I do the same blog every start of summer.  Just a gentle reminder of how extreme the conditions can be up here, as locals we hear the horror stories of tourists on the move, and it is a different world up here!

Pack water wherever you go. Extra bottles all over the car,  you may break down. A bottle to take to the shops, you need to remain vigilant. Don’t just have a glass, have two glasses. You must double if not treble the quantity than you normally drink. You may also need Hyrolytes, so get them from the pharmacy and take one a day to replace lost salts etc.

Eat ‘wet’ foods like watermelon, salad, tomatoes. Keep dehydrating alcohol to a quiet roar, which is hard at Christmas. But water in between drinks, and water before bed.

Make sure your pets are getting more water than they need also. Drown their food bowl in water, they will eat and drink it all, trust me.

Don’t try and work on your tan in this HOT weather. You will burn, you will become dehydrated, and the heat of your burns will make it unbearable for days after. You may get sunstroke.

Work like a Mexican! Get what you need to do done in the morning and the late afternoon and evening  if possible. Try and rest out the hottest part of the day. It makes a huge difference.

Don’t forget the thongs!

The Exmouth Game fishing Club held its annual Ultra-Light tournament last weekend and there were some great catches, fun times and fabulous days on the water. The weather was unbelievably fantastic for the week-end and anglers got out and targeted species on light line.

Sailfish have been thick at the back of the reef and local angler Jo Decker managed to tag six for the two days and take out the sailfish section. John Prince, fishing aboard Awesum managed to tag a 40kg hammerhead on 4kg, a 60kg tiger shark on 6kg and a 150kg whaler on 6kg in the one day! What a great effort? The team also managed to get seven species of fish in one day. Other species that were brought in to the weigh station included mackerel, barracuda, golden trevally and giant trevally. Junior anglers Alex and Axel Nelson fished hard on their Dad’s boat, with Alex catching his first sailfish: another terrific effort.The next big event on the EGFC calendar is the Betta Billfish Bonanza, so if you’re keen to be involved, make sure you get down to the clubhouse and get your entries in.

The reports in say that the sailfish at the back of the reef are full of squid. One angler reached down to retrieve a hook, opened the mouth of the fish and it was full of squid, with fresh squid being spat out.

The weather has been so perfect lately that it’s a shame no one is out there chasing broadbill at night. Without jinxing it, I’d like to say that in the 10+ years I have lived here, I have never seen such a long stint of amazing weather at this time of year. Not to mention the continuous reports of sailfish at the back of the reef. The shore fishing hasn’t been so flash this year, nor the prawn season, although the reports from boating enthusiasts has proved that fish are prevalent in many areas including queenfish around the islands.

Pictured this week is one such fish caught off the islands in the gulf. Regular winter residents and anglers Tony Forest and his wife Maureen have been successful with their fishing this season with a recent catch of a 6kg black spot tuskfish caught on octopus using 30lb line around the west side. Other good catches included a 40-45kg cod caught by Chris Hodgkinson from Perth. Chris took great care in releasing the 140cm fish back to the reef by using three dive weights, a few 48ounce sinkers and a release weight. Junior angler James Neal from Perth got in to some bluebone, coronation trout and Spanish mackerel off Helby bank. Photos of these catches can be seen in store on the fishing competition board. The sharks have been thick this year too and many anglers have been complaining about the increased numbers of them.