WESTERN AUSTRALIA Esperance

ESPERANCE Murray Johnson

Here on the south coast it feels like we’ve had an extended winter, with not a lot of sunshine, a fair bit of wind and also rain, which is always good for farmers but not fishers.

Now that summer is here we will start to see warmer weather and rising water temperatures, and with that comes a change in the types of species we tend to catch.

Herring will come in bigger numbers and bigger sizes, with the bull herring appearing. The best places to fish for them in town this month will be the Tanker Jetty, Taylor Street and local beaches at Fourth Beach and Stockyards. The best approach off the jetty is to use a float and fish the surface, using small long-shank no. 6 hooks and prawn or squid for bait. It’s important to use a bit of berley to get the fish into a feeding frenzy. I recommend a mixture of pollard and fish oil.

If the fish get into that feeding frenzy, it’s a good opportunity to use lumo tube on the hook to create a DIY lure, and winding it through the fish. You can opt to add a small sinker to move the hook further down in the water column. The best times to fish are still early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Occasionally a bit of a high tide around lunchtime will keep the fish moving along, and you can catch fish then, too.

Bandy Creek Boat Harbour will see plenty of King George whiting caught this month, although the average size tends to be small at this time of year. Mixed in with the whiting will be plenty of flounder, small flathead and even the occasional blue manna crab.

At this time of year, the samsonfish tend to come back in to the beaches around town, along with bigger flathead, skippy around the 1kg mark, and a continuation of the small bronzies.

Heading out of town, one of the best places will be Thomas River, which should see good numbers of salmon, the occasional mulloway, bronze whalers, and skippy around the 2-3kg mark. At Poison Creek we can expect to see schools of salmon forming, plenty of sharks and also big tailor.

If you’re heading west of town, there’s always good fishing at Roses, which again produces good salmon schools at this time of year, along with tailor, skippy and the occasional bronze whaler. If you head

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big numbers. You can also encounter bigger mulloway up to 40kg, plus plenty of salmon and big tailor to 3kg. The best time to target these beach species is the around full moon or new moon with the peak tide movement. As the water moves higher up the beach, it creates more food sources and feeding opportunities for predators. Closer to town, salmon will continue to school this month, and the herring will continue to get into bigger schools. With the rising water temperatures, we’ll probably see squid slow up around the islands to chase samsonfish and yellowtails as they remain in close, with fish up to 30kg not uncommon. There are also still plenty of queen snapper, sea sweep, and the occasional nannygai.

Guys heading out wide will still see bigger sambos going up to 40kg, and have the opportunity to chase yellowtail kings around the 20kg mark. Nannygai around the 50-60cm mark should also be in good numbers. There are still plenty of queen snapper, harlequin and breaksea cod too.

In the coming weeks it will be worth a trip out to Israelite bay and The Cliffs. There’s 100km of pristine white sandy beach to drive along as you look for opportunities to chase different species. It’s not unheard of to catch flathead to 3kg off the shore, and there are bronze whalers around the 1m mark in a bit, but opportunities will open up to target bluefin tuna. A good way to fish for bluefin is to troll shallow water/ surface lures, such as a Black Magic Jet Setter in purple or pink, with that extra bubble action creating more interest for the fish. You can also troll a Halco Laser Pro or similar in pilchard colour. There are plenty of opportunities to throw small stickbaits or slugs at them too when they come around the boat. Good options for this include the Halco Slidog and the Ocean’s Legacy Slingshot. • Established in 1986, Southern Sports and Tackle specializes in the supply and servicing of fishing equipment. They have an extensive knowledge of the local area and provide all brands, whether you’re fishing from beach, jetty or boat. Come and chat to the friendly staff at Shop 16, The Boulevard, Esperance or phone 08 9071 3022.

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