OUR TRAVEL STATS: We made the road trip to Exmouth from the far south coast of NSW in a 2006 Toyota HiLux (petrol auto) with around 388,000 km on clock at departure. Limiting our top speed to between 100 and 110 km/h we averaged just a whisker over 13 litres/100 km, which isn’t too bad considering the age of the vehicle and the load on board: including tents, rod tubes, etc on the roof racks. Here are the full stats for our journey: Total kilometres: 5,222.1 Total fuel consumed: 683.1 L Average fuel consumption: 13.08 L/100km Total fuel cost: $1,389.42 Av. cost of ULP: $2.03/L Fuel stops: 15 Av. Fuel added per stop: 45.54L Nights spent on road: 7 Av. Distance/day: 746km
I was based at RAAF Learmonth 71 - 73 (5ACSF). There is a jetty opposite the RAAF base main gate (kaylis fishing jetty) and we were catching Spanish mackerel off that jetty as well as tusk fish (blue bone) trevally, spangled emperor. Best posting in 12 years of service
@@geoffwrigley1494 yes, great area! I’ve fished the public Learmonth jetty (in fact I think it’s in the second episode of this two-parter). It can be a top spot when it fires! Unbelievable amounts of baitfish under it at times.
Love your laid back style Steve, it’s always so much fun exploring new fishing grounds especially land based. Even thinking of people back at camp to make sashimi for just shows what a true gentleman you are.
I was wading out through the flags for a swim, noticing some anglers a hundred metres away, when I trod on something that felt like human skin. I quickly lifted my foot not knowing what it was. On the way back to shore I noticed a few small rays nosing up current towards the anglers. They were smelling their baits or berley.
Great vid, thanks so much mate, you really covered some ground there. When I was doing the same back in the mid 90's I found I was way undergunned with my Sydney rigs, locals laughed at me as I lost fish after fish, first time I learned how tropical north fishing was a totally different game as you know too well. Lures werent as effective as thumping big baits probably as you say there was so much food in the water already, a dumb slow smelly offering was better received. I too lost a lot of fish that werent hooking up and eventually realised it was because I just didnt have the line weight to properly set the hook in the mouths of these neolithic monsters, as soon as I upgraded line class my hook rate increased dramatically. Wish I was there again, but living vicariously through my older brother whose heading up the coast in a round Oz Odyssey atm, almost there, sent him this vid to whet his appetite. Nice one Starlo.
Hey mate. Been watching you since I was a kid. Got kids of my own now 😅. Love to see that you're venturing into the youtube space. I've learned heaps from your bream videos and i'll tell ya that this video has been a great reminder that you dont need a huge boat and heavy gear to have plenty of fun. Tight lines mate 👍.
Fantastic fishing and love that topwater strike. Have you tried single hooks on the poppers? I found the hook up rate better or at least the same. Bonus is it makes unhooking easier and less damage to released fish. 🙂
Absolutely loved that beach fishing it’s the best way to fish and it’s great exercise I can’t wait for part two. I hope you show your sashimi recipe my mouth was watering 😊I got a nice queenie the other week on a live whiting 🐠
I thoroughly enjoyed that vid, Starlo - makes me want to pack the ute and cross the continent. I love light gear fishing and one of my go-to rods is a 7'2'' 2-4kg Shimano Starlo Stick with a Stradic Ci4 2500.
fun trip, long way to drive however for a fish, but would be worth it for tourism aspect as well, one thing I would want to do eventually is check out the whale sharks.
Great vid thanks. Never been to WA one day. You should get yourself one of those rod belts best bit of kit I got gives you two free hands to release the fish while your reel is safe on your side. EDIT: That between the leg action looks like hard work.
Well done Starlo, great vid, as usual rivetting footage and action and great narration. Just an aside, you say wasn’t firing with a lot of action, and fish. For me it would have been going off. I like the idea of bigger fish on lighter gear. I want to target some local Trevally on my fave grounds on the Mid North Coast, on my heavier Bream gear. So a 2500 reel with a Shimano, fast taper rod, actually a Maikuro II 2-4 kg. Line 6lb braid and 8lb leader. I think here on the Mid North Coast, however the Trevally are yr run of the mill Silver Trevs, whereas a bit further up the coast you can tangle with likes of Gold Spot, Bluefin, Big Eye, G.T’s some monsters too. Can I get Fringe Fin Trevs around my parts? Like the smaller presentations too. Go to, the smaller shallow diving hardbodies. So far, landed a few undersize versions of my quarry, just shy of the mark, there are bigger ones there, amongst them, just need a bit of luck!
beautiful video there starlo do the miles get the smiles, quick question do you have any stealth prawns laying around that i could purchase off of you? cheers
Yes, lots of fun. I typically run a 20 pound leader at places like Exmouth, with a short (25cm) 'shock tippet' of 40 pound if I think bitey or abbrasive critters are on the cards. Good luck! (Have you watched my two Exmouth land-based videos yet?)
@@StarloGetsReelWould a 6ft 10 inch 1-3kg be a good rod to use for like snapper flathead and other species on soft plastics and lures. Or something heavier like a 7ft 3-6kg
OUR TRAVEL STATS:
We made the road trip to Exmouth from the far south coast of NSW in a 2006 Toyota HiLux (petrol auto) with around 388,000 km on clock at departure. Limiting our top speed to between 100 and 110 km/h we averaged just a whisker over 13 litres/100 km, which isn’t too bad considering the age of the vehicle and the load on board: including tents, rod tubes, etc on the roof racks. Here are the full stats for our journey:
Total kilometres: 5,222.1
Total fuel consumed: 683.1 L
Average fuel consumption: 13.08 L/100km
Total fuel cost: $1,389.42
Av. cost of ULP: $2.03/L
Fuel stops: 15
Av. Fuel added per stop: 45.54L
Nights spent on road: 7
Av. Distance/day: 746km
I was based at RAAF Learmonth 71 - 73 (5ACSF). There is a jetty opposite the RAAF base main gate (kaylis fishing jetty) and we were catching Spanish mackerel off that jetty as well as tusk fish (blue bone) trevally, spangled emperor. Best posting in 12 years of service
@@geoffwrigley1494 yes, great area! I’ve fished the public Learmonth jetty (in fact I think it’s in the second episode of this two-parter). It can be a top spot when it fires! Unbelievable amounts of baitfish under it at times.
Good on you Starlo for doing the big kays with your daughter, and your right, the tropics are not a fish a cast ,cheers Tom
Cheers!
A very relatable video! Good stuff.
Thank you!
Love the honesty that sometimes despite planning it can be quiet
Thanks! Yep. It gets us all from time to time, regardless of location.
Love your laid back style Steve, it’s always so much fun exploring new fishing grounds especially land based.
Even thinking of people back at camp to make sashimi for just shows what a true gentleman you are.
Thanks mate! 👍👍👍
I was wading out through the flags for a swim, noticing some anglers a hundred metres away, when I trod on something that felt like human skin. I quickly lifted my foot not knowing what it was. On the way back to shore I noticed a few small rays nosing up current towards the anglers. They were smelling their baits or berley.
Always a joy to watch and listen to your thought process on fishing.
Thanks for that!
Hope we'll see a lot more of these longer videos on this trip, Steve.
Thanks! Yes, the longer vids seem popular.
Great vid, thanks so much mate, you really covered some ground there. When I was doing the same back in the mid 90's I found I was way undergunned with my Sydney rigs, locals laughed at me as I lost fish after fish, first time I learned how tropical north fishing was a totally different game as you know too well. Lures werent as effective as thumping big baits probably as you say there was so much food in the water already, a dumb slow smelly offering was better received. I too lost a lot of fish that werent hooking up and eventually realised it was because I just didnt have the line weight to properly set the hook in the mouths of these neolithic monsters, as soon as I upgraded line class my hook rate increased dramatically. Wish I was there again, but living vicariously through my older brother whose heading up the coast in a round Oz Odyssey atm, almost there, sent him this vid to whet his appetite. Nice one Starlo.
Great feedback! Thanks. Yes, I don't think the soft tip on that light rod was doing me any favours in the hook setting department.
Hey mate. Been watching you since I was a kid. Got kids of my own now 😅. Love to see that you're venturing into the youtube space. I've learned heaps from your bream videos and i'll tell ya that this video has been a great reminder that you dont need a huge boat and heavy gear to have plenty of fun. Tight lines mate 👍.
Thank you so much! Glad you’re enjoying my content. 👍
Great work mate. Lots of fun. Keep up the great content.😂
Thanks, will do!
Awesome mate ...loved it !
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great video Starlo
Cheers!
Love exmouth and love the video mate
Thanks! Yep, great part of the world.
Fantastic fishing and love that topwater strike. Have you tried single hooks on the poppers? I found the hook up rate better or at least the same. Bonus is it makes unhooking easier and less damage to released fish. 🙂
Yes I have. I reckon I hook a few less but also drop less, so it balances out... and yes, definitely kinder to fish and fishers!
Great video that one. I caught my first Queenie alongside those same posts.
Good stuff!
Nice video, Starlo! It's so much more fun fishing with light gears. Looking forward to the 2nd part!
Thanks!
Absolutely loved that beach fishing it’s the best way to fish and it’s great exercise I can’t wait for part two. I hope you show your sashimi recipe my mouth was watering 😊I got a nice queenie the other week on a live whiting 🐠
Thanks! Sounds like I better do a dedicated sashimi video at some stage.
@@StarloGetsReel Thanks Starlo
I thoroughly enjoyed that vid, Starlo - makes me want to pack the ute and cross the continent. I love light gear fishing and one of my go-to rods is a 7'2'' 2-4kg Shimano Starlo Stick with a Stradic Ci4 2500.
Nice! Yes, worth the drive.
These people who say got him and invariably Miss Him. sorry Steve
fun trip, long way to drive however for a fish, but would be worth it for tourism aspect as well, one thing I would want to do eventually is check out the whale sharks.
Yes, it's a great part of the world.
Great vid thanks. Never been to WA one day. You should get yourself one of those rod belts best bit of kit I got gives you two free hands to release the fish while your reel is safe on your side. EDIT: That between the leg action looks like hard work.
Great advice!
Well done Starlo, great vid, as usual rivetting footage and action and great narration. Just an aside, you say wasn’t firing with a lot of action, and fish. For me it would have been going off. I like the idea of bigger fish on lighter gear. I want to target some local Trevally on my fave grounds on the Mid North Coast, on my heavier Bream gear. So a 2500 reel with a Shimano, fast taper rod, actually a Maikuro II 2-4 kg. Line 6lb braid and 8lb leader. I think here on the Mid North Coast, however the Trevally are yr run of the mill Silver Trevs, whereas a bit further up the coast you can tangle with likes of Gold Spot, Bluefin, Big Eye, G.T’s some monsters too. Can I get Fringe Fin Trevs around my parts? Like the smaller presentations too. Go to, the smaller shallow diving hardbodies. So far, landed a few undersize versions of my quarry, just shy of the mark, there are bigger ones there, amongst them, just need a bit of luck!
Thanks for that. I suspect fringe fins will be further north but you might encounter the odd stray GT or brassie when the water is warm.
Great video, Exmouth is a magical place. Did you try any fly fishing while there?
Thanks! Yes, fly fished a bit and had one MAGICAL day on the Gulf! TH-cam video coming...
@@StarloGetsReel awesome can’t wait. Been for fly trips there twice, hopefully a third later this year.
What is the beach that you went to in the morning called? Great vid mate
I don’t know its name. On the western side down towards the entrance to the national park.
beautiful video there starlo do the miles get the smiles, quick question do you have any stealth prawns laying around that i could purchase off of you? cheers
Thanks mate! Sorry to say my small stash of Stealths ran out a few years ago.
Had a laugh on those missed ones . Im in Exmouth this week what size leader would you recommend on the light gear im using 8lb braid.
Thanks
Yes, lots of fun. I typically run a 20 pound leader at places like Exmouth, with a short (25cm) 'shock tippet' of 40 pound if I think bitey or abbrasive critters are on the cards. Good luck! (Have you watched my two Exmouth land-based videos yet?)
Not yet, I will have too. much appreciated
Hey Starlo, just out of curiosity what type of rod are you using? It seems really nice and light for working soft plastics and lures.
It's a Shimano t-Curve Premium Lon Cast (LC). Sweet rod. But the slightly cheaper Anarchy version is almost as good, too.
@@StarloGetsReel would a sienna 2500 reel be a good pair with that rod.
@@StarloGetsReelWould a 6ft 10 inch 1-3kg be a good rod to use for like snapper flathead and other species on soft plastics and lures. Or something heavier like a 7ft 3-6kg
Are the T curve premium rod any good? I want to pair it up with a vanford when I buy the vanford.
Great rods.
@@StarloGetsReel nice what about the Zodias?
Hey man love the video! What size popper are you using and do you know the brand of it? Going to Exmouth in a couple of days so can't wait!
Good stuff! You'll love Exmouth. I used a few different poppers, but for light tackle work make sure you have some Shimano Ligens... they're deadly!
Hey Starlo, wondering what rod and line youre using? Looks awesome fun mate!
It's a Shimano Vanford reel on one of their T-Curve Premium Long Cast light spin rods. Six or eight pound Kairiki braid.
Hey Starlo, What shimano rods would you recommend for what you are doing in this video under 350 bucks? Maybe an anarchy 7ft 2-4 kg?
Yep, the Anarchy range is great and excellent value for what you get. 👍
👍
Thanks!
See a fin pop up at 25.27
Quite likely!