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Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 24 February 2023 🎣

| By Seamus on 2/24/2023 4:11:42 AM | Views (201)

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Recfishwest
Fishing Report

24/02/23

If you ever see a whale shark or large ray cruising past your boat...this image might convince you to throw a lure (or eight) around to entice a cobia strike! They love hitching a ride with larger species, so make sure you have a stickbait, metal or even soft plastic ready to go for the opportune moment.

Our contributors

Sam Russell

John Dempsey

Peter Fullarton

Sedin Hasanovic

G'day <>,

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!

The metro FADs are firing! This beauty of a dolphinfish was landed by Blair White at the RFW5 FAD located south-west of Rotto. You can find all the exact coordinates for the metro FADs here and stay tuned for a metro FADs fishing competition kicking off from 1 March - 1 May with some cracking prizes up for grabs!

Your fishing photos

If you want to be included in our weekly State-wide Fishing Reports, send your best fishing photos and a description to jarrad@recfishwest.org.au to potentially be featured.

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Broome catches

The fishing action around Broome has steadily been improving over the last few weeks and the threadfin salmon and barramundi have been annihilating lures around Crab and Dampier Creek. Image courtesy of @reefchiefaustralia.

Boats

Once again strong winds and unpredictable weather have kept boaties in close, but Crab Creek is one of the better options. The creek is holding barramundi and threadfin salmon of decent numbers, with trolling producing the best results. The go-to lures have been Nomad vibes and deep-diving hard-bodies that swim just above the structure and entice the strikes. Both species can be found throughout the creek system and are biting on and off all day, although the ground closer to the entrance is producing better fish. Sizes range from 40-70cm for the threadfin while the barramundi are around 50cm. There have also been a few small barramundi in Dampier Creek around the same size with trolling again working well here. Fishers managing to take advantage of weather windows in Roebuck Bay have been catching northern mulloway from 70-110cm. Fillet baits fished near the bombies at the turn of the tide have been effective for landing these fish, along with Nomad vibes bounced along the bottom. Bluebone up to 60cm are also along the inshore reef in varying depths up to about 20m and prawn baits have produced the best results this week, although the tripletail catches have tapered off. The westerly winds are relatively low although the rain will be sticking around for most of this week.

Shore-based

At Entrance Point smaller golden trevally and queenfish from 30-70cm have been hitting metal slices in good numbers. Lures weighing 25-40g are working best, with the Arma Anchovy metal slug a local favourite. Anglers fishing Port Jetty at high tide have been rewarded with bluebone and coral trout from 40-50cm. The mud crabs have gone quiet, possibly because of poor water clarity in the creeks following the rains. The most reliable land-based option at the moment is the Town Jetty which has provided light-tackle fun for bream and javelin fish right throughout the day as well as trevally and queenfish during high tide. Unfortunately, most of the other reliable land-based spots have been blasted by wind. Soft sand, big swells and the winds have ruled out Cable Beach and Gantheaume Point, which has disrupted the water clarity and made casting difficult. There’s no news of barramundi in the Fitzroy River which is still very rain-tainted, although good numbers of cherabin (freshwater prawns) can be found at the Langi and Telegraph crossings. The westerly winds are sticking around with a bit of rain, but the winds should drop off on midday for most days this week. 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

Huge congrats to @mel_brunning for catching her first ever black marlin and bravo to @tackleworldexmouth for this beauty of a snap! This fish was kept in the water and safely released after a brilliant fight. If you want to take a snap with a billfish, keep it in the water as taking them out and holding them can severely damage the fish and reduce their odds of survival after release.

Boats

The good news is the weather has improved this week and is only going to get better over the next few days. On the west side bait balls are plentiful in 10-30m depths, which are being feasted on by mack tuna, golden and brassy trevally, cobia and queenfish. The boaties are locating the bait balls by watching for diving seabirds, then drifting around the edges of the activity for the best results. Light stickbaits have been the most effective lures along with small metals. The mack tuna and trevally species have generally been in the 6-8kg range with the cobia and queenfish going 8-10kg. Also lurking among the bait balls are thumping giant trevally with a 30kg specimen caught this week. The Muirons and Mackerel islands have been relatively quiet with a few Spanish mackerel being caught, but it's generally been very quiet on the demersal front. King Reef has been holding bottom species but the shark situation is dire, so move spots frequently (even if you're getting fish on the boat), use strong gear and try drifting over anchoring up. Closer to shore during the afternoons mack tuna and longtail tuna are being taken on chrome lures. The shoals are holding coral trout around 45cm and a few queenfish to 60cm, with soft plastics or drifted mulies working well on both species. It should be pleasant boating conditions for the next few days and the Muirons, Gulf and shoals should all be relatively calm with the lighter southerly winds.

Shore-based

Whiting and squid are the mainstays at Learmonth Jetty in the shallows, while queenfish to 60cm are being caught on slices and small stickbaits. Heading north of town, small spangled emperor have been caught in the sand holes at Light House Bay and Mildura Wreck. Paternoster rigs with squid, mulie or fillet have fished well and stickbaits are also effective. At the Bundegi boat ramp queenfish and trevally in smaller sizes are taking lures. The town marina has been a lot quieter since the school holidays ended, but it is worth a crack at night for decent-sized mangrove jack and flathead either with bait or soft plastics. At Tantabiddi boat ramp, small mangrove jack and spangled emperor are performing best at the turn of the tide. Most of the Gulf beaches are holding whiting and it is just a matter of putting in the distance on foot and casting surface lures or small poppers next to different weed beds or structure throughout the flats and you'll eventually find where the schools of 25-30cm fish are lurking. Most land-based spots should be very nice and sheltered over the next few days with these lighter southerly winds coming through on most mornings. Big thanks to the crew from Tackle World Exmouth for their tips!

Kalbarri catches

Boats

Conditions have improved since last week but the water clarity and weed have made fishing difficult closer to shore. As the water clears, the pelagic action should spice up as big schools of yellowfin tuna have been sighted. A local landed a 21kg yellowfin tuna around 5km out from the river mouth, along with a small Spanish mackerel early in the week. During the better weather windows, most boaties have headed out to the cleaner water around the coral grounds and trolled in depths of 30m. As the water clears from early next week with better conditions, the 15-24m depths will be easier to fish. Halco Laser Pros are proving the lure of choice and have worked best when trolled between 4-10 knots. The 190mm size has been the most popular, with both deep and shallow-diving versions producing the goods for various pelagic species. The preferred colours are red-head, pilchard and chrome pink. Trolling garfish and stickbaits have also been highly successful. Red Bluff has been the pick of the spots, but Bluff Point and Sand Patch are worth a try for yellowfin tuna, Spanish mackerel and even the occasional wahoo. Dinghy fishers have been targeting tailor at the river mouth near Oyster Reef on the troll, or heading up river to Castle Rock for blue swimmer crabs. The heavier winds are sticking around until they start to drop off from Sunday morning, but from Monday through to Thursday the early mornings are looking like the best boating windows.

Shore-based

The tailor action has been widespread, although weed has been a problem at times for poppers and deeper diving vibe-style lures have worked best to move under the pesky strands of weed. Thankfully conditions are improving and Sunday morning until midday should see lower easterly winds. Most of the tailor have been caught in the mornings by baitcasting at Wittecarra, with fish in the 40-50cm range. With the winds easing, Saturday night also offers ideal conditions for mulloway. Bigger tailor have been taken at Chinamans on poppers, while drone fishers have landed pink snapper from Red Bluff, which is also firing for tailor. In the river the marina jetty has been the hotspot with big mulloway busting off anglers at night. The jetty is also producing bream to 35cm and cod up to 50cm. Chopper tailor averaging 35cm are also cruising past at sunset. A few mud crabs have been taken from the jetty, providing a tasty treat for patient fishers. The sand spit and foreshore are worth a go for yellowfin whiting which have been smashing surface lures, squid on paternoster rigs and small poppers. Big thanks to Dean from Kalbarri Sports and Dive for his tips as always and there should be easterly winds rolling through from Saturday morning to aid in casting.

Geraldton catches

After a cheeky fishing escapade up to Exmouth recently, we're glad to see @mat.svenson back on the silver slab train in Geraldton!

Boats

Rough conditions have made things difficult again (you poor boaties in Geraldton can't seem to catch a break at the moment), but the weather looks more promising earlier next week with the wind and swell tipped to drop off from Monday morning. Boats have been trolling for Spanish mackerel north of town with little success, although decent schools of tuna, believed to be striped tuna, have been sighted in 12-15m depths off Coronations. Dinghy fishers who found a window to fish close in around Separation Point, Pages and the Batavia Marina have managed a few herring and squid, with the occasional tailor turning up for shallow diving stickbaits on the troll. Burley has worked well for bringing in the herring close to the surface, while a gentle drift is enough to provide a good action on the jigs to entice a squid strike over the weed beds. A few bream have been turning up further up river for a few boats, although with the wind dropping off on Wednesday and Thursday combined with hotter conditions, expect the pelagic action to take a big spike offshore.

Shore-based

Tailor have been plentiful across most of the beaches, but the sizes have varied from undersize to 70cm+ whoppers. Good-sized fish have been taken around Flat Rocks, while the smaller specimens were more common at the Greenough River mouth. Along with tailor, the Flat Rocks to Greenough stretch has produced pike, dart and soapie mulloway. The first point at Greenough had more pike and a few herring. Tailor to 45cm have been taken at Southgates, while Tarcoola also had plenty of tailor but some are barely legal size. Dart are prolific around Tarcoola though and they are lots of fun on light gear. The back of the breakwater had small tailor and school whiting. Tailor of various sizes have come from Pages, with some anglers landing fish around the 30cm mark while others were frequently landing bigger brutes (all providing good fun regardless of the size). Bigger tailor have been caught on mulies and lures by fishers wading out on to the reefs at Separation Point and Point Moore. The Batavia Marina is worth a try for squid, tailor and pike, while bigger squid have been taken from the eastern breakwater. Weed has made Drummonds and Coronations very difficult to fish, so if you're fishing here try to cast deeper diving stickbaits into clearer patches and work them underneath the weed that mostly gathers on the surface. The inside of Geraldton Fishermen’s Harbour is worth a try for yellowfin whiting on the surface. Big thanks to Geraldton Sports Centre for their report and the next few mornings should have decent land-based windows with easterly winds, although Wednesday and Thursday is looking magical.

Lancelin catches

Boats

There have been very few boats visiting Lancelin since the demersal ban started and there were only a few competitors in the Lancelin Angling Club's competitions. It really shows how important these species are to small tourist towns, although there are still some decent catches of pelagic species on offer. The weather has been ordinary during the week, so those that ventured out were mainly pulling pots, which saw a good run of brimming pots over the new moon. As usual, the 18-22m meter depths were a great stop off for a feed of plump sand whiting. Inside the bay, boats have been trolling up herring and snook with the occasional tailor around the 40cm turning up, while baits have been finding a few King George whiting over the patchy ground of sand and weed beds. Flathead have been in excellent numbers around the sand holes, while squid have been gathering over the weed beds in great numbers in depths of 3-8m closer to shore. Sunday morning should see calmer easterly winds and boating conditions from Monday through to Thursday are looking great in the mornings.

Shore-based

The jetty has been on fire this week with plenty of tailor in sizes from 25-45cm rolling through from sunset, while the herring have been schooling under the lights at night along with the odd skippy. The beaches have seen a decent spike in the bread and butter species with herring numbers improving and a better-sized sand whiting on paternoster rigs. Tailor have been a reliable target at sunrise and sunset on both bait casting pilchards and via metal lures or heavier stickbaits launched out as far as possible. Pink snapper have been caught on the cast throughout the early mornings, while the drone fishers have been frequently finding fish throughout the day when dropping baits into the deeper pockets near the structure 100-300m offshore. Big thanks to Lancelin's fishing guru Peter Fullarton from Tailored Treks for his report as always and land-based fishing conditions will improve from Saturday morning and only get better from Monday to Thursday morning.

Esperance catches

Not only did @lachy_warren land himself a beefcake of a dhufish on a recent Esperance fishing escapade, his forearms barely had a break when this solid Samsonfish bent the rod during the same session. Give his Instagram page a follow to see some of the impressive fish he frequently catches along the southern coast.

Boats

This week saw a big spike in the number of dhufish offshore in 40-80m depths, with quite a few over the 10kg mark. Many locals who venture out frequently in the boats have said it’s the best dhufish fishing they can remember, with the species once considered a by-catch now a common occurrence. Over the same ground, nannygai are in good numbers with sizes over 60cm common, along with breaksea cod up to 2.5kg. Squid are plentiful in the bay on the drift and there are good numbers of sand whiting at Lovers Cove. Smaller boats have also done well on harlequin fish and small blue groper at Cull Island, while fishers trolling Black Magic skirted lures inshore have caught southern bluefin tuna in the 4-6kg range. Saturday morning should see pristine boating conditions with lower winds, while Sunday and Monday morning are also looking decent before the wind spikes around midday.

Shore-based

There has been cracking weather over the past week as good tides and low winds made for great fishing. On the beaches, mulloway to 8kg have been taken around Munglinup mixed in with big gummy sharks. You can see an example of one of these solid Esperance gummy sharks landed in the latest YouTube video from Gido's Fishing Adventures. Thomas River and Tagon Beach are producing smaller mulloway in the 3-4kg range in really good numbers, gummy sharks to 12kg and big skippy up 3.5kg. Closer to town, flathead over 1kg have been caught at 9 Mile Lagoon and 14 Mile. Salmon are still popping up at Salmon Beach (no surprises there) and Observatory Beach, but they appear to be resident fish. At Wylie Bay the weed beds are holding good numbers of bread and butter fish. A local old-school tip here: on hot days the washed-up weed becomes stinky with maggots, providing free bait which of course herring love. Locals say the more stinky the seaweed the better the fishing. In town, herring over 25cm have been caught off Taylor Street Jetty around 8pm, while the end of the rock wall at Taylor Street had solid King George whiting around 40cm. Prawns are the best bait for both species. The Esperance Jetty also saw decent numbers of squid and herring again this week. Fishing has been quiet at the bream lakes but the late afternoons seems to be the best time. 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

The yellowtail kingfish were busting on the surface like a mad school of tuna recently and talented WA fisher Wade @wadefennell_fishing was there to make the most of it down south!

Boats

After a good window during the week, the weather is looking a bit blustery from Saturday arvo onwards, but Saturday morning looks to be a decent window. Boaties who took advantage of the conditions did well with mixed bags of demersals, including pink snapper, breaksea cod and queen snapper in 50-70m depths on both baits and jigs. Others who ventured out past the Continental Shelf caught nannygai and hapuka in good sizes in depths of 80-200m when the weather permitted. In closer, Bald Island was a great spot for squidding, while in King George Sound anglers caught King George whiting (would be disappointed if they didn't given the name) to 40cm in depths around 15m, with squid being the best bait. Herring and squid are also about in the same regions and burley has worked well in bringing in the larger herring schools.

Shore-based

Salmon activity has been subdued with mostly resident fish about, but Nanarup had schools pass by earlier this week. Otherwise at other likely salmon spots such as Normans, Salmon Holes and Lowlands, anglers had to be content mainly with skippy and herring. Frenchmans Bay produced a few sand whiting and the King and Kalgan rivers have fished well for bream, with soft plastics working well. Mulloway are also in both rivers with sizes ranging from soapies to 90cm. Emu Point is worth a try for whiting and squid and the channel there held small snapper and Samsonfish of varied sizes throughout this week. Further afield, the Wilson Inlet had small pink snapper herring, flathead and bream. Early Saturday morning is looking best for a land-based flick before the strong easterlies settle in for the rest of this week. 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

The crabbing in the Leschenault Inlet has been the best in recent memory, with most drop-netters getting their bag limits in less than an hour. The estuary is also holding plenty of yellowfin whiting for boaties targeting the sand flats and flathead have been a prominent by-catch. Dinghy fishers trolling in the inlet have been catching chopper tailor. Offshore it’s been a little quieter, but it’s still worth trying for southern bluefin tuna which have been widespread. Catches have been coming in from a few hundred metres offshore to the 30-40m depths with 50cm sizes common and it's worth throwing the skirts or lures out the back and trolling everywhere you go. The southern bluefin schools have been feeding on pilchards and whitebait, so look for action on the surface and diving birds. As yet, no reports have come in from the FADs activated off Cape Naturaliste. The coordinates of the Cape Nat FADs can be found here if you want to fish them, but the 60-80m depths off the Cape have again seen a couple of Samson fish and yellowtail kingfish via jigging. It's only a matter of time before the FADs fire up so it's always worth a couple of runs past them to see if anything is lurking around. King George whiting have been the main species targeted in 15-20m depths and prawn and squid baits have been the most successful. The wind direction is all over the place this week, but most days should see nice drop-offs around midday with some warmer conditions forecast. We predict an increase in the tuna action so get out there and start trolling!

Shore-based

Yellowfin whiting have been the main species targeted and they have been caught all day, although early mornings are best. They are right throughout the estuary, but the stretch along Cathedral Avenue has been fishing exceptionally well. Poppers and Eco Gear ZX vibes have been successful, with the vibes also picking up flathead. Around The Cut, there are lots of chopper tailor taking lures and pilchards on gang hooks. Many are undersize, but there are decent 35-40cm fish among them. The Collie River was teeming with baitfish this week and anglers have caught mulloway up to one metre there while fishing on the rising tide. On the ocean side, most of the beaches around town are fishing well for tailor and herring, with Buffalo Beach one of the better spots. The Busselton Jetty was a little quieter this week, but most fishers are picking up a feed of squid or herring. Busselton’s West Beach was also a good spot for tailor in the evenings. The Geographe Bay beaches are fishing reasonably well for herring and yellowfin whiting, while tailor have been caught in the evenings at Elmore Road near Dunsborough. Things are quieter off the Capes with no consistent reports of salmon. Big thanks to Whitey's Tackle for their tips and most of the days this week will be great for land0-based fishing with easterly winds common.

Freshwater

The pros at @2_oceans_tackle came up with the 'local fresh water lord' title for Giordano Gervasi @_purelyfishing_ and we definitely agree the name suits him given the amount of impressive redfin perch and trout species he lands so frequently down south.

Harvey Dam and Wellington Dam are holding plenty of redfin perch and they seem to have stopped being so finicky with what they are taking. There are plenty of little nippers around in the 20-25cm mark (which still provide a nice feed), but fish up to 40cm have been landed and 30cm+ fish have been also common. A wide range of soft plastics bounced over the bottom, vibe-style lures that drop down between 1-1.6m and spinners have all worked well. Harvey Dam and Drakesbrook Weir also saw good numbers of yearling rainbow trout around 30cm, which have been taking small hard-bodies yeeted into the deeper areas or trolled about 30-40m from the shoreline. Fly-fishers wetting a line early in the day are also picking up the odd fish and this time of day usually produces the better-fighting trout as they become a lot more lively when the water is cooler. Moving south to the Pemberton region, the uncharted rivers and harder-to-reach deep pockets that run off the larger bodies of water have been the most productive for the larger trout and redfin perch (as seen above with the great 40cm+ redfin landed by Giordano Gervasi). 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

The Peel-Harvey Inlet is still pumping out some beefy yellowfin whiting and @hanyeoh13 had a great session finding this great species on the surface in the warmer waters. They say men can't multitask but Han is fighting the sun, catching great fish and dressed as a ninja at the same time.

Mandurah

Crabbing continues to be slow but the muddy areas within the inlet seem to be the best spots. The Codanup area has produced good crab numbers at the mouths of the Serpentine and Murray rivers. For scoopers, after dark has worked best. Yellowfin whiting catches have improved in the estuary with the sandflats at Erskine and Wannanup the best spots for numbers and size. BassDay Sugar Pens and Eco Gear ZX vibes have been the favoured lures. There are still plenty of yellowfin whiting holed up at Melros and Falcon beaches, where anglers fishing early in the morning with prawn baits are doing well. The tailor fishing has been quieter than usual with some of the best catches coming from anglers wading the estuary flats and fishing the drop-offs. One fisher landed a 58cm tailor around the Point Grey area earlier this week, along with several others over 50cm. The flats have also been fishing extremely well on high tides and low-light conditions, with herring, juvenile salmon to 60cm and skippy to 45cm also being caught. Chunky black bream are taking pilchard and river prawn baits in the canals and soft plastics have caught plenty of fish as well. Off the beaches, the tailor fishing has been quiet but mulloway in the 10-20kg range have made up for it. The high tide combined with darker conditions saw anglers catching decent numbers and sizes of mulloway, especially on beaches further north around Golden Bay, which are also holding big sand whiting. The beaches from Tim’s Thicket to Myalup had a few tailor, while anglers using drones have landed pink snapper and the odd mulloway. Offshore, King George whiting averaging 50cm are being taking around the weed patches in the 20-30m depths. Fresh squid has been the best bait for these kidney slappers. Divers are getting crayfish in 10-15m depths, but they are mostly lingering in deeper caves. Spearfishers on the inner side of Five-Fathom Bank have reported seeing big Spanish mackerel, but they are very shy and difficult to line up for a shot. Unfortunately, boaties have had no luck targeting them while trolling. At the artificial reef, the yellowtail kingfish action was red hot, with fish around 90-110cm common. Anglers are having the best luck when using burley or cubed mulies while trolling at 6-8 knots, while small skirted lures and deep-diving Rapala's have also worked well. We're in for some great fishing weather over the next week so best of luck! Big thanks to Tackle World Miami for their tips as always!

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

Anglers accessing the FADs have been doing well on dolphinfish and small bonito. Trolling hard-bodies and skirts has worked well, but fishing on the drift with live baits has also been successful. For small yellowtail kingfish, Coventry Reef is the most likely location and small southern bluefin tuna have turned up there as well. Warnbro Sound was the pick of the squid spots this week, with the average size very impressive. Within the shallow weed patches of 4-6m within Cockburn Sound also saw plenty of smaller models. These same depths have also produced plenty of sand whiting, herring and the odd King George whiting, with the use of burley the key. Big blue swimmer crabs are in Warnbro Sound, although not in big numbers. For shore-based fishers, Long Point has been the pick of the southern tailor spots with quite a few 50cm-plus fish being landed, mostly on bottom rigs after dark. Chopper tailor are plentiful there at first light and on sunset, while the beaches at Port Kennedy and Secret Harbour have also seen 35-40cm choppers as well. Around the grain terminal and ASI Groyne, anglers are catching chopper tailor in the late afternoons then sticking around for the chance of a mulloway. Palm Beach Jetty produced heaps of 30cm sized tailor, which are mostly being caught on twisty and small hard-bodied lures. The Penguin Island spit also lived up to its reputation for producing mixed bags with flathead, flounder, herring, King George and sand whiting among the catches this week. Very nice weather coming in this week for both the boaties and land-based fishers so best of luck! Big thanks to Compleat Angler Rockingham for their great tips!

Perth catches

That's one mighty Swan River crab! The trusty Swan not only is producing great numbers of blue swimmers from the deeper regions, but they are also the biggest specimens currently being caught in Western Australia. The photo of lucky Huddy was courtesy of the @fishinwishinlife_official crew.

Boats

Get ready for another metro FADs fishing competition! From 1 March until 1 May, we will be running a best photo competition from the metro FADs, with three top prizes of Madfish Fish Bags up for grabs and eight other prizes containing loads of Richter skirts and lures that are perfect for catching the hard-fighting pelagics that school around the FADs!

It's easy to win a prize, all you need to do is:

1) Travel out to one of the 14 metro FADs currently deployed between Rockingham and Two Rocks.

2) Catch any of the pelagic species on offer there, take a photo with your catch that reflects Recfishwest's responsible fish handling guidelines with the FAD clearly visible in the photo.

3) Send a photo of your catch to our Instagram page @recfishwest or email it to jarrad@recfishwest.org.au detailing the FAD you fished and when you caught it.

4) We will compile all the photos and award prizes to the best 11 snaps once the comp concludes on May 1!

The FADs are already firing, so make sure you get out there!

The offshore FADS are going great and have been firing all day, with plenty of decent-sized dolphinfish along with football-sized southern bluefin tuna. Small skirts and compact Halco Laser Pros are working wonders, with calmer conditions best for dolphinfish. Further west of the FADS, there have been some massive billfish breaking lines so this is always worth a crack on the troll if you're out there. Out the back of Rottnest in 30-60m depths, yellowtail kingfish and jumbo Samsonfish are stretching arms. Both species are being caught on fillet baits or jigs and drifting over the old wrecks out there has been productive. King George whiting in 40-50cm sizes are biting at Windmills and Stragglers. There has also been good tailor in the 45-50cm range around the inshore white-water reef zones of Stragglers and Mewstones with slices and floating fish baits working well. The Five-Fathom Bank and Three-Mile Reef are worth a try for sand and King George whiting and the odd skippy. Squid have been active on the inside of Garden Island and burley trails have brought in huge schools of herring in Cockburn Sound this week. Heading north of Perth, the Spanish mackerel went a bit quiet between Hillarys and Two Rocks, but this was made up for with huge numbers of southern bluefin tuna. The 29m mark out from Ocean Reef saw very good numbers of King George whiting. In the Swan River, drop-netters have been catching blue swimmer crabs in a range of depths but the 12-18m areas have been the most consistent. Tailor up to 40cm have been taken on the troll on both lures and mulies. Just a heads up, the Rottnest Channel Swim is on tomorrow (Saturday) so we recommend avoiding the stretch between Cottesloe and Rotto and brace yourselves for some very busy ramps early in the morning.

Planning on fishing in the river this week? Fishers are being reminded not to eat mussels or other bivalves caught in the Swan-Canning Estuary and to clean their crabs before eating or freezing. The reminder comes following a recent visible pale orange Alexandirum bloom spotted near Riverside Drive. Alexandrium produces Paralytic shellfish toxins that can accumulate in crabs and mussels and if eaten can be dangerous and in extreme cases fatal. You can find DPIRD’s and DBCA’s guide on how to clean crabs here.

Shore-based

South Mole saw heaps of squid and herring and smaller skippy this week. The inside of Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour had bream and yellowfin whiting, but blowies can be a problem at times. It’s worth having a flick on the beaches around Woodman Point where flathead up to 45cm are attacking soft plastics, jigs and small hard-bodied lures. Tailor are biting in the afternoons along most of the metro beaches and reefy breaks, with bait and lures landing 35-40cm fish. The southern beaches also produced bull herring, some of them big enough to take ganged mulie baits. In the Swan and Canning, blue swimmer crabs have travelled up past the Causeway and Canning Bridge but the better results are coming from the jetties in Mosman and Freshwater bays, which are also fishing well for tailor up to 35cm. Scoopers have caught most of their crabs this week around East Fremantle. Flathead are also fishing well in the Claremont and Dalkeith area with 40cm fish taking hard-body and imitation prawn lures. Claremont Jetty also produced tailor once the sea breeze kicks in but not many were legal size. There are plenty of bream all throughout the Swan River, with the boat moorings and the banks alongside the yacht pens fishing well in the lower reaches. The Mount Henry Bridge, Maylands and Ascot also produced a couple of 35cm bream among the snags. South Perth foreshore produced a couple of giant herring. If you're land-based and north of Perth, the Moore River mouth saw plenty of bream and whiting, while Mullaloo Beach produced good numbers of smaller tailor. Big thanks to Anglers Fishing World in Fremantle and Hillarys Boat & Tackle for their great tips and this week is looking fantastic for land-based fishing!

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

Catch Information

Species:
Anchovy

Bluefin Tuna

Breaksea Cod

Cobia

Coral Trout

Dhufish

Flounder

Giant Trevally

Gummy Shark

Hapuka

Mulloway

Spangled Emperor

Spanish Mackerel

Threadfin Salmon

Tripletail

Wahoo

Whiting

Yellowfin Tuna

Yellowfin Whiting

This Fishing Report was submitted on 2/24/2023 4:11:42 AM by Seamus and last updated on 2/26/2023 3:06:05 AM.

Location

3/45 Northside Drive
Hillarys, WA AU

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