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Penguin Island Western Australia

Penguin Island, situated 40 kilometres south of Perth, is truly a unique ecosystem. It is home to a diverse range of wildlife and boasts some magnificent marine and coastal scenery. As the name says Penguin Island is home to the largest colony of little penguins in western Australia and a research and management centre has been built on the southeastern corner of the island to manage the island and to undertake important research on its unique wildlife.

Penguin Island forms part of what is known as the Shoalwater islands marine park and is home to sixteen different species of bird life, many of which are not seen on the mainland. It is also an important breeding site for sea birds. Because of the extent of the breeding colonies and the fact that the island is only 12.5 hectares in size and only 700metres from the mainland it is closed from June through to September to the public to allow the colonies to breed undisturbed.

Throughout the rest of the year the island is accessible to the general public by ferry at Mersey point, there is a sand bar that links the island with the mainland and it is passable but not recommended (there have been drownings in the past). Once on the island please follow the designated walkways as there is risk of rock fall due to weathered limestone formations on the island with the area littered with caves/overhangs and cliffs it requires some care. The other reason to stay on the path is so the colonies of birds that live on the island are left in their natural state and undisturbed.

The area is a favourite fishing spot of mine and has been for some years so before I tell you about what Penguin Island has to offer in terms of fish it is important to remember that this area has been protected from pressure for many years and keeping a pristine environment like penguin island requires restraint from some overzealous fishos who tend to plunder and pillage, so please respect it and it will be their for us all to enjoy for years to come..

The western side of the island is covered in cavernous reef platforms that in some places come right up to the shore and provide a fantastic habitat for reef dwellers and in particular one of my favourite species TAILOR and yes they are very generous sizes for a metro spot. The terrain as mentioned is limestone and requires plenty of care walking along the western side. The tailor are there all year round when the island is accessible and the average size would be 2kilos, thats about a sixty centimetres fish, a good tailor in anyones books. Now these fish are breeding stock and when I say restraint is required in this area the reason is that by removing too many fish from this habitat would see it fall apart, and we all want to see it still producing good fish in twenty years!! So please catch a couple and put the rest back to live another season and to be able to breed!!!
The beach that runs along the western side is approximately 5 metres wide and has a 7 metre cliff face running most of the length of the island. It makes for great popper fishing country, with the right current you can drift a floating popper out to the many offshore platforms that just reek tailor, covered in white water with deep drop-offs and channels in between them they are prime Tailor zones. My choice of popper for shallow reef is the Lively Super Blooper, it floats and imparts a big bubble trail on retrieval and suits the ground well. Others to use that dont float but will cast a country mile and sometimes it is required when the fish are well out are the Fishwest Bucketmouth or the old famous Lively Fat`R popper. All work well when the action created by the angler is right to generate a strike from an interested predator.

Of course tailor is not the only species caught on the island, in fact I have seen pink snapper to 10kilos caught from the western beaches at the right time of year and there have been reports over the years of Samson fish and yellowtail king as well.

As the water starts to cool with the onset of autumn the reefs on the back beaches come alive with shoals of Australian Salmon and I have seen the water boiling with fish in feeding frenzys. The last two years hasnt seen a run of salmon locally due to the la-nina effect which has seen the water temperature staying to warm for to long. Hopefully this year we will be blessed with a salmon run Penguin Island, in reefy country they are a mighty challenge to land and one of the best sportfish accessible by the shore based angler.

Similar techniques are used to catch the salmon here as with the tailor and we have had instances of catching both in the same session on the island.

Other species to be caught on the western side include silver bream, leather jacket and king George and sand whiting.

Back on the eastern side facing the mainland and close to the jetty has been a very productive spot this season for big yellowfin whiting/ king George whiting and closer to the sand bar flathead and flounder are common place. Many anglers are seen fly fishing on this side of the island now days and really it is a perfect spot for flicking a fly rod around. The island provides shelter from the south-westerly winds that plague most fly fisherman in summer and you can wade the entire sand bar from the mainland to the island on a low tide. There are a couple of channels to be wary of on the bar so its just a matter of using some common sense. The real shelter comes from the first bay north of the bar which is reasonable shallow and provides a great environment for whiting and flathead with broken weedy patches and sand throughout the bay.

Overall Penguin Island is a great spot for fishing and for a great family day out, there is the penguin discovery centre for the kids and there are picnic tables and toilets to make the stay very comfortable.

Ferries run every hour daily from September through to June at a nominal cost. It is worth noting for anyone who is planning to go here for a fish that the island is only open during daylight hours to protect the penguins from disturbance. Also there is a spearfishing ban in place so you may only use a rod or handline. Once you have experienced the island and caught some of what it has to offer you will appreciate the precious little gem that Penguin Island is and that its worth protecting for future generations...

Written by Ian Bailey

With Thanks

All text is Courtesy of Dennis Havery and Ian Bailey

Source http://members.iinet.net.au/~tugboat/

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