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Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 14 April 2023 🎣

| By Seamus on 4/14/2023 3:04:41 AM | Views (246)

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Recfishwest
Fishing Report

14/04/23

Ever wondered why red emperor become completely red at the surface? When struck by white light on the water surface, red emperor reflect red light and absorb all other colours, thus appearing bright red. Deep down next to the reef, there is less red light to reflect off the fish, so red emperor will appear more white with these stunning red stripes across their body.

Our contributors

Sam Russell

Jarrad Lawford

Peter Fullarton

Sedin Hasanovic

G'day <>,

With some rough weather rolling through a large majority of WA and with the Bureau of Meteorology issuing rock fishing warnings between the Shark Bay and Esperance coast due to high swells and winds, the fishing accessibility took a hit this week, but we're glad to see a lot of fishers played it safe by keeping the sand between their toes. There were still some great catches reported this week though and in exciting news, Mandurah had two FADs deployed off the coast for the first time ever, so let's get into it!

Remember, you don't always have to fully bag out on demersals now that the season has opened back up. Try to diversify your fishing for other species such as pelagics, squid and inshore species, rather than just going for demersals on every trip. If you want to know more information about the demersal fishery opening back up, along with FAQ's and tips on better stewardship for these fish, click here.

Click on either of the links below to find all the info you need to know on the Salmon Slam and State-wide FADs photo competition currently underway. There are two weeks left for both comps, so get in there while it's red hot!

CLICK HERE FOR SALMON SLAM 2023 INFO

CLICK HERE FOR FADS PHOTO COMP INFO

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!

William Bennett

RECFISHWEST FISHING REPORT WRITER

Pic of the Week!

Six-year-old Matilda Blechynden certainly deserved pic of the week with her 44cm beast of a redfin perch caught in Manjimup! Her brother Noah landed another solid redfin a few weeks back so kudos to dad Leon teaching his youngsters how to catch great fish!

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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ONLY TWO WEEKS LEFT IN THE 2023 SALMON SLAM!

The salmon catches this past fortnight have come in thicker and faster than at any other stage of the 2023 Salmon Slam so far, as seen by the great catches by Alex Bolton (left) and Mitch Hill (right). Make sure you wet a line for a share in $10,000 worth of prizes before the competition ends on May 1st!

With the last phase of the 2023 Salmon Slam kicking off from April 15 - May 1 and with salmon schools now working their way into the South-West, you could go home with the entire $3,000 worth of Shimano fishing gear below simply by catching a salmon and entering it into the Salmon Slam app!

This FREE to enter, app-based competition runs from 1 March until 1 May and there's more than $10,000 in prizes up for grabs simply by catching a salmon, taking a snap of it on a brag mat or next to a ruler with the tournament code '#SS2023' visible and entering it via our Salmon Slam 2023 app into the competition.

Remember, fish images entered into the app must reflect our responsible fish handling practices. So no blood or cut throats, fish still alive, fish supported well and held horizontally, no fingers in gills, etc.

To enter the comp and have a crack for some great prizes, simply download the Salmon Slam app via the App Store or Google Play!

CHECK OUT THE SLAM COMPETITION PHASES, INFO AND PRIZES UP FOR GRABS HERE

A huge Recfishwest thanks to our supporters and sponsors in Shimano, Western Angler Magazine, Richter Lures, Halco Tackle, Assassin Tackle Australia, Anglers Fishing World and Compleat Angler Nedlands for their donations of prizes!

Broome catches

Elizabeth Mccallum @lizzymc_5 and Blaze Holland @blaze.holland had a great barra session recently on Lake Kununurra, pulling in this 99cm whopper over the Easter long weekend. To check out the great fishing spots available at Lake Kununurra, click here.

Boats

Big swells and squally bands of rain from cyclone Ilsa have made fishing very difficult within the creeks. Dampier Creek was one of the only safe options and at the back end of the creek, big blue-nosed salmon were prolific, while closer to the mouth barramundi and threadfin salmon were still hitting trolled lures. Before the conditions turned nasty, bigger barramundi closer to the one metre mark were being caught in the Fitzroy River. Offshore fishers were also reporting good catches of wahoo and Spanish mackerel, with trolled Halco Lazer Pros and small skirts working well in 30-40m depths. Sailfish were also being targeted, but with little success. Thankfully the wild winds and swell should drop right off from later this evening, although the storms will stick around on Saturday and most of the mornings for the remainder of this week are still looking windy.

Shore-based

Jetties are the best option at the moment, but the unpredictable winds are making fishing uncomfortable. Town Beach Jetty is still fishing very well with bread-and-butter fish such as bream, whiting and javelin fish taking baits, while school mackerel, trevally species and queenfish are hitting Halco Twistys. Before the roads closed, Gantheaume Point and Willie Creek were good spots for queenfish and trevally. 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

Catty was the cobia queen this week in Exmouth, landing this beauty with the crew @onstrikecharters before the rough conditions arrived. They have been caught in good numbers around King Reef over the past few weeks and soft plastics are always a reliable option.

Boats

It was a rather quiet week for the boaties as expected with the conditions. Strong winds have restricted boaties to stay inside the Gulf and roam just a few hundred metres offshore when weather windows allow it, with many content to target squid around the weed patches. For those dropping baits or soft plastics around lumps of coral and broken ground, they have still been catching Spanish flag, bluebone and spangled emperor. Before the blow, red emperor and Rankin cod were being caught in 70-100m depths on the west side of the cape, while the reports of larger pelagic species on the troll went very quiet. Thankfully the swell and wind will start to drop right off from around midday on Sunday, with most of next week looking very pleasant on the water.

Shore-based

Shore fishing has also taken a decent whack this week thanks to the conditions. Fishers that did brave the weather have been restricted to the Gulf side at present with Learmonth Jetty and Bundegi still proving themselves as reliable spots for squid, queenfish and smaller trevally. Around town, the marina had plenty of variety with mangrove jack, trevally species, small queenfish and spangled emperor hitting squid and mullet baits within the more sheltered waters. Around the lighthouse on the western side, there are spangled emperor, bluebone and the odd coral trout for fishers finding decent windows to wet a line. Thankfully the peachy land-based fishing conditions will return from Sunday and continue right through next week. Big thanks to the crew from Tackle World Exmouth for their tips as always!

Kalbarri catches

Boats

The high swell and winds made it tough for the boaties this week but the 30-50m depths held plenty of pink snapper along with a few baldchin groper before the brunt of it came through. Earlier this week, a charter boat bagged out on demersals on a trip out north-west of town, with the skipper then putting his clients on to some big yellowfin tuna on the troll to round off a top day. Spanish mackerel were caught south of town in 30m depths, while further out in around 50m a striped marlin was sighted, most likely feeding on the plentiful bonito schools there. The winds and swell should start to calm down by Sunday and a majority of the mornings this week should suit the boats well.

Shore-based

The dirty water flowing down to the Murchison River mouth has been livening up the mulloway action with fish around 15kg being caught at night and in the mornings on mulies and mullet strips. The best spots are the Sand Spit and the marina jetty, while the river mouth at Chinamans has also been another productive location. Big bream have also moved downstream with the flooding and turned up in good sizes and numbers around the structure. Some solid estuary cod have been turning up with them and mud crabs aren’t minding the dirty water either. Weed and bigger swells have made tailor fishing from the beaches difficult, but Red Bluff and Wittecarra are reliable spots despite the average tailor sizes being down. When conditions allowed it, pink snapper and baldchin groper were caught at Pot Alley and Rainbow Valley. The better-sized tailor turned up at Lucky Bay which has also been fishing well for mulloway and herring. Big thanks to Dean from Kalbarri Sports and Dive for his tips as always and the mornings from Sunday through to next week should see calmer easterly winds, ideal for land-based fishing.

Geraldton catches

Dongara hits hard on the demersals and hats off to Jak Mahoney @jak_mahoneyyy with his 98cm PB dhufish landed this week!

Boats

Boaties have enjoyed good dhufish captures since the demersal season opened, with fish of varied sizes caught across a wide range of depths. Baldchin groper are among the dhufish numbers, with both fish responding well to squid baits. Pink snapper have also been prolific, with some anglers struggling to get away from them. The snapper are widespread, but have been particularly active in 60m depths. At the Abrolhos Islands, plenty of Spanish mackerel have been sighted, especially around the Wallabi group, but boaties reported sharks are a problem. If you're trolling around the Abrolhos, try using stronger gear, have your lures positioned closer to the back of the boat and if your fish is being chased by the tax man, try free-spooling your reel to let the speed of the fish work in its favour to evade the jaws. Thankfully after Recfishwest's constructive discussions with the Fisheries Minister, the original bag limit of three pelagic finfish at the Abrolhos Islands has been reinstated after the Minister initially revised it down to one, which is great news for fishers and charter operators in the area who can continue to enjoy the full benefits of sportfishing the Abrolhos has to offer. You can read more about the Abrolhos Islands pelagic finfish bag limit here. The dirty water around town is making squid fishing difficult, but Sunday could see it clear up slightly with the lower swell and easterly winds coming through. The winds and swell should pick back up from Monday however.

Shore-based

Anglers are hoping the dirty water flowing from Mid-West rivers will lead to mulloway catches, but so far there have been few reports of decent fish other than a 1.4m, 25kg-plus monster that was caught at Port Denison. Inside the Greenough River close to the mouth, good-sized whiting are being caught along with small bream and tarwhine. Weed is a problem on the beaches around town, but at Southgates chopper tailor are being caught from sunset to around 9pm. When there is clear water, whiting are about in good numbers from Southgates right through to the Fishing Boat Harbour. Better whiting spots include the surf club, Separation Point, Point Moore and near the Sail Inn. Smaller tailor and herring are also being caught along this stretch. Weed has spoiled most of the fishing north of town unfortunately. The best land-based fishing window coming up is Sunday until around 2pm with lower swell and easterly winds coming through, although Monday through to Thursday should also see easterly winds with higher swells. Big thanks to Geraldton Sports Centre for their report as always!

Lancelin catches

Boats

Offshore boats dropping baits or jigs over the heavier ground have been finding a lot of medium-sized dhufish in the 50-80cm size range. Drifting the flats has also been productive in finding some baldchin groper and the odd gummy shark. Skippy and pink snapper have been more prevalent around reefs in the 12-20m depths. A few snapper have been popping up along the nearshore reefs, although that should change this weekend after the big passing storm which is likely to see snapper move into the shallower waters to chase crustaceans. The bay has fished very well for herring and skippy, although the size of the herring has dropped from the big thumper fish of recent months to a more normal average. As for trolling the inshore waters for tailor and flicking around the whitewash, tailor have gone almost completely absent this week, with lures and mulies on gang hooks flicked around having minimal effect over the full moon period. There have however been some exceptional catches of squid from the inshore weed banks, so it might be worth swapping the lures for the squid jigs when it's slightly calmer. The wind and swell should drop off over the weekend although the rain should stick around.

Shore-based

Lancelin jetty fished very well for squid in the early mornings this week, with most of the numbers and better sizes turning up just before and bang on sunrise. While the mornings have generally been very quiet for herring, tailor and skippy, they have been turning up in much better numbers in the afternoon. It was a slow week for the fishers targeting tailor off the sand with very low numbers reported across all beaches north and south of town. The good news is mulloway are starting to make an appearance along the local beaches, with a few good catches popping up from the deep gutters close to town. Anglers in the know are anticipating a productive upcoming new moon period, with the stormy conditions also likely to bring in some big snapper chasing crabs in the shallows. Huge thanks to Peter Fullarton from Tailored Treks for his tips as always!

Esperance catches

@southernsports_tackle staff member Oli Stevenson @olistevensonn and his mate Ben Liddelow @ben_liddelow both landed some mighty mulloway east of Esperance this week, with the pair landing fish over 120cm off this remote beach. Great work fellas!

Boats

While the rough weather slammed the breaks on the boating, dhufish from 6-10kg were caught in a range of depths along with breaksea cod before the worst of it struck, while in depths over 50m there have been plenty of nannygai around the 3kg mark as well as some hefty Samson fish. Tuna up to 15kg were hitting trolled Halco Laser Pros at Devil’s Rock. Inshore there are good-sized sand whiting off Fourth Beach and King George whiting off Lovers Cove. If you're chasing squid, they have been plentiful in the bay for the boats using the drift with a couple of different coloured jigs drifting about 20m from the boat, with the gentle rocking motion providing a great action to entice the strike. Most boats are coming home with at least 5-6 squid that provide plenty of rings for the frying pan, so this is always a good option after you've had a crack at the demersals and pelagics. The key to landing more squid is having your jigs as close to the weed as possible without getting caught as squid will pull out of the strike if your jig is carrying any weed. Sunday evening should see the swell and wind start to drop off, although the winds will stay at a moderate level from Monday through to Thursday.

Shore-based

Despite the rougher conditions, the Town Jetty has been a reliable spot for herring and squid all day long, while at Taylor Street Jetty the rock wall has been producing skippy and King George whiting in the afternoons. There are also sand whiting and flathead turning up in good numbers at Bandy Creek. At 14 Mile Beach there are lots of salmon and a few gummy sharks, while a fair way east of town some thumping mulloway to 30kg have been caught. Early-morning sessions at Lake Wheatfield are producing good numbers of bream on soft plastics. In low swells blue groper and big harlequin fish are being caught from the headland at Cape Le Grand, but exercise caution by analysing conditions on arrival, fishing with a friend and wearing the right gear. Lifejackets can also be loaned for free from Southern Sports and Tackle and wearing them is always recommended if you're having a crack on the rocks, regardless of your experience or confidence levels. There could be northerly winds early on Monday and Thursday morning with slightly lower swells which could make land-based fishing easier. Big thanks to the pros from Southern Sports and Tackle for their tips as always!

Great Southern catches

While the crowds were mostly chasing salmon on the south coast over Easter, @southern_surfcaster decided to go for pinkies and landed this healthy specimen casting into the surf. This beauty was released and kicked off strongly to fight another day and this great snap was taken by @michaelcottlebag.

Boats

The two Albany’s FADs still out in the drink have been firing with dolphinfish in the 5-8kg range hitting deep-diving lures and stickbaits. Spearfishers are also doing well on dolphinfish there too, just make sure you deploy your flag to let the boaties know you're under the surface and try to be courteous of others that are also fishing the FADs by giving everyone a fair go. Tuna species are also at the FADs, but the boaties are doing better on this species closer in on the current lines where trolling small skirted lures has been a reliable option. Pink snapper and a few breaksea cod have been out on the coral grounds. Fishing at the islands has generally been quiet, but in King George Sound 40cm-plus King George whiting are being caught in 5m depths on prawn and squid baits. Squidding in the sound has been more difficult than usual, although this action should heat up once the swell drops right off from Wednesday along with the wind, which should lead to better visibility.

Shore-based

Salmon continue to be hit-or-miss, but Back Beach at Cheynes seems to be the most reliable spot. All the regular haunts are producing good hauls of salmon on some days but it is often a matter of pot luck. Earlier this week at Little Beach in Two Peoples Bay, salmon were being hounded by sharks and beaching themselves. At the far end of Cheynes near the reef at Bluff Creek, skippy over the one kilo mark are being caught. The King and Kalgan rivers have fished well for bream, with prawn baits and soft plastic lures working well. The stand-out spot for bream this week however has been the Hay River, with good numbers of fish over 35cm doing the rounds. Around town the beaches are loaded with herring, while family-friendly spots like the Town Jetty and Emu Point produced herring, whiting and a few squid. The strong winds and swell will only start to drop off from Tuesday evening. Big thanks to the crew from Trailblazers in Albany for their tips!

South West catches

You know you have a cracker of a King George whiting when your hand barely fits around their body. The avid fishers from @2_oceans_tackle in Busselton came across some of the fattest King George whiting we've seen and they were only just shy of the magical 60cm mark. At this size they are upgraded from kidney slappers to rib breakers. Nice work guys!

Boats

The 30-50m depths on the coral straight out from Bunbury are holding good-sized dhufish with some solid baldchin groper among them. Down Dunsborough way in 8-10m depths, the weed banks are holding decent-sized squid and the broken ground has produced King George whiting to 60cm. It’s a similar story throughout Geographe Bay but the KGs are of more modest size in the 30-35cm range. Herring are plentiful everywhere close in, although using large amounts of burley certainly helps. Off Yallingup, kayak fishers using baited jig heads continue to do well on dhufish and pink snapper when conditions allow it. The conditions should start to become more welcoming for the boats from Saturday through to Thursday, with the latter stages of this week looking more inviting.

Shore-based

Salmon have been sporadic, but they have been caught at Bunker Bay, Eagle Bay, Smiths Beach and Castle Rock and locals are expecting the recent rough conditions that pushed north-west to drive migrating schools at the capes closer to shore. The rough weather has produced plenty of pink snapper, with Busselton Jetty, Buffalo and Back Beach all good spots. A combination bait of bonito fillet and slimy mackerel has been working well. Pink snapper have also been caught from Preston Beach as well, mostly by drone fishers. Those on holiday in the area are finding plenty of herring and a few squid off the Busselton Jetty, while at the jetty’s end there are reports of a few mulloway being landed. Bunbury’s harbour rock walls and the Cut are fishing well for herring and small skippy. In the Collie River, soapy mulloway up to 80cm are hitting baits and soft plastic lures. Saturday through to Thursday should all have decent land-based fishing windows at some stage of the day. Big thanks to the great team at Whitey's Tackle for their report as always!

Freshwater

The bearded beauty Roger Russell landed this solid redfin perch recently off his yak while fishing the South-West fresh waterways over the Easter long weekend. While the fish weren't as thick as his beard, this redfin nudging 40cm provided a delicious feed.

Both Harvey and Wellington dams have been fishing well for redfin perch with soft plastics effective, especially at first light. Bigger redfin have been more active in the Collie and Warren rivers with soft plastics and spinning blade lures working well. The trout catches in the same areas went rather quiet this week, although they did turn up in decent numbers throughout the southern river systems towards Manjimup. The same regions were slightly slower than usual for redfin perch catches with hours put in by fishers only seeming to land a handful of fish. As seen in our pic of the week and with Roger Russell pictured above, the larger redfin crossing the 40cm have been turning up, although the dam systems have been a safer bet this week. One of the crew from the Southern Forests Freshwater Angling Club @_sffac_ had a great fly fishing session on rainbow trout out of the skinny water run-offs near Lefroy, with nearly ten fish landed and released in the remote areas. With the recent rains, trout catches should improve over the coming weeks with the flow steadily increasing. 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

For the first time ever off Mandurah, two FADs have officially been deployed and are ready to fish for hard-fighting sportfish! Get your Mandurah FADs coordinates here!

Mandurah

The best news this week is the Mandurah FADs are officially in the drink for the first time ever! They are sitting in 100-110m depths and were deployed over the weekend, so some great pelagic species should start to congregate around there quickly. Thanks to the great crew from Tackle World Miami, they are giving away $250 worth of Richter and Nomad lures to the first fisher who catches a dolphinfish or wahoo at the Mandurah FADs!

To win, all you need to do is:

1) Travel out to either of the two Mandurah FADs (coordinates linked below) and be the first to catch a dolphinfish or wahoo;
2) Take a snap of yourself holding your catch with the fish still alive, held horizontally, without fingers in the gills and with the Mandurah FAD where you caught it clearly visible in the photo behind you (winner will only be selected if they respect these rules);
3) Message the photo of your catch to the Recfishwest Facebook or Recfishwest Instagram page with your full name, details on how you caught your catch and the Mandurah FAD that you fished and stay tuned to see if you’re a winner!

To read more about the Mandurah FADs deployment, click here.

To see the exact coordinates of the Mandurah FADs along with all other FADs in WA, click here.

Deep-diving lures are accounting for wahoo in 40-50m depths, which is an exciting species to behold for the boaties off Mandurah. Tuna species were hitting skirted lures in similar depths. In 10-15m depths at James Service Reef and Five-Fathom Bank there are pink snapper and a few dhufish. Anchoring at the back of the reef and using frozen burley logs has been helping to entice more fish into the area. Baldchin groper are a chance also with divers reporting seeing them in plague proportions. In the estuary, trolled Smilin’ Jacks are catching plenty of tailor, while anglers wading the flats are also finding good tailor on the drop-offs, some over 40cm. Herring are in abundance right through the estuary and along the rock walls. The go-to lure for herring and also tailor has been the Ocean’s Legacy Slingshot, with the 17g size in the Lumo colour working wonders. Elsewhere in the estuary, the jetties at the traffic bridges and the Cut are fishing well for herring and the odd chopper tailor, while the foreshore at Seashells resort is producing good numbers of sand whiting. Weed has been making tailor fishing difficult from the beaches, but spots south of town continue to produce pink snapper around the reefy structure. Drone fishers have fared best, but a shore caster at White Hills stole the show a few days ago with a big dhufish caught on a whiting fillet. Closer to town, pink snapper are being caught off the rock walls, especially after the big swell rolled through. This week from Saturday should see nice conditions make a welcome return albeit with a touch of rain on Sunday and Monday. Big thanks to Tackle World Miami for their chunky report as always and first in best dressed for the Mandurah FADs comp so get out there!

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

Pink snapper are responding well to burley on the Five-Fathom Bank with solid pinkies being landed in 15m depths along with some thumping dhufish. Jigs and soft plastics have been proving effective on both species. The Mangles Bay Fishing Club held the Hinds Kitchen Classic over Easter with competitors heading out to the southern FADs, where they landed wahoo and 6-8kg dolphin fish. Yellowfin tuna are also about the FADs, with some fat and healthy catches coming through. The 15-20m depths of Cockburn Sound have been rewarding for pink snapper along with a few mulloway around the one metre mark. There has also been no shortage of squid, herring, sand whiting and flathead in the Sound’s shallower waters.

If you prefer to keep the sand between your toes when fishing around Rockingham, the beaches from the Ammo Jetty heading south to Secret Harbour are fishing well for herring, tailor, school mulloway and whiting. There are a few flathead at the Penguin Island spit and at Long Point there were tailor, herring and juvenile salmon. Herring and chopper tailor are providing light-tackle fun at Rockingham and Palm Beach jetties, with small Halco Twistys or whitebait gangs working well. Squid are a chance from both jetties, but the rocks around Point Peron are a better spot with white jigs working well. The jetties and rock walls should fish well for pink snapper and mulloway after the cold front passes. Big thanks to Compleat Angler Rockingham for their great tips.

Perth catches

Now this is a cracking FADs photo! Chris Webster @all_salty_adventures decided to have a prowl around the FADs west of Rottnest and landed plenty of stunning dolphinfish. If you want to have the best odds of winning a prize during our FADs photo competition, make sure you take snaps like Chris has done, with the fish still alive, held horizontally with no fingers in the gills and with the FAD clearly visible in the image. Keep sending in your snaps as the competition ends on May 1st!

Boats

Heaps of smaller pink snapper have been hanging around, especially north of the shipping channel from 10m depths all the way out to Rottnest. Offshore, 40m depths seems to be the sweet spot for bigger snapper, with good dhufish being taken as well. Tuna species have been mostly active on the southern side of Rottnest, at the West End and also out towards the FADs. Deep-diving minnows trolled at the back of Three-Mile Reef have also produced 15kg-plus wahoo, while small skirts are accounting for tuna. The southern FADs are fishing best though, with dolphinfish right on them taking live baits and stickbaits. The inshore waters have been good for herring, squid and whiting in the clear patches when burley has been used. In the Swan River, kayakers trolling small metals are doing well on chopper tailor, but the afternoons have been best when the water is a bit more choppy. This weekend should see a drop in the swell and wind albeit with a touch of rain out towards Rottnest, but we're expecting some great catches after the recent storms.

Send us pics of your FADs catches for some great prizes!

Don't forget, to celebrate the great fishing opportunities at the FADs across Western Australia (more to come at Lancelin soon), we're giving away some quality prizes thanks to Richter Lures and Madfish Gear simply for catching a fish at any of the devices until 1 May and sending in a snap of your fish!

PRIZES:
Best photo: An XL Madfish Fishing Bag (to keep your catches frosty) with 10x Richter skirt lures inside.
2nd best photo: A medium-sized Madfish Fishing Bag with 10x Richter skirt lures inside.
3rd best photo: A medium-sized Madfish Fishing Bag with 5x Richter skirt lures inside.
4th-10th place: Each receive a handful of Richter skirts and lures!

HOW YOU CAN WIN:
1) Visit any of the FADs;
2) Catch a pelagic sportfish and take a photo of your catch that reflects our responsible fish handling practices (still alive, no blood, no fingers in gills, supporting fish horizontally etc), with the FAD clearly visible in the photo.
3) Message a photo of your catch to our Facebook or Instagram page detailing where and when you caught it;
4) Keep an eye on our socials when we announce the winners after May 1!

Good luck! Get all your FADs locations here

Shore-based

If you’re fishing off the land around Perth, both the North and South moles had plenty of herring and chopper tailor. There are loads of squid at both platforms, but South Mole is usually the better bet. Squid are also being caught between the Swan River traffic bridges when the water is clear. The metro rock walls from Mindarie down to the Ammo Jetty are likely to be busy after the cold front, with anglers chasing pink snapper and mulloway that come in close to shore chasing the crustaceans. This is a great option right now because pink snapper numbers always take a big spike off the groynes and beaches after metro storms. Chopper tailor were also taken from the beaches around the Floreat drain and Brighton, while a big Samson fish was also caught on a whiting fillet from the rock wall at Mindarie on Thursday. Two massive pink snapper close to the one metre mark were landed off the Hillarys rock wall before the storms rolled in. Jetty fishers in the lower Swan River are still catching plenty of chopper tailor. Bream and tarwhine fishing is picking up in the middle reaches of the Swan with small hard-bodied lures, soft plastics and micro jigs successful. On the Canning River flats some good bream were also hitting surface-minnow lures. There are still plenty of bream also up-river in the Swan with baits working best. Mulloway ranging from soapies to school-sized were mostly caught from the Causeway up-river. This weekend should see the better land-based conditions now that the winds and swell are dropping off. Big thanks to Anglers Fishing World in Fremantle and Hillarys Boat & Tackle for their great tips!

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Catch Information

Species:
Australasian Snapper

Baldchin Groper

Barramundi

Bluefish

Queenfish

Rainbow Trout

Red Emperor

Redfin Perch

Sailfish

Samson Fish

Spangled Emperor

Spanish Mackerel

Striped Marlin

Threadfin Salmon

Wahoo

Whiting

Yellowfin Tuna

This Fishing Report was submitted on 4/14/2023 3:04:41 AM by Seamus and last updated on 4/19/2023 8:55:59 AM.

Location

3/45 Northside Drive
Hillarys, WA AU

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