Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 11 October 2024 🎣

Ever wondered what it feels like to release a rainbow?

Pretty amazing as it turns out! Join us and our good friends at Big Brook Dam foreshore and picnic area this Sunday 13 October at the Pemberton Trout Festival 2024 for the chance to help stock hundreds of rainbow and brown trout hatched and reared at DPIRD's Pemberton hatchery.

There'll be a free Recfishwest kids fishing clinic and rod hire, fly-fishing demos, trout fishing stalls, face painting and much, much more! Perfect for a ripper family day-out. The event runs 9am to 1pm - fish release at 10am - arrive early to avoid disappointment!

You can also try your hand at freshwater fishing this weekend without needing a licence - as this weekend is a licence-free day coinciding with Gone Fishing Day 

Munglinup has produced gummy sharks and skippy to 4kg, while Warrenup and Roses Beach have held salmon to 4.5kg. Good tailor have come from Tagon Beach and Thomas River, while Dunns Rocks has offered gummy sharks, mulloway and salmon. There has been a hot early-morning salmon bite at Fourth and Salmon beaches. Town Jetty and Taylor Street jetties have fished well for garfish and squid in the afternoons and after dark, while Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has held sizeable King George whiting and skippy. Decent flathead have been caught at Wylie Bay, while bream chasers using soft plastic lures have done 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. 

Beach fishing has been very quiet but a bit of burley has often brought in herring, skippy and whiting and tarwhine. Gull rock and Cheynes could be worth a crack. Emu Point has offered a few herring and small King George whiting as have the town marina and Frenchman Bay. The latter location have produced some nice squid, while herring and small skippy have been the main catches at the town marina. Mulloway catches have picked up in the Kalgan River and it and the King and Hay rivers have produced just a few bream but the sizes have been very good.

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. 

Last week’s storm front proved to be a grand finale for land-based pink snapper chasers with big numbers of quality fish landed at North Mole, from the service station right out to the lighthouse. Pink snapper were also on the chew at the Hillarys and Mindarie rock walls and on the northern beaches but by Saturday evening the action had slowed considerably. Both North and South moles have produced good numbers of herring, skippy and chopper tailor, along with a few garfish. Squid have been at both moles too but catches have been better at South Mole, while the South Fremantle rock walls have produced squid along with herring and skippy. Squid have also shown up at the northern rock walls. Tailor action has picked up on the metro beaches with 50cm-plus fish taking Halco Twistys and CID Shiversticks at Swanbourne and City beaches, while chopper tailor, herring and skippy have been caught at Floreat. On the northern beaches good tailor have been taken on Halco C-Gars and Halco Slidogs. Yanchep Lagoon has produced a few tailor in the mornings. A few school mulloway have been caught on north metro beaches while sand whiting catches have improved right along the metro coast. The Swan River has started to fire and it’s fair to say that’s it’s fishing better for tailor than the ocean. Tailor in the 40-50cm range have been widespread, the Narrows is fishing very well for them, as are the flats at Alfred Cove and Applecross where they have been surprising flathead chasers on the flats. Claremont has held a few as has the Causeway and big tailor have been taken up river too, at Maylands and Redcliffe, where a 60cm model was reported. Bream have been hard to find in the upper reaches but a few have been on the flats at Maylands, behind Burswood Casino and at the Narrows and at Canning Bridge and Claremont, while soapy mulloway have been widespread in the middle to upper reaches and in better numbers than bream. Flathead have been caught at the Narrows, Canning Bridge Applecross, Alfred Cove, Point Resolution, Claremont, East Fremantle and also at the Causeway and Maylands. In the middle sections of the river in mid-morning on the rising tide, especially on warmer days flathead have been moving into ankle-deep water to soak up the sun. Proof of the pudding was a 56cm model caught and released in the Applecross area on Monday, so it may be worthwhile to put in a few back casts. At East Fremantle a few flounder have been mixed in with flathead around the yacht clubs, while snook have turned up in Mosman Bay. The lower Swan has also held a few juvenile Samsonfish.