Fishing Action 16 Aug 2011

Published date Tuesday, 16 August 2011 15:49

The weather and fishing has never been better at the Mackerel Islands. A week of perfect conditions greeted the annual Western Angler Celebrity Seafari which consisted of 19 boats and around 70 guests, all here for their chance to fish with a celebrity and enjoy the entertainment. Australian cricketing legend Merv Hughes cast a Halco Roosta Popper Haymaker into a Tuna frenzy and ended up with a sailfish fight on his hands…they have been prolific since the water temperature started to increase after the winter lows of close to 20 degrees C, with many being raised and hooked up out from Bessiere Island and west of Rosily Cay.

Other Pelagic species have also been active in the past month, with many Wahoo and Spanish Mackerel providing anglers with hours of fun. Most are caught and released for sport which is great to see. Wayne Burleigh managed to land a 24kg Wahoo, while Ken Cuthbert and crew had another successful trip to Thevenard, landing the Spanish Mackerel pictured. As usual, there were plenty of quality reef fish including Red Emporer, Rankin Cod and many large Coral Trout.

Beach fishing has also been great fun, as Earl Beech found out during his flyfishing week. He landed 130 fish in a day as he wandered along the Thevenard Island Walk Trail, with good fighting species like Trevally and Queenfish to contend with. Flyfishing really has taken off and the Mackerel Islands is becoming a must go to flyfishing destination amongst those fishers.

We have a busy fortnight ahead with the annual Snagged Seafari and the LeisureCat Gamefishing Tournament held on the 21 – 27 August.