From wahoo off Exmouth to big dhuies off Bunbury there's plenty to read in Recfishwest's first State-wide Fishing Report 8 January of 2021 🎣

Crews exploring the waters out wide, when conditions are suitable, are encountering a variety of pelagic species including Spanish mackerel, longtail tuna and sailfish. A kayak fisher also spotted a sailfish relatively close to shore at Middle Lagoon last week. Mack tuna are also appearing within Roebuck Bay, which has also been fishing well for threadfin salmon, northern mulloway and bluebone. The local creeks are producing mixed catches of barramundi, threadfin salmon, bluenose salmon and mangrove jack.

Barramundi have been caught on baits and lures from the banks of Dampier, Willie and Crab creeks. The lower reaches of the Fitzroy River have also been producing a few barra as well as very good catches of cherabin. Queenfish and small GTs have also been caught at  spots close to the jetty, while permit have been responding to imitation crab lures and flies.

Billfish enthusiasts have been encountering very good numbers of blue marlin as well as wahoo and the odd bigger yellowfin tuna out wide. Smaller black marlin and sailfish are being caught closer to the reef where Spanish mackerel have been responding to trolled rigged garfish and bibbed minnows. Reef fishers have been finding red emperor and pearl perch in 90m of water. Goldband snapper are in excess of 120m while 200m seems to be the starting depth for ruby snapper. Fly fishers drifting along the sand flats in the lower areas of the Exmouth Gulf have been doing well on permit, blue bastards, golden trevally and big queenfish.


Tyler Cooper, aka the Ocean Gromm, with fun-sized trevally during a recent Exmouth holiday.

Spangled emperor and bluebone have been caught on squid and octopus baits at the reef areas between Tantabiddi and the lighthouse. There have been some good sessions enjoyed on queenfish and trevally at Old Bundegi during an incoming tide. There are still plenty of yellowfin whiting along the gulf beaches. Mangrove jack are a chance around sunset at the marina. Learmonth Jetty is fishing well for squid during the incoming tide.

Spanish mackerel in the 8kg to 15kg range are being caught together with yellowfin and striped tuna in waters north and south of the river mouth. Reef fishing has been very productive in some areas with several boats achieving their bag limits of pink snapper, baldchin groper and coral trout at spots including the Sand Patch.

Surf fishers have been achieving bag limits of tailor at Red Bluff, Wittecarra Creek, Chinaman's, Oyster Reef and Frustrations. The odd mulloway, a few dart and herring have also been landed at similar spots. Baldchin groper and pink snapper are a chance at the cliffs. Balloon fishers have been landing Spanish mackerel at Wagoe Beach. Pink snapper have also been caught from the reef there. The yellowfin whiting caught recently in the Murchison River have been small. There are plenty of black bream being caught near the jetties and pens as well as farther up river. 

Reef fishers have been doing well on dhufish in the 4kg to 12kg range, as well as coral trout and baldchin groper near African Reef and West Bank. Pink snapper have been a little harder to find. The ground out from Drummond's Cove has also been producing dhufish, along with sweetlip and lots of big cod to 1.4m. Spanish mackerel are yet to appear in big numbers through the local waters. Dinghy and kayak fishers who have been trolling out from Port Gregory have been picking up a few school mackerel to 65cm. There are a few squid being caught inshore and plenty more at the Abrolhos Islands.

Tailor have been a hit-and-miss along the beaches, with bag limits being achieved some days whereas other days have not produced a bite. The most consistent areas for tailor have been Flat Rocks and West Bank where fish in the 35cm to 60cm have been caught quite regularly. The Greenough River mouth, Lucys, Tarcoola Beach and Coronation all produced tailor at some stages during the week. Mulloway were also landed at Coronation. There are yellowfin and school whiting along some the beaches. One school whiting caught on an imitation prawn last week measured 37cm.

Emily joined Peter Fullarton, of Tailored Treks, recently and caught plenty of herring at Didie Bay.

Demersal fishing over the festive period has been hit-and-miss, however, the most consistent results came from depths of 35m or greater. Smaller boats working the inside of White Bank caught great dhufish and pink snapper. Sand whiting are a reliable catch along the 20m contour. Schools of skippy have been encountered on the lumps from 25m to 30m. Pelegics have been providing plenty of action with widespread schools of striped, bluefin and small yellowfin tuna. School mackerel and bonito have also been found within a few hundred meters of the shore.

Longer casts from Lancelin's beaches into deeper waters are producing herring and sand whiting. Tailor fishing hasn't been favourable in the morning this week, although a few solid mulloway were caught mid-morning near Moore River. The best tailor bites have been from late afternoon to sunset.

Dinghy and small boat fishers have been catching King George whiting, sand whiting, squid and snook within a mile of the coast. Schools of small southern bluefin tuna have been appearing inshore. Jigs and baits have been enticing queen snapper and Samson fish near the islands. Bag limits of nannygai are often being achieved out wide.

Taylor Street Jetty has herring, squid, King George whiting and skippy on offer. Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has been producing similar species in addition to flathead and flounder. Fourth Beach has been fishing well for herring, small skippy and the odd salmon. Fourteen Mile has salmon and small mulloway. There are tailor, salmon, skippy to 1.5kg and herring at Roses. Soft plastics have been working well on black bream to 40cm in the local lakes.

King George whiting enthusiasts, who have been putting in the effort and moving from spot to spot to find the small groups of Geordies, have been doing well on 30cm to 45cm fish. Herring and small skippy are plentiful inshore, however, squid and sand whiting are still in small numbers. Few managed to head out wide because of strong cross-shore winds, but expect queen snapper and pink snapper to be on the coral in 60m to 90m, alongside breaksea cod, the occasional dhufish and bigger skippy.

Big schools of salmon continue to pass through Fosters and Reef Beach, while the 3kg to 6kg fish are being caught in their ones and twos at Sand Patch and Cables. Juvenile salmon have appeared at some of the local spots including Emu Point. Frenchman Bay has been producing a few King George whiting as well as herring and tarwhine. Good catches of yellowfin whiting have been coming from the lower reaches of the systems near Walpole. The King and Kalgan rivers are still mostly producing lots of small black bream around the 30cm mark. There has been the occasional mulloway landed in the Kalgan.

The 30m-plus depths off Bunbury to Binningup are producing dhufish and the occasional pink snapper. However, when the sought-after demersal species aren't biting, big schools of skippy have been keeping fishers in these areas entertained. Farther south, pink snapper have been caught along Four Mile Reef and Eight Mile Reef off Dunsborough. Yellowtail kingfish and Samson fish have been active near the bombies and reefs located off both sides of Cape Naturaliste. Dhufish have also been reported off Hamelin Bay, Cowaramup Bay and Canal Rocks.


Exploring the depths off Bunbury recently, Will Roche hauled in this fantastic South West dhuie.

Over the Christmas period, plenty of fishers within the Australind area reported regular yellowfin whiting catches along the flats of the Leschenault Estuary. Surface lures equipped with whiting assist hooks proved most fruitful, with herring and chopper tailor also emerging as bycatches. Salmon have been appearing in small schools at some of Cape Naturaliste's west coast beaches, as well as within Geographe Bay. 

Recfishwest's Sam Russell with a nice rainbow trout from a secret brook near Pemberton.

Dawesville Cut is still consistently producing tailor, herring, whiting and tarwhine. Consider putting in some time after dark along the Cut, as there are reports of mulloway coming in on the rising tide. The northern beaches have tailor on offer alongside small mulloway, with Golden Bay and Secret Harbour being the pick of the spots. Along the southern beaches, Tim’s Thicket and Preston Beach have also been producing good tailor up to 50cm. Mulloway were reportedly caught from many northern beaches last week, making Golden Bay, San Remo, Singleton and Madora worth a closer inspection. The Murray and Serpentine rivers are holding black dream in the deeper areas of both systems. Look for areas with shade under overhanging branches during the heat of the day — these spots are likely to be holding good fish. 

Long Point, Kwinana and Warnbro beaches have all been producing good tailor this week. There has been some excellent fishing for yellowfin whiting, with good reports of herring, tailor and plenty of blue swimmer crabs out in the deep water. The region's jetties are fishing well for tailor and herring early in the morning, along with squid. Shoalwater is still producing good yellowfin whiting catches and the occasional King George whiting.

A typical summer run of tailor is happening along the metropolitan beaches. The tailor, mostly between 35cm and 45cm, have been appearing morning and night at spots that included South Beach, Cottesloe, Swanbourne, Floreat, Scarborough, Two Rocks and Yanchep. There are still a few herring along the coast and some nice sand whiting at the beaches that are less popular with swimmers. Schools of tailor are evident in the lower and middle reaches of the Swan River. Circling and diving birds are an indication that tailor are likely around. There are still some mulloway being caught in the deeper areas of Narrows Bridge, Freshwater Bay and Mosman Bay. David Cuputi, pictured below, caught a monster mulloway at E Shed last weekend. Flathead can be targeted on soft plastic and bibbed minnow lures along many of the sand flats including those found at East Fremantle, Point Walter and Como. Good catches of blue swimmer crabs are being picked up throughout the Swan and Canning rivers.


What a start to the year! Last Sunday, David Caputi landed this mulloway at the Fremantle E Sheds.