Mark Forrester from Perth is up here for a weeks’ fishing holiday during his annual leave from Hale with his kayak. During his stay Mark caught some spangled emperor and trevally off the beach at Mildura Wreck road using soft plastics on the rising tide in the morning. On his last trip Mark also was down at Wapet Creek and photographed this weeks’ pic of a sad looking stone fish. As you can see from the pic they are easily camouflaged and although injuries from these are rare, the fish are certainly here.

Make sure you wear protective shoes when wading through water, especially in the lower gulf. A good idea is also to shuffle your feet if you can’t see the bottom in shallow water, rather than step. I also caught one of these at Pilgramunna once, so it pays to be careful when entering the water. If stung, place your foot in water as hot as you can tolerate and seek medical assistance asap. It will be a happy moment when the pain subsides.

Stonefish

A few weeks ago Justin Rogers and his mates came up for their first trip in search of billfish in a tinny. However, during their stay the weather was not kind enough to allow them to get out in their boat.  Alternatively the boys fished light line in the gulf and caught sharks from the shore using 15lb gear. They landed one over 20kg, caught a few pics and released it. The boys also managed to get out in the gulf with their boat and caught long-tail tuna, which are lovely eating. The boys really enjoyed this trip and are definitely returning for another shot at the billfish.

Justin longtail

Surprisingly, a report this week came in of a coral trout being caught from the marina. It was during a day when the water was rough and horrible in the gulf and a crew decided to fish in the marina instead of taking the young kids out in the boat. They also caught trevally and the few fish were enough to feed three families that night! So it’s good to note that when the weather is bad, there is nearly always an option in Exmouth, with sheltered waters somewhere around the cape.

Next week we should also have the option of fresh prawns as the Kailis boats start their season. A fresh feed of prawns can be good in two ways: 1 to eat them; 2 to use the heads as berley for all sorts of species. Black spotted tusk fish and spangled emperor in particular love to munch on prawns, so next time you have some, remember to use the heads for the next feed of seafood: hopefully that will be a fish!