"

Sharks and salmon save the day
  |  First Published: May 2010



Our beaches have been a bit quiet of late as the water cools.

With little wave action, the salmon bite has slowed, however there are still some fish being taken.

Calmer conditions reducing the wave action have in turn made the salmon more vulnerable when they come into the gutters without the cover of some white water from wave action crashing into the bar.

The best weather to chase the salmon is a strong south to southwesterly that stirs the water up and creates wave action.

When this happens all types of methods will produce fish. If bait fishing, baits of bluebait, pilchards, whitebait and pipi, fished in conjunction with a surf popper in either red or blue will do best.

However when the conditions are calm and tough the better method is to use metal lures on light gear, as it gives you more mobility to move up and down gutters and beaches to maximize your chances of landing a fish.

Gillies baitfish lures in blue and lumo in the 25-40g have produced good numbers of fish over the last couple of seasons. They have taken fish up to 4kg and have produced quite a few bust-offs.

Other lures like Raiders, Lazer and Halco in the 25-40g sizes have all been good as well.

The salmon tend not to hold in specific areas of the beach as there are few features along our beaches.

Perhaps try the most consistent beaches, which are Lake Tyers, Eastern Beach in the east and Loch Sport through to Seaspray.

Elephants and gummy sharks

Elephantfish and gummy sharks have been taken of late, with the elephantfish having a late run that produced good numbers of fish, although their numbers have now reduced to be very patchy.

While the gummy sharks have been taken at night, it is tough fishing as the cold can become unbearable

Some of the gummies have been up to 1.5m, but most have been just less than 1m.

The moon phases play a bigger part in fishing for gummy sharks at this time of year, with the new and full moons the time when they feed more freely.

Baits of squid, salmon and pilchard are all worth having in the water, with the freshest being the best.

Golden Beach and Loch Sport would be the best bet for a gummy shark at this time. The dreaded draughtboard shark has started making their appearance which is a nuisance, but it comes with our winter fishing.

The best sport fishing on the beaches is available at this time of year, so rug up to get out there and give it a go.

Reads: 1913

Matched Content ... powered by Google




Latest Articles




Fishing Monthly Magazines On Instagram

Digital Editions

Read Digital Editions

Current Magazine - Editorial Content

Western Australia Fishing Monthly
Victoria Fishing Monthly
Queensland Fishing Monthly