The weather this week has provide numerous windows of opportunity for anglers to hit the water and target their favourite species. Spanish mackerel have again featured as one species high on the desirable target list with many great captures taking place. All of the usual shallow reefy grounds where mackerel are encountered within the gulf and on the western side of the peninsula appear to be firing. Trolling traditional large, hard bodied diving lures such as Halco Laser Pros and and Bluewater F18’s seem to be the preferred method of targeting these magnificent sportfish.

A common by-catch being reported by numerous anglers trolling for mackerel are the hefty rankin cod which appear to be regularly rising from the bottom to smash lures running just under the surface. This demonstrates how aggressive the species can be as well as their ability to exert short bursts of speed to chase and capture a rapidly moving lure.

The Exmouth marina is a favoured location for many visiting anglers due to its close proximity to town as well as the wide selection of quality species it provides. Currently some magnificent bream are being caught within the confines of the outer break walls. A reasonable level of finesse is usually required to coax the larger, more wary bream into taking a bait or lure here. However this can provide invaluable lessons for young anglers on the finer details of fishing such as the importance of bait rigging, presentation and fish behaviour.

South of the marina has been providing whiting and bream and garfish have been schooling at Learmonth Jetty with squid also putting in an appearance down there. There have been numourous groups of anglers arriving in town this week targeting GTs from the shore and the west side has yield modest results for some.

For those heading out to the offshore grounds marlin and sailfish have been tagged in good numbers with yellowfin tuna, mahi mahi and wahoo getting in on the act.

The Gamefishing Club of Exmouth hosted the annual Ultralight tournament last weekend which, despite rather large swells, proved to be successful with a number of impressive captures. Full details of the competition results are to follow next week.

Cody Wright Mackerel