Beach brawlers in Bunbury

BUNBURY

Whiteys Tackle and Camping ever-reliable metal slugs for some high-speed spinning action. Slugs in the 10-70g range are great, with the weight determined by what your rod is capable of casting. If you’re unsure about your rod, look for a gram rating on the rod blank. on a 3/0-4/0 chemicallysharpened gang with little or no weight, tied to the mainline with some 20lb fluorocarbon leader. This technique requires a more hands-on approach. Make sure you include a few pauses in your retrieve, as this earlier and earlier. The salmon give the shore-based angler a consistent sportfishing target and depending on water temperatures and if it has dropped enough, we should start seeing an increase in numbers over the next month.

At this time of year there is nothing better than heading down to the beach after work to chase tailor.

If I’m planning to chase salmon, I leave the bait at home and flick a lure at the schooled up fish. Schools from the beach will look just like a weed bed, only it will move! Just tie on a lure and start casting. My favourite lure is a pre-rigged soft plastic in the 5-7” range, as this allows me to fish the whole water column and I can sink it down to where the salmon are holding.

When a school of salmon is coming your way, don’t cast directly into the middle, try to get your lure landing 5-10m in front of the leading fish numbers of nannygai up around the 60cm mark, mixed in with your normal breaksea, harlequin and queenies. There are also 20kg+ samsonfish on offer, along with the occasional small yellowtail kingfish.

March is when the salmon will keep coming in closer and schooling in bigger numbers before they start their migration down towards Perth.

Off the beaches, along with the salmon you’ll also still get plenty of whalers who are shadowing the salmon. Tailor should be in bigger numbers as well, and plenty of big bull herring will still be around.

• 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.

It’s great to relax with the sand between your toes and the waves lapping at your feet while you enjoy the afternoon sea breeze!

These conditions usually get the tailor hungry and aggressive, making them a great target for throwing hardbodied lures and soft plastics. Look for a likely gutter and start casting the

If flat out non-stop spinning is not your style, try a bibbed minnow. Twitching and pausing the lure during the retrieve will imitate an injured baitfish, sounding the dinner bell to any tailor nearby.

When the tailor are being fussy (whether it be from angler pressures or from an overabundance of baitfish), my go-to technique is a mulie can convert fussy feeders into hook-ups.

Belvedere and Buffalo beaches are popular options, but a little bit further north towards Myalup and Preston can turn on some red-hot fishing at times.

Salmon are coming! These prolific sportfish are approaching fast, and each year they seem to be arriving and watch as the fish that lead the pack peel off and attack your offering. Ideally a 6-10kg graphite rod in the 9ft range (7ft is better in the boat) will suit this style of fishing perfectly. These types of rods are strong enough to cast large lures and put some real grunt on the fish without taking all the fun out of it.

A commonly forgotten target from the beach during this time of year is the almighty shark. There are quite a few anglers in the area who target the sharks that are following the schools