Where is the best black marlin fishing in WA?

Exmouth is WA's premier black marlin destination. The continental shelf runs close to the Ningaloo coast, so marlin are reachable from Tantabiddi and Bundegi within a short run — often in small trailer boats. Broome and the wider Kimberley also produce fish over the warmer months.

Can you keep black marlin in WA?

Legally you may retain one marlin within the large pelagic mixed daily bag limit, but in practice almost nobody does. Black marlin are a recreational-only species in Australia, retention is strongly discouraged, and the standard for clubs, charters and tournaments is tag-and-release. Check current rules at DPIRD before fishing.

When is black marlin season at Exmouth?

Smaller 'light-tackle' black marlin school inshore off Ningaloo in good numbers through the cooler months, roughly April to July, fishable from small boats. Larger fish and the wider bluewater run favour the warmer months, October through April. Some fish are around the shelf year-round.

Do you need a licence to fish for marlin in WA?

Yes — fishing for any finfish, including marlin, from a powered boat in WA requires a Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence (RFBL). Most anglers chase marlin on a licensed charter, in which case the operator's coverage applies. Confirm current licensing at DPIRD.

What gear do you need for black marlin in WA?

Game tackle: 15–37kg overhead or heavy stand-up spin, 130–400lb leader, and 8/0–10/0 circle hooks for bait, which are mandatory under most tagging programmes. Exmouth's smaller inshore blacks open the door to genuine light-tackle and fly fishing for anglers chasing records.

Black Marlin Fishing in WA: An Honest Guide to the North

Every angler in Perth has a bucket list, and somewhere on it — usually near the top, usually unticked — is a black marlin. It is WA’s premier gamefish, the fish that defines a season, and it lives a very long way from the Swan. This is the honest version. Black marlin is not a shore fish, not a casual weekend-tinnie fish off Hillarys, and not something you stumble onto chasing whiting. It is a serious bluewater target that, for most people, means a flight north and a day on a charter. The good news: WA happens to own one of the most accessible billfish fisheries on the planet, and it is worth the trip.

The black marlin (Istiompax indica) grows past 700kg globally. In WA you’ll commonly meet fish from 20kg “rats” up to 150kg, with genuine heavyweights offshore. It is a recreational-only species here — there is no commercial fishery for it — and virtually every fish caught is tagged and released.

Why Exmouth Is World-Famous

The whole fishery comes down to geography. At Exmouth, the continental shelf swings unusually close to the coast, which means deep, current-swept billfish water sits within a short run of the Tantabiddi boat ramp and the Bundegi ramp on the gulf side. Elsewhere in Australia, raising a marlin means a long, fuel-hungry steam to the shelf. At Exmouth it can mean thirty minutes and a small trailer boat.

That access has built a reputation. Exmouth raises everything from accessible light-tackle blacks to grander-class fish, and the cooler-month inshore run — smaller blacks schooling along the Ningaloo drop-off — has made it a genuine destination for anglers chasing world records on light line and fly. The Exmouth Game Fishing Club runs an active tag-and-release programme and the annual GAMEX tournament. Most boats in season are tagging multiple fish a trip, not landing them.

Where and When

Exmouth / Ningaloo — the headline. Light-tackle blacks school inshore off the reef in good numbers through the cooler months, roughly April to July, fishable from small boats out of Tantabiddi. Lighthouse Bay and the tip of the Cape are classic marks.
Coral Bay — the southern end of Ningaloo, with the same shelf access on its day. Coral Bay charters run billfish trips in the warmer months.
Broome and the Kimberley — produce black marlin over the warmer months and the wet-season build-up. Broome is the staging point for the far north.

The broad productive window across northern WA is October through April, with summer into early autumn the most consistent offshore, while the inshore Ningaloo light-tackle run peaks in the cooler months. Some fish hang on the shelf year-round. Run-out tides concentrate bait along the drop-off, and the change of light tends to fire — calm days with defined current lines make raising fish far easier.

The Rules: Tag and Release Is the Whole Point

Black marlin is one of the few recreational-only fish in Australian waters, and the entire culture around it is conservation-first. Legally, marlin sit within the statewide mixed daily bag limit for large pelagic finfish, with an individual species limit and no minimum size — but the number that matters in practice is zero retained. Clubs, charters and tournaments tag and release as standard, billfish handling rules apply, and larger tropical billfish also carry a ciguatera risk, so they’re not an eating fish here anyway.

Don’t take the bag and licence numbers off a forum or this article. Fishing for finfish from a powered boat requires a Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence (RFBL), and bag limits and licensing change. Read the current rules at DPIRD before you go. On a charter, the operator’s coverage applies — confirm it when you book.

Grounds and Charters

You can do this fishery without owning a serious bluewater boat, and most people should. Exmouth and the surrounding coast support a strong charter fleet, including game-dedicated operators who run billfish trips through the season and crews holding line-class records.

Tantabiddi-based charters — the shortest run to marlin water on Ningaloo’s western side. Best for the cooler-month light-tackle blacks.
Bundegi / gulf-side charters — work the Exmouth Gulf and the eastern grounds, often combining billfish with sailfish and Spanish mackerel.
Exmouth Game Fishing Club — the hub of the local tag-and-release effort and the GAMEX tournament; a good first point of contact for who’s fishing and how the season’s running.
Broome operators — for anglers chasing the far-north fishery in the warmer months.

If you’d rather learn the craft properly, book a dedicated game charter rather than tacking a billfish onto a reef-fishing day. Raising and converting marlin is a specialist skill, and the crews who do it daily are worth every dollar.

Gear and Technique

Game tackle is the starting point: a 15–37kg overhead or a heavy stand-up spin outfit, 130–400lb mono or fluorocarbon leader, quality ball-bearing swivels, and a properly set drag — the first run is brutal. Circle hooks in 8/0–10/0 are the standard for bait and are mandatory under most tagging programmes; they hook in the jaw corner and lift release survival enormously. For lures, run medium-to-large skirted trolling lures, a Halco Laser Pro 190 or large bibless minnows. Exmouth’s smaller inshore blacks are what make the genuine light-tackle and fly fishery possible — but match the tackle to the fish honestly, because under-gunning a big fish just kills it slowly.

The classic method is to troll skirts and rigged swimming gar or mullet at 6–9 knots along the shelf edge, current lines and bait schools, watching for tailing fish, free-jumpers and working birds. The more visual game is switch-baiting: tow hookless teasers to raise a fish, then pitch a live bait or stickbait as it lights up in the spread. Let the fish turn and load the circle hook with a steady lift — don’t strike. Clear the deck on hook-up, because blacks jump early and often. Then release boat-side without lifting the fish from the water: leader it, tag it alongside, revive it, and let it swim off strong.

Black marlin is the fish that justifies the long drive or the flight north — rare, hard-earned, and best released to fight another day. Learn more about the species on the black marlin page, check current rules at DPIRD, and plan the trip around tide, current and light with BiteCompass.