Fishing Yorke Peninsula - Kym Dillon & Ali Carle check out the waters of the Yorke Penisula region of South AustraliaJust over two hours from Adelaide and you're into a part of Yorke Peninsula I know only too well having had the occasional ale at the Stansbury pub along with my old mate, Tim Vince, father of Crows young gun, Bernie.
Recently, my early morning radio colleague Ali Carle and I, paid one of our regular visits to this beautiful part of South Australia, where everyone's got the same idea - catching a feed of fish.
So we thought we'd enlist the services of young Bernie on our Quintrex 620 Coast Runner - courtesy of Pitmans Marine. I've had many a big day here near Sheoak Flat just north of Port Vincent but today, the fish just aren't cooperating.
Soon we pull up stumps and head to shore where the crabbers are scouring the shallow waters just off from the Port Vinnie cliffs. For young Bernie this typified a Yorke's summer - trying his luck with the crab rake and the floating crab bucket behind. This is also good scallop territory. Sadly Bernie's pre-season knee operation means he's a non-starter but Ali and I are game.
We pull on the wetsuits and soon we're both in, at a spot where we've had some previous scalloping success. The scallops thrive in the shallow waters of Gulf Saint Vincent and the abundance of seagrass is proof that this part of the gulf is doing pretty well.
By law each scallop should be six and a half centimetres in diameter. They propel themselves through the water by clicking their top and bottom shells together... as they go in search of food particles in the sand.
The local Adjahdura aboriginal of Yorke Peninsula certainly knew where to catch a feed of scallops and we've done pretty well too. According to Bernie the secret to cooking them is simplicity itself.
"We just boil them up and when they're ready we normally just drop them in a bit of vinegar and eat them like that," said Bernie.
There are plenty of secrets to be found along this part of the Yorke Peninsula coastline. Young Bernie's just one of them. Back in 2005, he was enjoying a kick with the Crows - the Curramulka, Minlaton, Stansbury Crows that is, at Stansbury's Memorial Oval. It's a long way from the roar of AAMI Stadium but within just 18 months young Bernie Vince had hit the big time with those "other" Crows.
Next on our tour of the Peninsula, we fire up the Yamaha four-stroke motor and head to Port Vincent - one of the Yorke's prettiest towns. Just out from the old wharf, you're bound to pick up a feed of crabs.
"Nothing like some good smelly meat to entice some big blue swimmer crabs."
The idea is to drop the net on sandy bottom adjacent to a patch of seagrass. Give it some time and these side-walking bottom feeders will make a beeline for the bait. You can catch up to 40 blue swimmers. They must be 11 centimetres across the carapace and remember no females with eggs.
Soon we've got more than enough for us and our hosts at Grandview House at the Port Vincent Marina. A couple of minutes in the patio crab cooker and we're set. With the scallops yet to come, we're in for a big night thanks to our hosts Greg and Anita McDonald at Grandview House. It sits right on the marina, has great mooring facilities and state-of-the-art accommodation for up to six people.
Port Vincent is on the east coast of Yorke Peninsula, about 220 kilometres from Adelaide. The crabs are on the go from October through to late April.
Grandview House
Port Vincent Marina
Port Vincent
Yorke Peninsula
(220 kms ex Adelaide)
More info info@postcards-sa.com.auPublished 5th February 2007
