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Hooking Up Anglers Since 2011.
William Bennett
RECFISHWEST FISHING REPORT WRITER
Recfishwest got the chance to catch up with hundreds of mad keen recfishers on the weekend (15-17 September) at the Perth Boat Show!Â
Our stand at the heart of the show’s fishing section was a hive of activity across the three days and our kids’ lure colouring comp – run in partnership with Halco – proved to be as popular a draw as ever, with more than one hundred young fishos entering an array of the most colourful lure designs you’ll ever see. Â
The lucky winner judged by an expert Recfishwest panel will have their lure design made up into an exclusive Recfishwest lure and win a tour around Halco’s HQ in Freo, along with receiving 10 of their own design lures!Â
Being able to hear your views and answer your questions helps us better advocate to fisheries decision-makers on your behalf to improve fishing experiences, access, safety and sustainability throughout WA. Click here to see some of the questions that came up at the boat show and our answers. Â
Unfortunately not much action occurred on the boats this past week. Things have remained quiet in the lead-up to the demersal season reopening on Saturday with most boats content to drop pots for rock lobster, or else target sand whiting at Jakes Bay and Red Bluff which have both seen good numbers and sizes of fish. Apart from lighter southerly winds early on Saturday morning, the moderate to high southerly winds should increase between Saturday and Tuesday with the swell creeping upwards from 2m to 3m, so it will be a choppy journey out wide. If you're heading out for a bottom fish for demersals in relatively close, send your pics in to the Recfishwest Instagram page @recfishwest.Â
Gummy sharks in the 10-15kg range have been plentiful from beaches east of town, while a gummy shark caught by Jayden La Touche west of town (as seen in our pic of the week above) weighed more than 25kg. Beaches west of town held salmon around 5kg with Fourth, Observatory and 10-Mile beaches the better spots. Further out towards Fanny Cove tailor up to 2kg and skippy up to 5kg were taken. The James Street rock wall produced King George whiting averaging 500g, while the Taylor Street and Town jetties fished well for herring, squid and garfish. Bandy Creek produced King George whiting in the 30cm range, while at Stokes Inlet and Woody Lake bream over 40cm were caught in decent numbers. Big thanks to Southern Sport & Tackle for their report as always!Â
Poor weather kept most boaties at home this week but many will be heading out on Sunday in what promises to be better conditions. A few boats have been working hard in King George Sound by targeting King George whiting and squid, with the latter doing the rounds in good sizes and numbers. Reports of small tuna came from the Sound as well and herring and skippy were also caught there. The 2m swell is hanging around but Sunday morning until midday could see a repeat of the calmer conditions seen today, with lighter winds providing a window for the boats to head out.Â
DPIRD has advised that from 1 October 2023, fishing will not be permitted for greenlip abalone between Busselton Jetty and Shoal Cape in the Stokes National Park, west of Esperance. While this closure is necessary, Recfishwest is disappointed it has come to this as it was completely avoidable. You can find more details about this here. Most shore anglers have been content to hibernate but those who headed out were rewarded with good squid catches at the Town Marina, Middleton, Frenchman Bay and Emu Point. It’s fair to say squidding has been much more rewarding than fishing this past week, but a few herring, small skippy and whiting have still come from the Town Marina and Emu Point. Bream fishing in the King and Kalgan rivers was quiet but there has been a good run on cockle and mussel imitation lures, which have been a reliable option for anglers. At Cheynes Beach there were herring and solid skippy landed. Big thanks to the crew from Trailblazers in Albany for their tips!
Squid were in good numbers out from South Fremantle and down towards Coogee. King George whiting have been in similar locations but the sizes have been average. Sand whiting catches tapered off a bit but most boats are managing to get a few mixed in with their King George tally. King George whiting have also been in good numbers at Windmills. Skippy action picked up with anchoring on drop-offs and sending out a burley trail working well for anglers using whitebait, peeled prawns, micro jigs and soft plastics. Skippy were also active at Three-Mile Reef and inshore off Mindarie and Hillarys. Waters around Rottnest held solid skippy and big King George whiting, but not in great numbers, while the island’s West End offered Samson fish around the metre mark with the odd yellowtail kingfish a welcome bycatch in 20-30m depths. Floating lures such as Duo Tide Minnows thrown into the white-water at Stragglers, Mewstones and Rowboat Reef accounted for chunky tailor, while tailor in the 30-40cm range have been taken by dinghy anglers trolling in the Swan and Canning rivers with better spots including Point Walter, Blackwall Reach and between the Canning and Mt Henry bridges. While the 12-14 knot southerly winds are sticking around this long weekend there are plenty of sheltered areas that should still produce the goods if you decide to head out and make the most of the demersal season opening up. Sunday through to Wednesday morning currently look best.Â
This Fishing Report was submitted on 9/22/2023 2:50:53 AM by Seamus and last updated on 9/25/2023 3:51:08 PM.
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