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2 Wagoe Sessions Wagoe is a well known fishing destination and the captures that are possible for a shore-based fisherman mean that an opportunity to fish and explore this stretch of coast couldn t be turned down. The variety of fish that is possible to catch from shore is amazing and we wanted to have a go, fishing at this popular fishing location. The idea was to stay in the chalets right on the coast. This would give us direct access to the stretch of coast we planned on fishing so that we could fish hard at the better times of day. It was only going to be a short trip, 3 nights, and we needed to make the most of our fishing opportunities while we were there. By ROB GAFF We had two cars heading up and four guys. There was myself and my South African mate Wayne, who is even more obsessed than I am when it come to fishing for mulloway; but Wayne is too scared to take his new Holden Colarado on the beach because it still smells new. In the other car it was Brodes with one of his SA mates Ivan, driving up in his beloved Cruiser ute. Ivan loves his car too but loves driving it so much he just doesn t stop so that we can get out and fish, he just keeps driving and exploring. As usual we set up a little friendly competition between the two car loads although at some points the banter was between the Aussies v the Saffas. Anyway, as we left the southwest and headed through Perth there was an amazing thunderstorm causing havoc. Recent weather reports had shown good weather forecasts, with low swell and moderate 35

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4 offshore wind patterns although a chance of a shower up in Kalbarri. We powered on in good spirits and as we started drawing closer to the coast near Kalbarri we heard the weather report over the radio. It warned that the cyclone that was loitering off the coast around Exmouth was now on its way down south. It was predicted to pass straight by us in Kalbarri and hit the coast in the South West where we had just come from! We felt a little guilty about leaving our girlfriends, wives and children behind to face the storm but we had come a long way and we weren t about to turn around. We arrived at the Wagoe Chalets at about 2 in the afternoon. The first thing that we noticed was the almost plague proportion of locusts around. In the camp they were everywhere managing to sneak into the chalet whenever they could. It just so happened that Ivan was terrified of the stupid things and so it gave us endless laughs hiding them under his pillow or in his bags or even throwing them in the bathroom while he was in there! Once we d had our fun torturing Ivan we headed out for a quick surf to escape the humidity and heat. The surf was really refreshing but we had come to fish and were soon heading up the coast looking for a likely looking spot to try our luck. For those of you that don t know, Wagoe is a mix of low lying reef ledges, patches of beach and at the northern end it runs into Kalbarri s cliffs and higher rock fishing ledges. The swell, which was good for surfing, was an issue. It was big and we were going to be restricted to fishing the safer spots. We tried one ledge closer to the chalets but the swell began to surge over the reef more and more as the tide came in. We chose to play it safe and moved down the coast to some more protected water where we found a very likely looking washy hole and decided to have a shot with some lures for tailor. Brodie was first to the water and his first cast was instantly nailed. The fish wasn t huge but it was good to get a hookup straight away. I quickly reminded Brodie that it was my idea to fish this spot as he started to brag about how his team were going to nail us on this trip. Ivan was next with a lure in the water and when his lure was also smashed, on his first cast as well, we knew that we were in for a good session as team cruiser took an early lead in the fish stakes. Most of the fish were about 40 to 50cm and they were putting up a good The cruiser The tailor were thick in this session Ivan spinning for tailor 37

5 lucky bay dune formation Another Wagoe tailor The swell was solid but it was definitely fishable. It only took about half an hour for the first big hookup came on Brodie s outfit with a solid hit. A solid shark on 10kg mono line tussle on the light gear we were using in the turbulent water. I was busy taking photos as the fish came in thick and fast. By the time I got to throw a lure I was disappointed it didn t get nailed straight away, but as the lure reached the shore it was slammed right in front of me! It took off on a short but powerful run before taking to the air in usual tailor fashion, what an exciting start to the fishing trip! For the next hour we went fish for fish and while team cruiser went for quantity team colarado (Wayne and I) targeted bigger fish with bigger lures. The wind was dying off and thunderstorms were rolling in from every direction; this session was an intense introduction to the fishing at Wagoe! I changed my lure over to a Damiki stick bait and launched it out to the wash zone. I had barely cranked it when it was hit really hard. The fish on the other end pulled hard and headed for cover with intent. I applied some pressure and steered it into the deeper water where I could play the fish safely. I knew it was a bit bigger than the other fish we d been hooking and its first cartwheel confirmed this as a chunky tailor as it took to the air to try and dislodge the lure. It was putting up a solid fight and after another big arial display it was soon in the gutter slugging it out for the last seconds of the fight. I beached the solid fish and Brodes snapped a few photos quickly before this solid breeding tailor was released to fight again. I argued that one big tailor was worth at least 15 smaller tailor, but team cruiser weren t buying it! After that fish was released the fishing shut down. With a few of the tailor kept as bait we headed up the beach to a nice looking gutter and set up for a night fish. The swell was solid but it was definitely fishable. It only took about half an hour for the first big hookup came on Brodie s outfit with a solid hit; Brodie struck hard and instantly knew he was on a good fish. The first few minutes it looked characteristically like a big mulloway with big headshakes and shorter powerful runs. The solid weight and the endurance of the fish as the fight went on had us second guessing though. After about 15 minutes of solid slugging it out we spotted an unmistakable dorsal fin of a solid reef shark and it was at this stage that the shark powered back out to sea on another solid run. With 80lb mono leader and 10kg mono main line Brodie was in for a long fight. By the half hour mark Brodie had the shark in close but there was now a lot of seaweed collecting on his line as well. I waded out in the surf and tried to remove it in between the crashing waves, not an easy feat with solid waves crashing in and fading light. I managed to get it off after getting dumped by one set but without the 38

6 seaweed on the line Brodie was able to put enough pressure on the shark to get it in. With all the patches of reef around and such light line it was an impressive capture. The shark was worn out and so it was reasonably easy to tail it and drag it up the beach. We quickly took some photos and promptly released the shark to continue its life of harassing fish. We fished for another hour or so but with one of the boys managing to cut his hand with the filleting knife, and the rain closing in, we decided to call it a night. Back at camp plans were made for the next day and we started making rigs and getting everything ready. With the new day came new enthusiasm and by sunrise we were out on one of the ledges in front of where the chalets are. The water was stirred up and discoloured and only just safe enough to fish with extreme caution. We fished for about an hour but as the sun rose so did the swell and once again we headed up the beach to the safer spots to fish in a swell. There was a lot of weed around and fishing was nearly impossible and so we headed into Kalbarri to fish some washy reef spots around Chinamans. The swell was marching in there as well but coming from the north like I had never seen before. It was obvious that this swell was from the passing cyclone and it seemed to be shutting the fish down as well as we couldn t even raise a strike. We spent a few hours exploring around the coastlines before heading back to Wagoe chalets to set up for a night fish. Wayne was insistent on fishing Chinamans again and so he took off for a solo fish while we headed out and up to Lucky Bay beaches for a night fish. After a bit of a 4wd mission we made it to the beach only to find we had to go a different track to normal as the beach had been washed into crazy untraversable mounds of sand and puddles of sea water. We made our way past the huts and through the back dunes to get into Lucky Bay where we set up for a fish at an awesome looking gutter. It looked promising with just the right amount of waves and current but we fished solid for about 4 hours with no action at all to show for it. Ivan and Brodes were keen to see how Wayne was doing so we packed up and headed back into town. Wayne was sleeping in his ute while waiting for his rod to go off although he already had one mulloway that he had caught earlier in the evening. It was around 5kg, a nice sized fish but there was hope AUSTRALIA S FIRST L.E.D LURES T: E: sales@balista.com.au Wayne hooked up on a early morning tailor Caach and release tailor fishing 39

7 Chinamans Waynes Mulloway This tailor fought hard in the turbulent water We finished up our session on the ledge and after hours of exploring in Ivan s ute we headed to a nice spot to set up for a night fish. A few tailor were caught on sunset as well as a few reef fish. for a bigger one. We all set up and fished well into the night with no more luck there either. Again we headed back to camp and set up our gear for another go on the ledges in the morning. All too soon morning had come but we had managed to sleep in which I think was a good idea as the practical jokes that had been going around had frayed a few tempers at times. We were still keen to have another go on the ledges and after trying in vain to send a balloon out in the crossshore/off-shore conditions we all settled on fishing the bottom for whatever was hanging around. The swell was still solid but was fishable as the tide was a bit lower than previous days. This time I was the first to hookup, as I was winding my bait in it was slammed by a tailor. This tailor was used for fresh bait and Brodie was next to hook up on a solid little mulloway. It put up a tussle on his relatively light gear and as it neared the reef he was able to wash it over with a set wave. Wayne was the next to hookup this time on a small snapper which are always a welcome catch but this one was set 40

8 free to grow bigger for next time. We finished up our session on the ledge and after hours of exploring in Ivan s ute we headed to a nice spot to set up for a night fish. A few tailor were caught on sunset as well as a few reef fish. The tailor were kept as bait and it didn t take long to get a response from some bigger predators once again. Brodie hooked up in a big way; weed went flying into the air when a rampaging shark ripped his line tight as it screamed off. This time the fight only lasted a few seconds before Brodie was bitten off. I hooked a big opponent next and I had a similar fate as whatever was on the end of my line found some shallow reef in between us. Brodie hooked up again but on a much smaller fish although it was fighting hard Brodie s Mulloway Lucky Bay gutter 41

9 Wayne fishing beyond the solid surf with the weather closing in close and as the waves washed back on the reef he had a mulloway of about 8kg lying there which somehow managed to throw his rig and get away with another wave as it washed up. He was next to hookup again and he was landing an angry wobbeygong when my bait got smashed. The first run was very quick and powerful but I couldn t let it run too far, I put a lot of pressure on as it headed for some patchy reef. I locked down and held on (I was running the heavy gear 80lb braid and 150lb leader). I turned the fish and had it fighting it out right in the shallows. A big set washed a small but angry bronzie at about 5ft onto the shore. After such a quick fight the shark was very hard to handle and so we very cautiously took a photo before it was released again to power off into the dark. After such a full-on few days we were all ready to call it a night after that fish. With a good night s sleep we were all ready to make for home until one last practical joke had turned sour just as the boys in Ivan s ute were about to leave. The night before had seen us put a crab in Ivan s cab for a joke, and we thought it would just scurry out when he opened the door but it had stayed in there. Well as he went to drive off it fell out on Ivan s feet and he launched from his ute to get away from the crab. The crab thought it would be safer to climb back into the dash which was bad news for us as Ivan refused to get back in the car until the crab was gone The next hour was spent pulling apart the dash until we could find the crab and get rid of it! What an adventure the last few days had been and that s what Wagoe seems to offer, adventure. There are endless fishing opportunities, especially if the weather is cooperating, and the chalets are comfortable and affordable. As for who won the Wagoe fishing challenge, well it depends who you ask, but on quality of fish I reckon team Colarado edged in front with the last fish of the trip! 42