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Recfishwest
Fishing Report

14/06/24

You'll often see huge schools of golden trevally hovering around Exmouth's King Reef like this and with a share of $15,000 worth of prizes up for grabs in the four-month-long King of the Reef fishing competition, catching one could score you an impressive prize! Click here to find out more about the King of the Reef fishing competition!

Our contributors

Sam Bock

Sam Russell

Jarrad Lawford

Sedin Hasanovic

Want to know the best tips for taking great fish photos and also on how to handle fish out of the water? We've got you covered with our r esponsible fish handling and photography tips page. The page gives a perfect explanation on the types of images we love to use in our weekly Fishing Report and why.

If you've got a cracking fish photo you want to send in, remember to keep sending us your catches by tagging #recfishwest in your online posts! You can also follow and private message your catches to our Instagram page @recfishwest and make sure you let us know where and how you caught it!

Keep up to date with events, clinics, news and amazing catches across WA by following our Instagram page @recfishwest and give our Recfishwest Facebook page a like!

For your photos to appear in the weekly fishing report, please make sure they reflect our responsible fish handling practices (so fish held horizontally, no blood, hand under the belly, no fingers in gills, etc), just like the images below.

If you're planning to head out this week, stay safe, take plenty of photos and have fun!

William Bennett

RECFISHWEST FISHING REPORT WRITER

Pic of the Week!

The northern FADs have been firing for the dolly's lately and this stunning snap of Exmouth's @zaclonghurst_ with this electric blue bull takes the cake for pic of the week. You can find all the coordinates of the FADs in our northern waters by clicking here!

Your fishing photos

If you want to be included in our weekly State-wide Fishing Reports, message your best fishing photos and a description to our Instagram page @recfishwest.

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GET YOUR ENTRIES IN FOR PORT HEDLAND'S EVERYTHING EARTH BLUEWATER CLASSIC!

The Port Hedland Game Fishing Club will be kicking off their Everything Earth Bluewater Classic this weekend and there's some cracking prizes up for grabs, including a $3,000 door prize!

Registrations are at 6pm tonight at the Club, don't miss out!

Click here to see the details on the Club's event page.

Broome catches

lizzymc_5 did dressing SunSmart perfectly while chasing solid barramundi. The Jackal Squirrel got the job done!

Boats

Sailfish and black marlin have been active north of town with skirted lures and rigged garfish baits again doing the business, while those who targeted bottom species out wide found a few red emperor and Rankin cod but were plagued by sharks, so make sure you move around frequently and check out our tips on how to avoid shark bite-off. Spanish mackerel and tuna have been about in good numbers and sizes and there have been plenty of Spaniards in Roebuck Bay as well, along with some hefty northern mulloway on the ledges. Threadfin salmon and the odd small barramundi have been caught at the Fingers but there has been little action in Crab and Dampier Creek apart from the odd threadfin. Mud crabs have been caught in good numbers north of town. The weather is looking glassy and lovely out on the water for all of this week, so make the most of it!

Check out the details below for the Broome Girls Gone Fishing Challenge happening this weekend! The briefing will be taking place at the Broome Fishing Club tonight, Friday, June 14 and it's compulsory!

All competitors must be present at the briefing and presentation nights to be eligible for any prizes and all entries must be at the club no later than 6pm, with the briefing to follow soon after. Briefing will include how to score catches, any rules and regulations, raffles and teams will also pick up a competition bag! Best of luck ladies!

Shore-based

The Port Jetty has been fishing well for trevally, queenfish and bluebone, while queenfish and trevally have also been active at the Town Beach Jetty. Entrance Point held queenfish and bluebone, along with schools of garfish. Some good queenfish have been caught at the mouth of Barred Creek, while Willie Creek produced mangrove jack. The rocks near James Price Point have fished well for bluebone. In the Fitzroy River, Chasebaits Drunken Mullet lures have accounted for some good barramundi, especially around Langi Crossing and Telegraph Pool.

Big thanks to the crew from Tackle World Broome for their tips! Make sure you pay them a visit for the best gear and advice for your next fishing trip.

Exmouth catches

Exmouth Gulf has been the place to be for longtail tuna! @corren.wakelam landed this beauty earlier this week on a Harpax jig head but they have been annihilating almost anything thrown their way. Keep an eye out for the bait balls and diving birds.

Boats

Big swells from the southern cold fronts kept a lot of smaller boats from heading out west this week but the crews on bigger vessels found black marlin and sailfish from 50m depths. In depths greater than 80m bottom fishers using bait found goldband snapper, Robinson sea bream and a few pearl perch, but those using jigs had a frustrating time from being bitten off by hordes of small school mackerel. Closer in, the pelagic action has been quieter, but those targeting bottom species have managed to land spangled emperor and Charlie Court. At the Muirons, there have been plenty of baitfish about but not much action, with golden trevally and queenfish the main species caught. In Exmouth Gulf the shoals have been worth a crack for tuna and school mackerel, while blue-lined emperor and spangled emperor have been pulled from the lumps. Squid have been caught in close but not in big numbers, while deeper into the Gulf mud crabs have been active. The weather is looking pretty polished for the boats until around Monday evening at this stage and the swell is expected to creep upwards to about 2m on Sunday.

There are some epic prizes up for grabs in this competition which runs for four months! Get your entries in now by clicking here!

Shore-based

Learmonth Jetty has held small trevally, queenfish, squid and bream, with a few mangrove jack still hanging around the pylons. Bream have also been active in Wapet Creek. Some good sessions on small giant trevally and golden trevally have been enjoyed from the Bundegi flats with walk-the-dog-style lures proving enticing for both species. In the town marina small trevally and cod have been the main catches and squid have been worth targeting from the ocean-side rock wall. Those chasing spangled emperor found Tantabiddi fished better than the wrecks this week and the key has been using plenty of burley to bring the spangos in. A few golden trevally have been swimming with the spangled emperor at Tantabiddi.

These great tips were courtesy of the friendly team at Tackle World Exmouth. Swing by their store for the best advice and gear ahead of your next trip!

Kalbarri catches

Boats

It’s been a grim week for the boaties, but a few crews managed to get out to the Sand Patch midweek to land some decent pink snapper. Pelagic hunters will be either be heading out wide or fishing along the cliffs to escape the dirty water. Spanish mackerel and tuna numbers are expected to decline but sizes are likely to be up over the coming months, just keep an eye out for the cleaner water or current lines by looking for floating weed as that will be a good place to start trolling. Thankfully the weather is looking great for a send out in the boats this weekend so make the most of it!

Shore-based

Discoloured water flowing through the Murchison River had mulloway chasers excited and good catches are anticipated this weekend as fish head down to the river mouth. Big bream and cod have been pushed downstream and are worth targeting around the marina jetty which also yielded plenty of mangrove jack this week. Small chopper tailor have been caught as far up river as the Dance Floor and they too should be making their way downstream. Blue swimmer crab catches are likely to taper off, but mud crabs should still be around the boat pens and further up river. Big schools of mullet have congregated at the river mouth which should make targeting big tailor on poppers worthwhile, and a big mulloway could come into play if mulies or strip baits are used. Given the better conditions rolling in this weekend pink snapper could be worth targeting at Red Bluff and between blows Wittecarra has held chopper tailor.

Shout out to Dean from Kalbarri Sports and Dive for his tips! Feel free to venture into his store to ask for advice if you're wetting a line around Kalbarri!

Geraldton catches

You know it's a good cray when it makes your bush chook look like a beer for ants. Great Abrolhos bug from @onpoint_spearfishing.

Boats

It’s been a miserable time for the boaties and it’s not looking much better from Monday onwards this week. Once again, the best option could be fishing the inshore reefs around Point Moore this weekend while the winds are minimal. Squidding may be difficult with the weed and dirty water, but skippy and tailor could be a chance. The swell should still be around 2-3m for all of Saturday and early Sunday morning with low winds before the stronger winds return from Sunday evening. Make the most of it because next week is going back to bigger swells and southerly winds.

Shore-based

There’s been little joy for shore fishers as well unfortunately, with weed ruling out most beach fishing and big swells swamping the rock platforms. Reports have come in of a trio of pink snapper landed at Greys Beach, which has mostly been weeded out, but despite this a 60cm flathead was caught around Separation Point where weed has also been a problem. There have been rumours of big whiting caught behind The Lives, while a picture of a decent school mulloway was posted on a local website this week. The Batavia Coast Marina could be worth a go for bread-and-butter species and a 60cm pink snapper was caught on the northside of the marina recently. On a more encouraging note, a group of youngsters using Cranka Crab lures and also making their own cockle-imitation lures have been doing well on good-sized bream in the Port Denison marina and Geraldton’s Fishing Boat Harbour. Saturday and Sunday are your best land-based windows this week so get out there.

Thanks to the team at Geraldton Sports Centre for their tips! They will happily provide you with great gear and the solid advice for your next fishing trip.

Lancelin catches

Boats

With the swell pushing to the back of the beach most boats made the decision to stay in port over the weekend. Throughout the middle of the week the seas have glassed off and those able to get out mid-week have been doing very well on dhufish and snapper. Small boats and kayaks fishing inside the bay reported catches of sizable flathead and snook, along with plenty of squid around the weed banks. Thankfully the conditions should be quite pleasant for boats through the weekend aside from a little drizzle of rain and given the swell and storms stirred things up a bit, snapper are definitely a good chance in close.

Shore-based

Beaches have been struck by areas of thick weed close to town after the storms, although there’s also some surprisingly clear patches further north where the water clarity is very good. Be aware that the beaches are narrow and steep, so four wheel driving has become quite hairy with deep soft sand. Storms have formed up gutters for the usual winter spots but ideal conditions coming in over the next few days should see a good spike in the number of tailor, mulloway and pinkies moving back to casting range. There was some nice sand whiting to be found along the beaches for a tasty feed over the past week. Lancelin jetty fished very well for herring in the stonker size range under the lights at night, while the mornings have seen a few squid.

A big Recfishwest thanks to Peter Fullarton for his tips on what's biting around Lancelin each week! If you want Peter to put you on to the fish directly, make sure you check out his Tailored Treks Tours page. Always a great time and Peter knows the best spots around Lancelin like the back of his hand.

Esperance catches

It's not every day you see a land-based nannygai and even Gido was over the moon with this one! Catch his latest south coast fishing adventure on YouTube by clicking here.

Boats

Weather limited fishing to inshore waters this week but nevertheless good catches were recorded. Wylie Bay offered King George whiting to 45cm and big flathead in the corner of the bay, while out a bit deeper thumping sand whiting were in big numbers. In Esperance Bay squid have been in crazy numbers in 5-10m depths with pink and green jigs almost guaranteeing a bag-out. At Lovers Cove big flathead have been caught, along with snook and King George whiting, while nice skippy have been caught at Cook Rocks. With a glass-off forecast this weekend crews are anticipating a hot bite offshore. Sunday is looking like the better day this weekend for the boaties with light northerly winds and a reduced swell of 1.2m currently forecast.

Shore-based

Good mulloway and gummy sharks have been caught at Dunns Beach, while big skippy have come from Rossiters Beach. Stockyards and Wylie Bay have fished well for decent mulloway and big salmon, while thumping flathead have been landed at Castletown Quays. The Town Jetty and Taylor Street Jetty have fished well for squid, both day and night, while Taylor Street has also produced good garfish. Fourth Beach and 10-Mile Lagoon have been salmon hotspots, while big schools of salmon have been cruising along Roses Beach. King George whiting and skippy have been the main catches in Bandy Creek Boat Harbour, while Stokes Inlet held good numbers of bream. The Southern Sports and Tackle Chase the Kraken competition is back and runs until August 1, so check out the details below and ask the friendly crew in store for tips!

Hats off to the very knowledgeable team at Southern Sports & Tackle for their tips! These guys love their fishing as well, so make sure you swing by their store for the best gear and advice before wetting a line around Esperance.

Great Southern catches

Boats

The weather gods have done locals no favours recently but conditions should be all right for the Albany Fishing and Boating Club’s rescheduled Southern Squid Spectacular on Saturday, although squidding is likely to be limited to King George Sound. Squid in the Sound have been in reasonable numbers and sizes despite the often-unfavourable water conditions. For those who prefer finfish, the Sound has also produced King George whiting, plenty of herring and the odd skippy. Most of Saturday, early on Sunday and Monday arvo should hold decent boating weather before it turns rough from Tuesday onwards.

Shore-based

Impressive squid have been caught by fishers who managed to find clean water and sheltered locations. Good spots have included the town marina, Emu Point, Frenchman Bay and Whalers Cove. All these locations have produced herring and a few skippy as well, while at Frenchman Bay small King George whiting have been in the mix. Bream activity has picked up in the King and Kalgan rivers and the Hay River could be worth a try for them as well. There have been reports of school mulloway in the Kalgan. Salmon catches have been very sporadic and numbers have been well down, suggesting the run may be over. Most of the usual locations have held a few but they have been very inconsistent. Spots worth trying include Salmon Holes, Cheynes Beach, Nanaraup and Sand Patch.

Cheers to the Trailblazers Albany crew for their tips this week! Swing by their store if you're after some top gear and advice ahead of your next fishing trip. Remember, you'll also catch just as many fish off the beaches than the rocks and it is always much safer to go with this option on the south coast.

South-West catches

Kudos to Waldo Hussie for taking out the best pic in the 2024 Salmon Slam with this sunset/salmon combo! Big hint: salmon snaps that showcase our beautiful beaches and how lucky we are to catch this great species in abundance off our southern coastline will always be in with a good chance at winning prizes!

Boats

Poor weather has put the kibosh on the great run of inshore pink snapper fishing either side of Bunbury and also on the good numbers of big cuttlefish that were about. Sheltered areas of Geographe Bay headed north of Dunsborough produced a couple of nice pinkies mostly caught on floating mulies, and a few King George whiting and herring were caught in the bay as well. There are some moderate northerly winds expected across this weekend but the conditions should still be welcoming for the boaties with a very low swell. Early on Sunday looks best.

Shore-based

The Busso Jetty just does not want to slow down for big pinkie catches! This thumper from @zane.k_fish_wa was just one of many more solid snapper to be landed off the landmark this week and they should continue to hang around. Herring fillets have been reported as the best bait.

Pink snapper have still very much been a land-based option with scores of big fish landed from Busselton Jetty over the past week. Rockwalls around Bunbury should also produce the goods over the coming days, including the Bunbury Cut and the groynes at Back Beach. These locations should also offer a few herring, along with Busselton Jetty, but squid catches from the jetty have slowed. Some big bream have shown up in the Collie River and their numbers are expected to improve with further rain forecast. The South West’s rather good salmon season seems to be over, with schools now much further south. In between the cold fronts a decent dhufish was landed from the shore at Yallingup.

Big cheers to Whitey's Tackle & Camping for their top fishing tips as always! If you're in Australind or Bunbury and are keen to wet a line throughout our South-West make sure you ask their very friendly team who love their fishing for advice and stock up on gear at their store. If you're in Busselton, the 2 Oceans Tackle team are also incredibly helpful.

Now that the rains have returned, so have the chunky redfin perch, with the @westyboys crew getting stuck into plenty of delicious 40cm+ specimens this week in our South-West. Keep an eye out for the deeper pockets of water where there are snags as they are gathering in big schools. You'll be in with a chance of a trout or two too, especially near flowing water.

Redfin perch breeding season is in full swing with big schools of plump and hungry fish congregating in areas of structure, especially in the Collie River in Collie itself. Perch up to 40cm have been caught in big numbers on a range of lures including small hard-bodies, traditional spinners such as Mepps and Celtas and soft plastics, including Zman Grubz. Other locations that have fired for redfin include the Harvey River, Harvey Dam, Wellington Dam and Glen Mervyn Dam. Trout activity has been much quieter, but a few rainbows turned up at Waroona Dam, while deep in the Southern Forests at Lefroy Brook a couple of nice browns were taken on the fly. Fly-fishers also caught rainbow trout and some thumping redfin perch in the Pemberton area.

Mandurah and surrounds

Throw a bit of burley in the water and these hard-fighting brutes usually aren't far behind! Skippy have been turning up in great numbers with the pink snapper not far offshore and are highly underrated on the chew. Image from @tackle_world_miami.

Mandurah

Boats: Despite the unpredictable weather crews staying in close have been picking up pink snapper in the 60cm range barely 800m out from the heads and Dawesville Cut. The best tactic seems to be fishing off the back of a weed or reef system in the dirty water coming out of the estuary on an outgoing tide. Last weekend saw crews chasing pink snapper just inside the Five-Fathom Bank who couldn’t get away from skippy and herring. Squid chasers have been targeting the weed off Avalon and Falcon and some have even managed to catch a few in the estuary on the outgoing tide. Clear patches of water in the estuary should be holding a few chopper tailor and juvenile salmon. Sunday should hold the calmest boating conditions across this weekend.

Land-based: Herring and squid have been the main catches at the Dawesville Cut and Mandurah bridges, with squid most active on the outgoing tide. Droners have fared best for pink snapper at White Hills and Tims Thicket, but casters have got among them at Falcon where they found the incoming tide working best. Bream and soapy mulloway have been active around the Murray River mouth, while the marinas and canals have also produced bream along with juvenile pink snapper, tarwhine, juvenile salmon and soapy mulloway.

Thinking of wetting a line around Mandurah? These great tips were courtesy of the super friendly and helpful team at Tackle World Miami so make sure you swing by their store for the best tips and gear before your next fishing trip!

SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY / WARNBRO SOUND

Boats: The recent blow has pushed pink snapper into Cockburn Sound with plenty of fish being burleyed up and landed over the gravel patches. Better baits have been herring and scaly mackerel, while some of the better locations have included the D9, Sulphur Rock, and around the rocks at the Garden Island causeway. A few skippy have been among the snapper. Squidding has also been surprisingly good despite the dirty conditions with good hauls coming in 3-6m depths from Mangles Bay and inside of Garden Island. This weekend should see a green light for better boating conditions, enjoy it!

Land-based: Pink snapper chasers have done well at Secret Harbour where the pinkies have been mixed in with decent tailor and school mulloway. Reports of pink snapper have also come from Port Kennedy and Long Point and both locations have offered herring and chopper tailor. Squidding has improved after the cold front and good hauls have been taken at Woodman Point and the Ammo Jetty. Both locations also held chopper tailor and herring, while scaly mackerel have been hanging around the rockwalls there too. Other good squidding locations have been the rocks at Point Peron and the Palm Beach and Rockingham jetties. Herring and whiting have been caught at the Penguin Island spit and also around the grain terminal. As well as squid, the Palm Beach and Rockingham jetties have offered plenty of herring and some bigger tailor have been swimming with the smaller choppers.

These great fishing tips were provided by the friendly team at Compleat Angler & Camping World in Rockingham, so make sure you chat to their experienced crew in store and stock up before heading out!

Perth catches

Flicking lures or soft plastics around exposed inshore reefs at spots such as Mewstones, Stragglers or even around Rottnest has been producing yellowtail kingfish lately and @joelborgers wasn't expecting this beaut to come knocking this week! Even if the kingies aren't there, the tailor and snapper could also make a welcome appearance.

Boats

Most crews have targeted pink snapper and very few have missed out. Kayakers have been getting them just a couple of kilometres out from South Fremantle, while fishers on jetski's have landed them 2-3km out from Ocean Reef. Two Rocks and Hillarys have also produced pink snapper, especially in 10m depths. At Three-Mile Reef nice skippy and the odd Samsonfish have been keeping the pink snapper company. Burley has been the key, along with finding a little bit of structure, or a slight contour. Now that the swells are down, Stragglers should be holding plenty of chunky tailor, while at Carnac Island there were plenty of solid skippy caught last weekend. Sand whiting catches greatly improved this week. At the Windmills they were mixed in with King George whiting, and sand whiting have been thick on the edge of the shipping channel and off Cottesloe and City Beach. Tailor to 50cm have been plucked from the Swan River from the Narrows downstream, while the East Fremantle area has been packed with boaties scooping king prawns on the outgoing tide. Both Saturday and Sunday should see light to moderate northerly winds with an increasing swell from 1.2-2m between Saturday morning and Sunday arvo, so it should hold up for better boating conditions. Sunday currently looks best if you want to go further offshore though despite a touch of rain forecast.

Shore-based

We love seeing youngsters enjoying their fishing! Theo Amson has been a dedicated angler during the stormy conditions lately and it's paid off nicely, with this cracking 39cm bream landed on Sunday evening at Riverside Gardens in Maylands. Fish was released quickly after this great snap and we hope you keep up the top work Theo! Shout out to his dad Chris for sending us the picture which we hope goes straight to the pool room.

Pink snapper have been the main game in town and once again North Mole has been the hotspot, producing excellent numbers but not quite as many as the previous week. Good pink snapper have been caught at South Mole and from the northern beaches (mainly by droners), while a few have come from the Hillarys, Mindarie and Two Rocks rockwalls. A good mulloway was landed at Mindarie last weekend and the northern beaches have produced big tailor. Both moles and Capo D’Orlando Drive have been thick with herring. A few chopper tailor and herring have come from Floreat Beach when the swells have been down and during overcast conditions and morning high tides, the local rockwalls could produce some big winter tailor during the day. High tides and debris have made fishing the Swan River difficult but a few soapy mulloway have been caught at Guildford and near the Redcliffe Bridge. Tailor should still be around from the Narrows headed downstream and before the nasty weather arrived a few flounder were caught in the lower reaches. There have been few reports of bream catches, but the Causeway downstream should be producing better fish this time of year, especially around the jetties and near the yacht clubs in the lower reaches.

A big thanks to Anglers Fishing World in Fremantle for their great tips! These guys love their fishing just as much as we all do, so make sure you ask their super friendly team for advice and stock up before wetting a line off the land or boat!

Recfishwest

3/45 Northside Drive Hillarys

Perth, WA 6025

Australia

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Recfishwest · 3/45 Northside Drive Hillarys · Perth, WA 6025 · Australia

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