How blessed are we? The calm weather just keeps on coming in and the water temperatures have risen as expected and the fish are here in droves. A simple early morning walk along the beach will show you schools of bait being harassed and fish finning close to the surface as the sun rises across the mirrored Exmouth Gulf. Alternatively you can go for a swim in the afternoon after a hot day or take a rod and throw some lures on dusk to target those spangled emperor and trevally that have been biting from the shoreline.

If you are keen to get out and catch a billfish, then let me tell you, there are plenty about . Local charter boats and gamefishing crews have been seeing everything from rat blacks around the 30kg mark, to sailfish in 300m of water and the big blues and blacks that come in at this time of year. Several boats have had fish in excess of 250kg hooked up, while others have had racing blues almost spool their outfits. Aaron Lewis and Eddy Lawler headed out to catch their first marlin and they both got one each in the first hour!

Meanwhile Joshua Brunzeel who once lived in Perth and now lives in Singapore, came to Exmouth for a few days marlin fishing aboard Freespool II. He and his fellow anglers caught and tagged over 14 billfish and had on, what would have been a state record, several times. Meanwhile the reef species have continued to come in thick with people reporting the capture and catch and release of many species including spangled emperor, red emperor, amberjack and few extra large honey comb cod. Rock lobster have been on a fe

w dinner plates over the holiday season, although it was sad to see that someone had caught three large ornates off Tantabiddi, taken the tails and dumped the remainder in the bins. These massive lobsters have enough meat within the legs and body to serve many meals and such waste is appalling.

There are masses of tuna bait schools in the areas off the tip of the cape, with birds showing the activity hotspots. Chasing these on light line can be challenging and sometimes frustrating. However a light spin outfit and small metal twisty lure seems to be the pick of lures for the job. The stealth approach and long cast works best according to one of the Perth visitors who has landed a few.