The water temperatures have been climbing as we head towards summer, although the strong southerly winds have had some days start with a chill. The fishing this last week has been on and off with some reports of great catches and others of none. 

The billfish scene has continued to increase as people head out in search of a great day’s sportfishing. Pictured this week is Garry Zinnecker for Dunsborough with a tagged sailfish caught recently. Some bigger blues have started showing up and a few striped marlin have been caught as well this last week.

Zinni sailfish

A stronger interest in kayak fishing over recent years has seen quite a few visitors make the trek to Exmouth with their kayaks. Kayak fishing is very peaceful and rewarding and there are many areas around Exmouth that are very suitable for this way of fishing. Good lures for trolling behind kayaks include hard bodied minnows such as bolt, taser, halco and c’ultiva that float when stationary. Soft plastics and metals can work well too, but if you don’t keep up the speed, they can get snagged.  Poppers are also advisable to use and if you are trolling over a weedy area, make sure you have a squid jig handy to use. Many locals with kayaks like to troll south of the marina on a glassy afternoon when the tide is high and the squid are active.

Editor for a well-known Australian fly fishing magazine, Rob Sloan and his wife Libby were in town this week and Rob caught his first permit on fly. Rob has been to Exmouth several times and was pleased to get this prized species with Brett Wolf as his guide. Of course, the fish was released and I’m sure many photos were taken for an upcoming article in the magazine.

Many Karratha crew were down for a wedding this week and enjoyed the weather and fishing Exmouth produced for their visit.  The boys had a ‘bucks’ charter on Blue Horizon and caught everything from red emperor, to coral trout, spangled emperor and a few beverages.  The reef fishing this last week for some has been great, while a few sharks have also been hassling anglers. Our suggestion is to keep on the move. If the sharks come in, then move to another spot. Another tip is to use one dropper on a paternoster rig, rather than two. Two fish hooked up can create attention to passing sharks with strong vibrations through the water.