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Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 17 February 2023 🎣

| By Seamus on 2/17/2023 3:01:12 AM | Views (175)

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Recfishwest
Fishing Report

17/02/23

There are plenty of yellowfin tuna getting around in the metro region at the moment and now that eight more metro FADs were deployed this week, expect to see a lot more of them! Image: @oceansdownunder

Our contributors

Sam Russell

John Dempsey

Peter Fullarton

Sedin Hasanovic

G'day <>,

Eight more metro FADs were deployed this week and it now means there are 14 FADs in total located west of Rottnest that will help to lure in some some hard-fighting sportfish. Get trolling, casting and spearing!

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 Recfishwest's responsible fish handling practices (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!

Jarrad Lawford

RECFISHWEST FISHING REPORT EDITOR

Pic of the Week!

Red bass of a lifetime! This angry looking monster was landed by @josh.fitzgerald796 out from Coral Bay on a Halco Slidog 150. Photo credit: @westernaustraliantopwater

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Broome catches

Despite a quiet week on the fishing front up north due to the conditions, @relphfishwest managed to locate the fat and healthy northern mulloway.

Boats

That pesky wind has been very annoying this week! Strong westerlies and stormy conditions have kept most boaties in close but anglers who took advantage of the neap tides have had success with barramundi in Crab and Dampier Creek. Threadfin and the odd blue salmon have also been landed on a mixture of stickbaits, vibes and soft plastics. There are also threadfin on the edges of Roebuck Bay where there was a bit of shelter from the wind and a few bluebone in their reefy strongholds. Tripletail have also been caught on calm mornings around the anchor buoys in the bay. The westerlies should finally start to vanish by around midday on Monday, which should see the wind drop off albeit with some storms rolling in.

Shore-based

The land-based action was again a little slower this week due to the aggressive winds, but the Town Jetty and Port Jetty have been producing queenfish and various trevally species, which have come through in decent sizes. Cable Beach has been rather quiet with the beach difficult to drive on, so this might be a better place to explore on foot if you manage to find a calmer window. Up Crab Creek and Dampier Creek there are barramundi roaming around but they were most prominent during the neap tide period. Will be a bit windy over the weekend, but the winds will drop off from Monday arvo (just be wary of the lightning/storms set to say g'day). For the best tips and gear for your fishing expedition, make sure you visit the helpful pros at Tackle World Broome for advice and they will provide details on spots with the best access for a flick.

Exmouth catches

This cracker of a black marlin photo by talented fishing and outdoors photographer @indepthangler_josh makes up for the drop in action this week. Make sure you give his page a follow!

Boats

If you held an umbrella in front of you out on the boats this week you probably could've hitched a ride to Broome like Mary Poppins. The conditions have made it difficult to access the better grounds out near the islands, although boats that did manage to cruise out discovered they were still holding mackerel tuna and longtail tuna, along with golden and giant trevally. Closer in, the billfish action has also been very hot and cold, with sailfish and black marlin appearing some days in great numbers and going AWOL the next. Persistence is key and boats putting in the miles looking for them are being rewarded. A charter boat did well earlier in the week at the shoals with catches of golden and giant trevally and some coral trout off the bombies, while the odd Spanish mackerel have been showing up at the artificial King Reef. Make sure you don't anchor up directly over the reef and troll just off to the side of it as the sharks can sometimes be a nuisance. There should be a slight drop in the southerly winds on Sunday morning for a send.

Shore-based

Yellowfin whiting are the talk of the town at the moment with the best bet along Town and Bundegi beaches where it is nice and sheltered. This should be another good spot to try this weekend as the winds won't drop off until Sunday morning. The marina is also worth a try for larger mangrove jack after dark which have been smashing stickbaits and plastics flicked around the structure. The Learmonth Jetty also contained a few squid this week although the calmer conditions have been more favourable. The western side was blowing a gale this week, so no fishers really bothered going for spangled emperor or bluebone off the inshore reefs. Saturday and Sunday morning should see slight drops in the southerly winds so the Gulf should be a solid spot for yellowfin whiting on the surface and maybe a few queenies or trevally. Big thanks to the crew from Tackle World Exmouth for their tips!

Kalbarri catches

Boats

Unfortunately, poor weather has forced the Kalbarri Offshore & Angling Club to postpone its competition until February 25, but hopefully the strong southerly winds will take a hike by then! However, the good news around town (especially with the demersal ban in place) has proven that the pelagic action has been red hot when the weather has provided a decent window to punch out. There are yellowfin tuna up to 20kg around Three Mile Reef turning up when trolling skirts, with solid Spanish Mackerel among them smashing stickbaits and deeper diving lures. In closer where there is more shelter, tailor and whiting have also been turning up occasionally in the surf, although early mornings have been the only window available to find them. The southerlies are sticking around for a while unfortunately but if you do manage to get out, definitely have a troll for the tuna and mackies.

Shore-based

That wind didn't make it easy for land-based fishers either, although the Murchison River is very clean and fishing well for bream in the upper reaches and for mulloway of various sizes. Yellowfin whiting are near the river mouth, but the sizes have generally been smaller with bigger fish caught on the ocean side. Tailor catches have also been good with fish up to 2kg being caught at Chinamans, Frustrations and Wittecarra in the deep gutters and in the whitewash. South of town, the odd mulloway have been taken. Big thanks to Dean from Kalbarri Sports and Dive for his tips as always and your best bet is in the mornings until these annoying southerlies calm down.

Geraldton catches

Boats

The wind wasn't as bad in Geraldton as it has been in the northern regions thankfully. Inshore boaties are doing well with large blue swimmer crabs and decent squid are about in good numbers and sizes with tubes around the 30cm mark. North of the town produced most of the pelagic action this week, with Spanish mackerel from school size up to 10kg being landed. The species of the week though was definitely yellowfin tuna, which stole the show with plenty of fish between 8-20kg and the odd monster exceeding 30kg. Trolled Rapala X-Raps and Halco Laser Pros have been the go-to lures as they can get further down below the chop. It's a strong southerly for the next week but midday on Saturday should see it drop off slightly.

Shore-based

Tailor have been on the chew right up the coast with most fishers getting a feed in the early mornings or evenings. Flat Rocks to the Greenough River mouth stretch saw bigger fish to 60cm, along with the standard chopper size. At the first and second points at Greenough, striped sea pike, herring and dart are among the good numbers of chopper tailor. Southgates and Tarcoola beaches also have plenty of tailor and pike, as well as dart and a few whiting. Separation Point and Pages Beach are also holding tailor, while the north side of Batavia Marina produced some big squid when the water was clear along with blue swimmer crabs. At Drummonds and Coronations there are school mulloway among the tailor. Big thanks to Geraldton Sports Centre for their report and there are strong southerlies rolling in again this week unfortunately, so maybe try position yourself casting in a northerly direction with the wind in your back.

Lancelin catches

Boats

It was a quiet week in Lancelin for fishing but we should see a good spike in catches with Lancelin Angling & Aquatic Club holding their fishing comp this weekend. Most of the competitors are likely to go chasing the tuna and mackerel that have been turning up this week generally in the 15-35m depths, although the ground swell throughout the week stirred up the water clarity and floating weed made trolling difficult. Strong winds only allowed for a short time on the water most days, but early Saturday morning should see a slight drop and Monday morning should see a great boating window with minimal wind. For boats sticking in relatively close this week, sand whiting were along the 18-22m depths and have been a reliable stop to gather a feed. In the bay, anglers have been getting on to some squid, snook and herring. Lobster potters have been finding they are throwing back most of the catches with a lot of undersize crays and tarspots in the pots, although they are still managing a decent haul. Boats that preferred to avoid the winds sticking in close to the bay have been catching some great blue swimmer crabs. Strong southerlies this weekend but Monday morning should glass off nicely.

Shore-based

Tailor have been the main catch off the beaches along with the odd small bronze whaler or guitarfish. Mulloway went a bit quiet this week, probably because of the rays and smaller sharks reaching the baits first. Last weekend there were some good sessions from anglers casting lures for tailor at the northern gutters, with the fish taking mulies on gangs, poppers and stickbaits. Drone fishers are still on to some good pink snapper when dropping bait 200-300m offshore. Finding gutters or deep pockets near reef and structure seems to be working best. Big thanks to Lancelin's fishing guru Peter Fullarton from Tailored Treks for his report as always!

Esperance catches

The Esperance jetty has been pumping out impressive kraken recently as @dylan_rolton discovered. Squid are a highly sustainable species and you can't beat squid rings with the flour-egg-bread crumb combo shallow fried in oil.

Boats

The past few days saw some decent boating windows at times and yellowtail kingfish up to one metre are being caught out wide via jigging and baits dropped near the structure, along with nannygai to 60cm and a few blue groper to 20kg in a wide range of depths. Smaller boats are doing well on harlequin fish to 3kg near Black Island and queen snapper close to one metre have been plentiful at Observatory Island. Closer in to shore, King George whiting have been turning up around Bandy Creek with most sizes between the 30-35cm mark. Drifting within the bay has also seen some decent squid being caught, with the gentle rocking motion of the waves enough to provide a good action on the jigs for luring them in. Tomorrow morning is looking ideal for a boating session with very calm easterlies until midday.

Shore-based

Octopus baits are accounting for gummy sharks and mulloway at Thomas River, while at Alexander Bay salmon and mulloway are being taken after dark. Dunn and Rossiter beaches are fishing well for 6-8kg gummy sharks, while the first part of Fourth Beach has once again produced good numbers of salmon. They have also been in good numbers at West Beach with schools spotted roaming along the shore in the mornings and afternoons. The most consistent spot for salmon this week though was Stockyards, which has been producing all day long. Good catches of herring and big squid are being taken at the Esperance and town jetties, along with the weed beds around Wiley Bay. The bream lakes are fishing well on warmer afternoons with 40cm+ specimens taking plastics and surface lures. Big thanks to the pros from Southern Sports and Tackle for their tips as always and both mornings this weekend (especially Saturday) are looking nice for a land-based flick.

Great Southern catches

@nicearvoforafewtins make crabbing from a yak look easy, yet when I've done it they seem to love dancing around between my legs ready to pinch not-so-ideal locations. Bravo on your recent Augusta crabbing session lads.

Boats

The offshore fishing was relatively quiet throughout the week, but the reefs have produced pink and queen snapper in decent sizes, along with a few harlequin. Out further, nannygai have been taken in depths of 70m+. Closer in, Michaelmas Island produced both species of snapper, along with small yellowtail kingfish, King George whiting and squid. Samson fish are in good numbers around Lowlands via jigging, with a few larger fish over 12kg doing the rounds. The good weather has finally paired up nicely with the weekend though and there should be minimal winds across both Saturday and Sunday. Best of luck if you're thinking of licking the stamp and sending it!

Shore-based

Smaller King George whiting around the 30cm mark have been plentiful within the harbour and there are still a few blue swimmer crabs about. Around Mistaken Island and Frenchman Bay, squid are worth targeting with some impressive kraken sizes rolling through. There have also been a lot of pink snapper landed in the Emu Point channel, but most are undersized (still a great fight though). The King and Kalgan systems have produced bream and mulloway with hard-bodied lures working well on both species. Salmon are being caught at Cheynes Beach and Salmon Holes, but they are believed to be resident fish. Hopefully we will see a big boost in their numbers in the coming weeks during the salmon run! Reports are also coming in of schools of salmon at Bremer Bay and with the perfect land-based fishing conditions rolling through across this weekend, best of luck if you decide to go chasing them! Big thanks to the crew from Trailblazers in Albany for their tips and make sure you pay their store a visit for the best gear and advice.

South West catches

Boats

Haven't heard much on the Cape Naturaliste FADs this week, although the tuna are still working their way down the coast and we expect Bunbury and Busselton to start seeing a boost in numbers over the coming weeks. The coordinates of the Cape Nat FADs can be found here if you want to fish them and the 60-80m depths off the Cape have seen a couple of Samson fish and yellowtail kingfish via jigging (solid workout there). King George whiting are being caught in 15-30m depths along with a few flathead, while further out there are plenty of big Samson fish crossing the 15kg mark for those who feel like giving their arms a stretch. Geographe Bay also held decent-sized KG's as well as sand whiting around the 15m depths. Divers have also reported the crays are prolific in depths around 30m. Drop-netters are doing well on good-sized blue swimmer crabs in the estuary, with a lot of the bucks now brimming with plenty of meat after spending the past month filling up. Saturday morning until midday is looking great for a session.

Shore-based

The estuary saw heaps of yellowfin whiting along with the odd flathead, while scoopers are getting their bag limits of blue swimmer crabs quite quickly on calm mornings. Herring and tailor are among the bread-and-butter species keeping fishers entertained at the Cut, while Busselton Jetty produced plenty of squid in the early mornings and around sunset. At the end of the jetty, Samson fish and yellowtail kingfish have also been landed and a regular customer of Whitey’s Tackle caught bonito there this week, with floating mulies and metal lures proving successful. Further south at Sugarloaf Rock on the north and south-side gutters, bigger tailor around the 40-55cm mark have been landed on poppers in the early mornings. Big thanks to Whitey's Tackle for their tips and the mornings on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday at this stage are looking nice for a land-based flick.

Freshwater

The pros from @compleatanglernedlands headed south for a freshwater fly fix during the week and the rainbow yearlings were hungry in the pockets of some pristine streams.

Harvey Dam has been producing big redfin on dropshot rigs (a paternoster rig with two soft plastics) being slowly wound in. The redfin generally strike the plastics as they are descending down with the motion of the wiggling plastics enticing a strike, so tea-bagging the plastics up and down next to structure works nicely. Small rainbow trout are also about and hitting natural-coloured hard-bodied lures. Other good redfin captures have come from the Drakesbrook Weir and Wellington Dam, with captures coming from the shore via spinner lures, small vibe-style lures and soft plastics bounced near the structure and around the drop-offs. When trolling for redfin or trout at these locations in small electric boats or kayaks, diving lures with a strong action and depth range of about 1.6m such as the RMG Scorpion work well and they contain small rattles that attract attention from the fish lingering below. I've found trolling around 20-40m from the shoreline works well as this tends to be the 3-5m depth range, allowing your lure to be around the middle of the water column while avoiding the weed or snags. All colour variations of these lures work well and spinners are another great option but need a slower troll. If you catch any great trout or redfin, make sure you message us a snap of the catch to our Instagram page @recfishwest.

Mandurah and surrounds

Mandurah

The outstanding catch this week was a blue marlin of about 80kg caught by a former staff member of Tackle World Miami. It was taken in a depth of about 400m on a trolled skirt and just shows how lucky we are to have such great species on our doorstep. Closer in, there are lots of southern bluefin tuna still running wild. The Five Fathom Bank is holding fish around 3kg, while bigger models are further out in depths between 40-100m. The water temperature is still quite warm at 23 degrees between 30-100m, so the pelagic action certainly isn't going anywhere but up. The Five Fathom Bank also produced King George whiting mixed in with big sand and yellowfin whiting. The inner reefs also have seen yellowtail kingfish in 8-20m depths, providing great fun in the shallows. In the estuary there are herring and tailor turning up over the shallows, attacking small metal lures and stickbaits. Catching blue swimmer crabs has become a little harder as most of them are busy breeding, but at least this cycle will see plenty more numbers in the years to come. Make sure any females with eggs are returned as quickly as possible with care. Saturday morning until about 11:00am is looking great for a boating session and we recommend getting in on the tuna action and trolling between the 30-60m mark. Big thanks to the crew from Tackle World Miami for their tips as always!

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

Fishing near the tip of Point Peron has continued to produce skippy, herring and tailor across the board, especially in the early mornings. Trolling on the western side of Garden Island and about 200m west of Point Peron has also seen good numbers of larger tailor around the 45-55cm mark and also smaller yellowtail kingfish on occasions. Squid are also coming out from inside the sheltered weed beds inside Cockburn Sound and Woodman Point jetty. Beaches like Falcon and Melros are producing bigger and better fish in the early mornings, with some big, healthy tailor smashing lures and mulies on gang hooks in the gutters. The stretch between Mandurah and Rockingham is definitely one of the prime real estate areas for tailor and mulloway as these are the best metro gutters for land-based fishers and pink snapper will often cruise through here. Breaking up a few mulies and throwing them into the shallows will help bring in the fish and lures such as CID Shiversticks have been pulling in great catches of tailor when launched a fair way out. You'll be pleased to hear that 40,000 juvenile pink snapper and 15,000 juvenile yellowtail kingfish were stocked this week into Cockburn Sound thanks to Snapper Guardians and with support from DPIRD's Fremantle hatchery. You can catch all the Cockburn Sound fish stocking action from this week here (including the awesome underwater footage of the kingie and pinkie stocking cannon).

Perth catches

While the flathead, flounder and giant herring have been hogging the Swan River spotlight, black bream and tarwhine have been turning up in impressive numbers and sizes further up river towards Ascot, Burswood and Maylands as @josh.phillips.6051 discovered.

Boats

Recfishwest is pleased to announce all of the metro Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) have now been deployed and are in position ready to fish providing great pelagic sportfishing options for this summer and autumn.

This means there are now 14 FADs off the metro coast from Rockingham up to Two Rocks!

You can find the exact coordinates and more details on the FADs deployments here. Go get yourself some tuna, billfish, mackies and dolphinfish!

The Perth Game Fishing Club FADs have been firing for dolphinfish with yellowtail kingfish also about. You can catch all of the PGFC FADs YouTube action courtesy of Luke Ryan from TackleWest, who managed to locate the bigger dolphinfish. West of Parker Point at Rottnest in about 40m amberjack have been caught, along with solid Samson fish. There are King George whiting in 20m depths at Windmills along with plump sand whiting. Within the bays of Cockburn Sound have also seen good results for both whiting species. Three Mile Reef is now a decent spot for a Spanish mackerel or two now that the warmer waters are spicing up the pelagic action, while off Hillarys, southern bluefin tuna and yellowfin tuna are worth targeting. Trolling small skirts seem to be the best option and you can't go wrong by having them in the water as much as possible. The sizes of the fish have varied from small 1kg footballs to 6-7kg, but make sure you troll the same regions once you find the schools as the bigger specimens will be lurking. Diving birds are also a welcome sight and many fishers have been hooking up on the first cast whipped next to where birds are launching into the water. The river once again has seen tailor popping up on the troll over the deeper waters, with lures such as CID Shiversticks working well. Crabs were more prevalent again in the deeper regions and their numbers are still decent as long as you put in the time and effort around spots such as Claremont, Blackwall Reach and Como. Saturday morning is looking okay until about 11:00am for the boats, but Monday and Tuesday morning are looking deluxe. Kudos to the pros from Anglers Fishing World in Freo for their tips!

Shore-based

BUMPER SNAPPER GUARDIANS 2023 KICKS OFF 'SUPER-STOCKING' WEEK!

What an awesome turn-out for Snapper Guardians 2023 – with the biggest crowd in the event’s history coming down to help us release juvenile pink snapper into Cockburn Sound!

What’s more, it kicked off a ‘super-stocking’ week which has seen 40,000 juvenile pink snapper and 15,000 yellowtail king fish released into metro waters in less than seven days!

Want to catch all the action from Snapper Guardians along with the behind-the-scenes footage from DPIRD's Fremantle hatchery and the kingie/pinkie stocking cannon? Click here!

In the Swan River flathead fishing has slowed a little, with the steep drop-offs the better bet for finding the fish. Flathead up to 50cm are still being taken on vibes and micro jigs around East and North Fremantle, along with the flats either side of Blackwall Reach. Around East Fremantle a few fat yellowfin whiting have also been taken on vibes and small surface lures by anglers fishing for flathead. Further up river, tailor have been caught around Applecross and the Como flats by anglers casting lures and stickbaits. Moving further inland past Burswood, there are whispers of giant herring. A staff member from Anglers Fishing World in Fremantle also hooked and lost a giant herring around Crawley. Tailor and herring have been coming from South Mole and the Ammo Jetty had plenty of baitfish which are attracting bigger tailor up to 50cm. Divers have been catching crabs along the weed lines at South Beach and Coogee. Good sand whiting are being caught at Safety Bay and Coogee. Floreat had herring and tailor turning up around the drain pipe, while whiting and herring were common around City Beach. Saturday morning is looking okay with moderate south-easterlies dropping off until 11:00am, Monday and Tuesday morning should have calmer conditions.

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

Catch Information

Species:
Barramundi

Black Bream

Black Marlin

Blue Marlin

Bluefin Tuna

Coral Trout

Flounder

Giant Trevally

Gummy Shark

Mulloway

Nannygai

Pike

Queen Snapper

Spangled Emperor

Spanish Mackerel

Tripletail

Whiting

Yellowfin Tuna

Yellowfin Whiting

This Fishing Report was submitted on 2/17/2023 3:01:12 AM by Seamus and last updated on 2/20/2023 10:41:10 PM.

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3/45 Northside Drive
Hillarys, WA AU

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