Saltwater Flyrodders

G'day everyone.. Second day here in exmouth, been fishing hard since we got here but only caught rubbish rock cod... Need to put a bend in this fly gear.. Really got my heart set on catching a queenie and a golden trevally on fly.. If anyone could point me in the right direction that would be great.. Cheers

Mcgoo

Hi Ryan,

Assuming you are on foot, walking the west coast beaches, particularly from the accesses in the national park is a good option. Trevally species and Spangled Emporer are probably the most likely decent catch there. Queenies are possible, but personally I have caught more of these towards the cape, and around the gulf side from Bundegi Jetty south. That strectch of beach, right down to Old Bundegi (which is on the Northern boundary of the Sanctuary Zone) is definitely worth a look. Old Bundegi is well known for turning on Queenies from time to time. Best bet is to walk right out (up to 1 km) on a low tide, then fish back in as the tide comes in. Like most spots in Exmouth there can also be a few sharks here, so be careful

Also stick at it. Quiet days on foot are not uncommon, particularly while you are working things out. Persistence usually pays off at Exmouth though. If you are throwing clousers around those areas something will happen sooner or later.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on?

Cheers Dave.. I forgot to mention that I've got my boat up here with me.. It's only small so I can't really venture miles out.. Been out in the boat too but still coming up with nothing... But thanks for the tips.. Just about to hit the road now and give some of the western beaches a crack..

Hopefully I'll be posting some pics of a nice golden or spangled up later today.... Hopefully...

Cheers mcgoo

Hi Ryan
Try sandy bay walk round to your right and site cast .
Or if you can't see anything, fish into the gutters and between the dark patches .
We had some excellent sport there this year.
Seen a school of bones come right close to shore there ,so be alert .
Hope this helps

Hey Ryan,

im gonna give you some advice ive received from other members of this forum! ive fished exmouth for years but never with a fly rod! and my last trip to exmouth was ment to be a fly fishing trip.. WIND killed me! hope you got good wheather!

I did manage a couple days fishing while I was up there.. go down the access roads off yardie creek drive.. in the national park! sandy bay, pilgramunna, osprey bay etc and look for schools of bait! be prepared to walk! I nearly walked 5-8km a day but I got into fish!I hooked a 20kg spanish mack in the flats off pilgramunna with a 30g twisty so you never know what your gonna get into! like the other guys said! be patient! your not gonna catch fish all day everyday! its hard work on foot! but very rewarding!

ive always done well at trisel, jansyz & Hunters! BIG BIG Queenies swim past! last time I was up there my mate and I double hook up on meter plus queenies! best fun out!

Hi Ryan
Another great shore based spot is Oysters (Mildura Wreck) to the Navy Pier. Just be aware that there's an exclusion zone around the pier.
If you have a 4wd, it's a reasonable beach launch about 1km south of Learmonth jetty (just in front of a normally dry creek bed). Leave the car next to Learmonth, and walk down to determine where would be possible. Sometimes, it's firm enough right next to Learmonth itself, however, watch out for rocks motoring in and out. I would mooch either north or south along shoreline. You always see stuff along this stretch of coast. If you get a good weather forecast day, it's a 40 minute run by boat down to Whitmore Island from Learmonth. Roberts and Little Roberts Islands are not that much further down.
Enjoy your time up there.

Well... Fished the Bauer access (I think that's what's it's called) just north of the sanctuary zone.. Too windy for fly, and only hooked one shark.. So no luck just yet..

Thanks for the advise guys.. Might head down to sandy bay.. How far away from exmouth is it? Can it be accessed by a 2WD?

sandy bay is about 70-80km from exmouth itself!

its near yardie creek! pilgramunna, osprey bay etc!

how did you get on ryan .

Hi guys..

Thanks for tips and assistance.. Managed to speak to a few of you at the last meeting but didn't have much luck in Exmouth.. Next time I head up there (hopefully soon) i'll be able to concentrate solely on flyfishing and targetting those areas in the lower gulf and the national park.. On this trip I was fishing with a few mates who normally bottom bounce or jig with plastics so it was a bit hard getting out there and focussing on the fly side of things..

Didn't see a heap of fish but I think a school of bonefish mooched past me whilst I was wading Bundegi beach, not sure if you would get them there? but the fish I saw were cruising along the bottom occasionally digging their noses in the sand and were long and silver like monster whiting, but gave off a blueish flash when they turned on there sides.. Whatever they were they showed no interest in what I had to offer them..

Also had what looked like a monster parrotfish or a tuskfish follow my fly pretty much all the way to the rod tip at the Mildurah wreck, it hung around the rubble right in front of me for a while.. Enough for a couple of fly changes..!! then buggered off..

When down at Pilgramunna had a big school of what appeared to be parrotfish or tuskies feeding in the rubble to the right of the boat launching area, but couldn't get them interested in anything I threw at them..!

Eventually we hired a 6m boat and headed out behind the reef on the tantabiddi side.. Trolled for ages and didn't have any luck, also hit a few patches of reef but the conditions were pretty average, with a big swell pumping through, wind howling and the current going in the opposite direction so holding the bottom was a bit of a mission.. Ended up giving it a crack inside the reef.. Managed a heap of little rubbish fish and the old man got a fairly decent spanish flag.. Then a few massive hammerheads turned up with a posse of sharks.. Managed to hook a couple of them of the 50lb gear.. locked drag, plus thumbing the spool and they still peeled line off at a million miles an hour.. Those things have more grunt than feral pig!!!

So that was the trip, not much luck in the fishing department but it was nice to get away for the week..

Cheers

Mcgoo