Broome Fishing Club's Billfish Classic and land-based metro tailor featured in Recfishwest's NEW-LOOK State-wide Fishing Report 9 July 2021 🎣

Ducking beneath the surface off Point Samson, Luke Bunton-King was buzzing after spearing his personal best Spaniard… tipping the scales at 35.85kg.

Release weights give demersal fish experiencing barotrauma the best chance of post-release survival.

All boats across WA line fishing for demersal species must now carry a release weight to help improve the survival of released fish. Despite fishers’ good intentions, released demersal fish can experience barotrauma, especially when caught at depths of 30m or more. The WA recfishing community is leading the world with such legislation, driven by fishers who care about conservation. This is shown by anglers in the West Coast Bioregion who have been successfully using release weights for the past decade to ensure undersized demersals, including dhufish, are returned safely to the depth from which they came. With all skippers now set to carry release weights across the State, it further proves the fishing community is committed to protecting and sustaining our fish stocks. Read how release weights protect demersal fish species here.

Competitors in the 2021 Broome Fishing Club's Billfish Classic last weekend had an epic time on the water last weekend. Comp fishers encountered sailfish and small black marlin in many areas including waters wide of Barred Creek, near The Peanut reef and off James Price Point.


Emi Campbell took out second in the Broome Billfish Classic's women's division. Fantastic fishing!👌👌

Spanish mackerel have been caught on rigged garfish and bibbed minnows trolled off Port Smith, Entrance Point and Gantheamue Point. Reef fishers have been doing well on red emperor, saddletail seaperch, blue lined emperor and coral trout in 30m to 50m of water. Bluebone and fingermark bream have been picked up along the ground off Willie Creek.


BOOM. Karl Langdon went to Broome and ordered a Big Mac! Sensational Spaniard, Karl. 😁🍔😁

Entrance Point has been regularly producing catches of queenfish, golden trevally and small GTs, especially around the change in tide. More trevally have been picked up along Cable Beach and Roebuck Bay together with bluenose salmon and threadfin salmon.

The local creeks have been providing catches of mangrove jack, estuary cod, javelin fish and threadfin salmon. Barramundi have occasionally been caught in the upper reaches of the Fitzroy River, where lots of big cherabin have recently been caught.

Billfish enthusiasts have been encountering black marlin and sailfish within the 200m line. Schools of dolphinfish have been found near the fish aggregating devices (FADs), while wahoo and have been appearing in a range of depths and areas. Red emperor and golden trevally have been caught at King Reef.

Spanish mackerel can be targeted on bibbed minnows and rigged garfish behind the reef line. Reef fishers have been picking up good numbers of red emperor in 50m to 60m of water north-west of the Muiron Islands. James Heath caught coral trout to 70cm, red emperor and goldband jobfish in a range of depths on Monday. Spangled emperor have been responding to soft plastic and surface lures within the lagoon.

Sportfishers have been enjoying some entertaining sessions on queenfish in the 75cm to 1m range at Bundegi and Mildura Wreck. Big eye trevally and giant trevally, both in the 50cm to 60cm rage, have dominated catches along the west coast. Spangled emperor are a chance between Tantabiddi and Five Mile. There are lots of squid inside Exmouth Marina and near Learmonth Jetty. Blue swimmer crabs are starting to appear in numbers within Exmouth Gulf.

Spanish mackerel were caught in very good numbers once again this week. While most of the mackerel were caught in 10m to 30m of water north and south of the river mouth, a few fish were picked up not too far from shore off Red Bluff. Yellowfin and longtail tuna have been encountered in many different areas. The local charter boat operators have been putting their clients onto pink snapper and Samson fish. More snapper have been caught on jigs alongside coral trout and baldchin groper within a mile or so of the coast south of town.

Tailor to a superb 85cm have been caught on baits and poppers at the river mouth and inside Oyster Reed. Smaller tailor have been turning up most mornings and evenings at Red Bluff and Wittecarra Creek. There are still storm garfish being caught on gents and small metal slices at Red Buff before noon most days. Mulloway are a chance at the sand spit, boat pens and marina jetty. Yellowfin whiting have returned to the shallows located in the lower reaches of the Murchison River while black bream and estuary cod are mostly being caught up river.

Pink snapper in the 45cm to 50cm range have been found in big schools in depths of about 20m behind Pensioners Bank. Skippy to 50cm are sometimes being caught along with the snapper, as has the odd smaller dhufish. Bigger dhufish have been coming from the African Reef and West Bank areas. Spanish mackerel have been picked up on bibbed minnows trolled off Horrocks and Coronation, and have also been inadvertently been caught on bottom rigs intended for deep dwelling reef species.


Anni Oliver will be having a feed of baldie while watching the Tigers take on Collingwood this Sunday.

The terrific run of mulloway along the beaches has continued following reports of up to 10 fish to 17kg caught at Tarcoola, Southgates and Coronation each day this week. Tarcoola has also been producing good catches of tailor in the 45cm to 75cm range while slightly smaller fish, on average, have been appearing along the Flat Rocks to West Bank stretch and north of Drummond's Cove. Surf fishers who have been wading out on the reefs between Greenough and Drummond's, at low tide, have been catching tailor as well as skippy to 45cm. Yellowfin and school whiting to 30cm have been picked up in the clear patches between the seaweed, which has been deposited along large areas of the coast. The northern end of Tarcoola, Separation Point and Pages were among the spots where whiting were caught this past week.

Fishers lucky enough to get out before the recent storms found fish were well and truly on the bite. Last Saturday, boat fishers were reporting dhufish to 15kg, baldchin groper, breaksea cod, gummy sharks, pink snapper and queen snapper at Direction Bank. If you're new to fishing, watch this video of Recfishwest's Matt Gillett showing you how an easy-to-learn bottom rig for when you're fishing from the boat.

The grounds inside White Bank have also been productive when conditions were favourable, with dhufish, pink snapper and breaksea cod caught in 10m to 15m depths. Inside the bay, there are great numbers of squid though big schools of yellowtail pike have moved into the bay aggressively attacking baits and jigs intended for the squid. Fishing with Peter Fullarton in the 'yak, Chris Hartanto caught a dhuie and a pinkie in the shallows off Lancelin.

Anglers fishing from the sand have had to contend with quite a lot of weed along the beaches. However, those who showed perseverance were rewarded with nice pink snapper and mulloway. Drone fishers have been able to get their baits beyond the seaweed to also catch pink snapper. Lancelin's jetty has been good for herring and tailor most evenings during the stormy weather, while schools of baitfish taking refuge near the structure have been harassed by Samson fish most mornings.

Dinghy and small boat fishers have been picking up their bag limits of big squid with very minimal effort. Herring, skippy and snook are also in very good numbers inshore. Some nice catches of breaksea cod and harlequin fish have been caught near the islands. Those who travelled wide scored nannygai, swallowtail, queen snapper, Samson fish and yellowtail kingfish.

The Esperance Jetty and Taylor Street Jetty have been producing lots of big squid and herring this past week. It comes as fishers have caught King George whiting, skippy and flathead at Bandy Creek Boat Harbour. Want to gang your own hooks? Watch our educational video below:

Salmon have been caught in big numbers, on bait and lure, at Salmon Beach, Fourth Beach, Roses, Alexander Bay, Poison Creek and Thomas River. Mulloway were also landed at Thomas, as well as at Israelite Bay.

The inshore waters of King George Sound and both of Albany's harbours have become rather murky following recent rainfall. This seems have resulted in many King George whiting seeking cleaner water in some of the deeper inshore areas including Michaelmas, Breaksea Island and Caseys. Squid appear to have also moved out deep in search of cleaner water. Those who travelled wide, when conditions permitted, scored better catches of snapper, dhufish and breaksea cod off Parrys, Peaceful Bay and Cape Riche compared to those who fished the waters straight out from Albany.

Salmon are still being caught at some of the beaches, just not in big numbers. Cables, Sand Patch, Lowlands, Shelley Beach and Little Beach were among the spots where salmon in the 3kg to 6kg range were caught this week. Herring are still around in very good numbers, while tarwhine are thick at some spots between Sand Patch and Denmark. The pink snapper that were being caught near Wilson Inlet a fortnight ago have moved on. The extreme lower reaches of the King and Kalgan rivers are about the only areas likely to be producing catches of black bream considering the amount of freshwater that has passed through the systems during the past few weeks.

Pink snapper have been caught within Geographe Bay off Busselton and Dunsborough in depths ranging from 4m through to the Four Mile Reef. The shallows off Bunbury are also still producing pinkies. The odd dhufish has also been caught right across Geographe Bay, while bigger catches of larger dhuies have been picked up off the west coast of Cape Naturaliste in 30m to 50m of water when the weather has permitted. King George whiting catches are improving off Eagle Bay, Quindalup and Siesta Park. Squid catches should increase again off Busselton once the inshore waters clear.

Tailor have been appearing in reasonable numbers some mornings and evenings at Moses Rock, Honeycombs, Injidup, Smiths Beach, Bunker Bay and Eagle Bay. Herring are a reliable target along both sides of Cape Naturaliste and there are lots of skippy around the reef and rock areas. Pink snapper are a chance between Quindalup and Busselton when the seas are up. Squid can be targeted at the Quindalup finger jetty and Busselton Jetty. Near Bunbury, tailor have been caught from Belvedere and Buffalo beaches. Binningup and Myalup are both producing bread-and-butter species, while there have been reports of drone fishers catching pink snapper within this stretch of coast.

Mandurah's southern beaches have been fishing well lately, with herring and tailor up to 40cm caught. Drone fishers have also had a recent good run, catching pink snapper. The beaches to the north have been producing some good skippy, big King George whiting and plenty of sand whiting and a few big herring. Dawesville Cut has skippy, King George and yellowfin whiting on offer. The Murray River is producing black bream, as well as some good tailor. Boat fishers off Mandurah have continued to enjoy quality pink snapper fishing of late, with fish biting most morning and evenings. 

The northern end of Bouvard Reef has produced the occasional dhufish recently, while there have been enough schools of skippy to keep fishers entertained who have been luckless in their pursuit of a demersal. The depths off Rockingham has also had sought-after dhufish on offer, while Samson fish have provided plenty of fun for those targeting the hard-fighting species. For land-based anglers, Point Peron is worth trying for herring, tarwhine and the occasional tailor. Penguin Island has produced good numbers of sand whiting and a few flathead, alongside reasonable tailor.

Reef fishing enthusiasts have been catching pink snapper along the western edge of Five Fathom and near Stragglers early morning along with a few Samson fish, amberjack and lots of skippy. Dhufish, breaksea cod and baldchin groper are being found in reasonable numbers off Rottnest Island and Hillarys. In case you missed it, watch the highlights from our latest metro yellowtail kingfish release in May below:

• YouTube:Fisheries Minister hands on for metro kingfish release! 

Fishing in just 10m of water off Two Rocks, Scott Woodcock spied what he thought might be a nice fish on his sounder... turns out it was! Sounds like an awesome day out on the water, Scott, great dhufish. 👏👏

Samson fish and yellowtail kingfish have been caught on baits and lures near Rottnest, as well as the around the inshore reefs off Fremantle, Hillarys and Two Rocks. King George whiting can be targeted near The Windmills, as well as off Cottesloe and City Beach. Squid and cuttlefish have been caught along the seagrass beds off Fremantle and within Cockburn Sound.


Yewwww. Shaun Wieffering caught this fun-sized yellowfin tuna off Perth recently. 🕒🥈🤞 🕒🥈🎣

Pink snapper are a chance from the northern and southern rock walls this weekend considering the rough conditions that will be present. If you're fishing from the rock walls, remember to exercise caution and read our safe fishing page here. Snapper could also be found close to shore at many of the beaches, especially those featuring deep channels and gutters. Expect tailor, mulloway and gummy sharks to be around the beaches once conditions settle. Shore-based squid chasers were doing well along the rock walls at Fremantle and Hillarys Marina before the rough weather hit. Good size sand whiting are being caught at City Beach and Floreat. Expect some good hauls of king and river prawns to be had in lower reaches of the Swan River during the new moon period. Some nice black bream are being caught on baits and lures near the yacht clubs in the Swan, too.


Casting a Nomad Riptide at a north metro beach, Harley Jarosz landed his PB tailor measuring 55cm!