December had been rather windy, but the period between Christmas and New Year was once again sensational with glass conditions, warm temperatures and plenty of fish biting. I don’t think the town was expecting to be as busy as it has been, especially after all the doom and gloom talk you hear on the television.

The visitors to Exmouth are certainly in holiday mode, with accommodation places full, boats everywhere and store shelves low. Shore anglers found spangled emperor, blue bone, trevally, queenfish and dart around the west side, while on the gulf side a few party goers set up nets and found milkfish, mullet and whiting.

On the boating side, many anglers have been reporting good catches of red emperor, rankin cod and Robinson sea bream. Bundegi boat ramp was certainly well used with boats accessing the waters off the west side, the top of the gulf and the Muirons. Black marlin have been prevalent, with one boat raising 8 in a day ranging in size from 40kg to 150kg. Brad Bell tagged one of the first marlin for the EGFC calendar and all the boats chasing the billfish are waiting for the big blues to come in as they usually do at this time of year.

Aaron Lewis from Perth spent a day cruising the flats around the Muiron Islands targeting GT’s, queenfish, spangled emperor and anything else visible in the crystal clear waters. He used light and heavy tackle and tried out the new Luhars Lures on the big GT’s. He was successful, as shown in the pic this week. He managed to see this fish in about 2m of water. Aaron then cast beside the fish, watched it turn on to the lure and the slam it off the surface. Fishing with poppers is definitely very exciting, especially when the waters are so clear. Aaron was using barbless hooks and after a few happy snaps, the fish swam back to continue feeding. Aaron also had red bass come up to his smaller poppers, while his fishing partner for the day caught several spangled emperor on light gear, all of which, were released. This was Aaron’s first day in Exmouth after being at sea for fifteen weeks straight gaining sea time for his Master II ticket, and it was a good way to start his holiday!

The EGFC Tantabiddi Camp out will be on this weekend the 10th and 11th of January. There are five different sections up for grabs thanks to Exmouth Dive Centre and you can fish from the shore or a boat. The council and DEC has given approval for competitors to camp overnight and there will be a BBQ and breakfast. Cost is $20 adult member, $25 non member, $10 junior member, $15 non-junior member. Bookings are ESSENTIAL. If there are not enough confirmed and paid bookings, it will not go ahead. For booking phone president Jeni Gates on 9949 1315.