|
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 (Adelaide Showgrounds). Come say hello to the Crusty Old Mate! Boat Buying tips, Filleting & freezing gar, KG whiting rigs, Al McGlashan, Owen Douglas (grandson of the famous Malcolm) & much more! SEE YOU THERE.
OCTOBER 12-31, 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: October school holidays came and went, almost in a rush as Spring is here one minute and not so much, the next! Fuel prices remain stubbornly high as boaties all around The Fleurieu plan and debate their trips offshore against the costs of filling up their petrol tanks with some prices closing in on $3 per litre - that's $75 for a basic 25 litre tank! For those who ventured out around Rosetta Head there are a few garfish, snook and KG whiting, with snapper and even small kingfish further offshore. Yilki Bay remains a popular spot for the smaller craft seeking shelter from last week's north to north west winds. The Bluff wharf/jetty has a few small squid after dark, along with nice tommy ruffs and green mackerals. Shore-based anglers are fishing far and wide for salmon to 1 kilo from the 28 Mile Crossing, Goolwa river mouth, Boomer beach and Waitpinga. Upstream fishing has callop and redfin from Renmark (lock 4) and Murray Bridge. The Myponga reservoir is currently sitting at 95% capacity, reflecting the strong inflows from the 2026 rainfall totals. Callop and redfin have been the main reports, but fishing is on the slow side. Morgan, Fisheries and Rapid Bay beaches have mullet and even a few tommies in the late afternoons, and yellowfin whiting have been sighted slightly further north towards Lady Bay and Carrackalinga. The Normanville and Rapid Bay jetties saw a slight increase in fishers over the holidays as visitors and locals alike tried for tommies and velvet crabs with mixed success. I did receive an unconfirmed report of rat kingfish off the Second Valley jetty late on Saturday evening. Boat crews running out from Wirrina reported KG whiting, red mullet, velvet crabs and snook.
SOUTH EAST/COORONG: The rock lobster season is kicking off & there are new Life Jacket (PDF) rules that strictly apply to ALL people in a boat that is pulling Craypots or Traps. So make sure your gear is legal, properly registered (ie PIRSA permit) & 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: Wallaroo: Local onshore north westerly winds dropped back just nicely on Saturday afternoon to allow the last of the school holiday boat crews to run out for KG whiting, blue crabs, small garfish and snook - most boats finding their catch south of the boat ramp towards Bird Reef. Shore-based fishers picked up small gar and tommy ruffs (Australian herring) in the shallows at Squid Rock (Point Riley), while the jetty has a few blueys. Port Hughes/Moonta Bay: Try the jetties for smallish gar and a few blueys. Yellowfin whiting are off several local beaches but not yet in any big numbers. Boat crews have caught KG whiting, gar and snook. Point Turton: Small schools of garfish have started running off The Pines, Point Souttar, Midlacowie and Port Rickaby. KG whiting and flathead are on the drift in Hardwicke Bay and The Banks in the late afternoon sea breezes. Marion/Stenhouse Bays: Last week's northerly winds made for a few days of calm inshore fishing as boat crews picked up KG whiting, flathead and snook. If you are fishing for crays (rock lobster), please remember there are rules for both gear and life jackets in terms of registration, permits and use of PFD's. The jetties have tommies and there is mullet from Richard's and Gym beaches. Edithburgh/Stansbury: Catches of KG whiting continue to be fish of a good size but not in large numbers with fish coming from Rocky Gully, Troubridge Island and out from Port Giles/Coobowie. Wattle beach has a few mullet, as does Mozzie Flat and Foul Bay. The Stansbury jetty and The Hutt have small, but legal blue crabs. Ardrossan: Blue crabs are again on several local menus as catches come for boat crews, rakers and jetty-based fishers. Flathead are also off the jetty at dusk. Some large snook were caught out from Black Point and Billy Goat Flat over the weekend.
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!
- STORIES OF US & GPS MARKS FOR SALE - CLICK BELOW!
-
Greg James' Fishing Pathfinder 4th edition
GET BOOK HERE NOW!
-
Stories of men and women from WW2