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Inshore Fishing Ningaloo WA

By Josh Cooper

The Ningaloo Reef is a world heritage listed reef that is located on the WA coastline between Carnarvon and Exmouth. Our dad secured a job managing a station right in the middle of the Ningaloo, so we were lucky enough to have the chance to fish this incredible area for 18 months. Here's some of the adventures that followed...

Popping the reef

Popping on the reef is an incredible way to spend a day. When popping the Ningaloo there are endless species of fish to catch, from coral trout to big green jobfish, Spanish mackerel and of course Monster GTs.

My favourite and the most successful lure, in my opinion, is the Fish Inc. Lures Hooker 160mm sinking stickbait. It had a very good profile for long casts and a very life like action when retrieved at speed. Casting this lure with a long cast up into the white water and retrieving it fast will see plenty of success on GTs, big Spanish macs and if you're lucky a monster red bass. This is my favourite lure to fish with when fishing the outside of the reef.

Another very successful lure for popping the reef is the Fish Inc. Lures Scrum Half 140mm popper. This lure is the perfect size for doing this because it is big enough to attract the attention of very large fish, such as GTs and Spanish mackerel, while still being small enough to catch coral trout, spangled emperor and other reef species. This is the lure that I use when fishing the back of the reef on the inside.

Jigging the back of the reef

Jigging the back of the reef is one of the most fun ways to explore the Ningaloo and is so much fun because of the diversity of species you can catch. You can catch coral trout, coronation trout, blue bone and baldchin grouper, spangled emperor, green jobfish, Spanish mackerel, cobia and of course all of the trevally species.

There are two different ways to jig the back of the reef and two styles of soft plastic to go with these techniques. The first technique is bouncing your plastic along the bottom. When doing this I recommend using paddle tail lures. My favourite is the ZMan 4" DieZel MinnowZ, rigged with a TT Lures 1oz HeadlockZ HD jighead. When using this technique with the paddle tail, you have more of a chance of landing demersal species, such as the trout, emperor and cod species.

The second technique is fast jigging. This is when you drop your lure to the bottom and fast burn (fast wind) and jig it to the surface. When doing this I would recommend using jerkbait style plastic. My favourite is the ZMan 5" Scented Jerk ShadZ, paired with a TT Lures 1oz HeadlockZ HD jighead, however the ZMan 7" Scented Jerk ShadZ and 5" StreakZ are just as effective. When fishing this way you are more likely to expect pelagic species, such as mackerel, trevally, and cobia.

There are many different options in terms of rods and reels for this type of fishing, however I would recommend using the Okuma Azores 4000 reel, with the Azores 7" 8-12kg spinning rod. This is a lightweight combo but it still has enough power to pull those big fish out of the bottom.

Land Based

When land based fishing the Ningaloo there are three main types of fishing; beach, coral and rock. These three different types of underwater environments hold a very diverse variety of species, from permit and bonefish, to coral trout and blue bone.

Rod and Reel

The rod and reel combo that I would recommend for beach fishing is an Okuma Cerros 7'0" 3-6kg rod with an Okuma Helios HSX-30 spinning reel. This is a perfect combo for beach fishing because it is very light and easy to cast, yet still heavy enough to handle big trevally and queenfish.

The rod and reel that I would recommend for rock and coral reef is the Cerros 7'0" 5-12kg spin rod with a Helios HSX-40 spinning reel. This is a bit of a heavier combo because when fishing these areas there is a lot of structure that you could get cut off on and you need a bit more power to land those bigger fish.

Beach Fishing

When fishing beach and sandy areas you are likely to catch spangled emperor, blue salmon and if you're lucky a bonefish or permit. When beach fishing the best strategy, in my opinion, is to walk along the beach and cast soft plastics as you walk. I believe that he best soft plastic for this is the ZMan 3" MinnowZ, rigged on a TT Lures 3/8oz headlockz jighead.

Coral Reef

When fishing coral reef there is such a diversity of fish you can catch, from trevally and queenfish, to coral trout, blue bone and everything in between. These areas are quite often very shallow, so I would recommend using a very light jighead or otherwise you will get a lot of snags and lose a lot of lures. I would recommend using a 1/4oz or 1/6oz TT Lures HeadlockZ jighead, rigged with a ZMan 3" MinnowZ for this fishing. The best way to fish coral reef areas is to move around and cast at any large structure.

Rocky Structure

When fishing rocky areas you are likely to catch spangled emperor, dark tail, mangrove jack and a lot of painted sweetlip. The best way of fishing these areas is to walk and cast until you find a good area and then you can often get multiple fish from a small area. When fishing these areas the best lure is the ZMan 3" MinnowZ, rigged with a TT lures 1/4oz or 3/8oz HeadlockZ HD jighead.

That's just a taste of what's on offer in this magic part of the world. If you get to visit the area make sure that you have a couple of combos packed and a handful of lures ready to go.

Cheers, Cody
(Bivouac Boyz)