Expat South Aussie, Tom Treagust, passes on some valuable tips for anyone looking to relocate and tap into a brand new fishery.

I grew up in Largs Bay and when I was four, Dad purchased a boat —a Haines Hunter V17L. As a keen scuba diver, he purchased it with that as his primary intended use, as he wasn’t really a keen fisherman. However, as he had a young fella’ at home who was frothing to get out, he made an effort to learn a bit about fishing and take me out on the water. I remember him ringing up the automated Weather Bureau line to get the day’s forecast before we went out, as the internet wasn’t what it is today. We would then launch from North Haven and head to Semaphore Reef to target tommies and garfish, with the odd squid getting caught on a dead tommy set under a float. On the way in and out we would often put out a paravane to catch a “big” fish, a snook.

When I was about 11, Dad purchased a holiday property in Edithburgh and we started frequenting there, heading over on weekends and during holiday periods. We had a pro fisherman who lived next door and, as dad knew I was keen to start chasing some bigger fish, he asked him for some pointers to try and get me a snapper. We headed out on the day before my 13th birthday and, fishing in the area he suggested, I managed to snag my first snapper, bang on 60cm. I was rapt.

Fast forward a few years and I found myself living in Whyalla after finishing my electrical apprenticeship. I purchased the V17L from Dad when I moved there, as he was living in Alice Springs at the time and didn’t have much use for it. While in Whyalla I spent a lot of time fishing for whiting and squid out from Mount Young and started regularly chasing snapper, somewhat unsuccessfully to begin with. It took me over a year of trying before I managed my first legal one, but once the cherry was popped, I started to find them more and more consistently.