Yorke Peninsula – immerse yourself in magnificent fishing and learn some of the area’s interesting history.
My first memories of Ardrossan on South Australia’s beautiful Yorke Peninsula go back over 40 years. As a keen 8 year old there was nothing better than camping and then wandering down to the nearby jetty from the caravan park and fishing to my heart’s content. These halcyon days of summer were spent catching a feed of mullet, tommies, garfish, crabs and squid.
On one memorable day a considerable crowd had gathered at the end of the jetty to watch a back breaking fight as an angler had hooked a 9 foot Bronze Whaler shark. The fight seemed to last forever but in reality it was probably only around 45 minutes…such is the perception of an 8 year old. At one point the shark swam dangerously close to swimmers on the beach who were quickly evacuated.
Slowly the angler began to regain some valuable line as sweat continued to stream from his brow. The angler methodically worked the large shark back toward the steps on the southern side of the jetty as the crowd of onlookers continued to grow. As the magnificent beast lay thrashing around at the base of the steps I wondered how on earth they were going to land it.
The answer soon became clear as one of the guys unzipped his bag and proceeded to load a 12 gauge double barrel shotgun. He then nonchalantly ran through the crowd, down the steps and unloaded both barrels into the sharks head. A tail rope was slipped on and the whole crowd joined in as they wrestled the beast up onto the jetty. My, how gun laws and fishing attitudes have changed!
Over the years we visited Ardrossan on many school holidays and my fishing skills were continually being honed at the foot of those awesome red ochre cliffs. Again the smaller species like tommies, garfish, mullet, squid and crabs were the targets but they were all great fun to catch and they were also tops on the table especially for a family of six.
Ardrossan jetty also provides some larger targets for the angler with a resident school of mulloway calling the jetty home in the warmer months and I have seen them caught on pilchards, live tommies, live squid and of course live garfish. They would appear on the surface as a 5 metre wide brown patch just below the surface and lazily cruise around the seaward end of the jetty.
It is hard if you tow a caravan I know but there is also some excellent fishing available if you have a small boat and most of it takes place only just offshore. The BHP jetty southeast of the ramp has so much structure supporting it underwater that it attracts all manner of fish life to the safety that it provides. There is literally a smorgasbord of species available here.
One of the most exciting, especially for being so close to Adelaide are the schools of Australian salmon that reside under and around the jetty during the warmer months. Generally we will start the day trolling deep diving lures with the stealth of a four stroke motor up and down the entire length of the jetty. Small diving lures like the Rapala X Rap deeps are the go.
But the salmon fishing does not end here, with an incoming tide you can anchor up 20 to 30 metres from the jetty and release a chopped pilchard berley trail. These tasty titbits will entice the fish away from the structure and flick the switch into the feeding mode. The schools hugging the bottom will also be up and about underneath the boat.
This presents and ideal situation for casting unweighted pilchards and lures to the salmon that are now zipping through your berley trail. You can just drift the pilchards back in the berley trail which usually works fine, but we have found that the majority of fish are still nestled around the jetty. A whole pilchard lobbed within a metre of the structure doesn’t last long.
Another very surprising species that can be caught while casting lures and unweighted pilchards toward the jetty piles, is the yellowtail kingfish. These aren’t the big bruising hoodlums, rather they range from legal size up to around 75 centimetres. They are great fish nonetheless and we have been surprised 5 times in the last couple of years with small kings taking cast lures and whole pilchards.
Small snapper up to 48 centimetres can also be caught here and at this size they are perfect for the table. Other catches from the seabed here include some lovely flathead, good sized bream and my son Brad also caught and released two 62 centimetre mulloway on a recent trip. The berley trail also attracted some excellent sized tommies, some big enough to take whole pillies.
South of the BHP jetty and all the way down to Rogues Point, the bottom topography is flat, shallow and full of weed. Welcome to calamari central, this place is alive with these tasty cephalopods and boat limits are generally assured. The trick is to drift slowly over these weed beds in 1.5 to 4 metres of water. It is a good idea to have a variety of squid jigs drifting out the back.
This area is also excellent for blue crabs during the warmer months with many an angry bluey being netted from these weed beds. Summer also brings garfish to this location and they are easily kick started into feeding mode with the thoughtful use of berley with a liberal dose of tuna oil. And as I stated previously Australian herring (tommies) have been of good size and good numbers this year.
Ardrossan also has an excellent snapper fishery especially earlier in the season and most of it takes place out in the middle of St Vincent Gulf in around 17 metres of water. The wreck of the 338 ton barque Zanoni which sunk in a violent squall on 11th February 1867 used to be the only piece of manmade structure on the sea floor near here and it was rediscovered in 1983.
The Zanoni was declared an Historic Shipwreck as it is the most intact 19th century merchant sailing vessel located in South Australia. For this reason it needs to be protected and hence a 550 metre Protected Zone has been declared around the Zanoni. This means all activities, even driving a boat through the zone are prohibited without a permit.
To compensate a large Hopper Barge was sunk in 1984 by SA Fisheries one nautical mile south of the Zanoni as an alternative place to fish. The coordinates of the man-made reef now known as The Barges are 34 31 760 South and 138 03 749 East which is basically 17 kilometres south east of Ardrossan. Good numbers of smaller snapper and quite a few larger ones are caught here.
Ardrossan is only 150 kilometres from metropolitan Adelaide but the excellent fishing belies that it is so close to our capital. When we stay in Ardrossan we always stay at the Ardrossan Caravan Park which has plenty of shade, BBQs, crab cookers, fish cleaning tables, cabins, powered and unpowered sites. We usually take the hassle free approach and stay in the luxury of one of their cabins.
But it’s not all about the fishing at Ardrossan which has many more surprises in store for the visitor. This area is steeped in history as a visit to the Ardrossan & District Historical museum will testify. The town of Ardrossan was initiated by wheat farmers and wheat transporters and was named by Governor Fergusson after the seaport in Scotland and was proclaimed on 5th November 1873.
There was an urgent need to help with the transportation of grain which saw the construction of the jetty completed in 1877 with a length of 150 metres. In later years it was extended several times to cater for the larger steamships and windjammers and now it stands at more than 400 metres in length. Up until the late 1930s the town was serviced by a steamer twice-weekly from Port Adelaide.
In the 1870s farming was difficult mainly due to the problem of land clearing of the dense mallee scrub native to the area. Mullenising was quite often used after whole areas had been set on fire, but it was the removal of the stumps which was the main problem. It was the Stump Jump plough, invented by Clarence Smith in 1880 that finally solved the problem.
Twenty five year old Clarence bought some land in Ardrossan, built a house for his wife and daughter then built a workshop to manufacture Stump Jump ploughs. Business was good and Clarence had two sons as sales continued to grow with orders from all over Australia. He died at the very young age of 45 but his sons continued his work and in 1901 the factory employed over 100 people.
During the 1900s Ardrossan prospered on its farming produce and the steady income saw the town continue to increase in size. Many more buildings were added and it continued to attract businesses from neighbouring towns and the school was expanded several times. But during the 1930s during the depression, Ardrossan fell on hard times and the population and business stagnated.
But Ardrossan got back on its feet in 1950 when BHP opened a Dolomite Quarry south of the town. The new one kilometre jetty was built, along with the huge white grain silos that now dominate the scene. The conveyor belt was multipurpose loading cargos of dolomite, wheat, barley and also salt from the nearby solar salt pans at Price.
Today tourism plays a big part in the economy of Ardrossan and for a very good reason; there is simply lots to see and do. In fact many Adelaide residents call it their second home as it is only 150 kilometres away. In summer it has a gently sloping, safe swimming beach with the warmer waters of northern St Vincent Gulf gently lapping at the shore.
And it’s definitely worth getting up early for a walk on the jetty even if you are not into fishing. The Ardrossan coastline is lined by magnificent red ochre coloured cliffs and with the right sunrise they are set on fire as the sun pokes its head above the eastern horizon. It really is a stunning view from the jetty with a gorgeous sunrise to the east and magnificent red cliffs lit up to the west.
Other attractions include the BHP lookout which gives panoramic views of St Vincent Gulf and also of the Dolomite mine itself. There is a golf course, lawn bowls and there are quite a few different designs of Stump Jump ploughs in a park on East Terrace near the Caravan Park. And if you are keen you can also scuba dive on the historic wreck of the Zanoni with approval.
And the beauty of Ardrossan is that the rest of beautiful Yorke Peninsula is not far away at all. Day trips to Port Vincent, Stansbury, Edithburgh on the eastern coast of Yorke Peninsula or Wallaroo, Moonta, Port Victoria on the west coast are fun-filled and easy. This is just another reason to visit Ardrossan even if you are not into fishing or crabbing.
Which by the way is fantastic!