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Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 04 October 2024 🎣

 | By Seamus on 4/10/2024 2:55:00 AM | Views (17)
Recfishwest Newsletter
Recfishwest
Fishing Report
04/10/24
Credit: Western Wanderers
Our contributors
Sam Bock
Sam Russell
Jarrad Lawford
Sedin Hasanovic 
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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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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!

How to take a good fish pic 101 - fish looking pristine, held horizontally, hand supporting the belly, beauty sunset and the fish is the focus! Good ol red emperor caught by Brenton Cartledge in the Pilbara. Absolutely amazing pic and worthy for this week's top spot! 📸 @samuel.colvin

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Broome catches
Luke Hockey caught this 108cm barramundi in the Pilbara region. A proper barra, great work!

Boats

Black marlin catches have been good offshore, with Catbo skirts accounting for some decent fish. Keeping the blacks company have been good numbers of sizeable wahoo. Fishing in Roebuck Bay has been very quiet but tripletail have been taken from the moorings, with prawn baits and soft plastics getting the job done. Threadfin salmon have been hard to find in local creek systems but Dampier Creek has produced a few decent barramundi.

Shore-based

The Town Beach and Port jetties have been the most reliable spots this week with their usual fare of small trevally and queenfish in better numbers than usual and aggressively taking small metal slices. Bigger trevally have been landed at Entrance Point along with a few bluebone. At Gantheaume Point queenfish have been taken from the rocks. The creeks seem to have shut down and westerly winds have carved up a lot of the bay. In the Fitzroy River the usual mainstays Telegraph Pool and Langi Crossing have produced barramundi with live baits working well.

Big thanks to the crew from Tackle World Broome for their tips! Make sure you pay them a visit for the best gear and advice for your next fishing trip. 
Exmouth catches
Dylan Skinns caught one the biggest of the bunch, coming off a pack of GT patrolling the shoals. Making good use of the 60g Huay popper, safe to say they work quite well!

Boats

Blue marlin numbers have picked up in the 300m-plus depths on the west side and they have been keeping company with some very big tuna. Closer in black marlin, sailfish and the odd striped marlin have been caught. Big wahoo and few Spanish mackerel have been at Helby Bank in 40m, while at the FADs an 8kg tripletail was taken by a spearfisher. Bottom bouncers have done well on Rankin cod, on jigs and bait, as well as goldband snapper and some big red emperor in the 70-130m depths. The reefs close in on the west side have produced lots of spangled emperor action with floating mulie baits and Nomad Madscads accounting for plenty of fish. At the Muirons red emperor, Rankin cod and, a bit closer in, big coral trout have been in good numbers, while Spanish mackerel and golden trevally have been active too. Exmouth Gulf has continued to fish well with coral trout to 90cm, blue-lined emperor and stripey seaperch dominating catches. Nomad Squidtrex vibes have worked well on all species. Golden and brassy trevally and school mackerel have been the main catches at the shoals.  Spanish mackerel, queenfish and golden trevally have also been caught down towards the Bay of Rest. Fly-fishers on the offshore flats have encountered some big bluebone deep in the gulf, while squid have been plentiful in 1.5-5m depths.

Shore-based

Exmouth Gulf has continued to produce excellent whiting catches with some of the better spots being Learmonth, the Bay of Rest and the mouth of Wapet Creek. Ecogear ZX Vibes have worked well on the whiting as have peeled prawn baits, with the best bite times halfway between tide changes. Wapet Creek and the Bay of Rest have produced mud crabs and Wapet Creek has also held javelin fish and mangrove jack. Squid catches have been good at Learmonth Jetty, the town marina wall and Bundegi boat ramp. Learmonth has also held bream along with the whiting and the odd queenfish has been taken there on live bait. Bundegi has held its usual mix of trevally and queenfish. There have been a few surprises at the town marina with spangled emperor being taken from the outside wall, while inside mangrove jack, small trevally, stripey seaperch and cod have been caught. Mildura Wreck has fished well for spangled emperor along with the odd bluebone, which have tended to be skittish. Squid baits, soft plastics and small hard-bodied lures have been doing a lot of the catching.  Spangled emperor have also been at Tantabiddi and further south, along with dart and blue-nosed salmon.

These great tips were courtesy of the friendly team at Tackle World Exmouth. Swing by their store for the best advice and gear ahead of your next trip! 

 
 

Lords of the swords – a deep dive into Perth’s hot new swordfish fishery

@Send ‘n’ Bend Sportfishing’s Anthony Pecotic with his first swordfish after many attempts – a 96.6kg specimen.

Recfishwest Operations Officer and Perth Game Fishing Club committee member, Levi De Boni is no stranger to billfish fishing off the metro coast. In this article he writes about the exciting emergence of the metro swordfish fishery – the holy grail for many sport fishers.   
 

To read more about it, click here!

 
Kalbarri catches


Boats

Crews north and south of town have caught plenty of pink snapper and dhufish in depths around 15m, while bigger pinks and dhufish have been taken a lot further out. The closer-in bycatch has included lots of baldchin groper and a few Rankin cod.

Shore-based

There has been good mulloway action in the Murchison River with a metre-plus fish landed at the river mouth and a similar-sized one chomped in half by a shark there as well. Good mulloway catches have come from around the jetties and also at the sand spit. Quite a few locals have caught and released good fish at these locations. A catch-and-release whiting competition was held at the sand spit last Thursday which drew a big field. Along with plenty of whiting, the bycatch included bream, cod and trevally. Many bream chases have lamented the number of small fish in the system but bigger bream have definitely come from further upstream and in heavy structure. The river has also fished well for solid chopper tailor, while mud crabs, and closer to the mouth, blue swimmer crabs have been caught. On the ocean front bigger tailor have been about with some nice fish taken near the Blue Holes and more modest sizes coming from Wittecarra and Red Bluff. Good tailor and pink snapper have been landed at Oyster Reef, while cliff locations such as Goats Gulch, Pot Alley and Mushroom Rock have produced big tailor, pink snapper and a few baldchin groper. Big tailor, pink snapper and mulloway have been caught at Wagoe.

Shout out to Dean from Kalbarri Sports and Dive for his tips! Feel free to venture into his store to ask for advice if you're wetting a line around Kalbarri!
Geraldton catches
A family fishing trip into the Mid-West turned out to be an awesome success with Ali Seena landing a few pinkies on the drone set-up. For more details check out their post here.

​Boats

North-west and south-west of town have fished well for pink snapper in 40m or so, with the odd dhufish and coral trout thrown in as well. Quite a few pink snapper and a good mixture of dhufish and baldchin groper have been caught offshore from 10-12km out of town, north and south, while in 20-30m depths estuary cod and baldchin groper have been in good numbers. When the weather has been fair dinghy fishers have found squid at Pages Beach and Point Moore.

Shore-based

Tailor catches have been good in the mornings at Tarcoola Beach, Southgates and Glendinning Road, along with the odd mulloway up to a metre. Drummond Cove has held some good tailor, quite a few pink snapper and nice whiting in the bay. The north side of the Batavia Coast Marina and the eastern breakwater have fished well for squid, while the platform at the breakwater has yielded tailor, small snapper, skippy and pike. In Fishing Boat Harbour bream and estuary cod have been caught on small vibes and micro jigs.

Thanks to the team at Geraldton Sports Centre for their tips! They will happily provide you with great gear and the solid advice for your next fishing trip. 
Lancelin catches
Ryan came out for a fish with Peter Fullarton prior to the storm. This mulloway was caught and released on bait at sunrise.


​Boats

Tuna and bonito have been active throughout the 20-30m depths. Boats chasing demersals north of town found the lumps were not holding fish till past the 35m depth range while south of town depth was not so important to find the schools. There have also been some great catches from inside the white bank with big pinkies and reasonable numbers of baldchin groper hitting the deck. Fishers dropping paternoster baits into sand holes in the weed beds are reporting some monster King George whiting crossing the 60cm mark when fishing just out past the outer reef of the bay 10-12m depths, while smaller models around 35-40cm are also plentiful within the bays shallows. Cray pots dropped on reef ledges closer into shore have been finding very good catches.

Shore-based

Solid tailor have been caught from the nearshore reef breaks and gutters where whitewash is present. For the best chance of catching a decent greenback, the larger tailor have been caught in the best numbers about an hour or so around first light. While mulloway have been caught from the deeper gutters at high tide, to spot the best gutters patrol the beach looking for areas where there are no waves breaking and a deeper blue colour to the water. Snapper have been falling to drone drops over 150m and this weekend could be a bumper one after the recent storm. Lancelin jetty has been holding schools of hardy heads, attracting some larger predators as Samsonfish. Earlier this week a large school of tailor fired up an impressive feeding frenzy driving the bait to the surface as the terns and pelicans fed from above. 

Big thanks to Peter Fullarton for his tips on what's biting around Lancelin each week! If you want Peter to put you on to the fish directly, make sure you check out his Tailored Treks Tours page. Always a great time and Peter knows the best spots around Lancelin like the back of his hand. 
 

Get on the chase on the Swan for the chance to win some awesome fishing prizes!

Get your regos in now for Fremantle Amateur Angling club wicked Swan River Chase on 26 October for the chance to win $8k in great fishing prizes across three species categories - flatties, flounders and bream. 

Recfishwest is proud to support this great celebration of Perth's fantastic river system fishery with one of our community grants - get around it!
 
 
Esperance catches


​Boats

Offshore, nannygai to 3kg have been taken near Mondrain island, while Black and Lion islands have held Samsonfish and queen snapper. Big Samsonfish and sizeable breaksea cod have been caught at Dart Reef, while Cull Island has yielded harlequin fish and blue groper. Large sand whiting have been caught in 10m at Wylie Bay, while squid with hoods up to 40cm have been taken at Lovers Cove. Esperance Bay has held squid, herring and snook.

Shore-based

At Thomas River gummy sharks and mulloway have been caught, while Poison Creek has held gummy sharks and big skippy. Dunns Beach has produced salmon to 5kg, while big schools of salmon have been cruising through Hellfire Bay. Stockyards has offered big flathead and sand whiting, while Roses Beach and 14-Mile Beach have held skippy and salmon. Big salmon have also come from Salmon Beach. Bandy Creek has produced King George whiting and skippy, while the Town Jetty has offered squid and garfish at night.
    
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. 

Great Southern catches


Boats

The weather gods haven’t done fishos a lot of favours this week and even before the cold front came through this week conditions had been poor. A few boats that stayed in close in King George Sound found herring, King George whiting and sand whiting along with a few flathead, plus some squid in clearer patches.

Shore-based

Most of the beaches have been carved up by the latest storm front so better options have been the bread-and-butter species around town. Frenchman Bay and Whalers Cove have been producing squid when clearer water can be found as has the town marina. Frenchman Bay has offered small herring and King George whiting and the marina has held herring and small skippy. At Emu Point a few small King George whiting and the odd bream have been caught and one or two trophy-sized bream have come from the King and Kalgan rivers but standard models have been hard to find. Whispers of mulloway catches in the river systemhave picked up.

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. 

South-West catches
Trudy Morehouse gets any chance to go out fishing and this time she's showing off her recent baldchin groper capture from last Monday morning!.


Boats

Demersal fishing was excellent in the lead-up to the cold front. Plenty of pink snapper were caught as close in as 5m while dhufish have been landed in 30m and beyond on both sides of Bunbury. Lots of big King George whiting have been caught on the dhufish grounds out from Bunbury and Binningup, while harlequin fish, the coral trout of the south, have been taken in good numbers out from Bunbury and Busselton. South of Bunbury decent tuna have been hassling bait schools but they have been reluctant to bite. They have been taken in better numbers off Busselton and Dunsborough. Good squid catches have come from Geographe Bay and big King George whiting have been caught at the Four-Mile Reef. Kayak fishers launching at Dolphin Road have done well on squid in 5m and also found King George whiting averaging 35cm.

Shore-based

Some big winter tailor have been hanging around. A drone fisher landed two 70cm models at Forrest Beach, while regulation-size tailor have been taken from beaches north and south of Bunbury and also in the estuary. Plenty of yellowfin whiting have been spotted in the estuary but they have been taking mainly prawn baits or Berkley Gulp worms. In the Collie River soapy mulloway and a few bigger models up to 80cm have been caught, with the hard-to-find River2Sea Baby Vibe in purple (HA14) proving deadly on them. This week could be the last hurrah this year for storm pink snapper chasers, while north of Bunbury big mulloway could be a chance. The Bunbury Cut and back Beach have offered a few herring, whiting, juvenile salmon and chopper tailor and squid could start to turn up at the cut when the water clears again. Heaps of squid have been taken at Busselton jetty and Samsonfish have been hanging around in the deep water at the end. A few resident salmon have been caught around Yallingup. 

Big cheers to Whitey's Tackle & Camping for their top fishing tips as always! If you're in Australind or Bunbury and are keen to wet a line throughout our South-West make sure you ask their very friendly team who love their fishing for advice and stock up on gear at their store. If you're in Busselton, the 2 Oceans Tackle team are also incredibly helpful. 

Redfin perch have been in good numbers with some very big fish coming from Wellington Dam, though these have mostly been caught by kayak fishers. Smaller redfin have rewarded shore fishers at Harvey Dam and at first and last light they have been moving into shallow water near the rushes and soft plastics have worked well on them. Harvey Dam has also offered good numbers of rainbow trout with the warmer days and insect activity starting to fire them up. In Collie, redfin perch catches have been good and the Collie River at Honeymoon Pool and Potters Gorge have produced rainbow trout at times. In the Southern Forests fast stream flows have made fishing challenging for trout chasers.

Wanting to know where 66,500 rainbow and brown trout are going to be stocked over the next year? Click here to see the number of trout being stocked in all the dams, rivers and brooks! 
Mandurah and surrounds


Mandurah

Boats: There have been plenty of dhufish and pink snapper in the 70m depths out from town but another good option has been drifting the 23m and 28m lines behind the Bouvards where the scattered lumps have produced pinks and dhufish and also breaksea cod, harlequin fish and big King George whiting  in good numbers. Pink snapper have got back on the chew at Five-Fathom Bank, with the anchoring-and-burley method working well on them and bringing Samsonfish and skippy into the mix as well. The pink snapper could be starting to feast on the big numbers of blue swimmer crabs that have started to enter the estuary, where they have been a nuisance for King George George whiting chasers. Clearer water in the estuary has also led to improved catches of chopper tailor, herring and juvenile salmon.
  
Land-based: Deep gutters north of town have been reliable for chopper tailor, while at the southern end of Avalon Beach in the early mornings, sizeable juvenile salmon up to 65cm have been taken on Halco Twistys, along with chopper tailor and herring. This week’s blow offers an opportunity for pink snapper chasers at beaches such as Tims Thicket and White Hills and it could also stir up some big mulloway. Herring and small chopper tailor have been the main fare at the Dawesville Cut and Mandurah bridges, although a few decent skippy have started to show up along with juvenile salmon and small King George whiting at the estuary end. Black bream have been in the canals but they could soon start to move to the Murray and Serpentine rivers, while deeper sections of the Serpentine could offer a few soapy mulloway in the next few weeks. Also in the estuary, a couple of yellowfin whiting were taken on surface lures when the temperature spiked on Tuesday.


Thinking of wetting a line around Mandurah? These great tips were courtesy of the super friendly and helpful team at Tackle World Miami so make sure you swing by their store for the best tips and gear before your next fishing trip! 

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

Boats: Up until the blow kicked in, crews were doing well on pink snapper and dhufish in a range of depths towards the Five-Fathom Bank, while the 25m depths at the back of the Five have also offered skippy, tuna, breaksea cod and the odd Samsonfish. Baldchin groper and harlequin fish were the main bycatch along with some decent King George whiting. Drifting has proven the best method on pink snapper of late and soft plastics have worked well. Bonito schools have been active as well and it has been worth keeping an eye out for bust-ups and working birds. Closer in, King George whiting and sand whiting have been caught at Mangles Bay, Parmelia Bank, in Cockburn Sound and inside of Garden Island, with these locations also holding squid, starting at 2m depths. At the Garden Island causeway some decent skippy have been caught. 

Land-based: Secret Harbour has proven reliable for chopper tailor in the evenings with a few better fish over 50cm showing up as well. It could be worth having a crack for pink snapper too after the blow. The local beaches have held plenty of herring and few whiting and soapy mulloway up to 80cm have been mixed in with the tailor schools. Long Point has fished well for herring, chopper tailor and whiting, while the jetty at Port Kennedy has produced a few squid. Nice mixed bags of herring, sand whiting, chopper tailor and flounder have come from the Penguin Island spit, while the Ammo Jetty and Woodman Point have fished well for herring, chopper tailor, squid and whiting, as have the Rockingham and Palm beach jetties. Squid fishing at Point Peron has been good when the water is clear
 
These great fishing tips were provided by the friendly team at Compleat Angler & Camping World in Rockingham, so make sure you chat to their experienced crew in store and stock up before heading out!
Perth catches
Jayson Spencer gets the job done, landing this big dhufish off the metro waters.

Boats

Before the blow very big pink snapper were being caught out deep behind Rottnest Island in around 80m, with several crews bagging out on them in a couple of drifts. Another crew found good pink snapper in 60m north of Rottnest and picked up a feed of tuna on the way back in. South of Rottnest fewer pink snapper have been landed but more dhufish have been caught, while one or two fox fish popped up as well. Pink snapper and dhufish have also been caught out from Two Rocks and Ocean Reef. King George whiting catches seem to have slowed but good numbers of sand whiting have been taken inshore from Fremantle, off Swanbourne and in 15m on the Cottesloe side of the shipping channel marker. Squid have also been in good numbers off South Fremantle and Coogee. Those trolling in for chopper tailor in the Swan River have found sizes to be down in the lower reaches.   

Shore-based

South Mole has held heaps of big garfish along with good numbers of herring but the recent blow has ended a good stretch of squidding from there and from the rock walls further south. North Mole has offered mainly herring and one or two chopper tailor, while before the blow reefy beaches around Cottesloe and Swanbourne were producing solid tailor and herring. Reports of bigger tailor have come from Trigg and Quinns. Mindarie rock wall has produced one or two pink snapper. Recent rain has made fishing in the Swan River a bit of a lottery with plenty of good fish to be found on the right days but other days have resulted in doughnuts for many. Tailor probably have been the most consistent species with good fish up to 50cm being landed at the Narrows, Canning Bridge, Applecross and Claremont, many on surface lures or metal slices. Soapy mulloway numbers have picked up from the Narrows right up to Bayswater. The Narrows has also held a few flathead as has the stretch from Burswood to Ascot. Bream chasers have been working the same areas with mixed results. Before the rain came bream were starting to show up on the flats but in the past few days most fish have been taken from the deeper holes and around structure. Good places to try include the Narrows, Canning Bridge, the Causeway, Optus Stadium Redcliffe and Garratt Road Bridge.
 

A big thanks to Anglers Fishing World in Fremantle for their great tips! These guys love their fishing just as much as we all do, so make sure you ask their super friendly team for advice and stock up before wetting a line off the land or boat! 
 
 
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Recfishwest · 3/45 Northside Drive Hillarys · Perth, WA 6025 · Australia

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Catch Information

Species:
Australasian Snapper
Australasian Snapper

Baldchin Groper
Baldchin Groper

Barramundi
Barramundi

Black Bream
Black Bream

Black Marlin
Black Marlin

Bluefish
Bluefish

Brassy Trevally
Brassy Trevally

Breaksea Cod
Breaksea Cod

Brown Trout
Brown Trout

Coral Trout
Coral Trout

Dhufish
Dhufish

Dusky Flathead
Dusky Flathead

Flathead Catfish
Flathead Catfish

Flounder
Flounder

Goldband Snapper
Goldband Snapper

Golden Trevally
Golden Trevally

Gummy Shark
Gummy Shark

This Fishing Report was submitted on 4/10/2024 2:55:00 AM by Seamus and last updated on 10/8/2024 4:08:43 PM.


Location

3/45 Northside Drive
Hillarys, WA AU


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