I haven't been to quobba for years, but last time I went it was not just a 4WD track, but a "carry two spare tyres" 4wd track. You would have to have little concern for both the hire car, yourself and your wallet to try that in a hire 2wd.

While I do know some crazy guys to fly fish from quobba, its not exactly the most ideal location for flyfishing. Think double handed, beefy reels, really heavy shootings heads (or a 10weight +) and you'll probably have to be able to shoot the whole line. Then you have to somehow get the fish up the rocks as well (not easy to do by yourself). Also, keep in mind, it can get pretty dangerous, especially if you're new to the area. Might be pretty hard going (and dangerous) if you're not going with someone who knows the area and what you'd need.

Exmouth isnt that further, and tenting for a week is still going to be much cheaper than the fly gear you'd want for quobba. Much easier to get around in a 2wd car too.

Even better, you could be up in exmouth fly fishing at the boat ramp there and someone could feel pity for you and take you out =0

I'm considering the two. And leaning towards Exmouth. Thanks Till, for the pointer on the vehicle, which is my biggest consideration as a 4WD costs roughly double what I don't have and a stuck vehicle goes nowhere fast.

I know there are probably miles of beaches along Quobba where I can probably fish with some success, but have been neither to Quobba or to Exmouth and not familiar with the roads that far north. Trevally and queens are my target. Is the land based (I should say shore or beach to be technically more accurate) stuff that much better at Exmouth?

Is is safe to leave the car a distance and camp on the beach? Had a theft and vandalism problem when I was in studying in Perth for a year and I had a crap of a car which was shared by 5 students.

And is the driving significantly better? I am worried about the vehicle so am looking at renting a corolla or camry - you guys think these would be road worthy up to Exmouth? Will rent from a company that has offices all the way up there. I am not one to try drive a city car on a beach the most I dare to do is unsealed roads. I know it takes 2 seconds to dig in a car and an hour to dig it out!

I've fished Peron Point (loved it there) just south of Perth before and thought that was pretty crazy when the salmon and bonito run thru (alwyas out of reach), so was not intending to fish the cliffs which look ten times worse. I'm pretty sure the survival rate is near zero up there if you can't get out of the drink before the tax man cometh - thanks for keeping me in check. I've also fished Two Rocks at Lanclin which can be a little uncomfortable when you're the the only one there - i was the only one with a life jacket so felt like a dork.

It's taken me 2years and a job to get to this trip, so I'll break a fly rod, and sit on the boat ramp sulking at Exmouth if that will help.

From the beach what would you guys reckon. Quobba or Exmouth?
Lets see a show of hands :)

If your interest is in catching pelagic species i'd strongly recommend spinning with 85grm raiders. These lures are simple but highly effective. Spots like two mile on a low tide and whistling rock on high tide are great ledges but you'll need a pole gaff for both, in July this year when i was up there for a week we hooked fifteen one morning and the sharks took the lot so bring plenty of raiders in all colours.Your popping rod would fit the bill for this exercise. Ray

Mate, am living up in karratha and we make an effort too call in and stay at exmouth and coral bay when ever we go past. have not done any shore fishing in either but reckon you would  be able to get queenies anywhere along there and the roads are fine for a hire car providing you don't go tryin out the 4wd gtracks in a 2wd. Adam may be able to tell yopu more about which beaches to fish but defffinetly worth the extra kms. have fun....

It has been quite windy up this way with last week end being the exception and the swell up around 2 metres.

The last time I went for a drive up that way was about 6-7 weeks back and the roads.track were not too bad[thinking of going up there tomorrow[have a reason]and will let you know.
There are some spots you can get to with 2wd but if the wind is up it cuts out most of the better spots--Garth's/Red Bluff etc

Though its hard for me to say if it was me Exmouth would be my preference because there is usually somewhere to fish where ever the wind is coming from at this time of the year.

I would definitely go to Exmouth Desmond if I was you. Always find a lee shore around there to throw out a fly.

Quobba is no place for a first timer fishing solo IMO, let alone fly fishing.

Planned too early, but that's me.
Will be renting a medium sized sedan and since it's just me left, I'll be making my way up in no real hurry.

Will a small car be asking for trouble? I've seen someone hit a big red at Perth airport, it became a compact. Not pretty so I don't intend to be driving much at night.

Any updates on the road conditions over there is much appreciated. Will get in touch with Adam for specific locations to wet a feather as the date gets closer.

Will bring
#8/9 double handed fly rod
#9 fly rod
100gram spinning popping rod running 50lbs line
50gram spinning popping rod running 20lbs line
Hope it all fits in a tube!!! Lemme know what you guys think.

And I guess I'll spin or fly depending on the wind and where my poor navigation skills get me.

Going to Exmouth is a long drive from what i have read you traveling on a very low budget,just remember the further north the more things cost fuel will be up to $1.80 per litre food is not cheap.trips like that do need a little planing as things can get out of hand at the drop of a hat and as Russ and Sandy discovered last trip people are to raped up in there own little adventure to even stop to lend a hand no phone coverage between towns . good luck take care.

is a bugger on a trip north - i would go for Exmouth. If the budget is tight, Google up cheap car rentals - there are a few around with reasonable cars that are a lot cheaper than the big operators. Don't eat roadhouse crap - go to the Sammys and buy a couple of plates, pots and a frying pan for $10 and you can heat up your beans and tinned dog at a quarter of the cost - and hopefully - eat FISH!

Fly up and rent something when you're there!

Hi Desmond.  Exmouth is great and you can get there on the tar with a standard car.  It is a long drive take your time and have lots of rest breaks.  There are free camping spots all along the way.  Just take plenty of water, food and get your tent before you go.  Check your fuel consumption as you are going along and make sure you have more than enough to make it to the next fuel stop.  Do not drive at night due to animals on the roads especially north of Carnarvon. I don't think there are any free camping spots around Exmouth but  an unpowered site at a van park would not be too expensive. 

You may also like to try minimal fee camping at the Cape Range National Park.  They have marked bays with pit toilets and a ranger who comes past regularly.

If you are going into Cape Range take everything you need to be self sufficient there are no shops except back in Exmouth.  Take some shade there are no real big trees.  Also check with the Ranger where you can beach fish there are a few marine reserves along the coast. 

Have a great time

i can lend you a 3 man tent - comfortable for 3 Biafrans or a couple of Aussies. Just drop it back at my brothers after you return. Also a 90 litre Esky like the ones advertised here today - ice keeps for about 4-5 days if shaded. PM me if interested.

Camping at the lighthouse c p 1A unpowered = $18 per nite or $20 power, good place to stay easy axcess to west side plenty of places to fish. if windy try learmonth jetty 17 kms out of town on east side plenty of beachs around there cheek it out on your way up.also beachs around navy barricks turn off (new boat ramp) also town boat ramp. check your oil & water daily starting to get hot up that way, plenty of fuel stops from perth to northampton not many from there to carnarvon. have a great trip its a top place to go.

Regards Geoff

PS if you want to borrow a tent ,swag,gas stove send me a PM

Mate there are no beaches at quobba and it is 4wd country the tracks will trash a hire car!!!!It is all rock cliffs!!!!

As Ray said great fishing spot done right by guys who know how to fish it safely it is super dangerous!!!!

It is not a place to go by yourself first time !!!!!!!!

 drive to exmouth and fish there its like 3 hrs more driving,Safer and more options

Hard casting a flyrod into 20knt southerly which is the winds 90% of this time of year....

Cheers the Quobba fanatic

Mate , this time of year the return flights are cheap, then look at backpacker accomadation and then just hike it around town , the marina and local beach , treat yourself and hire a small car or scooter and visit the western side , all the better for fly fishing , you wont stand a chance at quobba unless you know some good spots

Hello Sir. Just a small reminder that Overlander nor Billabong roadhouses are 24hr operatons these days so if you are to be travelling at night I would strongly suggest bringing up a spare jerry can of fuel to get you between Geraldton and Carnarvon.Ray

Correction Overlander roadhouse is a 24 hour service,Billabong,Binnu and Wooramel shut down around 8.30-9 I think and re open around 630 in the morning.
Going further north Minilya roadhouse shuts down @8.30 and re opens @630 as well.
There has been quite a bit of stock on the road but if you travel in daylight hours and don't do a million miles an hour you will have a safe trip

Would not go to Quobba with 2wd. Road are very corrigated and would destroy a 2wd. Also no good for fly fishing. We use 9ft 10kg Ozflex rod with Shimano Stradic and Twin power 8000 loaded with 30lb braid.  Use mosty 85g Spaniads as you need to out past the reef. Will also need 3-6m pole gaff depending on where you fish. No beaches worth fishing. Have not fished Exmouth but last time I was in Coral Bay there was a guy catches queenies from the boat ramp. Agree woith others on driving at night. If you go to 4WD shop or RAC they have a book with a list of free camp sites.

Dear Gents. I gave Overlander roadhouse a call this arvo to find out what their trading hours are for accuracy purposes and the manager stated that they generally close between 11.00pm and 12.00pm depending on how much business they are doing and reopen at 4.00am.Although he did mention that if you had an emergency they could start the pumps if needed.Ray

It seems careful planning is in order - especially with the fuel and to avoid critters at night. I may have to take some of you up on the generous loan offers and will be sure to leave some bits of my load when I return yours.

Am wondering if a 90litre esky will fit in the trunk of a corolla? I've backpacked with a 90 backpack before and it was huge!!!

Trying to get someone else on board to halve the cost and equipment we need to lug, but it's looking pretty set to be a one man trip. I may bring a cactus with me for company. Or I can let the flies loose in the car like the spirit of st louis.

Is a 100gm popping rod (shimmy kaibutsu LP) overkill for fishing the beaches at Exmouth? It's the same one I use popping and livebaiting for small sailfish. I figure I'm gonna need the extra distance from the beach and hoping to run into some bad tempered GT or queens. I browsed through the "reports section" got me drooling but they are all fishing off the boats. Anyone done anything off the beach lately?

Gotta get a pic of me sitting with the pelicans at the boat ramp :)

There should be plenty of horses around to cast baits at. November & December is a very hot time in Exmouth. Often at this time of year, you can see a full week of over 40 degrees. You would be better hiring a small camper van, and doing a small shop in Perth before leaving, that way you will save a bit, and will have somewhere decent to sleep, not to mention you may need a vehicle that has reasonable ground clearance.

There are loads of cattle between Carnarvon and 60kms south of Exmouth, so night driving is only asking for trouble.

Hi,

Thanks Fisherman, that campervan idea is looking pretty good. The rental quote I got beats the regular car rental - but i expect it to be pretty beat up and smelling bad. It'll probably be an extra days driving, but I have a couple of days to burn and will probably spend more time on the beach since it comes with an esky a stove and maybe a clean bed. This would definately be more comfy. I've been in 44degrees before and that was bad. Will need to a tarp or dig a ditch under the van.

Reports from various guys have brought the wind to my attention and I will have to bring heavier gear i guess to do some popping and baiting for GT and shark. Taking shots at fly fishing on a lighter #10wt rod to catch bait and a feed.

Weird how a fly fishing trip turns up tossing baits and poppers!!!

I've got a
kaibutsu LP mated to a saragosa8000 running 40lbs and a
Kaikutsu DM mated to a spheros 18000 running 120lbs
Someone has offered to swap my kaibutsu DM for a shimmy surf game, but it's 4m long and I don't know if the length makes it too flimsy.

Any of you familiar with this gear? I can only stuff so many things into a PVC pipe.

I've decided not to do quobba, will try not to kill myself before all the fishing is done :) But I'll be back for it later when i'm more familiar with the coast and hook up with some cool fishos.

Anyone is free to join me.

the tent or are you going for clean sheets in a Camper Van like all the Nannas? Actually i am happy to lend the tent and Esky etc plus a bit of other gear - PM me if i can help with this or in any other way.

Whatever way you go, remember it will be summer, and summer comes snakes, and I have seen plenty on and around the roads at night while driving the Exmouth road. If you get out during the night for a leak, use a torch & have a good look before jumping out. A mate was beach fishing at the beginning of this year, laying on the beach with his rod, he looked up and noticed a nice Brown snake sliding off back up the beach from the direction where he was. Once he got up, he noticed by the track in the sand, the snake had almost brushed up against his back.....scary stuff.

I would definately go the camper option. You have a bit of time, ring around and get as many quotes as you can, you might find a better deal than you already have.

I Just realized its less than two weeks till my trip down to Perth and up to Exxy. Countdown begins. Hope there's mean fish in Exxy as it's gonna be a long long long drive to wet a popper.

Speaking of poppers, I'm trying to get GT off the beach and I've got like 15 GT sized poppers and stickbaits among the other smaller gear. Is that going to be enough? Will be running 80-100lbs. Will probably fish till i get sore, then go for smaller stuff till i recover. I have a bit of time up there.

and dusk. There is a fair chance you will get hammered by a roo or a goat.
I would take my time if I was you and stop at Carnarvon on the way up. And have a fish from the (hopefully) newly finished jetty. You might even be able to lure a nice big tailor or mulloway with your fly gear from the jetty.
And you can always get good quality, good value fruit and veges at Carnarvon to take with you to Exmouth.

Big tip - Go for the chocolate bananas if you stop at Carnarvon.

Hmmm Chocolate bananas, never had one. Sounds like yummy snack.

Any free camp sites in Canavron? Dunno if it's legal to just park and sleep in the campercan. Am planning to maybe take the drive slow and spend the second day in Canavron. Heard it's beautiful up there. Heard there's big queens at the jetty before someone torched it.

What dates are you in and leave Exmouth Desmond?  I'm outa town from the 23rd to the 4th, but if your around either side of that I may be able to give you a few pointers in person.

Hi Adam,

That's really cool of you.

Arriving in Perth on the 25th but won't get to pick up the campervan till late morning.

Since I'd rather not drive into livestock I'll not drive at night the further north i go I Expect to arrive in Exxy in the afternoon on the 26th or morning of the 27th depending on whether I overnight in canavron.

Start driving back on the 4th (unfortunately) to arrive in Perth the day before my flight to cater for vehicle breakdown.

So unfortunately we'll kind of exactly miss each other there!!! Would be great if you could drop me a couple of locations to try out. Will be loaning a GPS from a friend in Perth. It's hard to pick out location from Google Earth, the detail looks pretty much uniform much of the coastline.

If anyone else is looking to be up there during those dates, would love to meet up for a fish.

night time dusk dawn is when you'll hit animals no side vision pitch black

Thanks Mako for the heads up. I've driven some pretty bad places before but can only imagine more animate objects to hit in Australia given the abundance of wildlife.

Hence the extra day on the way back to Perth. Where I come from, pedestrians like to jump in front of your car hoping you'll stop coz it's illegal to hit a pedestrian (unless you're drunk)- so I got some practice. Still I'm taking no chances given I'm going it alone. Hard to get help with no network coverage.

The roads are bad, but they're not that bad, they've just finished slashing the sides of the roads so the visibility isn't that bad.  If your careful you should be fine.

As for spots.  Any of the accesses on the west side of Exmouth (ocean side) are good.  Try 5 mile for soft plastics and just work up and down the beach into the sand holes on a rising tide (2-3 hours before tide change is usually best)   Then just slowly work your way south driving down into the national park.  If you want to get a chance at a bone fish, pilgramunna and sandy bay are probably the best flats in Exmouth.  Make sure you get a sanctuary zone guide though.

Apart from that, if your really keen for a GT fish, walk up to the navy pier from Bundegi (fair hike) but theres good fish there.  Your just not allowed within 100m of the pier itself.  Other wise up around Mildura wreck on a rising tide there is a bit of action, just take a small backpack with assorted gear and walk along looking for action.  

Could write more, but I'd be here forever.

Cheers,

Adam

Hi 'm guessing "5 mile" is a spot roughly that distance from the tip of the peninsula?

And that is it a fair hike from Bundegi to Navy Pier coz we are not allowed to drive near the pier? Will be happy to walk some K's for a good fish.

Also, will i get a fine for walking through a sanctuary zone carrying a fishing rod if I don't wet the line? I may go from fishing to taking pictures so maybe if I take the reel off and put it in my pack? Its seems a waste to have to walk back to the vehicle to deposit the rods.