First Post, from Western Australia, My Fishing Spot.

[Tailor marc]

Originally Posted by JohnR

Marc - that's bait!

What bigger fish can you get close to home?

And is there a time to fish Steep Point when it isn't 140 degrees? Maybe more like 80 degrees? Some of our best fishing is in our Fall and sometimes the snot wants to freeze on your face

Haha the best time i like to go is april which is around autum/ spring it still gets pretty hot about 28-35 degries but its nice at that temp .

You still get good fish like mackeral and snapper etc at that time of year and its not to busy

But its also cyclone season so you have to keep an eye on the weather lol

[numbskull]

Tailor Marc, anywhere there are little fish like those herring, there are big fish as well. Try at night, swim it into deep water near structure (a gentle current helps as well) and I suspect you may find that things are not as barren as they seem. Search this site for tips on "livelining herring" for some ideas. It wouldn't suprise me if you are sitting on an untapped fishery.

[JohnR]

I agree - just too good of a meal for gamefish to pass up

(though one could bet their bait situation is better than ours)

[Slipknot]

I see the world record Cobia came from Shark bay(135 pounds) do you guys catch those from the cliff? they are tough fish and very tasty.
Excellant thread

[Tailor marc]

Originally Posted by Slipknot

I see the world record Cobia came from Shark bay(135 pounds) do you guys catch those from the cliff? they are tough fish and very tasty.
Excellant thread

Hi Slipknot,

Yep we often hook up nice cobia at steep point .
Best way iv found to hook then is as soon as you see a manta ray /whale shark etc swim past , throw a lure close to it and there are allways cobia cruising underneath and will dart out to attack the lure.
Its allways exciting to watch gaffing a big cobia with the cliff gaff, they cut sick rolling splashing even known to beng the gaff hooks.

Here is a small one i got at faulse entrance when i was 15..

[Tailor marc]

Hey Stax , i think its time to tell our new friends about the Steep point monster ( V W ) What do ya think?
Should copy and paste your story from steep point.com.au into this thread. I will post the pic following

[Stax]

On our last trip to Steep Point, 3 weeks ago we saw a few new sights of nature that most people would not believe.

I have heard these tall stories of the large Grouper that sit under the cliff edges and wait their turn in the feeding chain. Waiting and hoping that that Mackerel will fall off, or that Tuna will make a last gasp dash and swim my way….
Huge, I’ve heard, 200Kgs plus, yeh yeh… It might make great story, but what a load of baloney. Well that’s what I thought, until this trip.

Fishing Steep Point is hard enough without large, No…. very large…. No…. Monster Bronze Whale Sharks (should say Whaler, but their bigger than that) chasing your poor Spanish / Tuna all over the place. There was no shortage of that happening. Also with the Tuna going stupid, the Sharks had plenty to choose from.
So setting the scene…Barry and Eddie both lure fishing, Tuna fish everywhere, Spanish lurking under the marauding Tuna, Sharks circling everything, the water looking like a Spa Bath, foam and bubbles everywhere, water blue as blue and clear, yes so clear you could 15 feet into it.
Barry strikes….Eddie strikes….both fishermen hooked up, Barry with a Spanish and Eddie with yet another bullet train Tuna. As the large Bronze Whaler cruises pass for the third or forth time patiently waiting for the very distressed Spanish to make its way to the cliff’s edge and poor old Eddie with his Tuna now closing in on the Madagascar Coast-line, it came time to get Barry’s Spanish to the Gaff. As the large Bronzie swam past for at least the fifth time I told Barry to get that Spanish to the base of the cliff quickly. He did as he was told and dragged the now well beaten 10Kg Spanish to the base of the cliff for hopefully a very quick Gaff. As I placed his line through the Gaff eye and started to lower the Gaff I called to Barry that we had better hurry as the shadow of the Bronze Whaler had reappeared behind his fine fish. Barry, eager to make sure his prized catch was safe ventured to the cliffs edge and yelled “that’s not a shark, its too fat, its way too fat”
He was correct, as behind what now appeared to be a very small Spanish, was a 1960 VW Beetle Car trying to catch up on the now even more stressed out Spanish. Surely this could not be a fish. No way, no fish grow that big. And what are the blue things and red things dangling from its overly large frame. They were lures, lots of lures, at least 5 or 6 of them. By now the Gaff was firmly placed over our minnows head and out of the water it jumped. I really believe that this Spanish jumped clear out of the water all by itself as only inches behind it was the monster from the deep. At least 6 feet long, over 3 feet wide and 4 feet deep, with its mouth wide open, (I could have got my Landcrusier’s Spare tyre in there) it missed its prey by inches. So one fish down, or up, and one Tuna to go. Eddies Tuna darted past the cliffs edge at about 45 knots. The Grouper, now only 2 feet under the surface, defying any current and without movement was not going to miss out again. As Eddies Tuna approached the cliff edge the beast from the deep inhaled. Gone, missing in Action, one 7Kg Tuna! Eddie stood there in total disbelief and asked,
“Now what?”
“Hang on” was the reply.
Well needless to say, 200Kg+ Grouper with 7Kg Tuna in mouth, 14lb Line, No Contest.
As this marvel of nature cruised off, it didn’t swim, way too big to swim, three guys just stood there unable to believe what had just happened. Big, NO, Huge, NO, MASSIVE BEYOND BELIEF.
So now if someone wants to tell me of the huge Grouper under the cliffs at Steep Point, I will also have a tall story for them.
I am sure that to this day I would still have doubts about these stories…But now……I’ve seen a swimming VW Beetle.

More to come...

Sharks are faster than you think.
Believe it.
Stax

[Stax]

This is a picture of one of these monsters from the deep. The fish struggling on the surface is over 3 feet long and about 25Lb.
I'm sure another picture is coming soon.

Stax

[numbskull]

This just keeps getting better and better.

[justplugit]

Gotta luv this stuff Stax and Marc, gotta luv it.

Just great stuff.

[Tailor marc]

Here is a pic from 20-30 meters up off the cliff looking down into the water.

We had previously caught a mackeral and filleted it and threw the carcass off the edge attached to some fishing line.

We let it sink then reeled it to the surface so we could bring the BIG cod up to the surface for a happy snap...here is the result....
You can get an idea of how big it is....

[basswipe]

Very cool stuff guys!

[gone fishin]

wow - this should be a travel agents dream for "fishing down under". Great stuff-best thread ever.

[fumifish]

[Andy D]

WOW , As stated numerous times this thread is awsome. Marc and stax thanks for helping to pass the off season for us here in the states. Your last post about the "monster" was a great read. In Florida there are grouper known as "Jewfish" politically correct name is goliath grouper don't know if they get grow to the size that you have pictured. Thanks again for the pics and stories and continued sucess at your "Honey Hole"

[Backbeach Jake]

You guys in OZ have ruined an already fish-trashed life. I peek in here and go totally wrong in the noggin. Saving my dimes for a long flight starting now...Good Lord the fish....

[eastendlu]

Dam i'm going to need to go out and buy a bigger rod.Do they make a Van Staal 3000?Great thread!

[Coralie]

Thanks for the referral Stax it has been great to read others wowing over this great place Steep Point in W.A. Great job also tailor marc! If someone could help me on how to put images in I have some pics of the point from boat as well as beach.

[JohnR]

C - welcome to S-B...

To post pictures when making a thread or doing a reply hit the "Manage Attachments" button halfway down the screen, click browse to find the pics on your hard drive and then upload (note the max file sizes) . If you have the pics hosted elsewhere, grab the URL for those pics, hit the Insert Image buttton and post in the url....

Look forward to some more pics./....

[Coralie]

P3060016.jpg
Heres a pic from the water heading out past the point. Went trawling for macks on our last day and ending up with 5. We only have a small dingy and yet to go out past the point but we have had no trouble coming home with our limit so it has not been a priority, Am yet to give it a go from the cliffs, though have always gone up there to check it out.

[Squibby17]

I read this entire thread and I'm just amazed. Those grouper look really cool. I don't think you could haul one of those up a cliff unless you had a crane truck.


I would love to get out there and do that some time maybe when I win the lottery.

[justplugit]

Beautiful Coralie.
Never knew water that blue existed in the world.

[onecastmike2003]

Striper from RI
RHM

[bttfish]

Love them photos.. Thanks for all the post of W.A. .. It is just what we need to pass our Winter season.. Oh, and my Striper Gone Wild DVD
Welcome Coralie, please do post more photos.. it is of great enjoyment here from all of us...
Just curious... Has anyone in W.A. ever caught one of those Gigantic Cods?
Love to see more pic of them....

[PoPin Plug]

show off.....

haha jk

[Coralie]

Thankyou for the welcome here are some more pics from the beach. The water is crystal clear, we have seen sharks swimming as close as the boat.

steeppoint (600 x 404).jpg

Dirk Hartog 2048X1536 (600 x 450).jpg

[Gobi]

Well, I don't usually spend time thinking about what was the best item I've seen on forums, however, this clearly is the most outstanding of them all. I base this on the fact that I read the whole thing one night instead of dragging my sorry butt off to bed. All I can say is WOW. What an awesome, in every sense of the word, place. The pictures are superb as are your descriptions. Thanks for sharing. Very, very cool. You're welcome in Matunuck, RI anytime.

[Flaptail]

Originally Posted by Coralie

Thankyou for the welcome here are some more pics from the beach. The water is crystal clear, we have seen sharks swimming as close as the boat.

Attachment 18476

Attachment 18477

Coralie, that bottom pic of the skiff anchored up with the rods on the stern is exactly what we do up here in summer on Cape Cod. So far yet so similar. Some day I would love to get down there. My Dad lived in New Zealand for two years after the war (WWII) and till the day he died he wanted to go back ( during the Missile Crisis in 62 he started to plan the emigration of my family to NZ but he decided against it because of my Mom) Australia looks so beautiful, God has surely smiled on you guys what with the fishing you have. Happy Holidays to all you fellow anglers down under!!!!

[UpChunk]

OMG Freaking 600lb Grouper, 100lb Sailfish, Huge Sharks, Whales, what is next? Giant Squid? Great thread, keep it coming......you guys are the Reel Deal. Stephen

[Tailor marc]

Yep when i head up Steep point again soon, i will post up more pics, iv ran out for now