at full flow of the tide it makes for one treacherous area of short sharp pressure waves, not an ideal fishing spot by any stretch of the imagination.
However, tucked in close behind the Cape we found some very nicely sheltered, calm waters, with schools of fish and birds beating up and down along a far gentler current line. Exploring the area was a great excuse to troll some lures, doing so picked up several very prized Estuary Cod, a true bonus.
Solid Estuary cod’ this one feel to a Hamachi Nano Xylimum loaded with 20lb braid and ninja jig
This was one fishy spot, clear of the pretty vicious current swirling around the tip, in the sheltered lee we found a cluster of bommies rising from 10m to just under 6m, that the sounder was telling us were loaded with fish. On top of the rocks we had sign of masses of fish, which on dropping an exploritory line turned out to be smallish mulloway ( not great eating, but outside the local catch limits, so a welcome addition to the chilly bin), and hanging back off the back of the bommies on the sandy bottom, a slightly more scattered spread of fish sign.
Great Shark Bay Spanish / narrow bar mackerel taken in the shallows of Perron
What were they? Well, as it turned out, they were good old Snapper! Yaay! I know how to catch them! Snapper are not the ideal table fare up here, other fish such as those Estuary Cod are much preferred, but when snapper are on the chew, hell yeah, we will take them. However, adapt and succeed is the go here too, as if you strayline the good old kiwi way for these fish, let them run with the bait before setting the hook, the dreaded Tax Man in the grey (and striped) coat will get you, every time. So, allow for a two second pick-up and run, then have your reel locked solid, slap it in gear and crank.
Solid school mulloway fell to slow pitch jigging on a Hamachi Zenku PE1-3, awesome fighters in the shallow water
Ow. A 4-5kg snapper, on braid, with no drag at all, man, that can hurt. With a rod butt under your arm, and a snapper going mental on the other end, that rod butt becomes a pretty mean blunt instrument, bruised ribs being a painful side effect of this lock and load fishing. However, I did uphold the honor of Kiwi Fisherdom folks, picking up 2/3rds of the fish all by my superheroic self. The other guys stuck to their two hook ledger rigs under the boat just picked up a pile of undersized snaps…. undersized though being fish under 50cm, pretty darn legal for we kiwis. Snapper size there is a range limit, fish between 50 to 70cm being legal, over and under that have to be returned.
Ow. A 4-5kg snapper, on braid, with no drag at all, man, that can hurt. With a rod butt under your arm, and a snapper going mental on the other end, that rod butt becomes a pretty mean blunt instrument, bruised ribs being a painful side effect of this lock and load fishing. However, I did uphold the honor of Kiwi Fisherdom folks, picking up 2/3rds of the fish all by my superheroic self. The other guys stuck to their two hook ledger rigs under the boat just picked up a pile of undersized snaps…. undersized though being fish under 50cm, pretty darn legal for we kiwis. Snapper size there is a range limit, fish between 50 to 70cm being legal, over and under that have to be returned.
Finally, bowing to the inevitable, one of the guys swapped from his ledger rig to a strayline trace…..of a fashion. To my amazement, he decided that, given the shark quotient in these waters, he’d run his strayline with 180lb multistrand wire. Guess what? Snapper don’t like heavy multistrand traces any more than they liked the ledger rigs under the boat. My “light” 80lb flurocarbon trace was still picking up good, keepable fish one after the other, including one hugely apreciated 10kg Estuary Cod, much to the consternation of my Aussie mates. (Mutters of “Kiwi-lovin’ mongrel fish mutter mutter mutter” from them both were music to my ears). But fear not readers, I maintained a modesty becoming of a good kiwi isolated among the heathen Aussies, and hardly rubbed in their inability to catch a damn thing at all. Honest.
Nice SharkBay Pink Snapper, this one was taken on anchor thou the best way to get them is drift with the edge of the tideline
Still, it made for a good couple of fishing days, managing to get our limit bag from the area twice (well, pretty much) was a boost to the guys’ flagging sprits. The desire for a decent amount of fish fillets to take home is a prime motivator here, especially where even cheap fish sells in the shops for AUD$50 a kilo. The estuary cod would go for $70 a kilo, hence the joy with which these tasty fish were received.
Still, it made for a good couple of fishing days, managing to get our limit bag from the area twice (well, pretty much) was a boost to the guys’ flagging sprits. The desire for a decent amount of fish fillets to take home is a prime motivator here, especially where even cheap fish sells in the shops for AUD$50 a kilo. The estuary cod would go for $70 a kilo, hence the joy with which these tasty fish were received.
The legal limit in Western Australia is for a max of twenty kilos of fish fillet in your possession at any time, no ifs, ands or buts, that is it. So god help you if you land a 60kg yellowfin and fillet it…, instant fine time. But then I have laughed at W.A.’s nutty fisheries laws before so shall not go into that again now….
It was interesting though, to this humble kiwi, to see the effect of the fisheries regs on our W.A. cousins…they live in this constant state of befuddlement over their byzantine rules. The VHF seems to be a steady chatter of boats asking mates, or just the ether, how many fish they can keep, what certain sizes are allowed in some fish species, it is just chronic.
Tip of Point Perron, not the lush green I’m used to but the desert colors are still pretty stunning
Add to that where you catch these fish….inner gulf, outer gulf, mid to outer gulf, open seas or where-ever, each zone with different limits on different species, man, it is a minefield. Every boat has an inch thick guide book with multiple subsections, clauses, paragraphs, just on recreational fishing rules. You damn near need a lawyer on each boat to render legal opinions on whether the guppy you just snagged will mean dinner or detention, a feed or a fine.
It really drives home to me the pleasure of fishing in NZ. We have pretty relaxed rules, and pretty clear ones at that, something that we should all be very grateful for. I just wish it was a bit warmer in the winter is all!
The Tackle Guru 