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Hooking Up Anglers Since 2011.
William Bennett
RECFISHWEST FISHING REPORT WRITER
Nearly 17,000 of WA's licensed abalone recfishers will be able to gather a feed from Guilderton to Busselton between 7-8am on the following days: - Saturday, 9 December - Saturday, 13 January - Saturday, 3 February - Saturday, 17 February If one of these days is cancelled due to poor conditions, a backup day will be announced. Want to know the best abalone fishing zones, gear and safety tips? Check out the abalone advice from Surf Life Saving WA here.
Unfortunately there were no reports of pelagics and boating activity has been confined to a few crayfishers dropping pots. Some decent catches of bugs were rolling through this week in a range of depths though. Dinghy anglers headed across the Murchison River to fish from the shore at Frustrations and Oyster reefs with a fair amount of tailor and whiting turning up. Land-based fishing was excellent this week, so check out the hotspots below and consider taking your boat or kayak there if possible. The mornings this weekend are looking best given there should be a drop in the easterly winds but expect it to be choppy from 2pm onwards.
Shore fishing has been pretty good thankfully. Thomas River, a great place to shelter from strong easterlies and south-easterlies, produced mulloway up to a metre along with plenty of big skippy to 5kg and the odd gummy shark. Big sand whiting and flathead have been caught at Stockyards Beach and good-sized King George whiting have come from Bandy Creek Boat Harbour. Squid have been in good numbers at the Town Jetty, while Taylor Street Jetty was a hotspot for garfish at night. The 10-Mile Lagoon held big flathead and salmon, while Warrenup, another sheltered spot, has produced big salmon, some of them weighing 6kg. At Stokes Inlet bream to 43cm have been taking baits and lures, while bream to 40cm have been caught on surface lures at Woody Lake in the late afternoons. Big thanks to Southern Sport & Tackle for their report as always!
Before the conditions turned gnarly queen snapper and Samson fish were caught from rock platforms east of town but for most of the week land-based activity has been restricted to sheltered bays and marinas. The town marina held herring and small skippy and squidding has been good there at times. Squidding has also been good at Emu Point and Frenchman Bay and both spots have held small King George whiting. Bream catches have been steadily improving in the Kalgan River and mulloway have started to become active as well, with large soft plastics working nicely. Big thanks to the crew from Trailblazers in Albany for their tips!
Rottnest Island has fished well for King George whiting and a few have come from the inshore grounds around Mindarie and at the Three-Mile Reef. Tuna were still hanging around the West End at Rottnest and Samson fish have been making their presence felt there as well, along with the odd yellowtail kingfish. Squid have been caught off Mindarie and Hillarys and also off of South Fremantle and Bathers Beach. Off City Beach and Cottesloe, the 9-15m depths have produced plump sand whiting, which has been a great spot for a number of weeks now. Trolling the lower reaches of the Swan River has still been productive for chopper tailor. You're in luck if you were thinking of taking the boats out this weekend but make sure you venture out early on either Saturday or Sunday for the best windows before the windy Freo Doctor says g'day.
This Fishing Report was submitted on 11/17/2023 12:32:00 AM by Seamus and last updated on 11/20/2023 7:15:59 AM.
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