As we rounded the last bend, there it was, the biggest school of salmon we all had ever witnessed. We were at Picnic Beach, lower Eyre Peninsula, and the glorious surf beach in front of us was dominated by a huge, heaving black mass that was in so close to the beach you could almost touch the fish. And keeping them there were at least six large bronze whaler sharks, hunting the school at close quarters.
Luckily, I already had my rod rigged in the back of the car and, despite having dodgy knees, I had made it down the steep sand dune and to the water’s edge first. I launched my brand-new Daiwa OT Jig in the Sardine Glow pattern at the massive school of salmon just as the other guys started to filter down onto the beach. The response was immediate as my rod lunged forward and I loaded up on a great fish.