July school holidays may have been quiet because of the rain, but August is certainly making up for it.  While many visiting anglers have had success with fishing from both the shore and boats, some have had frustration as the fish elude them.  I guess that’s fishing for you; unpredictable. 

Some mornings have been chilly with southerly winds although anglers braving the chill on the town beach before sunrise have been happily catching the whiting as the tide is high.  Even the odd bream and flathead have been turning up down there lately.   

The marina has continued to produce good catches of bream with anglers content with a small fresh feed occasionally.  The new canals are a great safe place for families or anglers on a windy day.  Although there are not many large species in this new area yet, it is good for a bit of relaxing time for a fish outing. 

Red Emperor have certainly been showing up in the larger sizes lately.  Visiting angler Cheryl Anders caught this pictured vibrant 74cm red in just 20m of water off the lighthouse.  It’s good that the limit on these is now just two per angler, but would be even better if the trap boats weren’t allowed in these waters around Exmouth. 

Peter Harvey from Perth towed a tinny and spent a week up here on a fishing holiday.  He enjoyed fishing inside the reef at Tantabiddi and Pilgramunna, chasing fish on poppers and rubbertails.  Although the popper was hard to keep away from the many long toms, he did manage to land queenfish, trevally and yellow tailed emperor.  This was all for sport as he caught and released many different species.  He then managed to escape to the outer depths with friends in a bigger boat and land a mixed bag of spangled emperor, rankin cod and red emperor, which he kept for a few dinners with his wife back home.  

Please be aware that the council are having a meeting tonight Thursday the 19^th August at the Shire hall commencing 530pm regarding the North West Cape and Ningaloo Marine Park inclusion in the World Heritage List.  The Shark Bay area has been Heritage Listed and it has severely affected businesses and people in a negative way.  We need to seriously look at exactly what “World Heritage Listing” means and how it restricts people that live in the area- and that’s us.