Dog Fence Beach, South Australia

[Restyle]

gday raiders! Been a minute since a report, mostly out of pure laziness for typing one up, Although most of my fishing in the last couple months has been limited by the planning and preparation for this trip weather its from catching bait like squid or buying & upgrading stuff on my car to make this trip abit more pleasant. This will be quite the read so grab a beer and enjoy.

Dog fence beach on the far west coast of south Australia. what a beautiful beach beach and trip. After learning of the spot though a family member who was in the army based out of SA and fished the beach whilst living in SA during the 2010s the constant stories of regular 50lb mulloway and 7kg salmon had this spot engraved in my head ever since & it wasn't just dog fence, it was most beaches along the far west coast of south Australia but dog fence & Yalata are the most well known.

Preparing for this trip needed a 4wd first. Looking on market place the the entirety of covid & it would've to till about may this year id find a stock 2008 pajero up in Queensland. picked it up and almost straight away started throwing the sink at it. Rear cargo drawers, suspension, tyres, recovery points & gear, roof rack, awning, communication, lights, spare parts, first aid. Unfortunately this would be a solo trip as everyone had work & other commitments which made prep a even more important task.

 

On the road

Before I knew it, it was time to leave. and i drove out of my driveway for the last time for a few weeks. 12 hours of non stop driving saw me in renmark, south Australia where I spent the night camping in a truck stop. Awakening nice and early the next morning and cooking up some eggs & bacon on some toasted English muffins id head off and make my way to fowlers bay where id try to catch some big squid or a few King George whiting. Id arrive in flowers bay & pulled into the caravan park around 5pm to find a stiff south easterly. Had a few casts for nothing so i just had a shower & try again in the morning. Didn't catch much in the morning, although I couldn't really be bothered fishing. Instead i headed off to dog fence beach, expecting the drive to take 15 minutes ended up taking a little over an hour and a half over fairly rough corrugated gravel roads which seemed to never end but then I saw a glimpse of the ocean through the trees. Drove the the dog fence gate, made my way to the headland took a few happy pics and made my way onto the beach after a few more sandy trails.

 

Onwards onto the beach!

On the beach the car was reading 36c and the wind was a slight northerly. the swell was about 2 meters and the sand wasn't to bad. "quite similar to Stockton i thought", The top of the beach is quite boggy. but I'd learn later on it was only for the first 500 meters or so before hardening up. After driving on the top of the beach i dropped to just above high tide line and thought the top of the beach was boggy right to the end. I had no issues driving along and made my way to the end & spotted a few nice areas along the way & also learning i was the only person on the entire beach. Did a u-turn and made my way back to one of the better looking bit of structure but as i came towards one of the shell grit patches I previously drove over not even 5 minutes earlier my car sank like a brick.

 

Bogged!

Now i'm big time bogged. I couldn't even open my door & had to climb out the window to the amusement of a nearby sea lion. Assessing the situation and thinking yeah I'm totally f'ed. So I started by gathering every single stick and rock within a few hundred meters to make this a little easier while coming up with a plan. thankfully by then a cool south easterly had come so I started digging. and digging did I do! the first stint of digging would take about 2 hours. Creating a nice path with my recovery tracks and a few hundred kilos worth of rocks and sticks and id manage to get the car a few meters, but now its no longer a meter deep. Attempt 2 would be another hour of digging to gain another 4 meters or so. Attempt 3, real rooted by then I managed to get the car on much harder sand but still stuck. Decided to have a good break realising I'm mostly out, but id look up and see a car heading over. He'd be the one telling me that the top of the beach is only soft for the first 500 meters or so & its pretty silly to be driving where I was. attempt 4 only need minimal shovelling and I was free. drove to the top of the beach where it was still soft but no shell grit patches which even when walking on it you'd sink 20cm into it.

 

Day 1

Found my spot, & by then low tide was only an hour or two away so I'd decided to take it easy that night and relax after the days landscape works on the beach. Cooked up some lamb cutlets and a few lamb skewers and watched the sunset in front of me. Later in the evening as high tide came around towards midnight I'd have a few casts which yielded nothing so I headed to sleep pretty exhausted and sunburnt in some areas. Hopefully the mulloway gods will reward me. 

Day 2

The next morning would be going on towards 36c again with a nice northerly. Had a morning cast which yielded a few nice salmon. both being 73cm and weighing 7kg.The reminded of the day would be pretty quiet although the weather was perfect. had a chat to a local from ceduna who'd fish the beach heaps. Told some story's and made me excited for what was to come later on. As night fell id catch the first mulloway of the trip .this one being about 65cm, quick unhook and released. Id later on catch biggest eagle ray id ever seen. thought it was the beast of a mulloway id been hoping for but nope! fought like a train as it was hooked on the wing which gave it those signature mulloway headshakes. It wouldn't be until around 2am well after high tide id start pulling in cast, after cast of small mulloway all in the 70cm range. Ended up going to bed, leaving them biting. 

Day 3

on the 3rd day i had a bit of a sleep in. the local who i spoke to came over curious how I went the previous night. unfortunately he'd caught nothing over night which was quite unusual for him, but caught a few salmon early morning. Had a cast not long after he decided to leave and caught 3 smaller salmon which i could see in breaking waves near my burly bag. thought about throwing one out live but i needed some more fresh bait and my squid supply was somehow starting to look pretty thin. The bite would be quiet for the remainder of the day. the swell picked up as a cold front came in and make fishing rather tough as i had to worry about a southerly and large clumps of seaweed made it hard to fish. the midnight high tide fish would only yield multiple break offs from sharks, but id land another small mulloway. My wire rigs would go untouched. 

Day 4

Weather was garbage still but i persisted to catch a few seaweed fish & had something buckle my rod and ran off but would drop the hooks as i got to it, thankfully it was a shark as i no longer had a rig left. The wind would calm down for the high tide but the weed was still around id only land a single small mulloway on the top of the tide.

 

Day 5 

Day 5 started of great! the morning was calm & the weed had receded, had a nice school of more fat, large salmon in and caught well over 15 of them in a few hours. Ate one for lunch and they don't taste any different to the Sydney ones. Sadly the wind picked up again in the afternoon making it hard to fish in. The smaller mulloway were in plague numbers again with the biggest in this school only being 71cm. by now I've used all my squid. 10 kgs of squid. gone.

  

Day 6 

I decided this was going be the last day of my beach adventure. i planned on staying around a week or two depending on the weather and unfortunately the weather had even stronger winds then the 40km/hr winds I been dealing with and also some rain. Bait was running low and so were my 10/0 hooks. Day 6 didn't yield much during the day besides me kicking a bunch of sand onto my lunch. Added some gritty texture to my food. On sunset I hooked onto a good sized mulloway but he'd drop the hooks at my feet and the wash would take him back to sea. Didn't bother chasing it. Fish was sitting around 85cm. the night would yeild more bust offs from sharks & as i packed my stuff away i'd turn around to my rod peeling line, each time it was a shark & the odd ray. eventually caught my last mulloway of the trip which was about 40cm. and packed up my rods. The next morning i left the beach with no issues. there was no one else on the beach.

The Nullaboar

I drove into ceduna to clean the car and made my way into the nullaboar, I spent 3 days in total in the nullaboar. stopped a few times for some pictures and a few stops to look at the bunda cliffs. There isn't much to see but the expansiveness of this barren plain is quite amazing. Camping on the edge of the cliff is also quite the experience although it was even more windy there then the beach. Food at the nullaboar roadhouse is surprisingly good!   

 

After abit of time in the nullaboar i began to make my way home. Stopped in nunderoo to refuel and my next stop was port Augusta. Hanging on the edge of the flinders rangers. was a nice town. plenty to look at. slept abit rough though unfortunately. 

The following morning i wanted to get to Mildura and camp alongside the murrumbidgee river. Big drive ahead which is made even bigger after so long out in the elements. stop by a couple towns along the goyder highway on. The goyder highway of all the highways was probably my favourite to travel on. plenty of small community's you travel though. Once i arrived in Mildura i made my way to camp just outside of the town and had probably the best nights sleep ive had the whole trip. the calm flowing water of the nearby river was a blessing!  

Headed back into town for fuel and checked out some of the river side parks. Very nice area 

After mildura i just did one big 11hr stint home. I've learnt alot this trip & it was my first ever big solo camping trip, I threw myself in the deep end and i came out with alot of learnings. I'd defiantly be back at dog fence one day, hopefully with a mate to share the experience with as words and photos cannot describe the trip. you do get bored of yourself after awhile although i felt fine. the driving was fine, no issues and the car didn't have any issues other then a munted mud flap which i had to remove. I've learnt alot about the beach & when it fishes best, although this is usually just personal opinion, but the smaller tides tend to bring it a little less weed. Its become apparent that the best time to fish this beach is when the weather is half decent which is sort of was. We are talking the southern ocean and one of the most exposed beaches in the country. I do not recommend going to this beach solo unless you really know what you are doing.

I spent ~$1500 on diesel, did 5,597kms caught 23 salmon, caught 2 large rays, lost nearly 50 hooks and caught 19 mulloway. 

The post below will have more pics

[Restyle]

pics

 

 

Edited November 17, 2023 by Restyle

[dmck]

Great story, great pix... glad you did it without a disaster (such as the tide flooding you whilst bogged)..

[Pickles]

Great report Chris, love the shot of the stumpy tail / shingle back in your shot (They are my totem as Gundungurra man). Some really nice saltwater fish and a great adventure. Thanks for sharing.

[Little_Flatty]

What an epic adventure @Restyle. I really appreciate the level of commitment you had to have to go through with a trip like this. I hired a  4wd years ago at K’gari national park (Fraser Island) and that was quite challenging for my wife, daughter and I. I had two bucket list items: one was to get bogged (and get out of it) and the other was to get a tailor off the beach. I managed to tick both off the list🤣

Total respect for doing this adventure on your own!

[big Neil]

Made my day reading your post...and what an adventure. Fantastic recollection of the daily events, the difficulties encountered, the achievements made, and the experiences learned. Coupled with the very relevant pics of the beach fishing scenery and the changing environment of the trip home, you have brought us along with your top-class report. I never cease to be amazed by the adventurous people who frequent the forum. To plan every single aspect of the trip...from getting the vehicle to arriving back home has been brilliantly described for the reader. Many thanks for sharing the adventure. One thing that is apparent... there's NEVER a guarantee that the fish are going to cooperate, wherever we go, but we still persist.

No doubt you will be planning other, trips, now that you have the vehicle for the job. Look forward to seeing what you do next.    bn

[Blackfish]

That’s one fantastic adventure, story and photos.  Thanks so much for all the effort and time to post it up here. 
All the photos are fantastic but two I especially like are where you have the photo camping on the beach and the other is camping on the Murrumbidgee.

Both to me say isolation and tranquility. Excellent.

[Green Hornet]

What an awesome trip. I love reading about adventures such as yours into isolated spots and a few nice fish from the sand was the icing on the cake.

Thanks for taking the time to write the story and share some great photos.

[dmck]

I forgot to add.....

"See... Australia does exist west of the Great Divide...."

[jordy]

Thanks for sharing, great read. Last 12 mths been busy outfitting my 4wd for some adventures of my own which you have really wet my appetite for, and start this December with 4 weeks all over QLD. 4WD accessories make a massive hole in the wallet, and are a real minefield to navigate. Be interesting to see what worked well with your mods and what you would like to have done differently.

[Yowie]

I wondered where you have been, no reports for a while, but this one is a great effort. I have travelled the Nullarbor several times - great scenery and the next stop south is Antarctica so that is why the weather can change to anything. If you noticed, the small trees all point to the north due to the strong southerly winds pushing them over.

Isolated beaches produce some good fish, but as you found out, soft and boggy sand is a hindrance. Being by yourself, no one to annoy you, however, digging out a vehicle is hard work. You will need some Maxtracks next time.

[Restyle]

On 11/17/2023 at 8:28 PM, dmck said:

Great story, great pix... glad you did it without a disaster (such as the tide flooding you whilst bogged)..

cheers mate, what a epic part of the world & plan to be back again. If only it wasn't multiple days worth of driving away but i guess thats what keeps the east coasties stuck on behind the great dividing range. Although i was quite panicky when i originally got bogged because of the tide after sitting back and relaxing & also realising it was already the top of the (although small) tide. 

On 11/18/2023 at 4:02 AM, Pickles said:

Great report Chris, love the shot of the stumpy tail / shingle back in your shot (They are my totem as Gundungurra man). Some really nice saltwater fish and a great adventure. Thanks for sharing.

few interesting critters around although they'd usually see you before id see them. this fella just refused to leave the gravel track i was on. Didn't get the monster mully i was after but the adventure made it well worth it.

On 11/18/2023 at 5:43 AM, Little_Flatty said:

What an epic adventure @Restyle. I really appreciate the level of commitment you had to have to go through with a trip like this. I hired a  4wd years ago at K’gari national park (Fraser Island) and that was quite challenging for my wife, daughter and I. I had two bucket list items: one was to get bogged (and get out of it) and the other was to get a tailor off the beach. I managed to tick both off the list🤣

Total respect for doing this adventure on your own!

getting bogged as a bucket list item, strange man you are 🤣. although a sort of rite of passage no one likes it. with a set of recovery boards and a bit of digging you'd get out of most situations. Id like to goto fraser one day but its not too high up on the bucket list as just about everyone goes there. Had this trip planned for a long time, and with mates pulling out i was still going to go regardless as if i didnt do it then, would i have ever done it?

On 11/18/2023 at 6:49 AM, big Neil said:

Made my day reading your post...and what an adventure. Fantastic recollection of the daily events, the difficulties encountered, the achievements made, and the experiences learned. Coupled with the very relevant pics of the beach fishing scenery and the changing environment of the trip home, you have brought us along with your top-class report. I never cease to be amazed by the adventurous people who frequent the forum. To plan every single aspect of the trip...from getting the vehicle to arriving back home has been brilliantly described for the reader. Many thanks for sharing the adventure. One thing that is apparent... there's NEVER a guarantee that the fish are going to cooperate, wherever we go, but we still persist.

No doubt you will be planning other, trips, now that you have the vehicle for the job. Look forward to seeing what you do next.    bn

cheers mate, glad you enjoyed the read. got other areas id like to eventually head off to in the future although there is no rush to go and tick them off in one hit 

On 11/18/2023 at 7:03 AM, Blackfish said:

That’s one fantastic adventure, story and photos.  Thanks so much for all the effort and time to post it up here. 
All the photos are fantastic but two I especially like are where you have the photo camping on the beach and the other is camping on the Murrumbidgee.

Both to me say isolation and tranquility. Excellent.

cheers mate, something quite special about being the only person within a particular area or being by yourself on a 20~km long beach for a few days.  quite difficult to put words into it, but the feeling that provides is rather awesome! Especially comparing the difference in personality's between those i've come across the trip and the people of Sydney. built completely different, kind and have a very take it easy approach. meanwhile back home in Sydney its very go, go go, rushed and pushy. Especially on the road where'd you'd have some blocked right up you're arse in a 110 zone while most 110 zones in SA would have most people sitting back on 90 just cruising and taking their time. 

On 11/18/2023 at 10:15 AM, Green Hornet said:

What an awesome trip. I love reading about adventures such as yours into isolated spots and a few nice fish from the sand was the icing on the cake.

Thanks for taking the time to write the story and share some great photos.

cheers mate! first fish i've caught out side of NSW now i've come to think of it

On 11/18/2023 at 3:24 PM, dmck said:

I forgot to add.....

"See... Australia does exist west of the Great Divide...."

Very much dose, and its much better (excluding Canberra, no ones like Canberra as a certain parasite lays there)

8 hours ago, jordy said:

Thanks for sharing, great read. Last 12 mths been busy outfitting my 4wd for some adventures of my own which you have really wet my appetite for, and start this December with 4 weeks all over QLD. 4WD accessories make a massive hole in the wallet, and are a real minefield to navigate. Be interesting to see what worked well with your mods and what you would like to have done differently.

I didn't cheap out on anything, last thing i wanted being well over 3 hours from the nearest town (ceduna) i really didn't want anything to fail. i tried to stay away from 4wd supacenter but i would be lying if i said i dont have anything from them, that being the 120ah lithium battery as they have only had really good reviews from them all over the internet.

I'm quite limited by the wagon space wise, so i settled on a 40l engel combi, in hindsight i wouldn't of minded a larger fridge/freezer as i was pretty tight on space on this trip, but on more simple multi-day trips its perfect. I've constructed my entire drawer system myself so it would suit my own needs which includes a fridge slide which fits the fridge/freezer perfectly so upgrading it would more and likely need a complete rebuild. A proper shower system would've been handy but not necessary, awning side walls also would've been handy as well but not needed & a extra set of maxtrax would've been super handy. 

my cars purpous built for beaches  so stuff like a steel bar, winch, rock sliders would've just added alot of unnecessary weight & more suited for rock hopping although looks phat. 

outside of the led light bar i have a on the roof there isn't much on the car that is completely unnecessary. the light bar is useless as i got a set of spotties and dosn't add anything besides a annoying glare off the uhf aerial  

Ive attached some pics of the drawer build 

42 minutes ago, Yowie said:

I wondered where you have been, no reports for a while, but this one is a great effort. I have travelled the Nullarbor several times - great scenery and the next stop south is Antarctica so that is why the weather can change to anything. If you noticed, the small trees all point to the north due to the strong southerly winds pushing them over.

Isolated beaches produce some good fish, but as you found out, soft and boggy sand is a hindrance. Being by yourself, no one to annoy you, however, digging out a vehicle is hard work. You will need some Maxtracks next time.

Ive been fishing but all casual landbased stuff & mostly bait gathering a whole heap of squid. No serious trips for kings, jew in a while. 

ive noticed the trees especially along side the road into fowlers bay. Not to hard to miss as there isn't a whole lot of trees around. No one to annoy me is a bonus, although those in these parts of the world are a completely different person compared to you're city folk. I've got one pair of maxtracks but a 2nd pair would've been a game changer! The fish by Sydney standards is pretty decent. a legal mulloway in SA is 82 and a a whole heap of undersized fish are considered babys. even 90 or 1 meter models are considered small.

funny how in Sydney with the limit being 70 you catch heaps of 60-65s but in SA with it being 82 you catch alot of 70-75s. 

 

 

Also have only just realised this whole post isnt inside of "salt water fishing reports" not sure how id go about moving it, if it is even necessary

Edited November 20, 2023 by Restyle

[Yowie]

4 hours ago, Restyle said:

ive noticed the trees especially along side the road into fowlers bay. Not to hard to miss as there isn't a whole lot of trees around. No one to annoy me is a bonus, although those in these parts of the world are a completely different person compared to you're city folk. I've got one pair of maxtracks but a 2nd pair would've been a game changer! The fish by Sydney standards is pretty decent. a legal mulloway in SA is 82 and a a whole heap of undersized fish are considered babys. even 90 or 1 meter models are considered small.

funny how in Sydney with the limit being 70 you catch heaps of 60-65s but in SA with it being 82 you catch alot of 70-75s. 

Also have only just realised this whole post isnt inside of "salt water fishing reports" not sure how id go about moving it, if it is even necessary

That is why the fisheries depts have chosen the size limits, so that most jewies will be under sized and hopefully returned to the water to breed. Jewie size limit in Victoria is 60cm.

Different people in the country, usually a more friendlier lot than some of the city slickers.

Leave the post here. If Donna wants to move it, she will do so.

[kantong]

Amazing report and thank you for sharing. Quite the adventure! 

[Restyle]

1 hour ago, Yowie said:

That is why the fisheries depts have chosen the size limits, so that most jewies will be under sized and hopefully returned to the water to breed. Jewie size limit in Victoria is 60cm.

Different people in the country, usually a more friendlier lot than some of the city slickers.

Leave the post here. If Donna wants to move it, she will do so.

60cm in vic, wow. But yeah size limits indeed at work. coorong south eastern SA near vic border the mulloway size is 46cm. bizzare. 

[BaitDropper]

I agree with all the others, fantastic read and made me ponder about why I haven't done similar !!

Maybe this has prompted me to get my A into gear..

Thanks for posting

[Yowie]

1 hour ago, Restyle said:

60cm in vic, wow. But yeah size limits indeed at work. coorong south eastern SA near vic border the mulloway size is 46cm. bizzare. 

NSW was 45cm some years back. At that size, not a lot of flavour, 60cm was a better size for the table at that time.

[jordy]

  Thanks for the peek at your build Restyle. Wholeheartedly  agree with you on the Kings battery. Its refreshing to see a 4wd modded for intended use with careful thought, rather than bristling with every known accessory for the instagram moments. Wishing you many more great adventures.

Edited November 21, 2023 by jordy

[Basil D]

wow, what an Adventure , wow wow wow 

[mrsswordfisherman]

21 hours ago, Yowie said:

That is why the fisheries depts have chosen the size limits, so that most jewies will be under sized and hopefully returned to the water to breed. Jewie size limit in Victoria is 60cm.

Different people in the country, usually a more friendlier lot than some of the city slickers.

Leave the post here. If Donna wants to move it, she will do so.

She has done it  

Like you @Yowie we have enjoyed plenty of these adventures around Australia. Plenty of friendly country people. 

[saltrix]

Interesting report and great photos, I really enjoyed reading.

[Larkin]

Epic adventure mate! 

I’ve caught an eagle ray off the beach too. What a fight they put up, eh!! Fought mine for at least half an hour - one of the best and hardest battles I’ve had! 

[Restyle]

12 hours ago, Larkin said:

Epic adventure mate! 

I’ve caught an eagle ray off the beach too. What a fight they put up, eh!! Fought mine for at least half an hour - one of the best and hardest battles I’ve had! 

yeah pull like trains! good fun fight but besides shark bait, they arn't desirable most of the ones down in SA are absolutely huge & fat, id say quite easily a width of 80-90cm 

[Volitan]

Very enjoyable read. Thanks.

[riveRecon]

Hey Raiders, just posting a link to this location/area, https://deckee.com/maps/drop-pin/location?latitude=-31.76537&longitude=131.83446
 as I'll do for other reports. We're testing out to see if raiders would like to see report locations on the Deckee map.