See what's biting across WA in Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 29 October 2021 🎣

The barramundi and threadfin salmon action has continued within the local creeks and the Fitzroy River this past week. Dozens of barra in the 60cm to 80cm range, alongside the occasional 1m fish, were caught on baits and lures at Dampier Creek, Crab Creek and within the Fitzroy this week. Solid threadfin were caught at Crab Creek and The Fingers. Crews who have been traveling to the reef and deeper areas of Roebuck Bay have been doing reasonably well on fingermark bream, estuary cod, bluebone and mulloway. Fishers who have managed to venture wider scored red emperor, coral trout and saddletail seaperch.

Cable Beach and Coconut Wells have yellowfin whiting, small queenfish and golden trevally on offer for land-based fishers. More queenfish and trevally have been appearing at Entrance Point, especially around the change in tide. Threadfin salmon and barramundi have been caught along the banks, and near the entrance, of Crab Creek. Gantheaume Point is worth a try for bluebone, estuary cod, queenfish and mackerel.

Billfish enthusiasts have started to encounter greater numbers of blue marlin out wide. Peak Sportfishing Adventures landed one blue this week, while several others were raised by crew aboard private boats. There are still lots of Spanish mackerel being caught on stickbaits and trolled minnows along the back of the west side reef, with the waters near Muiron and Peak islands also productive. Reef fishing near Muiron has been producing red emperor, Rankin cod and cobia. More cobia have been caught on surface lures within Exmouth Gulf. There were fewer sailfish landed in the Gulf during the past week. Coral trout and bluebone have been found near the bombies and other reefs in the Gulf. If you're planning a trip to Exmouth, find helpful fishing hints and tips on our 'I Love Fishing' website.

Dinghy and kayak fishers have been using poppers and stickbaits to catch tailor in the extreme lower reaches of the Murchison River. Mulloway have also been caught in this area of the system at night. A lack of mackerel and tuna on offer meant that not too many fishers travelled outside the river mouth this week. However, locals are anticipated the pelagic action to really heat up in the weeks ahead. Anticipated need to changed to anticipating? Boats that did travel outside caught rock lobster, which have been found in reasonable numbers in recent weeks by divers and those using pots.

Tailor have been appearing in the mornings and evenings at Red Bluff, Wittecarra Creek and The Siphon. Mulloway were caught, in addition to tailor, at Frustrations and the beaches north of there. Wagoe Beach and Lucky Bay have generally been fishing well for both species. A good-sized mulloway was reportedly landed at the marina jetty last Thursday evening. Smaller mulloway were caught up river where black bream have been found in big numbers. Yellowfin whiting seem to be getting caught in bigger sizes along the sand flats in front of the supermarket. Mud crabs have been caught at the jetty and near rocky areas up river, while blue swimmer crabs catches are starting to increase.

Tarcoola Beach has been providing a consistent run of tailor in the mornings, while mulloway to 1.2m have occasionally been landed there in the mornings and evenings. Afternoons and evenings have been better for tailor at Southgate where pike and mulloway have also been turning up. The northern end of Drummond's Cove has tailor and mulloway on offer, while the southern end has mostly been providing mixed catches of yellowfin, sand and school whiting. The Batavia Marina has produced squid early in the morning and evening.

The 10m to 15m depths off Lancelin have been productive for King George whiting, while farther out the 18m to 22m depths have big sand whiting on offer. Jigging small soft plastics along White Bank has resulted in small yellowtail kingfish and skippy. Both yellowtail kingfish and good-sized tailor have been caught on stickbaits and poppers at the bay's reef breaks. Lobster potters have been achieving good hauls of western rock lobster near the inshore reefs, while pots placed inside the bay have also been productive. There’s been plenty of herring around the bay, with most measuring more than the 30cm. Weed banks have large schools of snook, while some cracker squid have also been caught — some with hoods measuring 40cm hoods.

Surf fishers have been battling seaweed in the afternoon once the seabreeze kicks in. However, mornings have been easier to fish this week with good catches of dart, herring and chopper tailor. Lancelin's jetty has consistently held big schools of herring after sunset alongside tailor and pike. Samson fish have been active around the jetty feeding on schools of hardyheads. 

The Esperance Jetty is still producing lots of squid as well as sweep, herring, small skippy and garfish, with the latter species mostly caught at night. Similar catches have been experienced at the Taylor Street Jetty, which has also been good for King George whiting and Samson fish. Tailor in the 2kg to 3kg have been caught at Fourth Beach along with flathead to 50cm. Fourteen Mile has mulloway and skippy to 2kg. Salmon are regularly appearing at Alexander Bay, where there have been lots of bronze whaler sharks. Thomas River and Israelite Bay are worth a try for mulloway, gummy sharks and salmon.

Deepwater enthusiasts who travelled to the edge of the shelf, and beyond, when conditions permitted scored hapuka, grey-banded cod and red snapper. Those who used baits and jigs along the reef in 50m to 80m of water picked up reasonable catches of pink, red and queen snapper as well as breaksea cod, harlequin fish and dhufish. Bag limits of King George whiting have been achieved within the aptly-named King George Sound and both of Albany's harbours. Squid catches have improved inshore and there seems to be more sand whiting, herring and small skippy about.

Rock fishing has been rewarding near West Cape Howe, Cheynes and Bremer Bay, when conditions have been suitable. When confitions have been safe, fishers have caught blue groper, breaksea cod, pink snapper, Samson fish and yellowtail kingfish from the land-based platforms. If you're planning to fish from rocks within the Great Southern, read more about safe fishing here. Surf fishers have been catching herring at the local beaches including Middleton Beach, Ledge Point, Sand Patch, Cable Beach and Blowholes. Juvenile salmon are sometimes appearing at these spots, while mature fish can still be found near Bremer Bay. Tarwhine remain in thick at Lowlands, Ocean Beach, Williams Bay and Parry’s Beach. Small black bream have dominated catches in both of the local river systems. The bigger bream require some effort, but when found the 35cm to 40cm fish have been willing to strike vibe-style lures and soft plastics.


Recfishwest safety ambassador Gideon Mettam with a blue groper from the stones earlier this week.

King George whiting has been the focus for many while the two-month West Coast Bioregion demersal closure remains in effect. Areas where the KGs were caught this week included the 4m to 12m depths off Eagle Bay, Quindalup and Siesta Park, as well as the 10m to 20m depths off Peppermint Grove and Bunbury. Yellowtail kingfish are starting to be encountered more regularly off Hamelin Bay, Canal Rocks and Cape Naturaliste. Samson fish can be targeted near the bombies and wrecks located off both sides of the cape. An impressive 1m southern bluefin tuna was reportedly caught off Bunker Bay this week. Squid can be found along the seagrass meadows off Quindalup, Abbey Beach, Siesta Park and between Busselton and Bunbury. Divers and those using pots have been pleased with their recent hauls of rock lobster.


SAMMMBO! The Four Mile reef produced this Samson fish for Wade Fennell at the weekend.

Black bream are biting in both the Murray and the Serpentine rivers and in the canals closer to Halls Head. Dawesville Cut is still producing herring and tarwhine, while tailor and skippy have been caught but not in massive numbers. The southern beaches have produced mulloway over the past fortnight, however, they are mostly soapies around the 4kg to 6kg range. Tailor up to 45cm have also been caught from these beaches and the coastline north of Mandurah is producing whiting, herring and tailor.

Golden Bay and San Remo have been producing lots of sand whiting and small flathead for land-based fishers this week. Coventry Reef has reportedly produced herring, yellowtail kingfish, Samson fish and tailor. The beaches around Warnbro Sound have been producing tailor when the sea breeze kicks in, along with herring, skippy and sand whiting. An occasional mulloway has been taken late at night across the region's beaches. King George whiting have been taken from the beaches around Safety Bay, while larger specimens have been taken offshore by those wetting a line from the vessel.

Samson fish have reportedly been caught at the north metro artificial reef off Ocean Reef this week, when weather conditions were conducive to boating. Want to know more about the State-wide artificial reef program? Watch Santos' YouTube video below:

King George whiting continue to be caught along the broken ground north of Champion Rock, as well as along Parmelia Bank, and in depths leading up to 20m off Leighton Beach and City Beach. Squid catches along the inshore waters off Fremantle, within Cockburn Sound and other areas featuring seagrass should improve again once the silty water clears.


Jigging for Sambos off Perth has provided plenty of fishing fun recently, as shown by Ryan Caporn.

Tailor in the 50cm to 60cm range, and the odd fish nearing 70cm, have been caught on poppers and stickbaits near Mewstone, Rowboat Reef, Stragglers, Salmon Bay and Horseshoe Reef. Yellowtail kingfish have been patrolling the West End, Duffield Ridge, Radar Reef and Parker Point areas. Slowly trolled baits seem to be working well on the 5kg to 10kg kingies. Samson fish can be found in similar areas while bigger models, 20kg to 30kg fish, are being targeted at The Barges in 90m to 110m west of Rottnest Island.


Fishing near The Windmills in Hollywood conditions, Digby Sutherland landed a few plump KGs!

Persistence definitely pays off when it comes to fishing. A  while ago, mad-keen fisher Tom Corrie set himself a goal to catch a mulloway on a soft plastic in the Swan River. Recently, he started to ramp up his efforts in a bid to complete his mission and it all came to fruition on Tuesday. While aboard his dinghy, Tom Corrie caught-and-released two mulloway — both measuring more than 1m — on soft plastics, one of which is pictured below. Fantastic fishing, Tom! Find more information about how to target mulloway in the Swan here.

Tailor have been a hit-and-miss along the metropolitan beaches this week due to the recent rough conditions stirring the coastal waters up and depositing large amounts of seaweed close to shore. There were some 40cm to 50cm tailor caught at Cottesloe Groyne, Grant Street Reef, Swanbourne Drain, Floreat Drain and Yanchep Lagoon early to mid-morning. Evenings seem to be better for tailor at South Beach, North Mole, City Beach and Floreat, where the fish have mostly been smaller. Herring can be targeted from the rock walls, jetties and areas of coast where reef is present. King George whiting are a chance along the Fremantle rock walls where squid and other bread-and-butter species can be targeted. Juvenile Samson fish are sometimes being caught at North Fremantle and Rocky Bay. The Swan River has been producing flathead and black bream this week. Chidley Point has had nice flathead on offer, as has Point Walter and the flats in front of Applecross. It will be interesting to see how the recent rain, and freshwater run-off, affects the mulloway and black bream in the middle and lower reaches of the Swan River. Fishing for giant herring, which are yet to become as active as they have been during spring in previous years, may also be impacted by the influx of freshwater. Want to target flathead in the Swan River? Read insightful fishing tips on our 'I Love Fishing' website.


Tom Corrie had to resort to a self-timer to snap a pic with this mulloway on a plastic in the Swan!