Fish Tales

With nearly 4,800 km (3,000 miles) of coastline and hundreds of miles of rivers, South Australia has almost as many opportunities for fishing as it has varieties of fish. You can join local anglers of all ages dangling hand lines from a jetty, casting into the surf from coastal rocks, hopping aboard charter boats, or spending a day sitting on a riverside log.

The Murray River is the place to head for callop (also called yellow belly or golden perch) and elusive Murray cod. In the river's backwaters you can also net a feed of yabbies, a type of freshwater crayfish, which make a wonderful appetizer before you tuck into the one that didn't get away. In the ocean King George whiting reigns supreme, but there is also excellent eating with mulloway, bream, snapper, snook, salmon, and sweep. The yellowtail kingfish, a great fighter usually found in deep water, prefers the shallower waters of Coffin Bay, off the Eyre Peninsula.

Baird Bay Ocean Eco Experience. Most well known for their Swim with Wild Sea Lions and Dolphin tours on the Eyre Peninsula—a truly awesome once-in-a-lifetime experience worth every penny of the A$150—this charter company also runs fishing charters to Coffin Bay and other top spots on request. Children are welcome. Baird Bay Rd., Baird Bay, South Australia, 5671. 08/8626–5017; www.bairdbay.com. A$150.

Another popular destination is the Yorke Peninsula.

S.A. Fishing Adventures. Owners Herbie and Kirsty Glacken know just about everything there is to know about fishing the southern gulf waters and this charter takes anglers to great spots around the Yorke Peninsula, as well as Wedge, Neptune, and Kangaroo islands. Typical catches feature the delicious Nannigai, famous Whiting and lots of other instagram-worthy big fish. 7 Gannet Crescent, Marion Bay, South Australia, 5575. 08/8854–4098.

Last, but certainly not least, is legendary Kangaroo Island.

Kangaroo Island Fishing Adventures. This tour operator has fast, clean boats and a live-aboard mother ship; the company takes groups in a 30-foot cruiser out in the Western River region (the island's north coast) and into the Investigator Strait, which is rarely fished by private fishing boats. Western River Rd., Parndana, South Australia, 5223. 08/8559–3232; www.kangarooislandadventures.com.au.