Boats

As we expect for the time of year swells have been rolling up the beach, with only a few windows allowing boats to launch this week and not many catches reported. It’s looking similar over the coming days unfortunately but Saturday is one opportunity and Lancelin Angling Club will be assessing if it is safe to leave through the bay’s passages early that morning to announce if the final competition is on for the season calendar.

Shore-Based

Fishing from the beach has been surprisingly good with some stretches weed free and holding very clear offshore water. Some great gutters have formed too, which look very nice on the morning high tide. While tailor are not abundant off the beach, the size quality is up there with some very healthy winter fish in the 50-60cm range along with school-sized mulloway. Drone fishing with drops around 150-300m offshore has been resulting in some great snapper that are in close feeding with the big swells. Sand whiting have been in exceptional sizes for beach casters. The bay’s beaches have been very popular over the school holidays with kids having a ball with some mixed bags of sand whiting, King George, herring, tarwhine and skippy.

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. Peter knows the best spots around Lancelin like the back of his hand.

Boats

Only a few boats braved the rough conditions this week, but fortunately inshore fishing did not disappoint. King George whiting fired up at Lovers Cove in front of the flat rocks and at Wylie Bay, while good numbers of big sand whiting have been holding up at Observatory Island and Twilight Beach. Lots of squid have been caught at Cook Rocks in 15m, while in Esperance Bay squid have fished best in 4-5m with herring, skippy and snook also doing the rounds. Despite a bit of rain expected tomorrow it’s looking like the best window to duck out on the boat. Wednesday at this stage is also looking inviting on the forecast.  

Shore-Based

Gummy sharks and mulloway have been caught at 14-Mile Beach, while big salmon and flathead have been holed up at Nine-Mile Beach. Consistent numbers of big salmon have been caught at Fourth Beach early in the mornings, while the weed beds in Wylie Bay have held sand whiting, King George whiting, flathead and skippy. King George whiting and herring have been active in Bandy Creek Boat Harbour. Bull herring have been plentiful at Taylor Street Jetty and squid, herring and garfish have been in good numbers after dark at the Town Jetty. Lake Quallilup has fished well for bream.

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.

Boats

Terrible weather unfortunately curtailed most of the boating action this week, but the odd weather window offered some decent squid and a few King George whiting around the 35cm mark off Frenchman Bay and at Limestone Head. Both tonight and tomorrow morning should provide some reprieve if you wish to duck out despite a bit of rain expected. Sunday through to Tuesday looks ugly on the forecast, but Wednesday is looking very promising.

Shore-Based

There’s been a few more options for shore fishers, but overall it has been hard going. In the King and Kalgan rivers small bream have been in reasonable numbers with bait working best, while quite a few anglers have been throwing big soft plastics in the hope of landing a mulloway. No catches have been reported yet, but hopefully this changes over the next 24 hours. Emu Point has held a few bream as well and despite the dirty water it has fished well for squid at night, with a whole herring on a spike getting the best results. A few squid, herring and small King George whiting have been caught at Frenchman Bay and Whalers Cove, while the town marina has held hordes of leatherjackets, some decent squid, herring, skippy and numerous pickers. Most sheltered locations should produce a feed of herring, including out towards Cheynes way, with Back Beach and Main Beach also producing them along with skippy and the odd stray salmon. Pink snapper should be mooching about close to shore this week with Two People Bay, Little Beach and West Cape Howe worth a shot if the swells are down. In the Wilson Inlet pink snapper to 60cm have been caught near the entrance.  

Cheers to the Trailblazers Albany crew for their fishing 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.

Boats

A few crews that managed to sneak out in a weather window this week picked up decent pink snapper and some solid King George whiting on both sides of Bunbury in depths up to 25m. A few squid were landed when clearer patches were found in closer. It was a similar story in Geographe Bay. In the Leschenault Estuary, herring and a few chopper tailor have been caught by dinghy fishers. This arvo/evening should see a complete glass off throughout the South-West so this looks like the best window to duck out before the wind ruins the party from tomorrow through to Tuesday.  

Shore-Based

Pink snapper chasers have found it hard to get past the weed, but a reasonable number of fish have hit the sand between Preston Beach and Dunsborough. Buffalo and Belvedere’s beaches have been more forgiving on the weed front for snapper hunters. Most beaches have held good numbers of herring, with blob fishers having less weed to deal with. A few sizeable pink snapper along with a couple of big mulloway were caught at Busselton Jetty this week, awith herring and squid thrown in. The Bunbury Cut has held mainly herring, but it could be worthwhile putting out a big rod for snapper. Back Beach and Dalyellup have also offered lots of herring. Bream were caught in the Collie River and also in the lower reaches of the Capel River.

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.

If you’ve had enough of the ghastly weather on the coast, now is a perfect time to have a freshwater flick inland. Trout catches have continued to improve with a surprising number of browns being landed. Waroona and Harvey Dams have produced quite a few solid browns, along with rainbow trout and big redfin perch up to 45cm that have provided a delicious feed. Drakesbrook Weir has held mainly rainbow trout and a few perch. It has been best to rotate lure styles for both species and don’t overlook old-school Celtas and Mepps blades which have been working very well. Razor Edge Bruce soft plastics have also been accounting for some good redfin as well. Rainbow trout have been caught in the upper reaches of the Collie River before the weir, while a few trout have been swimming with redfin perch in the Capel River. Big perch have been active throughout the Pemberton region. Trout catches have also been reported from the Brunswick River and redfin perch fishing has been decent around the Collie townsite, along with Wellington and Glen Mervyn Dams.  

Boats

When the weather allowed it pink snapper have been active on the Five-Fathom Bank and at James Service Reef for crews anchoring and burleying, with solid skippy and tailor after dark in the burley trail. Crews heading out from Dawesville have also found pink snapper in fairly close and have picked up dhufish, breaksea cod, baldchin groper and quite a few harlequin as well. Squid have been taken off Seascapes and Melros, with some crews finding that applying a bit of Squidgies S-Factor scent to their jigs has made a big difference. In the Peel-Harvey Estuary crews casting surface lures in the channels and over the drop-offs have been enjoying some hot sessions on solid tailor and big herring, while King George whiting have started to turn up in the estuary in better numbers. Today’s weather definitely looks best ahead of the coming week and tomorrow might also be manageable for the boaties despite northerly winds and a touch of rain expected. Tuesday at this stage also looks promising, but both Sunday and Monday look rough on the forecast.

Shore-Based

With the steady run of cold fronts the pink snapper fishing has been pretty good, with fish landed at the ocean end of Dawesville Cut, off the town rock walls and at Halls Head. They also turned up south of town around structure at Melros, Tims Thicket and White Hills. A few decent tailor have been caught from the southern beaches, with silver Halco Twistys accounting for some solid fish. Most beaches have held herring in good numbers. The Dawesville Cut has offered mainly herring and the odd skippy, but on the incoming tide cleaner water has produced a few squid. The estuary end of the Cut had yielded small King George whiting as well. In the Serpentine and Murray rivers bream fishing has been good, with soapy mulloway being caught as well.

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!

Boats

Plenty of pink snapper have been taken from their usual haunts in both Cockburn and Warnbro Sounds along with reefy areas close to Garden Island, with solid skippy again making up the bulk of the bycatch. A couple of weather windows enabled a few crews to get out a bit wider and they found dhufish in depths starting from 25m behind Garden Island and towards the Five-Fathom Bank. Squid have been caught out from Woodman Point, inside of Garden Island, on Parmelia Bank and in Mangles Bay. This evening looks best for the boaties and tomorrow should be manageable as well.  

Shore-Based

Most beaches have held good numbers of herring and a few pink snapper have been landed at Secret Harbour, Long Point and Port Kennedy. A couple of pinkies were also picked up at the Rockingham and Palm Beach jetties, which have also offered herring, sand whiting and a few squid. Woodman Point and the Ammo Jetty have held mainly herring and squid, but they are usually worth a try for pink snapper as well, while herring and squid have been caught at Point Peron between the rain fronts.

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!

Boats

A few crews that managed to head offshore this week found dhufish, pink snapper and Samsonfish both north and south of Rottnest Island and off Carnac Island. The majority of demersal fishing was done much closer in with pink snapper caught in good numbers off Fremantle, the Three-Mile Reef and at Stragglers and also inshore from Ocean Reef and Mindarie, with anchoring and burleying the preferred method. Patience can be a virtue if trying this method, with most fishers reporting around an hour of nothing before the reels start screaming. Chunky skippy and the odd Samsonfish featured in the bycatch. Hard-to-find clearer patches of water off South Fremantle produced a few squid, while a few King George whiting were caught off Hillarys and at the Windmills. This arvo/evening looks best for the boaties with flat water expected. The northerly winds will pick up a tad on Saturday so it is expected to be choppy, but Sunday through to Tuesday doesn’t look inviting due to raging southerly winds and rain. Thankfully the forecast from Wednesday onwards next week looks promising.  

Shore-Based

The steady stream of cold fronts this week brought pink snapper chasers out in force and most metro rock walls produced a few intermittently. Good spots included Coogee, both Freo Moles, Cottesloe, Hillarys, Ocean Reef, Mindarie and Two Rocks, with the better catches predominately in the evenings. It’s fair to say the North Mole has been one of the poorer spots this week. Drone fishers have picked up good pink snapper on the northern beaches, which have also held herring, sand whiting and good tailor to 70cm that were mostly taken around structure on surface lures. Reefy areas around Cottesloe have been worth a go for big tailor as well, with Halco Roosta poppers a good lure choice. The rock walls around Fremantle and at Hillarys have offered herring, a few squid, skippy, tarwhine, small King George whiting and one or two chopper tailor along with the occasional pinkies. Mulloway have fished well throughout the Swan and Canning Rivers, with fish ranging from 80-130cm. Most of the bigger models were in the lower reaches. The river has also thrown up tailor to 55cm for those casting surface lures in the middle to lower reaches. The odd flathead has been caught from East Fremantle as far up as Redcliffe, while bream fishing in the Swan has picked up with fish being taken as far up as Maylands and Ascot. In the lower reaches bream have been mixed in with tarwhine. School prawns have been dab-netted at night along rock walls in North and East Fremantle. This evening looks best for a land-based fish, but you could use the northerly winds expected tomorrow to your casting advantage off the Moles and groynes.  

A big thanks to Compleat Angler Nedlands for their great metro tips! These guys are all avid fishers, know the best spots for every particular species and have provided great support to Recfishwest and metro fishers for many years. Make sure you ask their super friendly team for advice at their store just off Stirling Highway and stock up before wetting a line off the land or boat!