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Hooking Up Anglers Since 2011.
William Bennett
RECFISHWEST FISHING REPORT WRITER
We can tell by the smiles on people's faces at Pemberton Trout Festival how much this fishery means to our South-West communities! If you want to see the highlights from Pemberton Trout Festival and hundreds of big trout going nuts during feeding time at DPIRD's Pemberton Hatchery, click here. Â
A big thanks to our supporters DPIRD, Daiwa, Healthway, the Pemberton Visitor Centre, Shire of Manjimup, Australian Trout Foundation, Southern Forests Freshwater Angling Club and Western Australian Trout and Freshwater Angling Association for making this great event possible.Â
It’s been pretty quiet offshore unfortunately again this week, with weather not lining up for a proper send. Locals have been dropping a few craypots with decent results and the odd boat has targeted sand whiting in Jakes Bay to good effect, but there’s been little interest in targeting pelagic species. It doesn't mean they aren't out there and while the conditions aren't ideal this weekend, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning could hold good windows. Land-based fishing has been red hot though, so maybe try switching it over and try your luck from the beaches.Â
Thomas River was a hot spot for mulloway up to 10kg, with small gummy sharks mixed in and no shortage of salmon and big skippy, while Poison Creek was the go-to spot for good numbers of 70-80cm mulloway. Dunns Beach held salmon and skippy, while Lucky Bay produced salmon and big herring. The Bandy Creek Boat Harbour was firing for smallish King George whiting and bigger flathead up to 60cm. Salmon and Fourth beaches fished best for salmon, while the Town and Taylor Street jetties have produced squid at night with Taylor Street seeing big herring during the day. Bream have been taking soft plastic lures at Woody Lake, with most fish around the 35cm mark. Big thanks to Southern Sport & Tackle for their report as always!Â
We recommend keeping the sand between your toes if fishing this weekend off the land given BoM's warning above. Squid catches have been excellent from the shore in close though, with the better spots including Middleton Beach, the town marina, Emu Point and Frenchman Bay. Frenchman Bay and Emu Point have also fished well for herring and King George and sand whiting, while the town marina held herring and small skippy. Bream activity has improved in the King and Kalgan rivers and mulloway have started to fire in the system as well. Beach fishing has generally been hard work for only modest returns. When the swells have been down small tuna and Samson fish have been landed from the stones, but don't attempt this today and tomorrow with the swell period of 14-16 seconds and 3-4 metres making it too risky. Wilson Inlet held King George whiting and flathead and the Nornalup Inlet at Walpole offered herring and yellowfin whiting. Big thanks to the crew from Trailblazers in Albany for their tips!
Plenty of boats have been seeking out likely lumps ahead of the Fremantle Sailing Club’s King George Classic this weekend and have found KG's quite widespread. Rottnest Island fished well for them, including in the bays, as has the back of Windmills. King George whiting have also been in good numbers off Hillarys. Tuna catches have been in high numbers north and south of Rottnest with the bigger fish up to 5kg on the northern side. Most boats have been looking for diving seabirds or just taking pot luck along the 40m line, but keeping an eye out for current lines is a good start. This can usually be seen by what looks like oil slicks on the surface or keeping an eye out for weed which generally flows in these currents. Tuna have been taken off Mindarie and Hillarys as well. Sand whiting were in good numbers, mixed in with the King George at Windmills and further north in around 7m depths off Swanbourne and City Beach, with some decent flathead among the bycatch. Squid have been harder to find but most boats have managed to get a feed out from South Fremantle and inshore at Mindarie. In the Swan River it has been relatively easy to pick up a feed of choppers when trolling, especially around Point Resolution and the Point Walter spit. Sunday is likely the better of the two days this weekend regarding conditions with moderate south-easterlies and a low swell, but the conditions should become calmer throughout this week.Â
This Fishing Report was submitted on 10/11/2023 2:41:00 AM by Seamus and last updated on 11/14/2023 1:31:01 AM.
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