South Australian Angler – June 2018

Head, between the entrance and the

jetty. There is a shallow rock shelf that

can be waded on during low tide, or

alternatively you can use a longer rod of

around the 9-10 foot mark to achieve

the casting distance.

Every season a few snapper are

caught from the jetty, but it’s usually a

case of being in the right place at the

right time. These are generally good

fish in the 5-7kg size. Gummy sharks

are also caught off the jetty during the

winter months, and similarly from some

land-based locations within the bay.

Most of the fringing water within the bay

is quite shallow, but if you do find some

deeper water, gummies can be caught if

you put in the time.

Back out on the highway, travelling

12km past Port Kenny there is a turn

off to the Venus Bay Conservation Park

(or you can follow some narrower dirt

tracks prior). Visiting the Conservation

Park is a great outing, with plenty of

native scrub and a rugged coastline to

enjoy. The park is fully fenced, with the

threatened brush-tailed bettong and

bilby being reintroduced into the park.

The dirt road eventually winds its

way around the western shore of the

bay to North Head where there is a

2km beach that can be accessed. A

few whiting, flathead and salmon trout

are available from the beach, with the

western corner quite protected.

Back out on the highway, travelling

around 23km from Port Kenny will

bring you to the turn off to Baird Bay.

You will need to follow 29km of dirt

road before arriving at Baird. This is a

rugged and remote little bay system

with limited amenities.

The bay itself is quite shallow and

doesn’t lend itself to land-based fishing.

A few tommies and smaller King George

can be caught from the shore, and there

is a Marine Park Sanctuary Zone within

the bay, so you will need to check the

boundaries first.

There is, however, some really good

land-based fishing along the exposed

shoreline surrounding Baird Bay.

Approximately 10km to the east (as the

crow flies) is Tyringa Beach, and this

is one of the few locations along this

stretch of coast where you can still fish

on a strong north to north west-wind.

Salmon schools frequent this stretch

of coast, as do gummy and school sharks

at night. Fishing smaller baits offers a

few mullet and tommies. There are also

plenty of rock ledges around Tyringa

where sweep and salmon are caught in

the upper column.

SCEALES BAY

Sceales Bay is located around 27km

from Baird Bay or 32km south of

Streaky Bay, and consists of a small

settlement on the southern end of the

bay. The bay itself stretches for around

13km and is largely clean white sand

with minimal rock. The bay collects a

reasonable amount of swell, and there

are some decent gutters along the

middle section. There is a Marine Park

Sanctuary Zone around half way along

the beach, but land-based fishing is

allowed. Salmon, from trout size up to

around 2kg, are available, along with a

few mullet from the near shore gutters.

You can drive along the beach here,

although it does get quite soft in places.

A few school-sized mulloway are

caught from this beach, but expect to

invest a bit of time if you want success.

Bronze whalers are fairly common, and

range in size from smaller metre-long

sharks right up to solid whalers of 2.5m

and better. Expect to catch a few eagle

rays when soaking a bait for either a

mulloway or sharks along this beach.

Heading south from Sceales Bay on

Venus Bay is a very popular

tourist destination

Gummies from the surf are

common on most beaches

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