Unfortunately, the algal bloom just seems to be getting bigger in the Spencer Gulf and elsewhere looks like an uncontrollable lava flow. Despite this there are still plenty of great fishing areas that are unaffected by the bloom and they have plenty of fishing opportunities.
Even in the Spencer Gulf there are areas that do offer some good fishing, and the western side of the Eyre Peninsula is very good. Offshore grounds are unaffected we just need the weather to play the game.
The fish that are biting well are Salmon and some areas are experiencing some excellent size fish, much bigger than usual for this time of the year. There are also some great Whiting reports from Port Lincoln and Coffin Bay.
Here’s what has been biting.
Elliston
Salmon continue to bite well from just about all the surf beaches in the area, you do need the right conditions, low swell and light winds are the best and then the Salmon will move into easy casting range off of the beaches. It’s also worth having a burley bag out if you’re after the bigger Salmon and crushed Pilchards and any other fish scraps will get them fired up and coming right in close to shore. Talia beach is an excellent beach for this kind of fishing.
Some of these beaches also hold good numbers of smaller fish like Tommies, Mullet and the odd Flathead, there have been a few good Flathead caught just recently from Sheringa Beach by Salmon fishers.
Coffin Bay
In the bays there are all the smaller fish there available, Whiting are around but there hasn’t been as many caught recently in the bays and there are Salmon Trout and Tommies. Flathead are still an option but there hasn’t been as many caught there recently either.
In the national park there are still some decent numbers of Flathead on the beaches from Longnose to Point Sir Isaacs. Casting soft plastics like the Panic Stations Mullet, Berkley Glide Baits and Squidgy Prawns are catching some good fish. For Whiting fishing here is good out from Farm Beach with some decent fish showing up from a range of areas, burley up at your favourite spot and you should be in with some luck. Vexed Micro Meat jigs have been outstanding on the Whiting recently. There’s some Squid, a few Flathead, Tommies and Salmon Trout out there too. In the deep water School and Gummy Sharks will show up if you put a bit of burley out for them.
For Salmon Greenly and Convention beaches are the best option and there’s plenty in the area, Gunyah and Almonta beaches were unusually quiet over the weekend for Salmon, just a few small ones reported but with Salmon that can change overnight and it’s still worth having a look there when the weather comes good.
Port Lincoln
The algal bloom is getting stronger here unfortunately, but there are still some fish around. Whiting and Squid can still be caught within the bays in smaller numbers compared to a month ago but not sure how long they will be here, hopefully we don’t get a bad dose of the Algae and our waters come back to normal quickly.
There are still very good reports from down in the Passage for Whiting and Squid, btween Carcase Rocks and Grindal Island there are some good patches of fish. Thistle Island also is excellent with some good fish down there and the weather looks better this week for fishing in this area.
For Salmon in the national park between Wanna and Wreck Beach there are Salmon schools all along this area, there is plenty of good fish here and Salmon to 3.5kg can easily be expected. Just look for a school of fish and casting lures the new Jaggers Moxie Jigs and the Daiwa Saltiga Over There Stick Baits are excellent for the Salmon and you should have some great fun down there.
Tumby Bay/Port Neill/Arno Bay
Due to the algal bloom, we just haven’t heard of any decent reports from here for weeks now, there would be some areas that are unaffected that do offer good fishing but we just aren’t sure just where those areas are yet, so its time to get adventurous and have a look around where you probably wouldn’t normally fish.
Hopefully this issue starts to be taken seriously by the Labor Party Politicians both State and Federally, it looks like they aren’t that interested and are hoping that this issue just goes away, which it doesn’t like doing anytime soon. This ‘bushfire’ in our ocean needs to be declared as a natural disaster so businesses throughout various industries can get the support they need to ride this storm.
TW Port Lincoln Team