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South Australia’s far west coast on Eyre Peninsula is an eight hour drive from Adelaide. With a sparse population and hundreds of kilometres of rugged coastline, the region still offers good fishing opportunities for keen shore-based anglers like us. Along with my sister and brother-in-law we hired Oaklands Cottage, a basic but very comfortable fisherman’s haunt located on a sheep station run by friendly owners and perfectly located just five minutes away from beautiful Locks Well ocean beach. Winter is a good time to come here; the weather is relatively mild and schools of Australian Salmon frequent many of the beaches at this time of year during their annual 3,000 kilometre migration along the south coast of the continent towards Western Australia.
Locks Well and Sheringa Beaches in particular are favourite haunts of the migrating salmon and we fished both of these with surprisingly good results. We were on the sand at Sheringa with our first pilchard baits splashing into the cold ocean water before dawn. The fish lurking in the pounding surf were large and hungry and we caught 9 pounder after 9 pounder until our arms and shoulders ached and our primeval urges were fully satisfied (for the moment at least). We kept as many of the smaller fish as we could possibly eat over the next two or three days and released all the big ones to continue their own long westerly journeys, including one that had recently survived a shark or seal attack judging from the deep toothy gash on its side. Had it been a lucky or unlucky fish over the past week? By 9am the salmon action was fading and we moved on to a quieter beach nearby where we fished in deep blue-green pools near the shore, reeling in a few big King George Whiting and parrot fish. We would eagerly have swapped some of the salmon for more of the much better–eating whiting but were still very happy with the weighty bag of fish we hauled back to the car.
We also did some night fishing off the jetty in the nearby town of Elliston, hoping to catch squid but we caught none. On the way back to the cottage we had an unwelcome wildlife encounter when a kangaroo jumped out from the dark in front of the car, instantly extinguishing both itself and our car's front left headlamp in the now-dented bodywork. Ouch all round!
The following day we fished at Locks Well Beach, a beautiful expanse of white sand that runs along the bottom of a cliff, and access to which is via a steep 288-step wooden staircase. Going down is relatively easy but the climb back up with the fishing gear and a sack full of fish is tough going. Like Sheringa, Locks Well turned on the action for us and we continued to haul in and release large salmon well after we had enough smaller fish in the bag for eating. Salmon, mullet and tommy ruffs, the most common catch here, don’t freeze well so there’s no point keeping more than can be eaten within a few days. Needless to say, we’re now eating fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner while closely observing each other for the onset of involuntary flapping of the feet, the first sign of Omega-3 overload.
The Australian Salmon is a great fighter when hooked but unfortunately the eating qualities of the larger specimens are not good. The smaller ones, however, are quite OK; in fact, in Lee Tuan’s hands they become one of the tastiest fish dishes you could ever hope to enjoy.
Lee Tuan’s Crispy Spicy Australian Salmon
Take an Australian Salmon about 30cm long (one for each person). Create a pocket on both sides of the fish by cutting down along the backbone. Grind and blend together a clump of ginger, lemongrass, dried whole red chillies, shallots and a few kaffir lime leaves until reduced to a paste. Add a third of a teaspoon of shrimp paste and stir in thoroughly. Fry the mixture in a small amount of vegetable cooking oil, then stuff both pockets (the fish’s, not yours) with the paste. Sprinkle both sides of the fish liberally with finely ground salt, then shallow fry in vegetable cooking oil. Don’t turn the fish until the eye turns opaque. Then turn and fry the other side for the same time. Serve immediately with steamed rice and steamed green vegetable, and cold crisp white wine.
Locks Well and Sheringa Beaches in particular are favourite haunts of the migrating salmon and we fished both of these with surprisingly good results. We were on the sand at Sheringa with our first pilchard baits splashing into the cold ocean water before dawn. The fish lurking in the pounding surf were large and hungry and we caught 9 pounder after 9 pounder until our arms and shoulders ached and our primeval urges were fully satisfied (for the moment at least). We kept as many of the smaller fish as we could possibly eat over the next two or three days and released all the big ones to continue their own long westerly journeys, including one that had recently survived a shark or seal attack judging from the deep toothy gash on its side. Had it been a lucky or unlucky fish over the past week? By 9am the salmon action was fading and we moved on to a quieter beach nearby where we fished in deep blue-green pools near the shore, reeling in a few big King George Whiting and parrot fish. We would eagerly have swapped some of the salmon for more of the much better–eating whiting but were still very happy with the weighty bag of fish we hauled back to the car.
We also did some night fishing off the jetty in the nearby town of Elliston, hoping to catch squid but we caught none. On the way back to the cottage we had an unwelcome wildlife encounter when a kangaroo jumped out from the dark in front of the car, instantly extinguishing both itself and our car's front left headlamp in the now-dented bodywork. Ouch all round!
The following day we fished at Locks Well Beach, a beautiful expanse of white sand that runs along the bottom of a cliff, and access to which is via a steep 288-step wooden staircase. Going down is relatively easy but the climb back up with the fishing gear and a sack full of fish is tough going. Like Sheringa, Locks Well turned on the action for us and we continued to haul in and release large salmon well after we had enough smaller fish in the bag for eating. Salmon, mullet and tommy ruffs, the most common catch here, don’t freeze well so there’s no point keeping more than can be eaten within a few days. Needless to say, we’re now eating fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner while closely observing each other for the onset of involuntary flapping of the feet, the first sign of Omega-3 overload.
The Australian Salmon is a great fighter when hooked but unfortunately the eating qualities of the larger specimens are not good. The smaller ones, however, are quite OK; in fact, in Lee Tuan’s hands they become one of the tastiest fish dishes you could ever hope to enjoy.
Lee Tuan’s Crispy Spicy Australian Salmon
Take an Australian Salmon about 30cm long (one for each person). Create a pocket on both sides of the fish by cutting down along the backbone. Grind and blend together a clump of ginger, lemongrass, dried whole red chillies, shallots and a few kaffir lime leaves until reduced to a paste. Add a third of a teaspoon of shrimp paste and stir in thoroughly. Fry the mixture in a small amount of vegetable cooking oil, then stuff both pockets (the fish’s, not yours) with the paste. Sprinkle both sides of the fish liberally with finely ground salt, then shallow fry in vegetable cooking oil. Don’t turn the fish until the eye turns opaque. Then turn and fry the other side for the same time. Serve immediately with steamed rice and steamed green vegetable, and cold crisp white wine.
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