Salmon in the State's south to bluebone in the north there's plenty to read in Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 5 March 2021 🎣

Reef fishers have been catching blue lined emperor, saddletail seaperch and red emperor in 30m to 40m of water. It comes as fingermark bream, northern mulloway and bluebone are among the species being caught along the reef bottom closer to shore. Well-known spot 'The Fingers' has been producing mixed catches of threadfin salmon, bluenose salmon and barramundi. Tripletail continue to be found near the moorings within Roebuck Bay.

This week, barramundi have been caught at the tidal edges in the lower reaches of the Fitzroy River. Want to know why the Fitzroy River is so important to Kimberley fishers? Watch these two short films, which were produced by Kimberley - Like Nowhere Else, on our YouTube:

• Protecting the Fitzroy River and its amazing sportfishing
• What the Fitzroy River means to Kimberley fishers

Bluewater enthusiasts are continuing to encounter blue and striped marlin, as well as dolphinfish, wahoo and big yellowfin tuna in depths of 400m to 500m of water. Black marlin catches seem to be increasing between the 100m and 200m contours. Spanish mackerel have been caught on minnow-styled lures trolled within Exmouth Gulf. Areas out wide have been fishing well for cobia and longtail tuna, while goldband jobfish and ruby snapper have been caught in 140m to 190m of water.

Mildura Wreck has been fishing well for bluebone, while the reef areas south of the lighthouse extending to Tantabiddi have been producing spangled emperor. Queenfish have been turning up in good numbers at the marina and Learmonth Jetty. There are lots of yellowfin whiting along Exmouth Gulf's beaches. Fly fishers have been using crab patterns to catch permit in the lower areas of the Gulf, where golden trevally and queenfish have also been caught in numbers.

Spanish mackerel continue to be caught on rigged garfish and bibbed minnows trolled north and south of the river mouth. Yellowfin, longtail and mack tuna have also been caught on lures trolled offshore together with the occasional cobia and Samson fish. Reef fishers who ventured to the 40m to 50m depths north-west of town scored red emperor, dhufish and Rankin cod. Metal and soft plastic jigs have been working well on pink snapper, baldchin groper and coral trout in shallower waters at times.

Tailor have been appearing most mornings and evenings along the beaches including Wittecarra Creek, Red Bluff and Siphon together with dart and herring. Mulloway continued to be caught in the lower reaches of the Murchison River following the recent influx of murky freshwater. Pink snapper, tailor and bluebone were among the species to be recently landed from the cliffs. A 1.2kg black bream was among dozens of smaller bream to be caught in the river during the past week.

Dhufish are on offer at African Reef and South West Bank, while pink snapper have been found schooling in waters north-west and south-west of town. Sweetlip, of varying sizes, are in a range of depths and areas. Spanish mackerel, tuna and bonito have been patrolling the edges of the shipping channel where schools of baitfish have been gathering. Dinghy and kayak fishers have picked up some nice squid inshore, while some of the cephalopods recently caught at the Abrolhos Islands have gone close to 3kg.

The Flat Rocks to Greenough River mouth stretch has tailor on offer. Mulloway have also been landed along the beaches there, while the first and second points at Greenough have been producing herring, dart and pike. Bigger tailor are sometimes being caught at Southgate Dunes and Separation Point. The marina and the back of Lives have been producing mixed catches of chopper tailor, whiting, skippy, herring and squid. Drummond's Cove and the beaches to the north of the cove have been producing tailor, whiting, big herring, mulloway and the odd pink snapper.

Spanish mackerel have been caught on bibbed lures along White Bank. Baldchin groper are still widespread, with most fishers targeting demersal fish catching a baldie. Inside of White Bank, there are good numbers of pink snapper and dhufish on the shallow lumps in the 10m to 15m depths, providing smaller boats with quality fishing. The bay is alive with herring and squid, with size and numbers of each species improving. Those chasing crayfish are finding a bumper haul of reds from the shallows.

The autumn beach fishing near Lancelin has been sensational this week, with drone fishers and surf casters catching nearshore pink snapper. Mulloway have also been caught, with some measuring up to 1m, from both north and south of the Lancelin township. Tailor have been a reliable catch along the beaches, with the larger autumn run of greenbacks making their presence felt this week. The larger tailor have been caught from gutters and reef breaks. 

Herring, snook, skippy, whiting and squid have been caught by fishers from small vessels this week. Those who fished baits and jigs near the islands scored good bags of queen snapper, breaksea cod and nannygai as well as Samson fish and yellowtail kingfish. Nannygai to 55cm and dhufish were landed out wide.

Herring, skippy, sweep and the odd King George whiting have been caught from Taylor Street Jetty this week. Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has been producing lots of flathead and black bream, in addition to the occasional King George. Salmon have been caught at most spots including Salmon Beach, Fourth Beach, Nine Mile, Roses and Fourteen Mile. Surf fishers at Stockyards have been landing salmon, flathead and herring. Dunn Rock has been good for skippy, salmon and herring, while skippy to 2kg and big flathead have been common at Thomas River.

Deepwater enthusiasts have been scoring big red snapper at the edge of the shelf as well as hapuka, grey banded cod and blue-eye trevalla out wide. The coral in 60m to 80m has been producing the usual mix of queen, pink and red snapper, breaksea cod, harlequin fish and the odd dhufish. Bag limits of King George whiting have been achieved by many crews who worked the inshore waters of King George Sound, Oyster Harbour and Princess Royal Harbour. 

Salmon are still yet to appear in numbers, however, small schools of 3kg to 6kg fish are trickling through at Bluff Creek, Cheynes Beach, Bornholm, Normans and Sand Patch. Tailor have been caught at Bornholm and Normans early morning and on dusk, while herring can be targeted at most places. Skippy are mostly being found in the more inaccessible parts of the coast. Frenchman Bay and Cosy Corner have King George whiting on offer. Small black bream, rarely any bigger than 35cm, have once again dominated catches in the King and Kalgan rivers. Bigger bream may be able to be sought at some of the systems to the west of Albany.

Salmon have been appearing in small numbers at Hamelin Bay, Injidup, Smiths Beach and Bunker Bay. Tailor have been turning up in similar locations together with lots of herring, a few skippy and the odd tarwhine. Yellowfin and school whiting can be found along the Geographe Bay sand flats during sunny days. Those fishing Bunbury's beaches, Buffalo Beach, Belvidere Beach and Binningup have caught many bread-and-butter species in addition to the occasional mulloway. The Leschenault Estuary has plenty of chooper tailor on offer, while yellowtail whiting have still been caught at times along the flats.


Land-based fishing guru Robbie Riches, of Perth Fishing Safaris, scored this pinkie from one of this new secret spots somewhere in the South West last week!

Mandurah's northern beaches are continuing to produce mulloway up to 15kg and tailor. The Mandurah Estuary has herring, tarwhine and chopper tailor on offer. Blue swimmer crabs and prawns are still around, but you'll have to work hard for larger models of both species. Dawesville Cut and the beaches to the south of Mandurah have herring available, which are keeping many families entertained. Serpentine River and Murray River continue to fish well for black bream, with fish to 1.5kg reported near the Gordon Road Bridge and well up the Murray. 

The Rockingham area has produced herring, skippy and whiting this week, with the best fishing taking place in the late afternoon. There are rumours of bonito and reports of Spanish mackerel caught from the region's jetties. However, fishers in the know are remaining tight-lipped. Also, good mulloway have been caught from the beaches and jetties after dark. Tailor have also been caught from the southern surf beaches.

Those who have ventured to the metro fish aggregating devices (FADs) and beyond this week have encountered a host of predatory species including wahoo, dolphinfish and tuna. Want to watch action from the FADs? Check out our YouTube video:

Spanish mackerel have been found near Rottnest Island and along the back of Three Mile Reef. Deepwater fishers have been catching hapuka, grey-banded cod and pink snapper in 200m to 350m of water. More pink snapper have been found in depths of 30m to 100m together with baldchin groper, breaksea cod and dhufish. King George whiting can be picked up in Cockburn Sound and the waters off Cottesloe and City Beach. Squid catches are expected to increase along the inshore seagrass meadows as the cooler months advance.