Black bream in the Swan River to longtail tuna off Steep Point there's plenty to read in Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 22 January 2021 🎣

Lures have been enticing barramundi in Dampier Creek, as well as some of the other local creeks. Water levels in the Fitzroy River are high, however, there have still been some nice barra caught, especially near Telegraph Pool and Langis Crossing. Lots of tripletail have been caught on spin and fly near the moorings and other flotsam within Roebuck Bay. A 94cm northern mulloway was among dozens of fish to be caught in the bay during the past fortnight. Lots of cherabin have been coming from the Fitzroy.

Big schools of baitfish residing near the jetty are attracting a variety of predators including queenfish, small GTs, golden trevally and barramundi. More queenies have been coming from Cable Beach, which has also been producing quite a few bluenose salmon. Threadfin salmon can be targeted near the creek mouths while the banks of the local creeks are worth trying for mangrove jack and estuary cod.

Billfish enthusiasts have continued to land good numbers of blue marlin and striped marlin out wide. Wahoo and dolphinfish have also been encountered in these waters. Spanish mackerel have been caught on rigged garfish and bibbed minnows trolled along the back of the reef line, especially near South Passage. Some nice catches of goldband snapper have been coming from approximately 100m of water while red emperor and Rankin cod have been found in shallower depths. Sport fishers have been greeted with plenty of golden and gold spotted trevally, as well as the odd cobia in the lower parts of Exmouth Gulf.


Mack attack! Jarrad Oxley, of YBS, scored this Spanish mackerel while freediving off Exmouth.

Turtle hatchlings taking their first swim along the west coast have brought a variety of predators, including spangled emperor, close to shore. Surface lures and flies ordinarily work well on the spanglies during the event. Spots to try for spanglies are any area that features reef between Tantabiddi and the Mildura Wreck. There are lots of queenfish in Exmouth Gulf, however, they have been hard to tempt at times. Fly fishers are having lots of shots at permit in the lower areas of the gulf. Squid have been turning up during the incoming tide at the marina and Learmonth Jetty.

Spanish mackerel have continued to be caught on rigged garfish and bibbed minnows trolled in waters north and south of the Murchison River mouth. Varieties of tuna — including yellowfin, longtail and mack — have also been encountered offshore. Reef fishers have been picking up some big red emperor and dhufish in 30m to 50m of water north-west of town. The ground near Sand Patch and south along the cliffs have been producing some nice catches of pink snapper, baldchin groper and mulloway.

Tailor have been turning up some mornings and evenings at Red Bluff, Wittecarra Creek, Blue Holes and Chinaman's Beach. The occasional mulloway has also been landed along the beaches and there are plenty of herring and dart around. There have been rumours of big yellowtail tuna caught on balloons at coastal gorges. Balloon fishers at Wagoe Beach did well on Spanish mackerel during the recent spell of easterlies. Murchison River is producing lots of black bream and estuary cod, while blue swimmer crabs and mud crab catches seem to be improving in the system.

Spanish mackerel numbers appear to be slowly increasing offshore, following reports of fish caught along the back of Pensioners Bank and near African Reef. Reef fishers have been picking up fair catches of dhufish, baldchin groper and pink snapper in 30m to 40m of water north-west of the marina.


Lloyd Lyons, of Twitchy Crew Fishing, was happy with this dhuie in 42m off Geraldton on Tuesday.

Bigger dhuies have been landed in about 50m near South West Bank, while African Reef has been hit-and-miss for reef fish. Dinghy and kayak fishers are still managing to pick up squid, pike and herring within the inshore reefs.

For Geraldton's Ben Svenson, nothing beats catching tailor along the Mid West city's beaches.

Tailor, mostly in the 35cm to 45cm range, have been turning up early morning and at night along the Flat Rocks to Greenough River mouth stretch. Bigger tailor to 60cm are sometimes being caught at the reef at Southgates and Drummond's Cove in the morning. There are plenty of herring and pike at the first and second points at Greenough, as well as at Southgates and Drummond's. There were no reports of any big mulloway landed this week, but there were a few school-size fish caught behind the S-Bend and at Coronation.

Ayesha Salkilld hooked into a couple of big baldchin groper while wetting a line near Wedge Island.

Boat fishers have been enjoying a sensational run of weather, with low swell making beach launching easier writes Tailored Treks' Peter Fullarton. There are heaps of baldchin groper are around, especially in the 3kg to 4kg range. Dhufish to 85cm were caught inside White Bank this week in the 10m to 15m depths. For those venturing out wide, the 35m to 45m depths have baldies, the odd pink snapper, breaksea cod and solid dhufish on offer. Water temperatures off Lancelin have been increasing, with 24.5C recorded inside White Bank and 23.5C outside. There have been mackerel caught by spearfishers, however, reports of the speedy species being taken on line have been seldom. Small Samson fish and yellowtail kingfish have been  found along White Bank, alongside skippy. The sandy areas have been producing fewer whiting than normal, but there are great-sized bluespot flathead on offer.

The low swells and warm nights have provided ideal conditions to walk the bay's shallows at night in search for squid, cobbler and blue swimmer crabs. Beach fishers have experienced a good run of larger tailor than the average choppers over the new moon period, while flathead have also been landed as bycatch. Afternoon sessions are producing more fish than the mornings. However, mornings are delivering bread-and-butter species including herring and whiting. 

Dinghy and small boat fishers have been doing well on sand whiting and squid in close. Mixed catches of queen snapper, blue groper, harlequin fish and breaksea cod have been picked up near the islands. Crews who ventured beyond the islands scored nannygai to 65cm and have also been coming across big schools of Samson fish. Esperance's artificial reef has skippy on offer and the occasional Sambo.

East of Esperance, Callum McGovern caught this lovely-tasting breaksea cod on a soft plastic!

Taylor Street Jetty has herring, skippy, the odd King George whiting and squid on offer, while Samson fish have also been found at the structure. Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has been producing flathead to 55cm, King George whiting and black bream. More black bream have been caught on soft plastics and hardbody lures in the local lakes. Surf fishers have been enjoying a variety of species including salmon and juvenile salmon, herring and small skippy at various locations including Fourth Beach, Fourteen Mile, Dunns, Alexander Bay and Roses. Bigger skippy to 4kg have been coming from Thomas River.

Reef fishers have been catching reasonable catches of pink snapper, dhufish, breaksea cod and queen snapper along the coral in the 60m to 80m of water. Schools of Samson fish are also about and there are yellowtail kingfish patrolling some of the reef areas not too far out from shore. King George whiting catches have been good for some inshore while others have not been faring to well on the quality table fish. Sand whiting catches seem to be increasing within the sound and both harbours. Squid are still a little hard to find, but flathead catches have been increasing.

The flurry of salmon experienced along the beaches close to town is not thought to be associated with this season’s migratory run, but ‘leftovers’ from previous seasons that have become residents. Slightly east of town, at Nanarup, there have been reports of surf fishers catching several salmon and the odd tailor in the morning. Herring are still in very good numbers right along the coast and there are some plump sand whiting at some of the more remote beaches. The protected waters of Frenchman Bay and Cosy Corner are good spots to try for King George whiting. Rock fishers at West Cape Howe and Cheynes Beach have been landing Samson fish, yellowtail kingfish and the odd blue groper. There have been quite a few mulloway caught in the Kalgan River this week. Both the Kalgan and the King rivers are fishing well for black bream.

Reef fishing enthusiasts have been catching dhufish, pink snapper and blue groper in 30m to 60m of water off the west coast of Cape Naturaliste. Sportfishers have been having fun on Samson fish and yellowtail kingfish off the tip of Cape Naturaliste. There are still squid being caught along the seagrass beds off Quindalup, despite the higher water temperatures. Good hauls of blue swimmer crabs have been picked up by drop net off Busselton.


Ash Vagh enjoyed reeling in this dhufish while relishing terrific conditions off Dunsborough this week.

Fishers off Bunbury are reporting dhufish and pink snapper in the 30m depths. Eager Bunbury fisher Simon McDonnell couldn't resist near-perfect conditions on Tuesday and headed out wide with a couple of mates. The decision proved fruitful and Simon reeled in the mammoth dhufish pictured below! 


Simon McDonnell made the most of his Tuesday and caught this dhuie off Bunbury. What a cracker! 

Small schools of adult and juvenile salmon, thought to be resident fish, have been appearing at some of the west coast beaches including Hamelin Bay, Injidup and Yallingup. There have been tailor turning up at Moses Rock, Smiths Beach and Bunker Bay in the morning and evening and there are still lots of herring around. Yellowfin and school whiting can be targeted along the Geographe Bay sand flats. The beaches near Bunbury have tailor, herring and the occasional mulloway on offer. There have been reports of big mulloway, up to 1m, caught near Binningup. 

Levi, of Bush Rats, is among fishers getting stuck into the marron madness before the season ends at noon 5 February, catching these two tasty crustaceans from a secret spot in the South West this week.

In the Mandurah Estuary, yellowfin whiting and skippy have been biting well along with herring and smaller tailor. Blue swimmmer crabs are in good numbers for scroopers and drop netters. Black bream are still active in the Murray and Serpentine rivers. The Dawesville Cut is still providing anglers with the opportunity to take home a feed almost at any time of the day, with herring, whiting, skippy and tarwhine on offer. The beaches around Mandurah are producing herring, tarwhine and whiting during the day with tailor early morning and evening. Big mulloway have been taken from the San Remo, Madora and Singleton beaches after dark.

Mangles Bay Fishing Club's fish aggregating devices (FADs) off Rockingham are continuing to produce dolphinfish — as proven by Jack Moss in the "Pic of the Week" above — alongside tuna varieties. Beaches near Kwinana and Warnbro have tailor on offer, while fishers soaking baits at night have had success with the occasional mulloway. In the morning, herring can be caught at the beaches, especially once burley is introduced.

Recfishwest are urging abalone fishers to exercise caution this Saturday making sure they return home safe. The hour-long abalone fishing window will go ahead tomorrow (Saturday, 23 February) between 7am and 8am, with a medium risk forecast by Surf Life Saving WA (SLSWA). However, abalone fishers should remain cautious of a forecast higher-than-usual tide which will increase the amount of water on top of reef platforms - don't forget your snorkel. Everyone needs to take responsibility for their own safety while gathering abalone. So, if you’re not confident in your swimming ability or don’t have the right swimwear, we strongly recommend you don’t go out on the reef. Read more here.


After spending many hours chasing giant herring in the Swan River, John Dempsey was rewarded!

Surf fishers are enjoying a solid summer tailor run along the beaches. Spots where the 35cm to 45cm tailor were caught this week included Leighton Beach, Cable Stations, Cottesloe Groyne, Grant Street, Swanbourne Drain, City Beach, Floreat Groyne and Trigg Point. Herring are still along the coast and in bigger numbers at the northern and southern rockwalls. There are still loads of scaly mackerel in Fremantle Harbour and their presence has got the attention of mulloway. The deeper areas of the Swan River a little upstream, including Blackwall Reach and Mosman Bay, would also be worth trying for mulloway. Chopper tailor are evident in the Swan and Canning Rivers, while the shallower areas of both are producing some nice flathead to 50cm. Blue swimmer crabs continue to be caught in good numbers and sizes.


Christopher Kueh has been having great fun chasing black bream in the Swan River on topwater lures.

These two young fishers were more than happy with this skippy at the Bremer Bay fishing clinic!