See what's biting across WA in Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 26 November 2021 🎣

Donning his AC/DC hat, Mitchell Hill was thunderstruck after catching this spangled emperor somewhere near Exmouth.

Land-based fishers trying their luck for barra in the Fitzroy River have had mixed results of late, with the bulk of the catches in the 50cm to 70cm range. Find more information about how to chase barramundi at our 'I Love Fishing' website. The occasional barramundi has been caught near the jetty at the Port of Broome this week, while bluenose salmon can still be found near Cable Beach. 

With warm water on the Gulf side, gamefishers are making the most of the blue marlin action. The impressive marlin fishing comes in addition to increasing sailfish catches in the Exmouth Gulf. Heading inshore, spangled emperor, GTs and other trevally have been caught around bombies and other structure. Queenfish are being caught in the Gulf and also at various locations of the west side. There are reports of Spanish mackerel off Tantabiddi, while spangled emperor have also been caught inside of the lagoon. In a more notable event, David McGregor hooked a sailfish on spin gear while fishing from his kayak off Exmouth recently. 

Last weekend, young gun Bo Davies speared this Spanish mackerel off Exmouth. Cracking effort, Bo!

The offshore conditions haven't been too favourable for boating off Kalbarri this week, meaning most skippers have opted to keep their vessel at home. However, for those who have managed to find a gap in the weather window, mulloway have been on offer. There's also plenty of bait being found at the moment with the occasional yellowfin tuna nearby. As the water temperatures warms approaching summer, more yellowfin tuna will start to show up off Kalbarri and will be predating on these bait schools. Likewise, more mackerel will start to show up. There have already been reports of free-jumping mackerel seen by people looking out over the ocean from Kalbarri's coastal cliffs.

Kalbarri Offshore and Angling Club's recent 'Wagoe Weekend' fishing comp at Wagoe Beach saw many great fish caught, notably a small spotted mackerel and an amberjack in addition to mulloway. Since the competition, the mulloway fishing at Wagoe has continued to improve with many 'silver ghosts' caught, some of which weighing more than 15kg. Closer to Kalbarri, the mulloway fishing has also been terrific with catches at the river mouth, sand spit, Frustrations and marina jetty this week. All of these respective catches were at dusk or late at night. Wittecarra and Red Bluff have been fishing well for tailor, with reports of fish up to 80cm, but it's hit-and-miss as to when the toothy species will be feeding — some days most catches have come in the morning, other days it has been in the afternoon. 

The 'whites run' is being eagerly anticipated within the next week, with divers reporting large numbers of crays in the near-shore ledges. Potters have been starting to pick up the odd white in the past few days. In case you missed it, the previous all-round year rules around needing you to weight your craypot ropes 20m or longer now no longer applies between November to March. Read more here. Boats chasing the tuna schools have been reporting the best fishing is beyond the 35m contour. Sand holes in 6m of water north of the bay have some good size sand whiting. Inside the bay, trolling or casting small lures has been reliable for catching tailor, herring, snook and pike. Some tarwhine have been caught around the reef and weed areas of the bay on baits.

Beach fishers have seen an influx of small tailor in the 30cm to 35cm range this week. A few mulloway were reported from the weekend along with plenty of smaller whalers sharks. There have been numerous reports of hooking mystery ‘unstoppable’ fish on standard beach gear. Big Samson fish, perhaps? The jetty has continued to produce big herring each night this week, however, at times they've been fussy on the chew. 

Surprisingly, tailor to 70cm have continued to be caught from Esperance's beaches this month. Fourth Beach, Roses and 14 Mile Beach are all areas where reports of fishers spinning stickbaits for salmon have instead landed the occasional tailor bycatch. These same areas have also had salmon on offer, while Wylie Bay has been a productive spot for land-based anglers chasing whiting, including King George. If you've got the time to spare and keen to go for a drive, mulloway measuring more than 1m have been caught often at Warrenup Beach this week.

When conditions have been good, boat fishers haven't had to travel too far for mixed bags of pink snapper, queen snapper, nannygai and Samson fish. For skippers who have been able to get out to the shelf, hapuka, blue-eye trevalla and grey-banded cod have been on offer. Small boat and dinghy fishers are continuing to enjoy terrific fishing for King George whiting in the aptly-named King George Sound. However, squid catches seem to have slowed in Oyster Harbour and Princess Royal Harbour. If you want to find out more about the variety of fishing Albany has on on offer, read local and Western Angler editor Scott Coghlan's 'Scott's Spots' here.

Beach fishing for bread-and-butter species has been relatively slow this week, with those targeting skippy, herring and whiting having to work hard for their catch. However, these species are expected to fire up in the summer months. Fishers safe fishing from the stones across the Great Southern have achieved impressive blue groper catches this week. If you're planning to fish from the rocks, read about safe fishing practices here.

Skippy, King George whiting and the occasional Samson fish, measuring just under 1m, have been caught at the Mandurah artificial reef this week. Other areas off Mandurah featuring reef have been productive for Samson fish and the occasional yellowtail kingfish, according to skippers. For land-based anglers, Dawesville Cut has big herring, skippy and the odd tailor on offer. The Peel-Harvey Estuary has whiting, herring and a few chopper tailor. Surface poppers have been attracting yellowfin whiting to an impressive 35cm in the estuary, while there were rumours of one angler landing a giant herring while trying for whiting earlier this week. Lures seem to be fishing best for black bream in the Murray River and Serpentine River. The beaches to the south of Mandurah continue to produce tailor to 50cm, herring and skippy. Fishers putting in the long hours and soaking a bait well into the night and early hours of the morning are being rewarded with memorable mulloway to 15kg. To the north of Mandurah, tailor have been a consistent catch, while smaller mulloway to 6kg have been found.

The tailor fishing along the beaches has been terrific each week, especially once the seabreeze kicks in. The same stretch of coastline has herring on offer, while whiting are being caught by those targeting the tasty fish with long-shank hooks. Anglers fishing on the sand flats between the mainland and Penguin Island are reporting a few small whiting, as well as occasional flathead and skippy. At the region's jetties, herring and squid are being caught at night.

Cockburn Sound has been a reliable spot for boat fishers, and those in kayaks, to catch squid from a safe and accessible location this past week. If you want to know more about why Cockburn Sound is so important to the metro fishing community, watch this YouTube video. Divers, like John Dempsey pictured above, and potters are reporting increasing catches of crayfish off Perth. With DPIRD's western rock lobster experts tipping another bumper season, read what metro spots they think will be most productive. Also, the previous all-round year rules around needing you to weight your craypot ropes 20m or longer now no longer applies between November to March. Read the full story here. Fishers who wet a line at the north metro artificial reef at the weekend scored skippy and the occasional smaller Samson fish, while the Perth Fish Towers have produced plenty of 15kg-plus Sambos. Find the coordinates to the two fishing structures here. More Sambos have been caught at the inner reefs near Hillarys and also at structure out from Rottnest Island. It comes as the reefs near Rottnest continue to produce yellowtail kingfish, with reports of fish around the 25kg mark. Tailor and small yellowtail kingfish have been reported near Carnac Island.

The known bartail flathead haunts throughout the Swan River have continued to produce the fascinating fish this week, especially along the flats featuring weed. Recfishwest's Sam Russell landed a 62cm specimen from one of his secret flathead spots on Saturday, while Recfishwest Operations Officer Aaron Moses scored a 44cm bartail from a nearby location. With temperature set to be above 30C this weekend, it's likely flathead will be active throughout the Swan River. If you want to learn more about chasing bartail flathead, visit our 'I Love Fishing' website. Black bream have been found in the Swan's upper reaches. Those casting stickbaits for tailor at beaches to Perth's north have had a bit of success this week, however, they've had to work hard for their catch. The coast near Two Rocks and Yanchep have been best for the toothy predators. Interestingly, small salmon to about 55cm — most likely from a residential metro school — have been caught by fishers casting lures at Floreat Drain. Squid catches are improving at North Mole and South Mole, with the best chance for a feed of cephalopods coming in the morning.


Matthew Quijano, pictured with a blue swimmer crab last December, is among metro fishers keen for the upcoming season.

Also, crabbing season is fast-approaching! On 1 December, keen crabbers will be able to scoop or drop net for blue swimmer crabs from Perth to just south of Bunbury once again, following the latest annual three-month closure. If you're planning on catching a feed of crabs once the season is open, DBCA and DPIRD are reminding fishers to remove the head, guts (mustard) and gills from crabs caught in the Swan and Canning rivers before freezing, cooking or eating due to potential Alexandrium blooms. While none of the toxic algae was detected in the Swan and Canning rivers last year, it could reoccur this season, so crab fishers should still be on their guard.