From big black bream to solid Spanish mackerel there's plenty to read in Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 12 March 2021 🎣

Reef fishers who travelled to grounds in 20m to 40m of water scored bluelined emperor, saddletail seaperch and red emperor. There are fingermark bream and bluebone being caught inshore together, in addition to the occasional northern mulloway. Threadfin salmon and bluenose salmon can be targeted near The Fingers. Tripletail continue to be found near the moorings and flotsam within Roebuck Bay.

Barramundi activity has dropped within the Fitzroy River, however, there continues to be some good action at the local creeks. Mangrove jack and estuary cod have also been caught at the creeks, while the shores adjacent to the creek entrances are good areas to try for threadfin salmon and bluenose salmon. Baitfish residing at entrance point have been attracting queenfish, golden trevally and giant trevally. Lots of octopus are being caught on spear in the rock pools.

This year's anticipated GAMEX, hosted by the Exmouth Game Fishing Club, officially starts today and will run until next Saturday, 20 March. Some of the Recfishwest team will be at the prestigious WA fishing tournament, so be sure to say g'day. Blue marlin have been a little hard to find offshore, however, there have been some big tuna about including yellowfin in the 60kg to 80kg range. Black marlin and sailfish can be targeted closer in — between the 100m and 200m depths — while Spanish and shark mackerel are in closer again near the reef line. Reef fishers have been catching red emperor and pearl perch in 50m to 70m of water. Start in 90m for goldband jobfish and 200m for ruby snapper. There are lots of cobia following manta rays and whale sharks off the west side, while Exmouth's King Reef has continued to produce the odd red emperor and golden trevally. Giant trevally are being caught on big stickbaits and poppers worked close to the back of the reef.


Emi Campbell was delighted with this bull dolphinfish while spearfishing off Exmouth!

Exmouth Marina's rock wall has been fishing well for queenfish, trevally and school mackerel. Mangrove jack, estuary and other cods have been caught within the marina at night. There are lots of yellowfin whiting along the town and gulf beaches. Spangled emperor can be targeted along the west side, while bluebone are a chance near Mildura Wreck. Campers south of Yardie Creek have been using a variety of hardbody and soft plastic lures to catch spangled emperor, trevally, queenfish and dart.

Spanish mackerel continue to be caught north and south of the river mouth, alongside yellowfin tuna and bonito. Reef fishers caught red emperor to 11kg, dhufish to 10kg, pink snapper to 8kg and Rankin cod north-west of town. Baldchin groper and pink snapper can be targeted near the cliffs on metal jigs and soft plastics.

Red Bluff, Wittecarra Creek and the river mouth are among areas which have been producing tailor this week. Mulloway have continued to be caught in very good numbers in the lower reaches of the Murchison River. Kalbarri Sports and Dive’s Dean Robbins landed an estimated 14kg mulloway, pictured above, from his second cast at the Sand Spit last Tuesday afternoon. Yellowfin whiting have returned to the sand flats in front of the supermarket. Wagoe has been fishing well for pink snapper, tailor, mulloway and dart.

Reef fishers have been catching dhufish and pink snapper near South West Bank and African Reef this week. More snapper have been coming the waters north-west of Horrocks and Coronation and at the Abrolhos Islands. Baldchin groper and sweetlip have been found in a range of depths and areas. Spanish mackerel seem to be getting caught in bigger numbers in waters north towards Coronation and south off Dongara, as opposed to due west of the shipping channel. Squid continue be caught in very good numbers along the seagrass beds inshore and at the Abrolhos Islands.

Surf fishers have been catching tailor from Headbutts to Greenough River mouth. Mulloway have also been landed along this stretch, while the first and second points at Greenough have been good for bread-and-butter species including herring, pike and dart. The reefs at Southgates and Separation Point have been producing bigger tailor and mulloway. Yellowfin whiting can be targeted along the town beaches and the coast north of Drummond's Cove. Pink snapper and dhufish are often caught from the beaches south of Greenough and near the Buller River at this time of the year.

Although this photo was taken one hour north of Lancelin at Jurien Bay, it was too good not to share. George Pocock scored this dolphinfish on a Halco Madeye 7" Paddle Prawn as a school swam past the boat! We love your work, George - fantastic stuff.📸 Compleat Angler Camping World Rockingham

Tailored Treks' Peter Fullarton says there are many small dhufish in a range of depths off Lancelin, in what is a great sign for the future. "Bring smaller fish up slowly, it helps prevent severe barotrauma on undersize fish that will have to be released," Peter said. Also, carry a release weight on deck to help increase undersize demersals' chances of post-release survival. Lancelin Angling and Aquatic Club held a competition last weekend, with competitors weighing-in dhufish, pink snapper and baldchin groper. The 18m to 22m depths are producing whiting and blue spot flathead. Skippy and squid can be found along the bay's weed beds.

Tailor have remained active throughout the days, with stickbaits and metal slices proving to be the most effective way to fish for them. Bread-and-butter species, such as herring and whiting have also been caught along the beaches this week. Anglers soaking larger baits have encountered mulloway and the occasional pink snapper. 

Sand whiting, herring and squid have been caught within the bay this week, keeping many small boat fishers entertained. The ground near the islands are fishing well for queen snapper, harlequin fish and nannygai. Bigger nannygai to 60cm, breaksea cod, Samson fish to 30kg and yellowtail kingfish were among the catches out wide.

Taylor Street Jetty has plenty of herring, small King George whiting and squid on offer. Herring and flathead are being caught in numbers at Bandy Creek Boat Harbour. Salmon are scattered and being caught in small numbers right along the western and eastern beaches including Salmon Beach, Fourth Beach, Nine Mile, Roses, Fourteen Mile, Stockyards and Thomas River. Stockyards has also been fishing well for mulloway, flathead and tarwhine.

Experienced rock fisher and Recfishwest Safety Ambassador Gideon Mettam with a harlequin fish.

King George whiting enthusiasts have been catching fish measuring between 35cm and 45cm in the inshore waters of the sound and both harbours. Squid catches are slowly improving inshore and there are lots of herring, as well as a few flathead also around in these parts. The usual mix of bread-and-butter species including pink snapper, red snapper, queen snapper, breaksea cod and harlequin fish were caught along the coral in 60m to 80m when the weather permitted. Dhufish seem be more prolific in waters off Walpole and Denmark. Deepwater fishers who ventured beyond the shelf scored bigger red snapper as well as hapuka and grey-banded cod.


It's all good in the hood! Brodie Topham caught this kraken on a handline, near Albany.

There are salmon being caught along the local beaches, as well as at some areas of coast east and west of town. However, the numbers being caught suggest the fish are ‘leftovers’ from previous seasons rather than being associated with this season’s run. Some locals are of the view that water temperatures, which are said to still be 3C to 4C too high, will play a large part in the calibre of this year’s salmon run. The spots that produced salmon catches this week included the beach at Bornholm, Sand Patch and Nanarup. Mutton Bird has been among the better spots for herring, while Bluff Creek, Little Beach and Cheynes have been good for skippy and tarwhine. King George whiting are a chance at Cosy Corner, Frenchman Bay and Ledge Beach. Small black bream have dominated catches in the King and Kalgan rivers.


Kurt Wilson ventured to the Great Southern at the weekend and caught a couple of salmon at Bremer Bay! Kurt didn't spot a big school, but still caught a few salmon which he believes could be residential.

Surf fishers have been catching a few salmon at spots including Hamelin Bay, Boranup, Boodjidup, Mitchells and Smiths Beach. However, these fish are not thought to be part of this year’s run. Tailor have also been caught at some of the west coast beaches together with gummy shark and lots of herring. Yellowfin and school whiting are still being caught along the sand flats near Quindalup. Scoop netters have been doing well on blue swimmer crabs between Siesta Park and Busselton. The Leschenault Estuary has herring and chopper tailor in the shallows, which are responding well to small surface lures.

This week, tailor and mulloway have been caught along beaches north of Mandurah. It comes as locations such as San Remo, Singleton and Madora continue to produce herring, skippy and whiting in the early to mid-morning and late afternoon. The southern beaches have herring and whiting during the day, with tailor in the early morning and evening. Anglers fishing in the Dawesville Cut are generally taking home a feed of fish, with herring and big tailor on offer. Mandurah Estuary has tailor between 45cm and 50 cm, while black bream are taking a variety of lures upstream. 

Port Kennedy and Secret Harbour's beaches are still producing tailor, skippy and tarwhine. There are rumours of big tailor being caught in the region, however, anglers have remained tight-lipped over specific locations. Small mulloway are also being caught on a regular basis, with reports of some fish to 12kg. Anglers ballooning or using drones from the beaches in Warnbro have caught a couple of Spanish mackerel in the past fortnight. It requires effort and good easterly winds to get the balloons moving, but once they're out 200m or more, a Spaniard could take the bait!

The metro fish aggregating devices (FADs) are still producing dolphinfish, wahoo and tuna. Marlin have been encountered wide of the FADs during the past fortnight and there was a small broadbill swordfish caught on a skirted lure last week. Want to watch action from the FADs? Check out our YouTube video:

Sambo! Brodie Lyons flexed his muscles while jigging for Samson fish north of Perth at the weekend.

Small Samson fish are dominating catches at the Perth Fish Towers. Good catches of pink snapper have been coming from the 30m to 50m depths south of Rottnest Island, while baldchin groper have been picked up in similar depths off Hillarys, Mindarie and Two Rocks. King George whiting can be targeted along the broken ground east of Rottnest Island. Squid catches are increasing along the seagrass beds inshore.