Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 02 August 2024 🎣

Mulloway to a metre and lots of salmon have been caught at Dunns Beach, while halfway along Wylie Bay salmon, skippy and gummy sharks have been landed. Sand whiting have been prolific at the start of Wylie Bay. Roses Beach has held 5kg-plus skippy at the western end and salmon have been in abundance as well. Fourth Beach and 11-Mile Lagoon have been hotspots for salmon, while big flathead have been caught on the high tide at 10-Mile Lagoon. Plenty of fishers have been bagging out on squid at the Town Jetty, while at Taylor Street Jetty, which is a good spot to fish when the westerlies are blowing, skippy have been caught in the day and garfish at night. Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has held King George whiting and skippy, while bream have been fishing well at Woody Lake.

Hats off to the very knowledgeable team at Southern Sports & Tackle for their tips! These guys love their fishing as well, so make sure you swing by their store for the best gear and advice before wetting a line around Esperance. 

Once again poor weather cruelled a lot of shore fishing activity but this weekend offers hope. Squid have been caught at their usual haunts such the town marina, where it has often been a case of waiting for the tide to bring in some clear water. The marina has also held herring and a few small skippy. Emu Point often holds good squid as well as herring and whiting, while Frenchman Bay and Whalers Cove usually produce good squid, along with herring and whiting. The King and Kalgan rivers should be holding bream, while herring and juvenile salmon are often a bycatch near the river mouths. The beaches have been carved up but if the swells are down herring, tarwhine and good skippy could be caught, along with the odd resident salmon.

Cheers to the Trailblazers Albany crew for their tips this week! Swing by their store if you're after some top gear and advice ahead of your next fishing trip. Remember, you'll also catch just as many fish off the beaches than the rocks and it is always much safer to go with this option on the south coast. 

After a lull, North Mole bounced back to its winter best with a good run of pink snapper on Wednesday with 10-15 fish landed in total along with some monster skippy that nudged 60cm. Herring were also in good numbers there and blue mackerel were caught on the inside of North Mole, but the dirty water wasn’t favourable for squid. For fishers wanting to know when South Mole will reopen to vehicles, Fremantle Ports are hoping it will be some time in August once they have set up the parking ticket machines. Further south at Challenger Beach yellow-eyed mullet have been in good numbers among the herring. The rockwalls around South Fremantle have fished reasonably well for herring, garfish and squid on the few days when the water has been clear, but inside the marina bream chasers have been thwarted by blowies. Deep gutters quite close to shore have formed along the stretch between Scarborough and City Beach which have held big tailor in the 50-60cm range, while big tailor have also come from beaches north of Two Rocks. When the water is clear and swells have been down Alkimos and Quinns have held sand whiting, while Cottesloe and Grant Street have fished well for herring and gardies. The Swan River has been quiet this week, but there have been whispers of school-sized mulloway being caught on large soft plastics at the Causeway, Canning Bridge and Shelley Bridge. Bream catches have been patchy in numbers and sizes, but they have been active between Maylands and the Narrows, while one or two flathead have been holding in these locations as well. It should be great conditions for a land-based flick as well off the beaches over this weekend and we expect to see good numbers of tailor, mulloway and potentially pink snapper from the metro beaches.