Midwest run

The Midwest coast along Western Australia is home to some of the most spectacular fishing destinations within Australia, from endless reefs to sheer cliffs and pristine white sandy beaches. The fishing here is also second to none with epic catches a regular occurance. Hungry pelagics like Spanish mackerel, bluefin tuna and wahoo patrol the deeper waters and baldchin, spangled emperors are withing reach along the beaches and shallow reef.

There's nothing better then waking up in the early hours of the morning with the excitement running through the veins in anticipation of the upcoming drive, knowing that it's only a matter of time before being stuck into some great fishing. With the vehicle packed we were ready for the long drive north, this usually takes around 10-12 hours depending on how keen you are to get there and stops along the way. 

Before I go on I cannot stress enough about safety on the rocks fishing these areas, life jackets can be aquired from the store at the camp, the other option is to tie yourself to the rocks with many anchor points dotted along cliff faces at all the popular spots. Even with the cliffs 5-10 meters above the water at most pleased south of the homestead it doesn't take much for a wave to crash over and catch you off guard. With that said lets now talk fishing.

Up early the next morning it was a quick drive to the spot we chose where we'd be sending out the balloons to try hook a pelagic. First ballon wat set out approx 350m out and was sitting nicely we knew it was not gonna be long till we would see some action. As with most fishing the bite usually happens when your busy doing something else and this was no exception, with one of us staying guard over the reel while the other went back to the car to cook breakfast the reel decided to scream off.

Grabbing the rod I quickly set the hooks and it was game on, felt so good being back up here tustling with another pelagic. Being up here twice before and seeing so many fish lost to sharks my first thought was to get it in quickly, no mercy was shown to the fish with the drag on the tyrnos set the basically sunset there wasn't much the fish could do. After about 10 minutes of constant pumping and winding a nice size northern bluefin tuna was at the base of the cliff, now came the hardest part of bringing it up the cliff. With my mate blissfully unaware that we had a fish at the base of the cliff despite all my loud screaming and what felt like a hour before he finally came running back, a few attempts of sending the cliff gaff down we finally had it flapping round on the rocks. I still cannot believe how it wasn't taken by a shark as it was dipping in the water for at least 20 minutes before we had it up and out of the water.

 The next few hours saw us hook up a few more times, battling the fish the the base of the cliff to lose them. Unlike the other times I've been there these losses weren't to sharks but rather to the 3 meter swell we encountered on this trip, the constant pounding of the waves knocking these fish off or tangling the gaff in the line.

 

Fishing the beaches south along the blowholes can be extremely productive with plenty of small trevelly, black snapper and spangled emperor the fish of choice. We decided to try our luck at a few of the local snapper that would hopefully be residing on the beaches, with baits casted out it was only a matter of time.

With the bait only in the water a few Minutes it wasn't long bfore the bites started, a few nice small black snapper were caught and released to grow bigger. Third bait out soaking and something big decided to take it. With the line peeling off the sustain at a record rate we both knew it was something decent, that's the beauty of places like this as it could be any hard fighting fish. Having to walk at least 500m down the beach to make sure the fish didn't spool us and to try to wrestle back some line we finally saw what it was, a shark and a very nice one at that. I'm still amazed at how this toothy critter did not manage to bite us off as we were only running a light 40lb mono leader on smelled hooks!! Sometimes I guess the fishing gods are smiling.

The next day was pretty quiet as the wind and swell were not in our favor but alas that's fishing. The ballon sat our for a good 4 hours before something finally decided to have a crack at it. After a hours fighting this beast a nice healthy (yet tired) 2.5 meter tiger shark was at the cliff, lines cut and watchin it swim off was the closest we got that day to any fish. 

As with every trip I go on no matter how good or bad I cannot wait to get back out there, this time a bit more planning will be put into the next.

Tight lines and stay safe 

Reece 

Jigging - A Fishermans Addiction

You can feel your arms cramping, sweats drippig off your brow and you can feel yourself tiring out. Cranking the jig hard throught the water column it's only a matter if time...... BAM your finally on, now the fun and pain begins.

Jigging for demersels and pelagics along with popping for GT's has got to be one of the physically demanding types of fishing. Dropping a chunk of metal to the bottom then cranking like hell to get it moving it up and down just off the bottom or through the water colum to entice that fish.

When you walk into a tackle shop your confronted with a wall of metal and you can stand there looking amazed and drooling over all the shiny bling thinking of ones that will work. With prices anywhere from $10 all the way up the the more heavier jigs which can be $60+ it really is a hard decision on what to use for what type of fishing. If you ask any dedicated jigging fisho they'll all day the same thing, you can never have enough jigs in your arsenal. I've fished areas where it's not uncommon to loose 10+ jigs a day, be from either jagged ground or the menacing toothy pelagics coming through and deciding they want the bling more than you.

Knife Jigs

As the name suggests these are a long styled jig designed to cut through the water at speed perfect for high speed retrieves on many different pelagics. The main fish targeted with these over here are the big bruising sambos that stalk the waters and wrecks off perth. As a lot of the schools are usually in water depths of 100ish meters you need a jigs that can get down there fast. A nice high speed crank through the water usually entices one of them to smash the lure and then the real pain can begin. 

Slow pitch jigs

These types of jigs are great for your slow moving demersel types of fish ranging from dhuies, baldies, trout and snapper. They're designed to work the lower part of the water column and are shaped as to help them "flutter" in the water as they are dropping. Used correctly these are absolutely deadly on demersals, who even if not hungry will still hit them as a more territorial strike.

 

Micro jigs

These have been out for some time in Japan and are just starting to get a following over here. These are basically jigs that range from 3-20grams in weight and are fished on very light gear. Rodd in the pe0.4-0.8 range are usually the weapon of choice with small reels to match.

These are just a few of the types of jigs out there and by doing a quick google search you will quickly see hundreds of different makes, colours, shapes and styles. If jigging is something you have never tried then I suggest you go into your local tackle store and grab just a few to try out. There is nothing better than going out for a days fishing and not having that bait smell on your hands and cloths, yet still have a bag of fish. In my book that's a good day out.

I hope this has helped a few people out with wanting to try it and can't wait for your photos of jigged up delights.

Tight lines 

Reece