HEADING TO THE WILD WEST

Lubin Pfeiffer and mates make the long trek beyond Ceduna to fish for giant mulloway.

Chasing the mighty mulloway on the remote beaches of the Far West Coast had been on my wish list for many years. However, the trouble had always been organising the right equipment and group to do it with. Remote trips such as these should not be taken lightly, as there are not only many things you need to do right to get there, but you also need to make sure nothing goes wrong while you are there; you are a long way from anywhere when things go bad.

Every year I travel to Port Lincoln to catch up with my mate Russ and enjoy the awesome fishing Lincoln has to offer. One night over dinner, Russ asked me whether going to Yalata was something that I would consider doing. I explained to him that it certainly had been, but I was not in the right position to be able to make it happen. I’ve always thought to get the best out of a trip such as this, you would need quad bikes and the right 4WDs to get all the gear in to the fishing area. Russ, however, has been living in Lincoln for over a decade now and has acquired more than enough of the right equipment needed to have a very comfortable trip. Russ and good mate Arge are the owners of EP Recycling in Port Lincoln and love their beach fishing, so it made perfect sense that these would be the perfect people to plan a trip with.

Over dinner that night, Russ and I made a plan. We would assemble a crew of four; Russ, Arge, Scotty Gray and myself. This meant we would have a good mix of mechanical, beach driving and fishing knowledge to make such a big trip happen. We had access to quad bikes and also the old beach-combing 4WD with big tyres. Not only that, we had two big trailers to put everything on and the right tow vehicles to get it all over there and into the dunes where the campsites are. From the first night when the idea was spawned, we started making plans for the first big trip out to the Wild West.

Quads are numero uno in beach transport

Planning such a trip takes a long time, but first and foremost was to secure a camp spot along the popular surf fishing location. With a reputation as the best place to catch a big mulloway off the beach in Australia, campsites quickly fill up during the prime fishing times during the year when the weather is hot. Dates were set and now it was time to fine-tune all the other details to make sure we had a good time.

Russ and Arge were onto setting up the bikes and cars, and Scotty and I were to look after the fishing side of things and bait collecting. I made a few squidding trips around the place and had a healthy supply of bagged calamari in the freezer ready for the trip in the coming months. While shopbought bait would definitely work, I thought why not have fresh local bait when possible? Something I also wanted to try was throwing big plastics in the wash, as I’ve always been more of a lure angler than a bait caster.

As the dates for departure drew closer, the plan was made to meet in Port Lincoln, where everything could be assembled into the two main vehicles and onto the trailers. Weather is always the unknown with a trip such as this. It could be 40-plus every day or there could be the potential for massive storms to smash you. Both Scotty and I looked at the weather constantly leading up to the dates and luckily, it looked like apart from some wind, the weather was good — not too hot and little chance of a storm. Yalata has no place to shelter near the beach, so once you are out there, you are at the mercy of the weather. It was nice to know that we weren’t going to encounter anything too radical. It was a sight to behold seeing both the cars loaded up with bikes and the beach 4WD as we did the final check over before hitting the road west.

DAY 1 - ARRIVE AT YALATA

We got on the road early the next day and by early afternoon were at the gates to the campsite after turning off the highway. This is where the fun starts. It’s well over an hour’s drive into the spot we had reserved along single 4WD tracks. We met another group leaving as we were going in, which made for some tight passing and tricky manoeuvring.

Setting up a comfortable camp is mandatory

It was awesome to see the change in landscape heading towards the beach. The trees started to thin out and the ones that were there were on a lean from the constant winds that blow in from the south. As you got closer to the campsites, the trees disappeared completely and revealed amazing pristine dunes for as far as the eye could see. After arriving at the camp area, we made a plan to get completely set up before heading down to the beach for a look.

Being at the mercy of the weather, it is very important to have a good shelter where you can hide from the constant wind. I think for the whole trip there was one morning when it wasn’t windy. Once we were organized, Russ, Scotty and I jumped in the 4WD and Arge on a quad and went for a look down the beach. It was an incredible feeling seeing such a wild coastline for the first time, and the pristine beaches of Yalata certainly were something truly spectacular. The huge dunes opened up to an incredible blue surf beach and lagoon. There was a group of anglers, one of whom was hooked up to a large salmon, so we were pretty excited to get into the fishing. We travelled along the beach looking for a good gutter where we could spend the next couple of days.

DAY 2 - FIRST DAY FISHING

After our first windy night, it was time to head to the beach for the day. Our game plan for the week was to fish around the high tide, which was around lunch on the first day and would then get a little bit later each day for the trip. I distinctly remember getting on the quad bike and heading up the first big dune out from camp on the way to the beach with all the gear packed, looking out at the vast remoteness of it all and feeling that even if we didn’t catch a big mulloway, it was going to be one hell of an adventure!

While the guys set up bait rods along an amazing gutter for the day, I did a mix of throwing big plastics into the wash and also heading to the lagoon for flathead fishing and chasing salmon. There is so much opportunity for variety in such a wild location, and I had an absolute blast cruising the beach on the quad sight casting salmon schools. Even just being out there was fun, to be completely honest. It had been years since I’d spent time on bikes and I was loving every minute. With the first day coming to a close, we decided to finish the evening fishing the lagoon near the camp, which resulted in some awesome big flathead and some salmon as well.

DAY 3 - TIME TO EXPLORE

Day three started a little differently, as during the evening before, Russ and Arge had very kindly decided to bring along ten dozen unopened oysters to share around. Now you probably know where this story is headed, but I will never forget seeing Arge mid-conversation say “Oh crap” as he grabbed his hand as thick red blood started to pour from it. A quick slip of a butter knife had gone straight in between his fingers and resulted in a very serious wound. He made the smart call early, and after we bandaged his hand up to stop the bleeding, he headed for Ceduna Hospital to be stitched up. Now who thought bringing oysters on such a trip was a good idea! So it was just the three of us on the beach for the morning.

Big salmon are easy to find, and make great mulloway bait

After searching the wash with a big plastic, Russ suggested I head off on the tracks to explore some of the other areas. It is a bit cliched to say the fishing was just a bonus, but I had an incredible time cruising through the dunes on the single tracks and along the beach just sightseeing what Yalata had to offer. It’s just an incredible place that we are very lucky to be able to visit. Returning later, I was very pleased to see Arge had returned from the hospital and that the fish gods had shone down on him. After getting back to the beach it was his second bait that was nailed by the first mulloway of the trip, a beautiful 70cm model that was returned to the surf after a quick photo. This was Arge’s first mulloway, so it was a special capture indeed.

DAY 4 - THE BIG MULLOWAY

It is funny how some fishing trips go. While Russ, Arge and myself had been enjoying pretty regular bites, Scotty however was yet to land anything substantial. Scotty was fishing the best out of all of us. Each day the three of us would comment how methodically Scotty fished, keeping his bait in check and not leaving his rod while it was in the water. He’d stop for the odd snack or drink of water, but other than that he just kept an eagle eye on his rod tip while removing any weed that would get caught on his braid.

Scotty was fishing a beautiful gutter near some reef when something happened. I’ll never forget looking over to see Scotty drive the hooks into something big — really big! We all raced over and watched in anticipation for what was on Scotty’s line. It was tense for five minutes or so as he began gaining line back. We all hoped and what an incredible moment it was when we got the first glimpse of a giant silver slab in the waves a couple of breakers out. It was a very big mulloway! The celebration was something special as the big mulloway was brought up the beach. Out of anyone who could’ve caught it, we were so stoked that it was Scotty. He didn’t stray from the task and when the opportunity came along, he executed it perfectly. It was very cool to be a part of. It’s moments such as this in fishing that truly make memories that last a lifetime. A big Wild West mulloway caught during the day along a remote beach is something you’ll never forget.

Scotty’s big mulloway was easily fish of the trip

DAY 5 - LAST FISHING DAY

The last fishing day went by fairly uneventfully, but heading west in search of mulloway and having the means to do it should certainly be on the list of must-do things! After the day fishing had finished and we rode the quads back to camp, the decision was made to spend the last morning packing up and heading out before the next group came in. It was a big exercise getting in and out, so we were all very happy as we made it back to the highway. Apart from a couple of small hiccups, the trip had gone very well for us. While it would have been nice to go and just smash the big mulloway, persisting and just getting to see one fish of that calibre made the trip very special. I would like to thank the Yalata community for still allowing access to anglers wanting to fish the area. We are very lucky to be able to experience such a unique wild place. Hopefully, one day down the track we might be able to do it all again!