Tackleworld Exmouth fishing report

As school holidays continue, the fishing is still in full swing.

The weather is looking magic, so make the most out it, get out there with the kids, partner or loved ones, take it all in and enjoy it while it’s good.

With the wind settling over the last couple of days, we have seen big numbers of boats hitting the blue water.

The marlin have definitely slowed in the past week, but the other fishing sure hasn’t.

The tuna are out there in big numbers.

Small yellowfin, longtail and mac tuna have all been caught in recent days, mostly on stickbaits and slugs.

If casting or trolling lures aren’t your thing, then rest assured, Ningaloo has you covered.

The bait fishers have all been doing really well of late, with some awesome fish caught in that 40m- 60m mark.

We’ve seen some great mixed bags in the last week of trout, big spangled emperor, Robertson sea bream, cobia, and the list goes on.

The baits doing the most damage at the moment are squid, occy and fresh strip baits.

If your boat is not big enough, or you just want to stay inside the lagoon, then don’t stress, you’re still in for some awesome rod-bending action. Spangled emperor are a great target.

They pull hard and can be found in good numbers inside the reef.

A 20lb set-up with 5/0 hooks, light sinkers, good bait and a light burley trail are the recipe for success. These fish can be even more amazing on poppers and stickbaits, with big angry packs of lit-up fish destroying your top-water surface lures in really shallow and challenging conditions.

If you’re after squid, you’re in luck with Tantabiddi producing great numbers of squid at the moment. Trolling squid jigs is becoming the go-to method for getting high numbers of squid.

Look for the broken bottom and weed beds where the squid like to reside.

If you’re just excited to get out and wet a line locally, shore-based fishing in and around the marina has been consistently good of late.

The carpark at the game fishing club is a great place to start for the whole family — it’s sheltered, calm and produces some great fish.

The best baits for fishing the marina are definitely the humble prawn and maybe a back-up of some mullies or mullet strips, but don’t forget some burley.

The north-side break wall is also a great place to fish where you can expect to tangle with the likes of big queenfish, trevally and even the odd mackerel.

By far the best and even the most productive way of catching these fish is on lures. Making the right lure choice on the day is key.

Some days they want to eat plastics and then the next all they want is a top-water lure.

Get a selection and get casting.

If fly fishing is your thing and you love saltwater fly, you’re probably in the Exmouth region for a good reason. The Ningaloo lagoon systems are a world-class fishery and hold great numbers of bone-fish, big giant herring, cobia, and the list goes on.