Exmouth Dampier 2014

[ryanbrennan]

This is my first time really posting a new topic on the forum. I will ask you to please forgive me if i am in the wrong area!?
I just got back from my annual trip to Exmouth/ Dampier with my partner and i was curious of how everyone else has done up there this year??

I'll give you a quick run down of my luck and please let me know if you had any luck in similar spots. I'm always keen to sponge in some tips and tricks from another die hard.... i'll try keep it brief

Dampier-
I ended up spending about a week here, trying to get out of the wind. spent 4 days reading books and waiting for a break in the steady 30knot breezes.
In a boat:
i fished all round inshore near the Iron ore set ups, small queenies and GTs. ( there is a good rusty structure up the east end just off the rocks). We Also headed out to around the far islands, exceptional fishing in no more than 3m of water around bombies in the early morning. brassies, goldens and GTs and bigger queenies( saw the occasional HUGE bluebone, but couldn't get my fly line to stop conspiring against me in time).
On foot:
Withnell Bay produced exciting visual fishing up the north east end on the mud flats on a incoming tide. GTs, whiting, cod, big bream near the old rusty structure up the far end.( big walk!)
Point Samson around the bridge on the way into town. On a low tide rising. ( walk out on the mud) goldens, mangrove jacks, GTs, catfish (???) , queenies.

Exmouth.-We stayed at Neds camp in the national park for 3 weeks.

In a boat:
straight out from Neds camp-
Is the most amazing water I've ever seen. The water was a bit muddy in shore in some areas apparently from the flooding back in July/may.BUT, head out about 1 km or more -crystal clear. Drifting over coral reef peppered over white sand. Every other cast at a bombie resulted in a spangly,red throat, cod, sweet lip or some other kind of emperor! (DO NOT LET THEM RUN! DO NOT GIVE THEM AN INCH) i lost count on the amount of flies i lost....character building fishing....

Tulki- north to Veranus/trealla beach
( spelling is prob wrong)
This is a very fishy spot.... straight out from where the floods mouthed at the ocean is full of snags and holds plenty of fish. south towards tulki was alot of nothing then a school of MASSIVE goldens will just mooch through. ( still a sore spot for me as i missed out on a good size one). I've also been told that it is THE bone fish spot. I must of missed out. Every shaddow i thought was a bone fish turned out to be a mullet.....( or so i tell my self ....)

ON FOOT:
tulki/veranus/trealla beach (*same as above)

South border of mangrove sanctuary
HUGE WALK! but resulted in stumbling across a MASSIVE school of queenies sitting in a trough 20m off shore. half a dozen 50-60cm queens on a 7wt is worth the walk.( very lucky)

Bundegi (half way between the boat ramp south towards the sanctuary)
get out to Bundegi on a incoming tide, schools of tailing mullet gets your heart in your mouth for a little while, but once you have exhausted all your flies you tend to move on. IF YOU PERSIST, it can be rewarded. There were plenty of spin rodders around casting the good-ol halco slicer in the middle of a school of mullet. and if they didn't spook all the fish in the bay,they were regularly rewarded with a stray golden here and there.
last year i had the fish session of my life here. HUNDREDS of small (40-60cm) tailing GTs and queens in shin deep water on a glassed off afternoon. ( THANKYOU LOZ FOR INVITING ME ALONG!)

Ranger station
lastly there is a cracking spot just near the ranger station entry point into the national park. Chuck a right turn as you come towards it and head down an un marked track directly opposite the ranger pay station.
there are some old fence posts in the water. walk out 50-100m on incoming tide. The last fish of my trip was a golden pulled out of the rocky/crabby/muddy bottom on a crab pattern i tied the day before. Great way to finish the trip!

CHEERS!
Ryan

[Tony Ong]

Hi Ryan
A few of us have just returned from Boneheads that was held in Exmouth. The boat that we were on didn't get to see the flats, except for the one day that we launched at Bundegi Boat ramp. All I can say is that we bumped into a lot of billfish.
Hopefully, the other boys will chime in with their experience.
Haven't fished Dampier before, but would love to in the future.

[ryanbrennan]

Gday Tony.

bill fish on fly sounds like something i'll have to get involved in soon!
If anyone has any photos i'd love to see them!

Dampier is absolutely electric. but the same goes for Dampier as it does in Exmouth... you really need to get on a tinny or something and get out there in the thick of it.

Ryan

[Dave Bailey]

Hi Ryan,

I mostly fished in the gulf last week, but did spend a bit of time at the fence line (near the Rangers hut) and in the Tulki/Varanus area. My experiences sound pretty similar to yours. There were some nice Goldens at the fence line the morning we were there up to 81cm, which was fun.

We had a couple of looks at Varanus/Tulki from the boat. Didn't see or catch any Bones - not unusual for me

I did get a reasonable Spangly from over some rubble in that area. In general the Spangly fishing inside the lagoon seemed to be better than previous years to me.

I too would love to fish Dampier one day.

Dave.

[Brad Yates]

Nice report Ryan.

Good to see another local on here too, I live in Busso and there are a few guys between busso and bunbury that are getting into fly fishing as well.

[ryanbrennan]

G'day Brad.
I'm always happy to hear about people sharing the passion!
i recently got a good friend of mine in to it as well. Always better fishing with a mate.
Talking tactics, techniques and don't forget the essential banter!
crucial part of fishing with friends.