Peter Radford is currently on a six week trip to Australia and French Polynesia. He kindly sent through a report on his fly fishing experience at Exmouth in Western Australia with guide Allan Donald….
As part of an extended family holiday, I fished the saltwater flats inside the Ningaloo Reef and Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia, over three days in the last week of March 2016. My local fly fishing guide was Allan Donald.
The Ningaloo Reef and Exmouth Gulf is a pristine marine environment about a 2 hour plane ride north of Perth. The reef is close to the shore but, unlike other saltwater flats, Ningaloo has to be fished from a boat because the water is generally a metre or more deep. On the reef, usual flats target species – permit, bonefish and GTs – were not prolific in March, but we saw fish every day. What we did see many more of were local species including queenfish, golden trevally and blue stripe trevally.
Allan was able to expertly locate and place me on fish every day – he has an excellent boat with a trolling motor that defied the windy conditions, ‘forgave’ my average casting and allowed a stealthy approach. Our catches on the Ningaloo Reef included a 5lb bonefish, golden trevally and blue stripe trevally.
On the third and last day, Allan and I fished the Exmouth Gulf. This feels like a very different fishery with many permit, large queenfish and the, locally named, ‘blue bastard’. Having the option of this more sheltered fishery means, as well as targeting different species, you can escape more hostile weather conditions on the Reef. Nonetheless, this proved to be a very tough day and we didn’t see many fish until after lunch when we encountered significant numbers of permit, large queenfish and golden trevally generally following rays and sharks. Our catches in Exmouth Gulf included queenfish, a small GT and golden trevally.
Added to all this diversity, it’s possible to go outside the reef and fish for ‘bills’. Milkfish are sometimes seen both in the blue water and inside the Gulf.
As, principally a family holiday, I stayed at Sal Salis for the duration of my stay at the Ningaloo Reef and Exmouth Gulf. Sal Sallis is a wonderful eco-resort, under canvass and on the beach in the National Park. That said, its generally an hour or more to get to a location where the boat can be launched. For a fishing-only trip, I think the Novotel in Exmouth would be a better base.
Talking with Allan, an Exmouth resident and fishing guide for many years, the best time for fishing seems to be September-February. However, that’s also when the wind and weather conditions can be at their most challenging. So, on balance, if you are a confident and capable angler on the flats – especially casting in windy conditions – I would definitely recommend Ningaloo Reef and Exmouth Gulf during the peak of the fishing season. For simpler less challenging conditions, March-August may be better. I can also, without hesitation, recommend fishing with Allan Donald – he has the fishing knowledge, he has the gear and he is absolutely on the ball. More than that, he is a great guy to spend three days with.
