Ningaloo Reef Holidays » Billfish

Accommodation for GAMEX and AIBT 2012

Helen — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 08:50:54 +0000

The Exmouth Game Fishing Club is getting itself organised for the 2012 season of GAMEX and AIBT. Last year we saw record numbers of boats and fishermen come into the town for this ever popular event. With accommodation at a premium I would like to urge you to book your holiday homes now. I still have some vacancy in some of our most popular homes.

A nice marlin caught off Exmouth

GAMEX dates- 10 March – 17 March

AIBT dates – 19 March – 25 March

Coral – sleeps 4 singles in two queen beds and two single beds. Tariff – $170 a night

Turtle – sleeps 2 singles in two queen beds. Tariff – $180 a night

Oyster – Sleeps 6 singles in two queen beds and 2×2 sets of bunks. Tariff – $180 a night

Tusk – only available from March 18 – 25. Sleeps up to 9 singles in one King bed, two queen beds, one single bed and 2×2 sets of bunks. Tariff – $230 – $320 a night

Mandu – ON THE CANALS and the closest holiday house to the Marina and the Exmouth Game Fishing Club. Why is this not booked!!?? Sleeps 6 singles in 3 King beds which unzip to make 6 King Singles. Tariff – $300 a night.

(Ningaloo Reef Holidays is a sponsor of GAMEX) See you all at the competition, make sure you introduce yourselves if I haven’t met you yet.

Fishing Report 04.05.2011

Helen — Wed, 04 May 2011 03:50:59 +0000

Steve, Scott and Brett are three mates who have come up from Mandurah for a couple of weeks fishing. The trio have been out catching a variety of species including yellowfin tuna, dolphin fish, northern blue tuna and a
honker long nose emperor. A photo would have been good, but apparently Steve was unable to work the camera when asked to take the photo…? The boys have given Steve a lot of grief, but they are having loads of fun. Surprisingly others staying at the caravan park have commented on there being ‘no fish about’ this week, but the boys are certainly on the right spots! They hope to catch a billfish and some GT’s on their trip as well.

The crabs have continued to show up in the gulf and despite many tourists being here over the Easter break, there still seems to be many blue manners about. One customer was even throwing nets from the beach and getting
plenty for a fresh feed. Others have been scooping them in the shallows, while a few people have reported muddies as well in the mangroves. Quite a few locals are quite sick of eating crabs! They are best eaten fresh and
don’t freeze well, so it’s good to see many people taking enough for a fresh feed only.
The monthly fishing competition was a little quiet in April for pictures, but we did manage to get this cracking shot of Nerida Baker with a whopping 12kg red emperor. Nerida was fishing with some friends in Coral Bay over
the Easter holidays. Using mulie for bait she caught this awesome red. Other entrants this last month included Kimberley Jongeling with an amazing 10kg golden trevally, however, the winner was Kye Venrooy with his
spectacular spangled emperor from the marina.

All pics can be viewed in store and all entrants go in to the draw for $700 worth of fishing gear at the end of the year. Kye wins a gift voucher in store, while other monies raised goes to Exmouth Volunteer Marine Rescue and the Exmouth Game Fishing Club.

Australian International Billfish Tournament in Exmouth

Helen — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 02:16:52 +0000

Records were broken before any boats hit the water for the Australian International Billfish Tournament last week. There were 67 boats entered: the largest on record. This also resulted in the largest number of competitors. The Exmouth Game Fishing Club are checking to see if they have also had more billfish tagged than any other AIBT event, with 114 tagged billfish. The billfishing was quiet for Exmouth standards, but only a handful of boats did not catch a fish over the three days. It was perfect weather conditions with the Exmouth gulf glassing off every day to make a great view for patrons at the Exmouth Game Fishing Club house.
It all began on the Tuesday morning with the Bertram Champagne Breakfast and sailpast flare start at the marina. All the boats lined up in front of the clubhouse and took off at once, while wives, sponsors and interested locals watched from ashore. Photographer Sascha Unger got some spectacular photographs from the Birds Eye View Ultralight and all the boats safely proceeded to start the days’ fishing.
The results were:
Champion Team Tag and Release Billfish: Aqua Runner-up Champion Team Tag and Release Billfish: Mahi Mahi II Champion Angler Tag and Release Billfish: Kurt Williamson Champion Team Tag and Release Billfish on Fly: Weapon Champion Junior Tag and Release Billfish: Michael Wunhym. Champion Team Tag and Release Marlin: Aqua Champion Team Tag and Release Sailfish: Catweasel The prizes were custom built rods from Matt Gates at

Bluewater Tackle World Exmouth with engraved Shimano Tiagra Reels for the main sections and engraved Tibor Reels for the fly-fishing section. The juniors were supported by Exmouth Tackle and Camping, while Aspen Parks picked up the fly section. Chevron representatives came to support the event, as did Simrad with a display of electronic units for anglers to see and ask questions. Kailis provided the seafood for the presentation dinner, while the event also attracted support from Exmouth Marina Village, Apache,
Sea Surface Temperature, Maui Jim, and Richter Lures. The whole community was invited to come down after the event to chat with the anglers on the Friday night at the clubhouse when the band Slim Jim and the Phatts played.
It was a great social night and the town is a buzz with fishing talk at the moment.

Pic is the flare start with the boats taking off for the start of the AIBT

AIBT cruise past

Fishing Report – 13.11.2010

Helen — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 00:41:41 +0000

The weather is certainly warming up now as we head toward Christmas. Hot summer days can be a good excuse to get out and on, or in, the water. Summer can also bring some strong winds, so if you’ve got a day off and the
weather is good, then make sure you make the most of it and get out. That’s certainly what junior angler Jonah Freestone-Rowe did last week when the afternoon glass off in gulf allowed he and some parents and friends to get
out in to the Exmouth Gulf to chase the sailfish working on the bait balls. Jonah managed to switch a sailfish off a bait ball onto a skipping garfish and landed his first sail a short time later. Well done to yet another junior angler.

The interesting news this week on billfish is that a 25kg black marlin that was tagged during Gamex by angler Ben Miles aboard Azura on March 24th was recaptured off Sri Lanka on Sept 8th. The marlin had travelled over 2529nm (in a straight line) in just 168days. The fish weighed 40kg when captured (sadly by a long-liner!) and most interestingly, the fish was only 100nm miles from the black marlin that made the same trek in 2008. That year, Geoff Moyle caught a 40kg black that was then captured off India at about the same time. So, I guess that is good to show a pattern, but sad to know they are going up there to be slaughtered by the long-liners.

Mangrove jacks have been on the chew in the marina and down in the creeks in the gulf. A few lucky anglers have also landed some barramundi on the other side of the gulf. We know that a few barra do get this far south and have done for years, but it would be good to get more data on their patterns. Some people in the past had speared these species because they are so clearly visible in the clear water here and there are no crocs! However, it
is now illegal to spear barramundi, so a rod a reel is an option. Barramundi don’t really taste that good to eat, but they do make a great sports fish that jump and have a glistening shine in photos.

There has been lots of small to medium sized queenies around Bundegi. A fly-fishing angler was there at dawn (yes, 5am!) this week and landed about 8 of them north of Bundegi jetty. It is this time of year that they come in
thick at the Bundegi flats. These fish are another great sports fish, but not so flash for eating. Please remember good catch and release techniques such as using barbless hooks, releasing in water or handling with wet gloves
when targeting any sportsfish, so that the next person can enjoy it as much as you!

Jonah Freestone- Rowe

Fishing Report 5.08.09

Helen — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 03:50:13 +0000

The long awaited decision to construct the second run of floating pens at the marina is finally starting to look like reality. However, there needs to be enough Expressions Of Interest for the project to begin. If you or someone you know is interested in getting a pen at the marina, please contact the Department of Planning and Infrastructure for an EOI form on 08 9949 2079 or go to http://www.transport.wa.gov.au/geraldtonandexmouthpens This is going to be a great help to the AIBT (Australian International Billfish Tournament) in 2011 and 2012 when we expect a number of larger vessels will visit Exmouth to partake in this international event. All we need to add to the equation is the EGFC clubhouse and that area will certainly be a busy little hub in a few years.

Seth Nafte has moved here for a few months while remotely studying. Seth usually visits with his friend and fishing partner, Neil Silver to fish the billfish tournaments. Seth had a ripping start to his stay when he went out to the waters off Helby Bank and hooked three Yellowfin tuna, three wahoo , two sailfish and a marlin. He was trolling pushers and said the action was so hot, he couldn’t believe it: Especially when there were no other boats around. Seth has also been having fun off North-west reef with some amazing sessions with sharks that he could see swimming around in the crystal-clear waters.

Keen staff members Ben and Nick had some fun with mackerel on poppers with over forty hook ups, but none kept for the day out. They also caught a small giant trevally (sounds contradicting, I know, but that’s their name!) and gold spot trevally. This action all happened in the waters surrounding the islands in the gulf, while on the way home they got in to some cobia late in the afternoon: not bad for a day off!

It’s really lovely to get feedback from people who have had a great experience in Exmouth. However, it’s also good to get any feedback regarding service, fishing or experiences in general. If you have any comments to give us at anytime, we welcome it and encourage it to improve our service and your experience.

Exmouth Marlin

One customer, Charlie Saykao sent us this weeks pic and these comments. “Hi Bluewater Staff. Just wanted to say thanks for putting us on the right spot. My brother (from Melbourne), two cousins (from Brisbane and Sydney) and I (from Albany) came into the store last Saturday to ask for some info and stock up on some lures and gardies. We had an awesome time. It was unbelievable as we managed not to land 1 but 2 marlin in the 5 days fishing. Along with dozens of Spanish mackerel and tunas. It was all our first time chasing big game on my trusty 5.8m Pacemaker. Our magic skirt was a purple richter glassy. Attached a photo that I am hoping you can use as part of your monthly update. Once again thanks. Regards Charlie“