We love this place. Fowlers Bay on the far west coast of South Australia, we have been drawn back to this special place every year for more than 20 years just like moths to a flame, and we still can’t get enough. This place is truly the wild, wild west coast of South Australia, and with so much isolated, pristine and untamed coastline to be explored there is little wonder.
When we first started fishing there the new Caravan Park was in its infancy and we are proud to say that we contributed in a small way to the bushes and trees that provide very welcome shade in the heat of summer. Every one of those trees was planted by Mo the original owner on top of dozens of salmon frames we provided for nutrients for the seedlings, and boy did they thrive!
In those days you were lucky to see half a dozen vehicles in town at any one time and the fishing was brilliant. But as time went on and four wheel drive vehicles became more comfortable the 912 kilometre drive from metropolitan Adelaide didn’t seem a chore anymore. And as the stories of phenomenal catches of salmon and mulloway began to filter through, anglers began to flock to the area.
The coastline around Fowlers Bay was first charted in 1627 by a Dutch sea captain Francois Thijssen in his ship the Gulden Zeepard (Golden Seahorse). Fowlers Bay was named on 28th January 1802 by Matthew Flinders on board his ship the Investigator. This protected natural harbour was named by Flinders after his first lieutenant Robert Fowler.
Fowlers Bay is situated on the eastern edge of the Nullarbor Plain and was used as a base camp by Edward John Eyre in 1840 for his epic journeys across the great treeless plain. But by this time the area was already well known to American and French whaling ships as Eyre had seen many in the area. Even today there are still some whale bones to be seen on the beach at Fowlers.
The town itself is still very basic and isn’t even connected to the electricity grid with power coming from generators and solar power. There are a dozen holiday units and several shacks for hire as well as the Fowlers Bay Eco Park. Rod and Simone run this caravan park which has improved out of sight over the last few years as well as the kiosk which can supply diesel fuel only.
They also run whale watching boat cruises during the cooler months, from July through to October on board their charter vessel “Jaguar.” With annual Southern Right Whale numbers increasing every year, sightings are guaranteed with between 20 to 60 whales located in the bay at any time. Just a couple of hours by road is the “Head Of The Bite” where the whales can be viewed from towering cliff tops.
Fowlers Bay also boasts an excellent jetty where catches for the travelling fisherman can be very good. Some of the biggest southern calamari I have ever hooked have come from this jetty and they make a wonderful fresh seafood meal. It is also very reliable for snook, Australian herring, garfish and the occasional salmon school. Hoodlum kingfish also patrol this jetty at regular intervals.
The protected waters of Fowlers Bay are also perfect for the travelling angler who has a small tinny. Big King George whiting up to 50 centimetres thrive on the sand holes close to the beaches. Trolling diving lures like Rapala X Rap Deeps is also very productive for big bull salmon and snook. Australian herring, big garfish and of course calamari make up the rest of the catch.
But with over 70 kilometres of awesome looking coastline to the west of the town just waiting to be explored we usually do not bother taking a tinny as the land based fishing can be spectacular. The township of Fowlers Bay is dwarfed by towering razor backed sand dunes to the west of the town with part of the original town now actually buried underneath them.
After letting the tyres down, this is your starting point to four wheel driving and fishing heaven, up and over the top of these awesome looking dunes. The ever shifting tracks lead to some brilliant looking rock fishing platforms out near Point Fowler where half the fun is actually getting there. The drive will take you past some spectacular looking scenery with stunning seaside vistas at every turn.
There is a resident seal colony nearby with up to 30 Australian Sea Lions lazing the days away on the warm sands of their private beach. When fishing our favourite rock platform they will usually swim past your feet giving you the eyeball and will quite often ham it up for the camera. It’s quite easy to sit and watch this colony all day long but the excellent fishing on offer will soon see to that.
Big schools of Australian salmon swim passed these rock platforms at regular intervals and this is your ticket to light tackle sportfishing heaven. They will quite readily take whole pilchards underneath a float or alternatively you can cast unweighted pilchards to them. These salmon are usually very hungry and large fish of over 4 kilos are quite regular captures here.
But I love my lure fishing and like nothing more than seeing that pulsating little piece of plastic being hunted down by five or six lit up Australian salmon. Because you are perched high above the water deep diving minnows like Rapala X Rap Deeps, X Rap Magnums and also Atomic Shiners are very good as are the larger soft plastics worked with an erratic retrieve.
It really is salmon fishing heaven around here and over the years we have seen some massive schools just offshore from these rock spots. Kingfish turn up at times too ranging from the run of the mill metre long fish right up to the unstoppable fish up to 100 pounds. Snook, sweep, Australian herring and trevally make up the rest of the catch with the occasional snapper and shark thrown in.
To the west of Point Fowler is the legendary salmon fishing Mecca of Scott Beach. The first time we visited this iconic beach over twenty years ago we were absolutely blown away by this awesome looking surf beach. Pristine, crystal clear aquamarine waters that were littered with black schools of salmon for as far as the eye could see. It simply didn’t get any better than this!
Prospecting the beach in a good 4wd then wading into the surf and pinging 60 to 80 gram metal baitfish profile lures to the writhing black mass was the go in those days. And it still is a very productive method today as tell tale dark salmon circles still hunt the beach in very good numbers. You may need to wade out into chest deep water to reach them, but hey it’s all good fun.
Any good metal baitfish profile or hex type lures will work as they always seem to be hungry as they drift along the surf line. Gillies Pilchard, Williamson Gyro Spin, Spanyid Raiders and Snipers, Halco Twistys and Hex in the 50 to 80 gram sizes are all excellent on surf salmon. And of course you can always revert back to the traditional salmon rig with a whole pilchard if you wish.
To the west of Scott Beach the coastline is lined with a lot of fringing reefs that can be accessed near low tide and fished for a couple of hours. Wading out onto these fringing reefs will allow the angler to cast his baits and lures into deeper water that is inaccessible from the shore. The main targets here are salmon, snook and some very large silver trevally.
But one of the biggest surprise catches available from the fringing reefs that front sand patches are big kidney slapping whiting. They are usually taken on the float rigs as the whole pilchard drifts across the white holes. We have nailed some absolute rippers on reef systems west of Cheetima that were just over 50 centimetres long. They dont get much bigger than that.
But it is the salmon that we love most. There is nothing like the fight of a lit up four kilo plus salmon as your braid is ripped from your spool in that first vicious line peeling run. And then they erupt from the water with several big gill flaring headshakes desperately trying to throw the hooks. Then come the last ditch kamikaze dives toward the line slicing limestone reef edges.
It’s always a fifty-fifty battle at best in the shallow snag strewn waters of the fringing reefs with many battles won and lost. But that’s the way we like it and that’s what keeps us coming back year after year. Some of the action has been mind blowing over the years with as many as six animated fishos hooked up to line searing four kilo salmon at any one time.
The rig we use is simple, two 4/0 Gamakatsu Octopus chemically sharpened hooks tied on a metre long trace of 30 pound Jinkai plus leader. Above this is a quality swivel, then another metre of slightly heavier Jinkai (say 40 pound) carrying a running bean sinker and a glitterbug style float which flash and glitter and attract so much more attention from hunting fish.
This rig is very versatile and we use it in most situations around Fowlers not just off the rock ledges. It is the favourite rig when fishing off the fringing reefs as the waters in-between reefs can be very shallow at times but it is just a matter of shortening the length of the leader to accommodate this. But the strong currents around most of the fringing reefs will keep the bait free of snags.
From here you can use your 4wd to explore and camp the rest of this magnificent coastline before hitting the Yalata indigenous area. With 70 kilometres of untouched coastal wilderness waiting for you, the options are endless! There are dozens of fringing reef systems that can be accessed at low tide between Point Fowler and the Dog Fence and all have been very lightly fished.
But there are also several surf beaches along this coastline where you will not see another person for days. Along with salmon, sharks and the odd tailor inhabiting these beaches, there is also a couple of highly prized species available here. From here to the Head of The Bite the kings of the surf namely jewfish above 60 pounds are caught regularly as well as some really big snapper.
They have been the ultimate prize over the years and we have caught and released dozens of these huge fish from the surf beaches west of Fowlers Bay over the years. A fresh salmon fillet on an 80 pound trace with two Gamakatsu Octopus 8/0 hooks with a running sinker is the best way to get in on the jewfish and big snapper action. There is nothing better in surf fishing!
Yes the fishing around Fowlers Bay is as wild and as good as it gets anyway Australia wide and it certainly is a huge drawcard. But besides the fishing, Fowlers Bay is the perfect spot to escape to and forget the workaday pressures and recharge the batteries. And once you go yourself I know you will be hooked, and feel the need to gravitate back to this special place every single year.
Just as we were all those years ago.