Yowie Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 (edited) Headed off the W.A. in early April. First stop to wet a line was Ceduna in S.A. There is a long wharf out to deeper water, so I tried casting a squid jig while walking out to the end of the wharf late one afternoon, just before sunset. Tried along most of the wharf for nothing, the locals caught nothing either, and only saw one good sized snook pulled out. The next morning there was a sea fog, so I walked along the wharf. Not far from the shore the fog was rather thick, and by the time I reached the end of the wharf, I could not see 3 metres, could only just see the other side of the wharf. It was an eerie fog, like the type that you would see Tyranosaurus Rex or some other monster walk out from. Similar to the end of the world scenario. Continued on to W.A. (which stands for Windy As, not Western Australia) and stopped at Esperance. A great place to visit. Last time I was there, the salmon were biting, but not this time. Wind was up most days so did not bother fishing. Good swimming at nearby Lucky Bay, plenty of waves for boards or body surfing. Next stop was Albany, however, a Low Pressure system blew up off the coast. Windy enough to blow a dog off a chain. Along the coast some wind gusts were so strong that I just literally stopped when walking into the wind, could not move forward at all, and the rain was almost horizontal. Headed off to Denmark instead with the missus to do some wine tasting and buying. Headed inland for a while, next stop was a beach near Perth. Was thinking about having a cast along the beach, then spotted a large pod of young dolphins. They were surfing the waves, jumping about, formed a group for a while to hunt fish, then returned to surfing and jumping. Any smart fish would be swimming away at high speed. Inland again, then next coastal stop was Cervantes. Met up with friends from the caravan club, plenty of eating and drinking. No fishing there, but fresh local lobsters, and prawns from up the coast had to do. Edited September 8, 2018 by Yowie 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted September 8, 2018 Author Share Posted September 8, 2018 Next stop was Dongara, fishing was quiet so did not try, bought some good feeds of local fish - emperor mainly, very good eating. Then to Geraldton, heard of the good fishing there, but another Low Pressure system blew up, no good casting into a howling gale. Further up the coast was Kalbarri, swell running for a few days, then calmed down, so I booked into a deep sea charter. These were the only 2 decent fish I caught, both new species for me. Top one is a Break Sea Cod, 37cm and a Red Emperor at 49cm. The Emperor was very good eating. Also caught a Sweetlip, the skipper tossed it back, saying it was the poor equivalent of an east coast Morwong, plus a small cod that was used for bait. Dropped 3 fish on the way up (50 metres of water). Others standing next to me caught some better fish (only 6 feet away) Snapper, Whaler Sharks, a Samson, Blue Lined Emperor. All using the same rods, reels, 50m pound mono, hooks, occy and pillie baits. That's fishing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted September 8, 2018 Author Share Posted September 8, 2018 Stayed at Kalbarri for a few days, so I headed out one arvo to the rocks at the mouth. I bought a 6 pack of frozen pillies., and heard there might be a jewie (Mulloway to those living in W.A.) or tailor there. The water was a bit discoloured on the run out tide, due to the rain from several days before. Half a dozen or so fishos there when I arrived just after sundown. The waves were half a metre, and the rocks were the jagged volcanic type, hard to walk over and keep a grip without slipping. I moved down to near the water mark, an occasional splash from a wave, but there was no chance of pulling a fish out over the jagged rocks from where the others were fishing. The other fishos were using small baits and anchored with big star sinkers or snapper leads. As the current was slowing near the bottom of the tide, I only used a 4 hook rig for the pillies, cast out let it sink a bit then a stop start retrieve. A couple of rattles on the pillie, small bites taken from the pillie's back - tiny tailor. About half dark, the other fishos packed up and left together as if by prior arrangement, all just pulled in their lines and disappeared. All to myself now. Hooked up a new pillie, cast out, let it sink, then a solid hit but no hook up. Jigged the pillie, another hit, lifted the rod then weight. Felt like seaweed, then a big head shake, and it was taking line. Fought like a nice jewie. No net, no gaff, getting dark and the fish was running left and right out from the rocks. I let it take out some line to keep it away from the rocks, and eventually I could not see my line, only the bend in the rod tip to give me some idea where it might be. I could not pull it out over the rocks. 20 to 30 metres to my right was a small sandy beach, then a rock platform. I had to get to the beach, very hard in the dark and with sharp rocks. I loosened the drag so the fish could swim further out, it was becoming a bit tired, so I headed towards the beach. Slipped on one of the rocks and landed on my left elbow, but did not drop the rod, and used my right hand for support as I clambered over the rocks. Finally reached the beach, and saw the rod tip was pointing back where I was fishing, so ran to the other side of the beach to keep the line away from the rocks. A bit more running along the beach and I saw a boil on the surface next to the rocks and the fish gave up. It washed in belly up on a small wave and I grabbed it under the gill cover and lifted it out. My biggest jewie at 101cms (measured it twice to make sure I cracked the metre mark) For those fishos not experienced with handling a live jewie, DO NOT place your hand inside the gill cover unless you know what you are doing. A jewie will clamp the gill cover and gills onto your fingers, shake it's head and cut your fingers to the bone, especially a large one. With a dead jewie, place you fingers against the inside of the gills to see how sharp they are - it will make you think twice about grabbing a live one with your hand. The fish was stuffed, so I kept it. Several feeds for me, some given to friends, and others cutlets given to some people at the van park. When I cleaned the fish in the van park fish cleaning area, I had a few volunteers that asked for a free piece of fish. Plenty to go around. Gear used was a cheapo 8 foot rod, a not cheap Penn brand Battle threadline reel with 25 pound mono and 4 gang hook. Guessing the fish was around the 22/23 pound mark. The Battle reel is a good unit, a special buy from a shop. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodsy1 Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 Nice fish Yowie, well worth all the effort. Woodsy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickmarlin62 Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 Top stuff mate good fish in hard coditions..rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsswordfisherman Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 Great report Yowie. Are you on a lap in a caravan by any chance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ribs Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 Wow, great read and looks like your Living the dream yowie, enjoy the time away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted September 8, 2018 Author Share Posted September 8, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, mrsswordfisherman said: Great report Yowie. Are you on a lap in a caravan by any chance? I was Donna, arrived back in Sydney a few days ago. More of the story to come. Could not upload any pictures while I was away, the wife's laptop would not do it so had to wait until I returned home. Edited September 8, 2018 by Yowie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted September 8, 2018 Author Share Posted September 8, 2018 7 hours ago, Woodsy1 said: Nice fish Yowie, well worth all the effort. Woodsy Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted September 8, 2018 Author Share Posted September 8, 2018 1 hour ago, rickmarlin62 said: Top stuff mate good fish in hard coditions..rick I knew it was a nice fish, so had to put in the effort to land it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted September 8, 2018 Author Share Posted September 8, 2018 26 minutes ago, Ribs said: Wow, great read and looks like your Living the dream yowie, enjoy the time away. Now back home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingie chaser Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 Nice Mulloway yowie, Id be over the moon to get a fish like that As much as its great to travel its also great to get back home, well for me anyway. Maybe see you on the Hacking one day over spring/summer & you can show me how you always seem to manage to come home with legal squire & whiting ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welster Posted September 8, 2018 Share Posted September 8, 2018 Warning to all fish in the Hacking Yowie is back! Great work on landing the Jewie and cracking your PB. When I was in WA 20 years ago I spent a day in Kalbarri and have always wanted to return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted September 8, 2018 Author Share Posted September 8, 2018 1 hour ago, kingie chaser said: Nice Mulloway yowie, Id be over the moon to get a fish like that As much as its great to travel its also great to get back home, well for me anyway. Maybe see you on the Hacking one day over spring/summer & you can show me how you always seem to manage to come home with legal squire & whiting ? Will have to get back into the local fishing scene soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted September 8, 2018 Author Share Posted September 8, 2018 41 minutes ago, Welster said: Warning to all fish in the Hacking Yowie is back! Great work on landing the Jewie and cracking your PB. When I was in WA 20 years ago I spent a day in Kalbarri and have always wanted to return. I would be happy to return again. Just a long drive to get there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam bros Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 Great read, well written Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted September 9, 2018 Author Share Posted September 9, 2018 3 hours ago, sam bros said: Great read, well written Thank you, takes a bit to remember it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchie Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 Great read yowie!!! Now that’s what retirement should be like. I’m surprised you didn’t eat that sweet lip considering how much you like mowies! ? cheers scratchie!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted September 9, 2018 Author Share Posted September 9, 2018 2 hours ago, Scratchie said: Great read yowie!!! Now that’s what retirement should be like. I’m surprised you didn’t eat that sweet lip considering how much you like mowies! ? cheers scratchie!!! As I said before, would rather eat a shit sandwich than a Mowie. I was very happy with the jewie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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