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Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 08 September 2023 🎣

| By Seamus on 8/9/2023 4:30:00 AM | Views (98)

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Recfishwest
Fishing Report

08/09/23

Ever seen a tunnel made of fish? Check out this cracking cod snap taken by @brookepykephotography off Exmouth, who has some stunning underwater photos that we highly recommend you check out. Give her page a follow!

Our contributors

Sam Russell

Jarrad Lawford

Peter Fullarton

Sedin Hasanovic

G'day <>,

Kudos to all the friendly Onslow locals who provided a staggering 76 Spanish mackerel to our Fishing for Science team for sampling during the recent MACK10K competition! You can find our full MACK10K recap of the event and our Fishing for Science program here.

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 r esponsible 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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For your photos to appear in the weekly fishing report, please make sure they reflect our responsible fish handling practices (so 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!

This absolute beefcake of a blue marlin landed by Andrew Sippe @sipppee off Broome this week takes the cake for pic of the week. If you land monster billfish like this, keep the fish in the water at all times as demonstrated by Andrew here. Hold the fish subsurface by the bill while slowly motoring and when it starts to kick strongly, the fish should release safely. It's also worth swimming the fish away from where you caught it and keeping an eye out for sharks before releasing.

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PREPARE TO GO INTO BAT FOR OUR MOST VALUBALE FISHING SPOTS

The proposed Marmion Marine Park stretch between Trigg and Two Rocks provides great family fishing memories just like this, so make sure you have your say when the plans are released to the public around October. Photo: Perth Fishing Safaris.

Recfishwest understands plans for both the new proposed South Coast Marine Park and the extension to Marmion Marine Park are to be released for public comment as early as October.

It’s going to be crucial for the tens of thousands who fish along the north metro and south coasts to stand up and make their voices heard to protect access to some of the most valuable and popular fishing spots in these areas.

For more information on the Marmion Marine Park proposals, click here.

Broome catches

Max from Reel Teaser landed this beast of a yellowfin tuna this week out at Seringapatam Reef (located north of Scott Reef), which went close to the 50kg mark. Note the Halco Rooster popper sticking out of its gob! Check out the Reel Teaser Instagram page to see some of the highlights from their unreal yellowfin session in shallow water.

Boats

Barramundi action has picked up in Dampier Creek with fish up to 80cm being caught along with threadfin salmon. The Fingers also fished well for threadfin salmon and had blue-nosed salmon, while a northern mulloway was caught in Crab Creek. Another good spot for northern mulloway has been Black Ledge between Crab and Dampier creeks. Spanish mackerel were caught in 15-20m depths on the edge of the Deeps, off Cable Beach and at Gantheaume Point. Off Barred Creek in 20m depths sailfish have been taken. Stripey seaperch and bluebone have been testing tackle around the lumps in 10-15m depths, while Rankin cod have been caught out deeper. The weather is looking nice for most of this weekend for the boaties off Broome before it becomes a bit windy on Monday and Tuesday.

Shore-based

For land-based fishers in Broome Town Beach Jetty has been fishing well for queenfish, trevally and javelin fish, especially in the mornings, while out at the Port Jetty giant trevally have been targeted around the pylons at night. At Entrance Point anglers have been wading and casting between the channel entrance marker and the reef and caught decent queenfish and trevally, while fishers doing the same at Gantheaume Point were rewarded with bluebone. Quandong Point offered bluebone, trevally and Maori seaperch and the odd Spanish mackerel has shown up as well. Willie Creek produced queenfish, trevally, mangrove jack and small bream while Barred Creek held queenfish and trevally. At Coconut Wells whiting have been caught north of the lagoon. Barramundi activity has picked up in the Fitzroy River but anglers have been secretive about their spots. Telegraphs would be a good place to start though. 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

The permit master strikes again. With waters warming up in the Exmouth Gulf, fly fishers have been making the most of it and the @ningalooflyfishing crew were in the perfect place at the perfect time. Make sure you keep an eye out for GT's if you give the flats a crack, they are commonly sighted among the permit!

Boats

The big news this week was a sailfish around the 30kg mark that was taken in the Gulf by Josh Lynch aboard On Strike Charters. More sailfish are expected to enter the Gulf over the next few weeks as they are believed to be hanging around the reef contours at the tip of the Gulf. Also in the Gulf, Coopers Shoal produced bluebone and coral trout, including one thumper of 80cm, with spearfishers getting their fair share as well. Boats staying in close to Exmouth have done well on squid and big whiting out from the marina and off the industrial area. Out west the billfish action has been steady in 50-200m depths where trolled garfish baits and skirts were successful, while out in the 400m depths blue marlin showed up. Quite a few wahoo have been taken out west along with the occasional dolphinfish. Down at North and South Lefroy big tuna were caught and loads of sailfish were sighted. Spanish mackerel have been in reasonable numbers and sizes with kayak fishers getting them in 10-30m depths and spearfishers finding schools of 30-40 mackerel in similar depths. Bottom fishing has been good out west of Exmouth, although sharks have been a problem at times, with red emperor and Rankin cod plentiful in 40-60m depths while further out in 100m-plus depths there have been bigger red emperor, goldband snapper and pearl perch. Just make sure you move spots immediately if sharks are around and don’t try to beat them as that’s always a losing battle. The 40-100m depths at the islands offered similar demersal species, while closer in spangled emperor were plentiful over the reefs. As for the weather forecast in Exmouth, this weekend is looking nice for the boats but expect the wind and swell to start creeping up towards the end of this week, so make the most of it while the getting is good.

Shore-based

The marina had an unwelcome visitor this week with a 2.5m saltwater crocodile hanging about! Other than prehistoric old mate, it has also offered the usual fare of trevally, bream and mangrove jack. Decent-sized bluebone have been cruising about the marina as well but have been reluctant to take baits or lures. Small trevally and queenfish were plentiful from Learmonth all the way up to Mildura Wreck, with Bundegi one of the better spots as baitfish are plentiful there. Squid were in good numbers at Learmonth Jetty and whiting up to 40cm have been caught all along the Gulf, with the best bite times at the halfway point of the tide. Tantabiddi offered spangled emperor and blue-nosed salmon, while a range of emperor species were taken from Yardie Creek right up to Mildura Wreck. Wapet Creek held trevally and javelin fish, while a big cod was caught on live bait there this week. Big thanks to the great crew from Tackle World Exmouth for their tips!

Kalbarri catches

Boats

It was slim pickings for the boaties this week off Kalbarri. Big swells kept boats on trailers but for those who braved the swell, there was little offshore activity to speak of with pelagic species such as Spanish mackerel and tuna reluctant to come to the party. On a brighter note, with the new moon cycle boaties will be setting their cray pots when the swells ease. Thankfully the weather is looking great from Saturday right through to Tuesday before the wind and swell rises from Wednesday, so get out there and have a red hot crack.

Shore-based

The Murchison River has been the go-to spot for big mulloway this week with one river monster caught a couple of kilometres upstream from the marina jetty tipping the scales at 21kg. Another angler fishing the same area caught one about 10kg and was busted off by a bigger fish, while big runs and bust-offs have been a regular occurrence. Even further up the Murchison, bream around the 35cm mark have been caught in good numbers. The Sand Spit offered reasonable whiting and a few cod as well as chopper tailor in the evenings. Chopper tailor were also at the river mouth. The marina jetty offered bream, cod and tailor and it would be worth setting out a big line in case a mulloway cruises past. The river is still holding a few mud crabs, with most of them brimming with meat. Beach fishing has been difficult at times but reports of tailor around the 50cm mark have come from Back Beach, with poppers cast into the white-water a good way to target them. Tailor and dart have also come from Wittecarra and drone fishers have been targeting snapper at Red Bluff. Enjoy those better conditions the next four days and big thanks to Dean from Kalbarri Sports and Dive for his tips as always!

Geraldton catches

Just your standard 'fun sized' Samson fish for @mat.svenson in the yak this week off Geraldton, with this healthy fish safely released to fight another day.

Boats

Boaties have gone to ground this week with no activity reported. Conditions haven’t been the best with big tides, strong winds, lumpy swells and weedy conditions making it difficult for dinghy anglers targeting squid and whiting. A few fishers managed to creep out in kayaks though like Mat Svenson above, showing you don't need to punch out wide to find the Sambo's. With conditions likely to improve next week hopefully Point Moore and Separation Point will again produce squid, whiting and skippy. Sunday at midday currently looks best for boats.

Shore-based

After an excellent late-winter window last week poor weather and big swells have dumped weed on to local beaches. Options over the weekend look very limited, possibly inside the Batavia Coast Marina or Fishing Boat Harbour for bread and butter species such as herring and yellowtail, or maybe the Greenough River for bream. Hopefully conditions will pick up next week and we see a return of tailor activity from local beaches and whiting catches in the bays. Big thanks to Geraldton Sports Centre for their report as always!

Lancelin catches

@joelborgers travelled north to Ledge this week and this thumper of a yellowtail kingfish made the whole trip worthwhile, with plenty of these fast-growing, hard-fighting beauties lurking in the shallows and smashing stickbaits.

Boats

Weather shut down most of the boating opportunities this week, although the forecast is looking very good to head out over the weekend and early next week before the weather turns wild again from around Wednesday onwards. Prior to the storms, the 30m depths were holding plenty of tuna schools and yellowtail kingfish have been active along the bay's fringing reefs. Lobster potters were starting to get some good inshore catches of reds as well, with most pots coming up with at least a few. Inside the bay has fished very well with herring, skippy and snook all schooling in good numbers over the weed beds.

Shore-based

While the weather may have been wild this week, deep nearshore holes and gutters starting forming which made fishing possible. We can expect some great fishing over the next few days for large spring tailor and school mulloway. Drone fishers will be excited about the light winds and will likely be sending out baits around 300m offshore where the snapper should have gathered during the big seas. The wild weather brought some big tailor into the bay where they have been feeding on bait fish around the jetty lighting at night. Early Sunday morning should be the best land-based window. Big thanks to Peter Fullarton for his tips as always and make sure you check out his Tailored Treks fishing tours as they are great fun.

Esperance catches

Boats

With pretty average conditions this week most boaties stayed in close and targeted bread-and-butter species. Sand whiting fired up at Chapmans Point and out from the surf club, while Wylie Bay held sand whiting in 7-15m depths and good-sized flathead have been among them. Big squid have been caught in Esperance Bay, many with hoods around 40cm, and small to medium-sized squid have been plentiful in 21m depths at Cook Rocks. Esperance Bay has also held herring and garfish as well as snook up to 3kg. King George whiting have been caught in the sand patches at Lovers Cove and Flat Rocks, while at Pot Rock inside of Cull Island last weekend tinny anglers tangled with Samson fish around the 15kg mark. Thankfully Sunday through to Wednesday is opening up a decent window for the boaties.

Shore-based

The Esperance Land Based Fishing Club are hosting their land based fishing classic on the 16-17th of September and there is a pretty epic prize pool valued at $8,000! Check out the prize categories below and make sure you head on down to the Deep Sea Angling Club to sign in on the 16th at 9am with a briefing before the green light. Remember, you must be at the sign in to be able to claim any prizes! For more info, visit the ELBFC Facebook Page.

Good-sized skippy have been caught at Roses Beach while Warrenup has held gummy sharks. At 10-Mile Lagoon big flathead have been landed. Big numbers of salmon have continued to be caught between town and Munglinup, but the fish are not in tightly packed schools. Groups of fish are visible in the waves and the best results have come from sight casting at the corners of the beaches rather than from the main beach. The salmon are not fussy but Halco Twistys and CID Shiversticks have been popular lure choices. A good spot close to town to target salmon has been Observatory Beach. Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has fished well for King George whiting and big flathead that have been taken from the drop-offs on soft plastics. In the mornings at Wylie Bay big sand whiting have been caught just past the weed beds, while closer to the weed King George whiting have been taken. The Town Jetty held heaps of squid, herring and garfish at night, while Taylor Street Jetty fished well for skippy and King George whiting. At Stokes Inlet bream up to 45cm have been caught on shallow-diving hard-bodied minnow lures. Big thanks to Southern Sport & Tackle for their report as always!

Great Southern catches

This 46cm brute of a black bream landed by @outback_breamer_baits shows that despite the choccie milk throughout most of the rivers there are some monster bream still lurking.

Boats

After a superb weather window last week things turned sour at the weekend and there’s been very little activity since. Squidding has been difficult because of the dirty water and a few King George whiting have been on broken ground in close in King George Sound for those prepared to brave the unpleasant conditions, but other than that it has been slim pickings. Sunday and Monday could bode well for the boaties though so best of luck if you decide to head out.

Shore-based

Squid have been harder to find with the churned-up water but a few have come from Frenchman Bay, the Town Marina, Middleton and Emu Point when conditions have allowed. The marina and Emu Point have held herring and a few small whiting. The already slow bream fishing in the King and Kalgan rivers has become even more difficult with strong currents and dirty water. Thankfully the option of a land-based fish could open up on Sunday and Monday with the calmer northerly winds and swell before it spikes again from Tuesday onwards. Big thanks to the crew from Trailblazers in Albany for their tips!

South West catches

As soon as the calmer weather rolls in, squid make a welcome return and Trudy Morehouse @squidqueen.wa made the most of it earlier this week. With the northerly winds coming, the southern side of Busselton Jetty looms as the best land-based squidding spot in the South-West over the coming days.

Boats

Big schools of tuna have been busting up just 200-300m out from the Bunbury Cut, providing heaps of fun for boaties kept inshore due to the rough weather. The tuna have favoured stickbaits and small-profile metal lures such as the 3 Chefs Sidewinder, and a few have even been taken on fly-fishing gear. Elsewhere, boat fishing has been limited but Geographe Bay has offered sand and King George whiting plus a few squid when clearer water can be found. Kayakers launching from Dolphin Road did well on squid early in the mornings. In Augusta, King George whiting have been caught in Flinders Bay, the town jetty has fished well for herring and bream have come from the Blackwood River. Get out there between now and Tuesday before the haywire weather returns from Wednesday.

Shore-based

Preston, Buffalo and Butters beaches produced pink snapper during this week’s spell of rough weather and good-sized tailor have been among the bycatch. At Busselton Jetty a few pink snapper have been caught and a big mulloway was also landed there this week. The Bunbury Cut fished well for chopper tailor and herring and the groynes at Back Beach have offered herring in between the squally weather. Bream activity has really picked up in the Collie River with fish showing a liking for soft plastics and River2Sea Baby Vibes. Mussel-style vibe lures have also been very successful on bream. Kudos to the crew from Whitey's Tackle for their tips!

There's not many scenic fishing locations that can top what you're surrounded by in our South-West when fishing for trout and redfin perch. This great snap was taken by Simon Holland @southernforests_angler who fished with his mate along the Donnelly river and landed some nice yearling rainbows along with the occasional redfin perch.

Redfin perch continue to be caught in good numbers from Harvey Dam and Logue Brook Dam with soft plastics and Eco Gear hard-bodies proving successful. Where you go doesn't really matter in Harvey at the moment as redfin seem to be everywhere. In the upper Collie River rainbow and small brown trout have been caught by fly-fishers using egg-imitation flies. A couple of big brown trout were taken on spin gear at an undisclosed location in Pemberton this week, but the flowing streams are the best bet if you make the effort to walk on foot to the shallow areas that have plenty of good flow and oxygen pumping through. 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

It might be quite early in the season for them, but @hanyeoh13 proved he is the master at finding big yellowfin whiting in the flats around Mandurah, landing plenty of these hard-fighting beauties on a range of gear recently. Recfishwest will be chatting with Han Yeoh live on 6PR around 5:45AM tomorrow to pick his brains on the best tips and gear for catching yellowfin and fishing the Peel Inlet, so tune in if you're up at sparrows!

Mandurah

Boaties were forced to stay in close this week but they still did well around the inshore reefs on sand whiting, with a few King George whiting thrown into the mix. Squid chasers did well on both sides of town when they found clearer water, while squidding was also very good off Golden Bay with hood sizes averaging 35cm. In the estuary, boaties have targeted small whiting at the Dawesville Cut but on the eastern side of the estuary (especially around the ski markers) chopper tailor have been plentiful for anglers trolling patches of clear water with diving lures such as Smilin’ Jacks and fluro-coloured Bassday Suga Pens. Last week’s window of warmer weather turned on some hot yellowfin whiting sessions in the estuary for a brief period and that could be repeated when conditions improve into next week. September is usually the time that mulloway activity picks up along local beaches and these areas this week have produced good numbers of pink snapper in the rough weather, especially south of town, along with tailor around the 50cm mark. Herring have been thick at the Dawesville Cut and also in good numbers at the Mandurah traffic bridges. Saturday through to Monday looks okay for fishers on the forecast. Make sure you pay a visit to the great crew from Tackle World Miami for the best tips and gear!

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

Very few boats managed to get out this week and those that did hugged the shoreline and had to make do with mostly sand whiting and the odd King George, while squid action has more or less shut down. If the northerly winds and swell doesn't become too grumpy over the coming days, tailor could be an option on the exposed inshore reefs and the inside of Garden Island and Mangles Bay could be worth a crack for King George whiting. If fishable, Five Fathom Bank could hold plenty of skippy. Big swells and weed have made shore fishing difficult. The odd pink snapper was landed this week, but most fishers came home cold and empty-handed. Even sheltered spots have failed to fire in this week’s wild weather. Squid catches tapered off and at Rockingham and Palm Beach jetties, Ammo Jetty and Woodman Point the catches of herring have been hard to come by. Long Point has been a better option, where calmer conditions can usually be found either side of the point and at times this week it yielded small tailor, herring and whiting. Big thanks to Compleat Angler Rockingham for their tips!

Perth catches

Swan river producing the slabs! @davidcaputi (who has also landed more than a dozen Spanish mackies off the Ammo Jetty back in the day) found this solid fish one evening this week, showing that patiently soaking baits near the city skyline always has a chance of landing a mulloway.

Boats

Last weekend a few boats got out in the mornings and did well on rising tide, catching tuna at the back of Five Fathom Bank and at Three-Mile Reef, which also held skippy. The early risers found King George and sand whiting in 20m depths at the back of Garden Island and squid chasers also did well in the mornings out from South Fremantle. Cockburn Sound held a few squid too, as well as King George and sand whiting. Boats that managed to get out to Rottnest Island did well on King George whiting and yellowtail kingfish, while Samson fish have also been hanging around the island’s West End. The few boats that got to Five Fathom Bank this week found skippy were responding well to burley. Stragglers and Mewstones have produced tailor in the white-water and the inshore waters at Hillarys have offered sand whiting. Sunday and Monday could hold okay boating weather but forget about it from Tuesday onwards with wild winds and swells returning.

Shore-based

North Mole produced plenty of pink snapper early in the week, while at South Mole skippy in the 35-40cm range were active. At the sailing club rock walls herring, squid and big cuttlefish have been landed. Close in at the moles a few squid were landed earlier in the week. South of Two Rocks in a newly formed gutter, 50cm-plus tailor were taken at the start of the wild weather. Bream fishing continues to go well in the Swan River system, although sizes are down. The deeper structure from the Narrows through to Burswood and at Canning Bridge have produced the goods for bream fishers using vibes and soft plastics. The odd soapy mulloway is still being caught in these areas. In the lower reaches of the Swan chopper tailor have been caught. While the swell and wind is lowest on Sunday and Monday, it's mostly north-westerly winds which might make it a tad choppy, but pink snapper could be a chance off the beaches and groynes. Big thanks to Anglers Fishing World in Freo for their tips!

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

Catch Information

Species:
Australasian Snapper

Barramundi

Black Bream

Blue Marlin

Brown Trout

Coral Trout

Dusky Flathead

Flathead Catfish

Giant Trevally

Gummy Shark

Mangrove Red Snapper

Mulloway

Queenfish

Red Emperor

Redfin Perch

Roosterfish

Samson Fish

Snook

Spangled Emperor

This Fishing Report was submitted on 8/9/2023 4:30:00 AM by Seamus and last updated on 9/13/2023 2:25:47 PM.

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3/45 Northside Drive
Hillarys, WA AU

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