This last week has seen all the intense activity of GAMEX hit town.  Support for the tournament has resulted in 33 boats entered and some towed here from far and wide.  The club has been particularly grateful to the well known individual in the game fishing scene: Dr Julian Pepperell.  We thank him for his contribution to the event and the chance for members and the public to ask any questions about marine life or billfish in particular.  Dr Pepperell is closely involved with all tag and release data and research into all pelagic species of fish. 

The weather has been far better than cyclone predictions could have had it turn out.

Satellite photos might have shown cloud, but rain is another thing, and we didn’t get much of that in Exmouth.  The fishing before the change of weather was spectacular; however, unfortunately the week of GAMEX was a little slow for Exmouth standards.  

The crew aboard ‘JACKAL’ had a big GT hooked on 2 kilo line and a battle began that lasted 3hrs 20mins in the early stages of the competition, with final victory going to the fish.  Tough luck, Aaron, hope you got a few memorable pics, at least. 

Other reports of good catches from people not involved in the tournament include queenfish from Learmonth Jetty, mostly on soft plastics, as well as live hardy-heads.  Good catches of Spanish mackerel using Halco Laser Pro lures and swimming baits have been talked about; however we are still getting many reports of an unusual abundance of sharks, making it difficult to land fish.  On that note, David Granville, editor of Bluewater Boats and Sportsfishing Magazine, was here for GAMEX.  David has fished in many places around the globe commented that he has never seen so many sharks while on the water.  David also saw the biggest hammerhead shark, which he estimated to be the biggest fish he has ever seen, in waters off the Muiron Islands.  It’s a shame some of these fish can’t be transported up to places such as Scott Reef where shark populations have been decimated for the Asian market.  

For a full report on the GAMEX event, look out for next week’s write up.