The school holidays in October are a last burst for the town before the quiet time of hot summer kicks in. During this time in the past the weather has been favourable, however this year the first week is looking rather ominous with clouds and even some rain, which is quite unusual for this time of year. Despite this, there are always options for fishing related activities for youngsters in Exmouth. The tides have improved this week after some massive springs and fishing is expected to improve. The gulf was rather murky this last week from the large tides, and already we have had reports in of whiting and gar fish along the shores, as well as sailfish and tuna in the gulf. The bait is starting to congregate as expected around Exmouth reef and the birds should show you where the action is throughout the day.
Col Fieldhouse and his wife and three kids are up on holidays from Perth this week and the boys managed to get out one calm morning before the sea breeze came in strong. They trolled hard bodied minnows around nor-west reef and got blitzed by large Spanish mackerel. The boys were using shallow running lures and surface lures that gave great entertainment to the kids as the mackerel shot up high into the air upon striking the surface lures. The boys were also entertained by turtles galore, whales and dolphins in the water. Young Hudson Fieldhouse caught two queenfish and we’re sure that fishing day will be told over and over again when he returns to Perth and school in a few week’s time.
Shore based sports-anglers along the west side have had a great time this year with varied catches of large fish, especially GT’s, queenies and mackerel. The temperatures are rising though and it can be a hard and hot day combing the shoreline casting and retrieving lures. Make sure if you are planning on doing this, that you have a good supply of water, a long sleeve sun-protection shirt on, hat and sunscreen. Of course, if you are fishing of a night time, ensure you have good quality rock spike boots, a headlamp and water too.
The Betta Billfish Bonanza is not far away now and if you want to learn more about this event or billfishing, there is a rigging session on at the EGFC clubhouse the week prior to the event. On Friday October 21st from 5pm the session will start and all are welcome.
At 5pm on Thursday the 27th of October at the EGFC clubhouse there will be a representative from the North-west marine planning process here to discuss the plan with locals. PLEASE come down to the meeting to hear what is being planned for the future of our waters with reference to new marine parks, sanctuary zones and recreational zones. This is an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have regarding future management. The Marine Division of the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities attempted to have this meeting a few months ago and had very little response. Please make sure that if you have concerns or queries, you will be there to discuss them with the representative.