If fishing spots were shares, Exmouth on the North West Cape in Western Australia would be classed a blue chip investment. Like a good hamburger, it comes with the lot, and this is despite hosting one of Australia’s most extensive Marine Parks, Ningaloo Reef.
Over the past decade or so, Exmouth has become established as a major Australian sportfishing destination. It may even be the premier sportfish destination. Whatever your preferred technique, these fish rich tropical waters surrounding the peninsula offer variety enough to suit any taste.
There are three caravan parks and numerous holiday houses to cater for the huge influx of tourists, and many of them anglers. Boat ramps are located at Exmouth Marina and Bundegi on the east side, and Tantabiddi and Coral Bay on the western side.
Offshore anglers leave a sheltered harbour at Exmouth Marina to go in search of marlin, sailfish, tuna, GTs and mackerel. Inshore you will come across small boats fishing the sheltered waters of Exmouth Gulf, or bobbing just outside Ningaloo Reef on the Indian Ocean side.
The beaches are extensive, easy to access and many can be driven along in 4wd vehicles. Bait can expect to encounter queenfish, mackerel, trevally, cobia, barracuda, dart, yellowfin bream, squid and sharks. Sometimes you come across saltwater fly fishers wading out casting flies for trevally, permit and bonefish.
A favourite place is Learmonth jetty, about 30km east of Exmouth, near the airport. A concrete structure with a rock wall extending half its length, the jetty faces into Exmouth Gulf. The water surrounding the jetty is not deep, maybe 2-3metres, but it is clear at the top and bottom of the tides.
Learmonth Jetty does not appear to be anything other than a small fish platform; the sort you run across around most of southern Australia. However, the tropical waters of Exmouth Gulf hold an abundant fish population, and what is caught from this jetty may surprise.
Most anglers fish with bait or cast lures, and just about everyone has a squid jig or two in their tackle boxes. Squidding is an Australia-wide phenomenon. Everywhere you go around the country, people seem to want to hook squid. Even anglers driving along the beaches often had squid jigs attached to the rod tips that were poking out of car windows.
One of the squid hot spots is Learmonth Jetty, about 35km from Exmouth near the airport. Standing on the Learmonth Jetty, facing out towards the sheltered waters of Exmouth Gulf, the squid were easy to spot. Unlike the southern varieties, these West Australian squid would swim past in small schools, and they travel faster than their southern relatives. When you learn something of the area, you understand why: survival is about being on the move. Any sea creatures that stop, risk becoming a meal: it’s that sort of environment.
On this day fellow travelling angler, Queenslander Rod Kirby, was on the jetty. Rod multi-tasks when fishing: bait, spin and squid rods were all set up.
Anglers have different techniques when squidding. My preference is to set a squid jig below a “Dink” float. Dink floats are Canadian and consist of polystyrene from 10cm to 15cm long and about 20mm in diameter. The leader is passed through the float and the jig is set below at the required distance. Because these floats are so buoyant, any ripple on the water makes the float bob; this movement imparts action to the squid jig below.
Rod prefers the traditional cast and retrieve technique. Either way, it made no difference: both methods produced squid.
What is different about these squid is you can see small pods of them swimming toward the jetty. On both sides of the jetty, the shallow beach is lined with weed beds. Time after time, and always on the northern side, we spotted squid hunting along the seaward side of the weed. At the end of the weed, the squid turned and swam diagonally to the jetty. On every occasion, the cephalopods stayed a bit wide, about 30 metres or so, and it was a matter of judging where they were heading, and casting a jig accordingly.
Once hooked, squid belch clouds of ink. The combination of ink and a struggling squid alert other squid, and they hang around to see what is happening. Excited by the action, these squid become easy pickings when presented with another jig.
Another day on the jetty, a couple of anglers caught a metre-long queenfish on a lure. This fish was filleted for bait, and the frame hung over the side of the jetty in the water where it acted as berley to attract sharks. There are many sharks in these waters. The first hook-up was a whaler shark of about 2.5 metres long. After a 15 minute fight, the shark bit through the trace and was gone.
Soon after, another shark took a bait. This time it was a hammerhead about 2-metres long. After a 20 minute battle, the shark was beached, photographed and released to fight another day.
In conversation with the boys, they told of catching three metre-long tiger sharks from the jetty. When the wind is offshore, the boys rig their baits to float out under a balloon. However, the wind was onshore on this day, so these boys were tossing baits out by hand: about 30 metres at most.
Other popular land based fishing locations on the east side include Lighthouse Bay, Exmouth Marina and Bundegi Jetty. The marina holds bream and mangrove jack. Anglers fish the rock wall for trevally, queenfish, tuna and mackerel using live bait and lures.
Bundegi jetty and the beach, near the top of the Cape, fish in similar vein to Learmonth jetty, but there is also dart and whiting caught. The area is noted for its early morning squid fishing when the tide is high. Close to the Naval pier there are some big GTs to about 25kg that can be caught on poppers, but the pier is off limits and there is a restriction zone around the pier.
Beach access is available from Bundegi south past Learmonth to at least Heron Point. It is easier to take dirt roads off the main road to gain access. Creeks and drain run-offs are not to be driven through, if you value your vehicle. Remember to deflate your tyres if you intend driving along the beach. The soft areas are above high tide marks, whereas nearer the water the beach is firmer, well most of the time. Deep wheel ruts along the beach south of Learmonth suggest there are soft patches lower down.
Fly and lure fishers look out for drains and wade out to fish these areas as they can hold permit, bonefish, queenfish and trevally. As you drive along the main road you cross many of these drains. Access to the beach where the drains enter the Gulf is often a matter of taking the nearest dirt road and following your nose. If the track has tyre marks, chances are you are in with a good chance of beach access.
On the west side of the Cape, and despite the Marine Park status of Ningaloo Reef that runs along this side, some great fishing options are available.
At the top of the Cape, anglers take the Mildura Wreck Road north from Vlamingh Head to access the beach. The Oyster Ledges at the northern tip of the Cape can be reached with two-wheel drive car by this road, then walking along the beach to your right until you reach the ledges. At high tide, this is one of the prime locations to encounter massive giant trevally Exmouth is famous for. Be warned though, when a GT is nudging 40kg your chances of stopping it are minimal. Queenfish are also caught here on surface poppers, along with mackerel and cobia. As for bait fishing, expect to hook spangled emperor and bluebone, dart and whiting.
Some anglers fish close to the wreck of the steamship Mildura, which is visible on the edge of the reef. A couple of anglers I was with floated baits out under balloons near the Mildura, only to hook up and be busted up by big GTs. The top end beaches and ledges are best fished on the rising to high tide.
Driving south along Yardie Creek Road, you will come across many “Special Purpose” zones where fishing is allowed. The WA Department of Environment and Conservation puts out free pamphlets that mark fishing areas, and there are signs on beaches marking the zones.
The Tantabiddi boat ramp complex and beach is popular for all forms of recreation activity. Whiting and flathead are common captures. The north end of Osprey Sanctuary Zone, the southern end of Lakeside Sanctuary Zone at Varanus, Trealla and Tulki Beaches, and Sandy Bay are three areas where the elusive, and highly regarded, bonefish are caught by fly fishers. Most fishing areas hold small GTs, queenfish and mackerel, while the reef entrances, such as at Coral Bay, attract sailfish, mackerel and GTs.
The area, and in particular Exmouth Gulf, is well suited to car toppers. The waters are sheltered, the beaches firm so small boats can be beach launched near where you want to fish.