Fowlers Bay is a tiny coastal community in the far west of South Australia.

It has a 340m jetty that is illuminated at night and fishes well for squid, along with garfish, tommy ruff and snook.

Boat launching is from the beach.

There is reef close in off Point Fowler but conditions must be calm to fish it, with unexpected wave breaks a possibility.

Scott’s Bay (Scott’s Beach) is on the west side of the peninsula and has good surf fishing for big mulloway in summer, with salmon in winter.

Lathe salmon schools are commonly at Scott’s Beach, with fish to a stunning 8kg+, along with attending whaler sharks and sometimes white pointers.

King george whiting and mulloway are also caught from this beach.

Offshore fishing produces king george whiting in close, with samson, kingfish, groper, nannygai, tuna, harlequin, morwong and snapper out wide.

East of Fowlers Bay is Tuckamore Beach, which usually has good gutters with mulloway, salmon, gummy and whaler sharks and even samson fish.

South of Fowlers Bay, the rocky point has ledges and beaches along a productive saection of coastline. Expect salmon, kingfish, snapper and even tailor.

September to March is the best fishing time here, but occasional mulloway will show up in winter.

There are usually plenty of crayfish on the reefs.

A 4WD is needed to reach spots on soft sand tracks at various beaches, and tyre deflation may be required, so carry a compressor.

A with anywhere, never drive on beached seaweed rafts, as bogging is inevitable.

Because of its remote location, Fowlers Bay is trophy fish country.

The bay is 900km from Adelaide, just 23km off the Eyre Highway.

The recommended road in is the signposted Fowlers Bay Road, off the Eyre Highway 45km West of Penong and 35km East of Nundroo.

This road is half sealed and half gravel.

From the west Fowlers Bay can be accessed via Coorabie on a rough road. Tallala Well Road is an unmaintained road best avoided.

Further west is Mexican Hat, Wandilla, Cabot’s Beach, The Lagoons, Snook Ground and the Yalata Indigenous Protected Area (IPA).

The Yalata IPA has natural dune camping areas adjacent to 40km of arguably the best remote surf fishing beaches in Australia.

There is also public access at the eastern end of this coastline outside the Yalata IPA.

The months either side of Christmas are best for mulloway, with the best results had fishing big tides of the full and new moons.

Salmon are caught in winter, and snapper and tailor visit the area.

The public access area outside Yalata IPA is at Dog Fence Beach and further east towards Fowlers Bay.

Yalata Beach is off limits.

Access to Dog Fence Beach is via Nallanippi Road.

Entering via Dog Fence crossing is deemed trespassing.

Fowlers Bay tides
SA fishing regulations
SA marine parks
Fowlers Bay coastline

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Smoky Bay is a coastal holiday community on a relatively protected bay in western South Australia.

The bay has a long jetty that produces quality snook, gar, squid, whiting and tommy ruffs.

There are razorfish beds in the bay, providing great bait for king george whiting.

Garfish dabbing and flounder spearing are locally popular.

A 4WD vehicle gives access to coastal fishing spots on soft sand tracks.

For boaters who fish outside the protection of Eyre Island, there are numerous reefs with the usual run of SA’s offshore species, including tuna.

Franklin Island lies 30km out.

Smoky Bay has an all-tide sealed boat ramp, but note that a boat ramp permit is required from the general store or caravan park.

Camping within the town is only allowed at the two caravan parks.

Those with cartoppers or kayaks should try Acraman Creek, an inlet 15km south of Smoky Bay, with sheltered water and good fishing.

There is an artificial reef made from tyres at the southern end of the bay, 8km north of the township.

White sharks show up along this coast, something to keep in mind if you are contemplating berleying from a cartopper or yak.

To the north of Smoky Bay is Laura Bay, all part of Laura Bay Conservation Park.

The local oysters are a highlight of this region.

Smoky Bay tides
SA fishing regulations
SA marine parks

NOTE: Special snapper rules apply in SA. More recently, new restrictions were announced following a destructive marine algal bloom … view them here.

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If you want a world record barramundi, Lake Monduran (Fred Haigh Dam) might be where you find it.

A 44.6kg barramundi, measuring 135cm long and 107cm around, was caught in 2010, topping the previous record from Lake Tinaroo.

Monduran is one of very few impoundments where you have an excellent chance of catching both big barramundi and big bass.

This is a superb fishing lake, but it suffers from both low water levels and floods.

During floods the big adult barramundi migrate over the dam wall.

Fortunately, barramundi fishing recovers quickly with restocking as barramundi grow fast.

Monduran is the third biggest dam in Queensland, at 5300ha when full, and it is the largest Queensland dam stocked with barramundi.

The dam is on the Kolan River, 20km from Gin Gin, about a 4.5 hour drive from Brisbane,.

Monduran normally has an average depth of 11m, but this fluctuates.

There are a variety of fishable areas, with valleys, forests of submerged timber and rocky cliffs.

Timber is thick in places and care is required when boating, but the timbered areas are often the best fishing spots.

Fish stocking began in 1998. As well as barra and bass, yellowbelly, silver perch, sooty grunter and saratoga have been released, but barra and bass are now by far the main catch.

There is a resident population of fork-tailed catfish, eels, eel-tailed catfish, gar and spangled perch.

Redclaw crayfish exist in the lake but for some reason are not common. It may be that the abundance of large barra and bass keeps their numbers down.

Summer is the best time to target Monduran barramundi, as barra are far more active in warm conditions.

The action is usually best in the morning and evening, with good fishing at night.

In winter, look for barra and bass in the warmest shallows.

When bass fishing it pays to use heavy gear, as a barramundi hookup can happen at any time.

That said, bass usually respond better to small lures presented on light tackle.

The dam is home to the popular annual Monduran Family Fishing Classic.

There is camping, caravan sites and cabins near the lake, and a motel at Gin Gin.

A stocked impoundment permit (SIP) is required to fish Monduran and can be purchased online.

There are no major boating restrictions and the waters are open 24 hours.

A concrete ramp is in the public access area, with an unsealed ramp below the lookout and campground near the dam wall.

Lake Monduran facilities
Qld dam water levels
Qld stocked dam permits
Qld fishing regulations

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