I
’ve loved Yorke Peninsula since first
visiting the place as a fishing-mad
kid. That was back in the days when
Port Giles jetty had just opened, decent
boat launching sites were few and
far between, and many of our fishing
adventures involved traversing rough
tracks in the family sedan to access the
better locations. Brother Craig and I lived
for our YP weekends, which happened
frequently enough to install the place at
the top of our favourite destinations list.
As we entered teenage years, this
love affair blossomed. Both our father
and grandfather had long been keen
jetty fishermen who enjoyed nothing
more than getting stuck into a mob of
big Edithburgh jetty tommies or Port
Giles trevally. This provided Craig and
me with the opportunity to set big baits
on heavy tackle, which often resulted in
some thumping snapper and the usual
procession of sharks and rays. I can recall
one all-nighter on Giles jetty that produced
eight reds of between 15-25 pounds, along
with a couple of smooth stingrays that
required three drop gaffs and four sets of
hands to haul onto the jetty. Those were
heady times at Port Giles.
Then there was the annual mullet
run at Marion Bay, literally hundreds
of winter squid from Wool Bay, crabs
at Ardrossan, school mulloway at Klein
Point and even a few small yellowtail
kings in various locations. Eastern Yorke
Peninsula was undoubtedly the place to
be at that time, particularly if you didn’t
own a boat and enjoyed nothing better
than catching quality fish from jetty,
beach or rocks.
Although the fishing may not be
quite as good today as it was in the
‘golden era’, I still consider Yorke
Peninsula to be among SA’s very
best out-of-town angling locations. It
continues to offer some first class jetty
fishing, the yellowfin whiting are among
the biggest you’ll find, seasonal blue
crab numbers are at an all time high, and
there are plenty of King George whitingaccessible from several areas. As a
bonus, YP now offers some of the best
boating facilities in the State.
A few years ago we bought a small
holiday house over that way, which
we share regularly with the extended
family. There are few things I enjoy more
than taking my young grandchildren
squidding on the local jetty, hooking gar
from the rocks or maybe raking crabs
on the flats. Hopefully, such experiences
will lead them into life-long love affairs
with Yorke Peninsula, as they did for me.
One of the most attractive things
about visiting YP’s east coast is its
relative proximity to Adelaide. Nowhere
is further away than a three-hour drive,
making it a comfortable distance for
a weekend – something that is quite
significant when you have young kids
on board. Let’s take a close look at the
major locations along this stretch of
coast, outlining the available facilities
and what you can expect to catch
throughout the year.ARDROSSAN
Named after a small town in south-west
Scotland, Ardrossan is essentially the
gateway to eastern Yorke Peninsula.
It’s about 150km from Adelaide, which
equates to a comfortable hour and a
half on the highway. Ardrossan has
two jetties, one of which is open to
the public, and another longer one to
the south that is closed to foot traffic.
Boaties are permitted to fish around the
big jetty at a minimum distance of 30m,
but are prohibited from access when
there’s a ship tied up. The town jetty,
which features a giant blue swimmer
crab at its entrance, is among the most
popular and productive piers on YP. A
casual walk along most of its length will
reveal hundreds of squid ink patches,
indicating that calamari are among the
most popular angling targets. Indeed,
it’s not unusual for competent squidders
to catch their daily quota of 15 without
trying too hard.That rather daunting blue crab
archway at the foot of the jetty is an
accurate indicator of just how productive
it can be for drop netters. The crabs
generally start to show up in October,
then improve all the way through
summer and into early autumn. Most of
the bigger males show up in February and
March. It’s nearly always worth setting
a net or two during the ‘r’ months while
fishing for other things at Ardrossan.
Yellowfin whiting specialists will
often find schools of nice fish in the jetty
shallows, as well as on the tidal flats to
the north and south. Some of these are
way bigger than average, with 35-40cm
specimens relatively common between
October and March. Mullet, tommies
and snook also can be expected from
the jetty in season, but the major prize
is mulloway. Most of those hooked are
‘schoolies’ of between 3-5kg, but every
now and then a lucky angler will land a
bigger jewie of 8kg or more. Live baits
like trumpeters, mullet and salmon trout
seem to attract the better specimens.
Ardrossan’s offshore snapper fishery
is legendary, often rivalling the sort of
action found in Spencer Gulf off Whyalla
and Arno Bay. However, things haven’t
been quite so rosy on the Ardrossan
grounds for the past two years, and we
can only hope that the glory days return.
There are many short-stay
accommodation options in Ardrossan,
ranging from two first class caravan
parks through to upmarket holiday villas.
The town also boasts a terrific shopping
precinct, including a well-stocked
tackle store and, arguably, the best
supermarket on the Peninsula.
Those towing boats are well catered
for with a protected launching ramp
situated near the Viterra jetty complex.BLACK POINT
Although it doesn’t have a fishing jetty,
Black Point offers a recently upgraded
boat ramp and one of the most beautiful
stretches of beach on eastern YP. It’suoS
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