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FISHING SNAPSHOT FROM THE WEEK:
BOAT & 4WD SHOW NEWS!! Greg is back! Oct 23-25 Club Marine Boat Show (plus 4WD) at the revamped Fishing Stage (Jubilee Pavilion, Adelaide Showgrounds). Come say hello to the Crusty Old Mate! Boat Buying tips, Filleting & freezing gar, KG whiting rigs, Conversations with Al McGlashan, Owen Douglas (grandson of the famous Malcolm) & much more! SEE YOU THERE.
OCTOBER 19-31, 2026
METRO WATERS: October school holidays are over for another year and the traffic has been way down, due no doubt to the ridiculous fuel prices. I checked out several beaches north of Adelaide (Thompson's, Port Gawler etc) just yesterday & there are small blueys, yellowfin whiting and mullet about - might be worth a trip I reckon! Meanwhile, small but healthy male blue crabs, squid, the odd garfish & puffer fish have been sighted (filmed I say, not caught) at night on the flats of several tidal beaches north of Adelaide - positive news & hopefully they survive any Algal Bloom remnants. Yellowfin whiting & flathead are off the sand at several Metro beaches inc. Tennyson, Hallett Cove, Marino Rocks, West Bch breakwater & St Kilda channel - not in any great numbers, but they are here at least. Light gear is essential to catching y/f whiting in my opinion & you might also pick up a flathead or two! KG whiting reports are for generally small pods of fish around Seacliff, Brighton, Glenelg, West Bch, Semaphore & St Kilda, but they are finicky on the bite, so try using minimum berley, small pieces of bait & a moving trace. Snook is the other main species, along with the odd, frisky small blue crab (if unsure of the health of the bluey, suggest do not eat it). With diesel past $3 per litre in regional areas, it won't be long before it hits that price in Adelaide. Unleaded is a close second, so if you are delaying boat trips because of the cost, you can always recycle your petrol in the lawnmower to prevent stale fuel in your boat. Jetty-based fishers are still catching tommies & salmon from Pt Noarlunga, Brighton, Glenelg & Semaphore, but with the warmer weather now here, these catches are usually after dark or early mornings. As mentioned above, shore-based anglers are picking up y/f whiting at several local beaches, then the odd flathead around the West Bch & Nth Haven break waters & mulloway in The Pat & Port River.
FLEURIEU/RIVERLAND/RESERVOIR: Shore-based fishers picked up a few yellowfin whiting from those beaches at Southport, Christies, Seaford, Moana and Aldinga/Sellicks as the waters warm up and the seas drop back in terms of southerly swells. Mullet and salmon trout are also in the picture, but flathead remain elusive. Boat crews are reporting a few KG whiting, red mullet and small flathead from their deep water drops out of O'Sullivan's beach and Port Noarlunga. The Port Noarlunga jetty is worth a try for tommy ruffs and salmon trout. A video surfaced during the past week of small squid and garfish in the shallows around Silver Sands - filmed, not caught, so hopefully a sign of improvement after the algal bloom. Further south boat crews are fishing for KG whiting, rat kingfish, flathead and tommies along the coast at Mypolonga, Second Valley and Wirrina with varying degrees of success. Good tides over the weekend really only helped the crews fishing in local deep waters and with the assistance of a steady berley trail. The beaches around Rapid Bay, Morgan's, Fisheries and Waitpinga/Parson's are worth a try for mullet and salmon when conditions are right ie slightly offshore winds with a high tide and no swell. Boat crews fishing from Victor Harbor reported KG whiting, pan-sized snapper and even a few garfish over the weekend. Big boat crews are still chasing tuna, large kingfish and snapper from the deep water bommies well offshore. Mullet are off Hindmarsh Island and down at the 42 Mile Crossing, while upstream fishers are catching callop and redfin from Waikerie and Nildottie.
SOUTH EAST/COORONG: The Recreational Crayfish (rock lobster) season is close to kicking off & there are new Life Jacket (PDF) rules that strictly apply to ALL people in a boat that is pulling Craypots or Traps/Dropnets etc. So make sure your gear is legal, properly registered (ie PIRSA permit) & you & your crew are always safe. Catches of KG whiting, gar & small but legal snapper came from Cape Northumberland, Nene Valley, Port Mac & Carpenter Rocks in recent days, esp before the strong winds cracked in. Big boats are having to time their run out for tuna, snapper, kingies & even some nice red nannys from Port Mac, Beachport & Kingston. KG whiting & gar can also be caught from Kingston, Robe & Little Dip/Nora Creina Bay. Shore-based fishing is good atm, with salmon, mullet, mulloway & flathead coming from Picanninie Ponds, Carpenter Rocks, Canunda, Beachport Surfer Bch, Little Dip Salmon Hole & The Granites. Salt Creek & the 42 Mile Crossing do have a few nice salmon, but there has been a lot of weed in the surf. Jetty-based fishing isn't what it used to be, but locals have picked up tommy ruffs, night-time snapper, salmon trout, odd gar, whiting & snook when opportunity came to fish the planks!
YORKE PENINSULA: Port Broughton: Large snook, a few blue crabs and yellowfin whiting were the inshore reports from last weekend as generally offshore winds and higher temperatures were recorded. Boat crews fishing well offshore caught Kingfish, snapper (which remain on the no-take list) and snook. The jetty is worth a try for blueys. Wallaroo: Small garfish and blue crabs can be caught from the jetty, while boat crews caught KG whiting, blueys and snook from the ballast grounds and Myponie Point. Fishing early mornings helps avoid the dreaded trumpeters! Port Hughes/Moonta Bay: East to north-east winds made for ideal boating conditions over the weekend as crews launched for KG whiting in their deep water drops, snook, gar and blue crabs. The jetties have the odd bluey and night-time snook. Point Turton: Charter crews and local reccies had to work for their catches of whiting during the week, even with reasonable local tides and clean water. There are garfish, snook and sprat tommies just north of Hardwicke Bay and then west towards Point Souttar and The Pines. The jetty continues to enjoy the visits from the magnificent sting rays, with not a lot happening here on the fishing front. Marion/Stenhouse Bays: Nice tommies and a few fat garfish featured at both jetties over the weekend, especially late in the day with calm conditions. Boat crews are reporting red nannygai, kingies, big flathead and snook. Shore-based fishers are catching mullet and salmon trout. Edithburgh/Stansbury: I am hearing reports of close to a 20% decrease in the visitor traffic for the October school holidays and long weekend, due mainly I suspect to the high fuel prices. A few KG whiting, flathead and blue crabs from the Rocky Gully and Tapley Shoal grounds, and blue crabs at the Stansbury jetty. Ardrossan: Small garfish, squid and frisky male blue crabs have been filmed (not caught) along the flats on both sides of northern Gulf St Vincent in recent days. The town jetty is worth a try for overnight soapie mulloway, blueys and snook.
SPENCER GULF/WEST COAST: Large kingfish are in several stretches of northern Spencer Gulf, with Pt Pirie, Miranda, Fitzgerald Bay, Point Lowly & the old Pt Augusta Power Station grounds all holding some big fish! Nice garfish have been caught in the calm waters of Baird Bay, Smoky Bay & Ceduna in the past week. Salmon trout are off the steep, sandy beach drop at Point Brown & Back Bch at Streaky. Boat crews are catching KG whiting from the islands off Murat Bay, Streaky, Waterloo & Coffin Bays, with even bigger fish inside the cliffs at Elliston. Salmon to 2 kilos continue their run at Sheringa, Talia & Convention beaches with slightly small salmon at Sleaford, Longnose Point & Lincoln Park beaches. Inside Spencer Gulf there are whiting & gar from Port Neill, Tumby Bay, Arno Bay & Cowell through to Whyalla & Port Pirie. Blue crabs are thin but they are in northern gulf waters from Pirie, Miranda, Fitzgerald Bay & Whyalla to Cowled's Landing. The revamped Whyalla boat-ramp looked great when I checked it a couple of weeks back - WELL DONE TO ALL CONCERNED!!
OCTOBER SEAFOOD RECIPE: Oysters Rockefeller. Ingredients: 12 shucked oysters, butter, parsley, chives, garlic, breadcrumbs & Worcestershire/Tabasco sauce Preparation: Make a rich butter sauce with herbs & hot sauce. Pour over oysters & sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake under a grill for 10mins or airfryer. She-la nepo nang-go! Tibetan for Bon Appetit!
KANGAROO IS: Jetty-based fishing at Kingscote has lovely KG whiting, tommy ruffs, salmon trout & the occasional mullet, while boat crews are reporting KG whiting, flathead & salmon in the waters off Kingscote, Nepean Bay, Vivonne Bay, Penneshaw & American River. KG whiting & snook are also along parts of KI northern coastline, with Emu Bay, Smith's Bch & Snelling Bch all holding fish at times. Most tuna & kingfish reports that are coming from the Sanders Bank & The Pages have been intermittent & should only be attempted when conditions are suitable - it's a plurry long way from home if your gear fails or the engine shits itself. STAY FROSTY & TIGHT LINES!
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Stories of men and women from WW2