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Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 19 May 2023 🎣

 | By Seamus on 5/19/2023 4:03:31 AM | Views (208)
Recfishwest Newsletter
Recfishwest
Fishing Report
19/05/23
The camouflage and ambush masters. This powerful boost of speed is what precedes a flounder engulfing your bait, soft plastic or lure as it dances across a sand flat. 
Our contributors
Sam Russell
Jarrad Lawford
Peter Fullarton
Sedin Hasanovic 
G'day <>,
 
Want to know the best tips for taking great fish photos and also on how to handle fish out of the water? We've got you covered with our responsible fish handling and photography tips page. The page gives a perfect explanation on the types of images we love to use in our weekly Fishing Report and why. 

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!  

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If you're planning to head out this week, stay safe, take plenty of photos and have fun! 

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RECFISHWEST FISHING REPORT WRITER

Pic of the Week!

How's this for a flying billfish snap courtesy of talented photographer and Peak Sportfishing Exmouth crewman Wes Jones @snipes1089? He has some awesome sportfishing footage and photography on his page so make sure you give him a follow. 

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The following apps have you covered for understanding the best weather, swell and tide forecasts, along with species identification, fishing tips, fish care, GPS tracking and much more – without breaking the bank.

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Broome catches
Play your bills! If you want to get on to the billfish action out of Broome, make sure you check out Broome Billfish Charters aboard Billistic. They've had a ripper of a week catching and releasing these beauties. 


Boats

The 40-60m depths west of town have been fishing well for red emperor, saddletail snapper and coral trout while in the same depths boaties trolling 160-190mm-size Halco Laser Pros and Strada Pro lures have done well on Spanish mackerel. Off Gantheaume Point, Spanish mackerel, trevally and queenfish have been caught in 15-20m. In Roebuck Bay and the Dampier and Crab creeks threadfin and blue-nose salmon catches have been good, with some of the threadies nudging a metre. Crab Creek has also produced mud crabs. 

Shore-based

At the Port Jetty queenfish and trevally have been hitting stickbaits and Halco Twistys while the broken ground around Entrance Point has produced the odd bluebone. The Town Beach Jetty has been holding queenfish, small trevally and blue-nose salmon. Coconut Wells beach has been good for whiting as has Cable Beach, which has also produced a few blue-nosed salmon. At Willie and Barred creeks mangrove jack and bluenose salmon have been hitting small lures and bony herring baits. In the Fitzroy River, barramundi catches have been reported from Langies and Telegraph Pool. 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
Kudos to experienced angler Norm Philips who proved age is just a number aboard @peak_sportfishing this week out of Exmouth, landing plenty of bigger specimens including this stunner of a dolphinfish. 

Boats

Dolphinfish averaging 5-8kg have been very active on the west side, hitting trolled skirted lures mainly in the 40-60m depths but also in super shallow depths and right out to the canyon. Keeping them company have been sailfish and wahoo. Black marlin have also been caught, especially in 100m-plus depths. As for bottom fishing, the 60-150m depths have been holding Rankin cod and a few red emperor and at the deeper end goldband and ruby snapper. Around the islands in the 40m depths Spanish mackerel and trevally species have been caught along with the odd cobia. The same depths have cod, a few red emperor and coral trout. The gulf has also been fishing well with school and Spanish mackerel catches good. At King Reef there have been school and Spanish macks as well and a few cod. The 15m depths of the shoals also have mackerel species along with blue-lined emperor and cod.  


Tough mudda! Ben Svenson  @northern_addicts got hold of this solid muddy in the mangroves. 

Shore-based

The tip of the cape has been the pick of the shore spots this week with good catches of queenfish and spangled emperor taken by lure casters. North and south of town has fished well for whiting while the marina has bream and mangrove jack. At Learmonth Jetty and its surrounds squid, bream, whiting and mangrove jack have been the mainstays. Bundegi has fished well for queenfish and trevally, which have been hitting Halco Twistys, stickbaits and poppers. Both species have been active at Tantabiddi too, along with spangled emperor. At Wapet Creek there have been good catches of bream, whiting and mangrove jack. There have been some solid mud crabs turning up in the creeks and from within the mangroves as well not far from town as the picture above shows. Big thanks to the crew from Tackle World Exmouth for their tips as always! 
 
 
Kalbarri catches
She didn't did she? Oh, yes, she squid! The shallow weed banks close to shore are always a good place to flick a squid jig around in the early mornings and around sunset, with Nicki Hunt @nickhuntfishing landing plenty of the super cepahalopods on jigs after they started following in lures intended for pelagics. 


Boats

Bottom fishing has been good in the 20-30m depths with pink snapper dominating catches and baldchin groper and dhufish about in reasonable numbers. Most boaties have been fishing inshore but those putting up with a bit of swell have done well on all three species at the Three-Mile Reef. Spanish mackerel have also been close in with a kayaker landing a 15kg mack at Red Bluff earlier this week. Good Spanish mackerel have also been taken out from Wagoe and on the troll at Island Rock.   

Shore-based

Mulloway have dominated the Murchison River scene this past week and while catches are down a little the size is up with a few fish nudging the 20kg mark. Again, the river mouth, the sand spit and the marina jetty have been the better spots. The river has also continued to produce decent bream, around the 30cm mark, and a few cod. Mud crabs have also been around in good numbers. Yellowfin whiting have gone quiet with only a few small fish caught from the spit. Tailor is another species that has tapered off around town but Red Bluff and Wittecarra have produced a few choppers and anglers have not been too disappointed because big dart, some at 60cm, silver bream and herring have been snaffling mulie baits instead. Further south at Pot Alley Gorge pink snapper have been landed from the cliffs while the easterly winds have been ideal for balloon fishers at Wagoe who have managed to land Spanish mackerel around the 20kg mark, with those missing out on the macks happy to settle for big tailor. Lucky Bay has been holding heaps of mullet, but so far no reports of mulloway or mackerel catches have filtered in. However, herring and whiting have been there in good numbers. Big thanks to Dean from Kalbarri Sports and Dive for his tips as always!
Geraldton catches
Ghosted! It's been another productive week for silver ghosts off the beaches around Geraldton, with Graeme Doodson @mullowaydoodson taking a quick trip up north with his family and friend (pictured) to land some solid mulloway one evening. 


Boats

Despite reasonable conditions this past week reports of offshore catches have failed to materialise, so perhaps boaties are playing their cards close to their chests. A couple of weeks back, pink snapper had been caught in a range of depths and baldchin groper had been in good numbers in 10-15m, so it could be case of getting out and exploring fishy-looking lumps and structure this weekend. Big Spanish mackerel were caught out from Wagoe this week and there’s a chance a few macks could find their way into local waters. A while back, squid had been plentiful on the weed beds north and south of town, so if the water is clear, it could be worth targeting them.

Shore-based

Weed has been a problem but quite a few mulloway have been landed north and south of town. Drummond Cove has been one of the better spots with good fish also coming from the Southgates-Tarcoola stretch of beach. The mulloway landed have been in excellent condition with several fish measuring more than a metre. Spots that normally produce tailor such as the Greenough River mouth, Southgates, Tarcoola and Drummond have failed to fire but the same locations have been holding pike. Whiting catches have also slowed but they have been caught at Point Moore and Separation Point, although there has been netting activity so numbers may be down. Big thanks to Geraldton Sports Centre for their report as always! 
Lancelin catches


Boats

Fishers making the most of some calm evenings have done very well on sunset, burleying up snapper and the odd dhufish inside the white bank in 12-15m depths. Heading out deeper, fishers were reporting demersals difficult to find in any shallower than 30m. Some great size sand whiting to 30cm have been abundant along the 20-22m depths, while the shallow areas, north and south of the bay are productive on a slightly smaller class fish. The bay is fishing very well with plenty of skippy, herring and some good size flathead. 

Shore-based

Calm evenings and low tides have been great wading the shallows at night for cobbler in excess of 50cm. The new moon started to get the beach action going again, with mulloway in the 10-20kg range, sharks and rays have been particularly active keeping fishers busy to keep baits out. Tailor have picked up a little, with some fishers able to find half a dozen in a session and larger green back tailor have started to make a presence again on the reef breaks and gutters. Most beaches have been fishing exceptionally well for large sand whiting. Big thanks to Lancelin's fishing guru Peter Fullarton for his tips and make sure you check out his Tailored Treks fishing tours if you want to be put on to the fish. 
 

FISH HANDLING TIPS AND HOW TO TAKE PERFECT FISH PHOTOS!

Photo tip: If you plan on taking a snap of your billfish catch, avoid pulling the fish out of the water as this can cause damage to their internal organs and reduces their odds of survival during release. Rolling the fish onto its side and lifting the head slightly out of the water should guarantee a great snap, while looking after the health of these great specimens. If you have ever wondered how to take snaps of your catch that look best for social media while reducing damage to the fish, check out our page detailing the best fish handling and photography tips for when you're out fishing on the boat or land! 

As soon as you land a fish on the boat or land, it’s important to treat the fish with care and minimise the duration of stress resulting from direct handling.

If you’re wanting to take a snap of your catch, it’s also important to have the camera ready to go as soon as possible, especially if you intend on releasing the fish, to help minimise the risk of damage to the fish.

We all love showing off our catch, but you can do it by being more respectful to the fish as well as making your fish photos look much better to those who view them if you decide to share them across social media.

Check out some of the tips for taking great photos of your fish!

 
Esperance catches


Boats

Big nannygai have been in good numbers at Sunk Rock, while the bommies around most of the islands have been holding queen snapper around the 8kg mark. Big blue groper have been caught right in close in sub-10m depths, while in the 17m depths at Cook Rocks anglers using weighted squid jigs have been getting their limits with ease. At Devils Rock small tuna species have been caught on trolled lures.

Shore-based

There has been a very good run on big garfish this past week with Taylor Street and the Town jetties firing for anglers targeting them with small hooks, sizes 8 or 10 are best. Plenty of garfish have also been caught in the bay using the old-school method of a floodlight and a dab net. There have been heaps of herring in the bay with the hot spot being the Taylor Street Jetty, which really fires up when grain spills from the ships in the harbour and provides free burley. Big skippy have also come from the Taylor Street Jetty rock wall. The Town Jetty has offered excellent squid fishing with red, brown and white squid jigs doing most of the catching. The foreshore in front of the Thai restaurant continues to fish well for King George whiting up to 45cm on the edge of weed, along with some big flathead nudging 50cm. Bandy Creek has been holding flathead and smaller King George whiting but in better numbers. At Wylie Bay near the weed patches, 25-30cm sand whiting are biting from sunrise to about 8.30am. Alexander Bay and Dunns have been hotspots for gummy sharks around 10-12kg, school mulloway to 90cm and all the salmon you could wish for. Bream fishers have been getting plenty of solid fish at Wheatfield Lake. Big thanks to the pros from Southern Sports and Tackle for their tips as always!
Great Southern catches
Gideon Mettam @gidos_fishing_adventures went 'Sambo Rambo' with this serious south coast Seriola!  Check out Gido's latest YouTube video here


Boats

Good-sized pink snapper have been caught in the coral grounds’ 60-80m depths with queen snapper, nannygai, dhufish and breaksea cod also coming over the side. Around the islands there have been plenty of salmon plus a few bonito. King George Sound has fished pretty well for squid and King George whiting in a range of depths with finding weed beds and broken ground the key to good catches. Good numbers of sand whiting and herring have also been caught in the sound.

Shore-based

Salmon have been sketchy but Little Beach and Nanarup Beach have been pretty reliable, with Taylor Inlet near Nanarup also holding a few bream. Bread and butter species such as yellowtail and herring have been caught at the Town Jetty and out at Emu Point, where whiting have also been around. The better land-based squid locations this week were the Town Jetty, Emu Point and the rocks at Frenchman Bay. In the King River black bream and a few juvenile snapper have been caught. Big thanks to the crew from Trailblazers in Albany for their tips!

South West catches
Ah, Zane @zane.k_fish_wa you've done it again with the ever-reliable and productive Busselton Jetty coming up with the goods once more. This nice mulloway is just one of the large species that has turned up in good numbers off the cherished landmark in recent weeks, including big pink snapper, Sambos and even tuna. 


Boats

Pink snapper are going full throttle out from Bunbury with the pinkies almost guaranteed to bite in the evenings and at first light. Boaties, including dinghy fishers and kayakers, are often fishing as little as a kilometre offshore, where they have been anchoring and burleying up over lumps in 7-20m. Out further and south of Bunbury dhufish have been in reasonable numbers. There have been quite a few dhuies inshore too, around the 12m depths, with the hot bite tending to be soon after first light. Heading south, the weed banks out from Peppermint Beach are holding squid while the sandy holes around there are producing sand whiting. Squid and King George whiting catches have been good in Geographe Bay.
 

Shore-based

The beaches from Preston and Myalup all the way down to Buffalo Beach have continued to produce pink snapper in a range of sizes. Drone fishers have done well but beach casters have got their fair share too, the key is to look for bommies that are within casting distance. The same beaches have been holding school-sized mulloway from time to time. In Bunbury itself, herring, juvenile salmon and tailor have been caught at the Cut and at the rocks around Jetty Road, while the Collie River inlet has been fishing well for bream. Busselton Jetty has held squid in good numbers along with plenty of herring, while a few pink snapper have come from the end of the jetty at night. Persistent anglers have caught a few salmon at Yallingup and Hamelin Bay. Big thanks to the great team at Whitey's Tackle in Australind for their report!
 

Freshwater

Gold at the end of the rainbow! Congrats to @westyboys for persisting for over one year to finally land his first solid broodstock rainbow trout in Pemberton on fly this week alongside Daniel Bulstrode @danbulstrode
Good redfin perch catches have come from the Warren River while Harvey and Wellington dams are producing fair numbers of perch as well. Rainbow trout have been caught on fly in the upper reaches of the Collie River with conditions expected to improve as further rain fronts increase stream flow. For those not targeting trout on flies, small hard-bodied lures such as Gillies Warlocks or Rapala Countdowns can work well in rivers and streams at this time of year. 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

King George whiting have been the stars of the show at the Five-Fathom Bank with 55cm models taking fresh squid baits on Black Magic KL circle hooks fished in 10-15m depths on the sandy patches amid the broken ground. A few skippy have been among the KGs and yellowtail kingfish have shown up from time to time. Pink snapper action has quietened but plenty of undersized ones have been hitting whiting rigs around the Five-Fathom Bank and James Service Reef. The waters inside the Five-Fathom Bank have been fishing well for sand whiting and squid, with many boaties jigging for squid to use as bait on their way out to the King George whiting grounds. Generally demersal activity has slowed but the lumps in 32-38m out from White Hills are known to hold good dhufish. Dolphinfish continue to be sighted around craypot floats but they don’t seem to be taking baits or lures. Tuna species are believed to active in the 40-45m depths where there have been heaps of baitfish. On land, the beaches south of the Dawesville Cut have King George whiting among the yellowfin whiting schools, with some of the KGs around the 40cm mark. At Seacapes and Halls Head school mulloway have been landed on mulie baits and soft plastics, while towards Tims Thicket big Samson fish have been taking live baits fished under a float or ballooned out. Herring have been the mainstay at the Dawesville Cut while the traffic bridges have continued to provide family-friendly fishing for herring, sand whiting and black and silver bream. On the eastern side of the estuary at Dawesville good-sized skippy and juvenile salmon have been hitting stickbaits fished on the drop-offs.

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

On the boats, conditions have been very good but for some reason fish aren’t playing the game. Boaties heading out wide have found both dhufish and good ground hard to come by in 40-90m with most catch bags remaining empty, while inshore pink snapper catches have slowed as well. In the shipping lanes live baits, fresh herring fillets and squid baits have accounted for a few mulloway around the metre mark. The most reliable species this week were King George whiting with good numbers coming from the Five-Fathom Bank and out from Mangles Bay. Closer in, sand whiting have been plentiful and so too herring and squid. Kayakers paddling out from the Henderson huts have done well on squid as well. Land-based fishing on the other hand has been reasonable this week with tailor, herring, skippy, whiting and the odd flathead caught at the Ammo Jetty, Woodman Point, Port Kennedy and Secret Harbour. Squid fishers have done well around Point Peron and at the Penguin Island sand spit, while Long Point has been producing herring, tailor, plump skippy and whiting, with flathead and flounder always a chance there. Squidding has been good at Rockingham and Palm Beach jetties too with the jetties also producing chopper tailor at first and last light and herring throughout the day if burley is used to bring them around.

Big thanks to Compleat Angler Rockingham for their great tips. 
 
Perth catches
Austin powers in the pinkies! Last week when the swell was up near the two-metre mark, Austin Prosser-Brightling got out for a pink snapper bash and landed this beaut on one of the great beaches north of the river that provide such fantastic fishing opportunities on the city's doorstep like this! 

Boats

Things have slowed on the demersal front but good-sized pink snapper are still about in reasonable numbers in Cockburn Sound and the at Three-Mile Reef, and they have been often brought on the bite with a bit of burley. Anglers chasing dhufish have fared best at the back of Garden Island in 60-80m depths while for King George whiting, Five-Fathom Bank and the Windmills have been producing. There are reports of dolphinfish and tuna species around the FADS. Mulloway have been caught in the shipping channels and a few salmon have been about Cockburn Sound but the salmon seem spooked by lures and best result have come from using live baits. The white water at Mewstones is holding chunky tailor which have been hitting unweighted mulies and lures such as Halco Slidogs. Closer in, the waters out from Fremantle have been good for sand whiting, herring and squid, while a few skippy have been caught on micro-jigs on the broken ground. Squid catches off Mindarie have improved this week. In the lower reaches of Swan River boaties are working harder to find chopper tailor schools but once found they are in decent sizes and numbers, while around Mosman Bay reports of big mulloway have been filtering in.  

Shore-based

Mulloway are a chance at North Mole which is also holding lots of herring and a few skippy. The end of North Mole has produced the odd salmon, usually on a live bait, while at night anglers using glow sticks above their baits have done well on tailor. Salmon schools have also been spotted well out of casting range along the City Beach to Brighton stretch of coast. South Mole has held plenty of herring and good numbers of squid. North of Fremantle, beaches holding structure have been producing herring, skippy and the odd flathead. In the Swan River, reports of big mulloway have come from North Fremantle, while soapie mulloway have been active at Canning Bridge. A few soapies have been caught further up river around Belmont and Maylands, along with small to medium-sized bream. In the middle to lower reaches of the river, tailor can still be caught from the drop-offs and jetties. Their numbers seem to be on the wane, but the Claremont area has been fairly reliable for them while a 50cm tailor was landed off the Como flats in the past week. Flathead have been hanging around the deeper drop-offs throughout the river, although they have mostly been a bycatch.

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

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Catch Information

Species:
Australasian Snapper
Australasian Snapper

Baldchin Groper
Baldchin Groper

Barramundi
Barramundi

Black Bream
Black Bream

Black Marlin
Black Marlin

Bluefish
Bluefish

Breaksea Cod
Breaksea Cod

Cobia
Cobia

Coral Trout
Coral Trout

Dhufish
Dhufish

Dusky Flathead
Dusky Flathead

Flathead Catfish
Flathead Catfish

Flounder
Flounder

Fourfinger Threadfin
Fourfinger Threadfin

Gummy Shark
Gummy Shark

This Fishing Report was submitted on 5/19/2023 4:03:31 AM by Seamus and last updated on 5/21/2023 5:11:06 PM.


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3/45 Northside Drive
Hillarys, WA AU


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