South Australia is Australia’s best-kept fishing secret
Nowhere on this vast continent offers the consistent quality and quantity of temperate Australian species. If it’s big King George whiting you seek, then Kangaroo Island and Marion Bay at the foot of the Yorke Peninsula, offer consistent catches of 60cm plus fish. In Spencer Gulf, ports like Whyalla and Arno Bay on the eastern shoreline of the Eyre Peninsula rate the best and biggest snapper in the country. Coffin Bay on the lower Eyre Peninsula, on the shore of Port Douglas Bay, is a smorgasbord of unspoiled inlets, bays and pristine beaches, and has some of the best yellowtail kingfish, snapper and salmon fishing available anywhere.
Anglers wanting a sample of quality beach and boat fishing will find their needs fulfilled on the far west coast. From Ceduna west to Yalata, the coastline is noted for its giant mulloway, snapper and King George whiting, as well as a host of other species.
Ceduna is at the top of the Eyre Peninsula on the shoreline of Murat Bay at the east end of the Great Australian Bight. It is a fascinating area, and the fishing is to die for. The main Ceduna beach begins at the base of Cape Thevenard, running due north for 1.5 km against a backdrop of 10m high bluffs. Ceduna has two boat ramps and a 400m long jetty near the town centre. The best of the ramps is Puckridge, in the lee of Cape Thevenard.
Ceduna, Thevenard and Denial Bay are popular fishing destinations. The long jetty at Ceduna runs out over dense seagrass beds and is a noted squid fishing platform, and also produces whiting, snook, salmon and Australian herring. At the end of the jetty, anglers fish for larger fare, including snapper and mulloway. A friend who fished here saw a school of big yellowtail kingfish hunting close to the end of the jetty. He caught a small salmon, put it out under a balloon, and soon hooked up; that fish is still running.
Murat Bay is safe water for small vessels. Species caught include silver whiting, leatherjackets, snook, garfish, tommy ruffs, King George whiting, salmon, trevally, mullet, mulloway, sweep and a range of sharks including school, gummy and bronze whalers. Offshore anglers go in search of all of the above plus snapper, yellowtail kingfish, Samson fish and southern bluefin tuna. Kings and Samson fish are best in March and April, while bluefin run from late in December through to April. Winter is the best time for King George whiting and salmon. Two favourite baits used at Ceduna are squid, and a bivalve shellfish called razorfish.
Denial Bay has a breakwall, which fishes the same as the Ceduna jetty. Most anglers head farther west to Davenport Creek, about 40km west of Ceduna. To get there drive out on Denial Bay Road, 22km west of Ceduna, then turn southwest onto Nadia Road and continue to campground, another 19km along a dirt road. A 4WD is required to reach the boat ramp on Davenport Creek. There is a designated camping area inland on the banks of the creek, with no facilities except pit toilets. Access is quite easy as the sand is firm throughout most of the dune tracks and easy to traverse with reduced tyre pressure. The beach gets treacherous heading east from the beach entry, rather narrow and sloping, however, the rest of the beach is wide and firm. Mulloway, salmon, whiting and snapper are caught from the beach.
Fowlers Bay is farther west again, and if you want to fish the beaches, you will need a 4WD. On most of these west coast beaches drivers need to be cautious at the eastern ends. There is salmon, mullet, whiting and mulloway for those who are patient. Fowlers Bay jetty is popular for its big squid, Australian herring and snook. Scotts Bay is close to Fowlers; this is one of the best salmon beaches in South Australia.
YALATA
Next stop along the Eyre Highway is Yalata: a remote system of beaches regarded by all who have fished here as the best and most consistent mulloway water in Australia. Moreover, it is not just big mulloway: Salmon schools are measured by the hectare; and you will encounter big snapper and plenty of sharks. It is a wild, remote area with dingos and snakes. The roads are a sandy, but have sharp, shale along the edges and these will penetrate tyres deflated for beach running, so be sure to carry a couple of spare tyres.
Many anglers head this way to fish in the summer months, but the heat can be oppressive up to about 40 degrees Celsius. The most consistent months for weather are October and November, and Ceduna locals who fish here say the New Moon period offers the best fishing.
There are several designated beaches for fishing. The Hilton, Bob’s Kitchen and Jaxsons are best reached via Red Gate Track. This track runs onto Coombra Dune Track, which commences 17km west of Yalata Roadhouse.
Granites is not difficult to get to, and is reached via Coombra Track. The track from the turn-off on the Eyre Highway runs for about 20km, and then some easy sand work to a campsite, a couple of minutes from the Granites beach.
PERMITS
Yalata Indigenous Protected Area provides some of the best natural dune camping areas available. Camping is only permissible in designated campsites, and a permit is required. Vehicles can enter the beach at Granites, Bob’s Kitchen and Hilton. The other campsites are close enough to the gutters for people to walk.
Yalata IPA is extremely remote. The closest phones are at least 70 km away. Moreover, there is no mobile coverage from the beaches. Information relating to camping permits and areas can be obtained by visiting the Yalata Land Management website at www.yalata.org or ringing (08) 8625 6201. No alcohol or firearms can be brought into Yalata.
BEACH
Fishing tackle should be the best you can afford. Fishing at places like Yalata or Fowlers Bay, you do so in the knowledge that any of the species you may encounter, whether it is mulloway, snapper, salmon or sharks, are going to be big. It is for this reason that high quality gear is necessary. There is no point spending all the money and going to all the trouble of organising a trip only to cut corners and buy el cheapo fishing gear that won’t go the distance, and may even cost you a trophy.
Two surf-fishing outfits are needed: one as your main surf fishing outfit and another for catching live bait. An optional third outfit can be used for lure casting. As the main surf fishing outfit, you will need a rod between 3.5 to 4m long, capable of casting 85 to 200g sinkers. The rod needs low down grunt to fight a mulloway of up to 35g. Size 6000 threadline reels are recommended. A light outfit is essential to catch bait, so go for a 2.3m light to medium spin rod with a 3000-size reel loaded with 7kg braid. Bait jigs are ideal, and use a 20g metal slice with a treble hook instead of a sinker. This gives you the flexibility of casting lures or bait.
In the surf there are two types of rigs used: the first is a simple two-hook paternoster rig, with a 3/0-4/0 Suicide pattern hook, is ideal for presenting cut baits for the likes of salmon. The second type of rig is a running paternoster. Use this rig when seeking larger fare like mulloway. In this case, a single 80lb dropper with a 6/0 Suicide hook is employed.
Live bait is best, if you can catch them, and this is true of beach fishing for big mulloway. Australian herring, salmon and yelloweye mullet are excellent for live baits. Due to the remoteness of some of the west coast beaches, take plenty of bait in case it is difficult to catch fresh bait. Fresh frozen squid, octopus, and fish fillet baits work well. If you hook a salmon, fillet the fish and put the fillet on straight away.
BOAT
If you are boat fishing then you will need a couple of different outfits. When fishing for snapper use a 10kg outfit. It can pay to spool your reel with 15 or 24kg braid, which is thinner than monofilament and has less stretch. The advantage of braid line is that it allows you to fish deep water and strong currents with less sinker weight. The popular rig is a running paternoster with a 24-kilogram leader of about 1.5m long and two 4/0 Suicide hooks attached.
Salmon fillets are excellent for mulloway and snapper. Snapper bait includes squid, salmon, pilchards, whiting heads and herring.
If you are chasing whiting, a 3-kilogram outfit will suffice. A running sinker rig is used and hook size should be from about No. 4 Baitholder pattern to a 1/0 Suicide. Anglers chasing silver whiting in the shallows use a fixed paternoster sinker rig with two leaders with No. 6 hooks attached and baited with pipi. Whiting will be caught on pipi and squid.
For squid, a baited jig or a prawn imitation will catch them. A handline spool works as well as a rod for the jigs. There are two methods of presentation: first, rig up a baited jig a metre or so below a large bobby cork, cast it out and keep an eye on it while fishing for other species. Alternatively, when working prawn jigs, these are cast out over weed, allowed to sink and then retrieved slowly.