From Spanish mackerel off Perth to dhufish in the South West there's plenty to read in Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 9 April 2021 🎣

Early season sailfish have been caught in waters off Barred Creek this week. Spanish mackerel have been appearing in a range of depths and areas and there are lots of tuna around. Crews who travelled to the lumps approximately 50km from shore were rewarded with good catches of red emperor, coral trout and fingermark bream. More fingermark were also caught within Roebuck Bay together with bluebone and northern mulloway. Tripletail can be found near the moorings and inshore flotsam.


Happy days! Ayesha Salkilld was buzzing with this fair-sized fingermark off Broome at the weekend!

Cable Beach has been fishing well for a variety of species including bluenose salmon, queenfish, golden trevally and whiting. There have also been some nice queenfish recently caught at the jetty, which has also been producing catches of barramundi and bluebone. The local creeks fished well for bluenose during the incoming tide. Gantheaume Point is worth a try for bluebone, mackerel and trevally. 

Billfish enthusiasts are still finding blue and striped marlin out wide and black marlin in closer. Spanish mackerel catches are improving along the western edge of the reef line. Reef fishers have been doing well on red emperor, Rankin cod and spangled emperor in 40m to 60m of water. James Heath and Tom Bahen caught and released several golden trevally near Long Island, as well as big Malabar cod. Exmouth Reef and Cooper Shoals often have mackerel, trevally and cobia on offer. Fly fishers have been catching permit and blue bastards near the Bay of Rest.

Spangled emperor have been caught on baits and lures at the accesses that feature reef between Tantabiddi and the lighthouse. Bluebone are sometimes being caught in these areas as well as near Mildura Wreck. There are lots of small trevally, queenfish and dart along the west coast and near the tip of the cape. Dave Thomson caught two big queenfish on fly deep in Exmouth Gulf at the Easter weekend. There are lots of yellowfin whiting along the town and gulf beaches. Squid can be caught at the marina and Bundegi Jetty, especially during an incoming tide.

Spanish mackerel have mostly been caught north of the river mouth in areas including the waters off Sand Patch. Trolled rigged garfish seems be the most effective method in catching the mackerel while minnow-style lures are sometimes also producing results. Charter boat operators have been putting their clients onto good numbers of coral trout, dhufish, spangled emperor, pink snapper and Rankin cod.

Tailor have been a little hit-and-miss along the beaches with mornings the most productive time to target the 35cm to 55cm fish at spots that included Red Bluff, Wittecarra Creek, The Siphon and the river mouth. There are still mulloway being caught in the lower reaches of the river, while a few fish were also landed near the pens and as far up river as Castle Rock. Yellowfin whiting can be targeted along the sand flats while estuary cod and black bream can be found in the lower and upper reaches of the system.

Dinghy and small boat fishers have been doing well on herring and squid along the seagrass and sand patches off Southgates and St Georges. Skippy have been caught in big numbers near Point Moore and African Reef. There are lots of pink snapper in the 65cm to 70cm range near South West Bank and in 35m to 42m north of Pensioners Bank. Dhufish have been a little hard to come by in 20m to 40m of water south of town, as well as out towards the Abrolhos Islands. Deepwater enthusiasts have been catching nannygai and grey-banded cod beyond the 200m line. Spanish mackerel are mostly being caught on trolled garfish as opposed to minnow-style lures. There are lots of striped tuna and schools of bonito between the mainland and the Abrolhos Islands.

Woahh! Summer Krysiak, 11, helped her dad Marty Krysiak reel in this mighty mulloway near S-Bend.

Mulloway have been caught in very good numbers right along the coast. An estimated 20kg mulloway was landed north of the Greenough River mouth, while a slightly smaller fish of 19kg was caught at Dongara. There were dozens of mulloway in the 8kg to 10kg range caught at West Bank and south of Greenough. Tailor ranging from undersize to 60cm have been turning up along the Flat Rocks to Greenough stretch, as well as at Southgates, Separation Point, Drummond's Cove and Lucky Bay. Whiting have been caught in bigger numbers when there is less seaweed along the beaches. The Dongara marina has been producing mixed catches of skippy to 35cm, dart, black bream and small pink snapper. Squid are being caught most evenings at the northern end of the Batavia Marina.

Land-based pinkie! Dropping baits from a beach near Lancelin with a drone delivered this wonderful pink snapper for Amanda Lackie. Great fishing, Amanda - that's a land-based capture to remember! 

Boats chasing demersal species have found depths from 30m to 45m productive this week, writes Tailored Treks' Peter Fullarton. Dhufish and pink snapper were off the bite last weekend, with bulk of the demersal catch being baldchin groper and breaksea cod. However, one lucky visiting angler landed a sensational dhufish at the weekend estimated at 20kg. Trolling hardbody lures or baits has been resulting in Spanish mackerel and yellowfin tuna. Kayakers and small boats have been finding squid in particularly good numbers throughout the inshore grounds.

Mike Bawden points to his drone with excitement after it delivered him this pan-sized pinkie.

The Lancelin jetty has been producing squid most nights, while herring and whiting have been caught, in addition to a few tailor, throughout the day. North point of the bay, there have been school whiting, herring and tailor caught at sunset. Surf beaches have been fishing very well for tailor, herring and sand whiting during the week. Pink snapper have been caught in good numbers from the beach, as shown by Amanda Lackie and Mike Bawden. Some of these land-based pinkies were caught by fishers beach casting, however, most fishers have had success dropping baits by drone.

Dinghy and small boat fishers have been catching lots of herring along with snook and squid in the bay. Big schools of bonito have been appearing in many areas. Reef fishing at the islands has been productive with queen snapper, breaksea cod, blue groper and nannygai on offer. Bigger nannygai to 60cm were caught wide of the islands alongside plenty of sweep and Samson fish.

The new Esperance Jetty produced lots of squid and herring during the Easter long-weekend, while bonito were also reportedly caught at the end of the structure. Read more about the new jetty here! Taylor Street Jetty has herring, squid, garfish and small yellowtail kingfish on offer. Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has been fishing well for King George of about 30cm, flathead and herring. Salmon are being caught in their ones and two at most of the beaches. Skippy to a solid 4kg and flathead were among the catches at Fourth Beach, Fourteen Mile and Roses. Stockyards produced skippy to 1kg, flathead, herring and salmon. Flathead to 85cm and small mulloway were caught at Israelite Bay.

The Albany FADs are teaming with schools of dolphinfish at the moment, as proven by William Evans!

Albany's fish aggregating devices (FADs) have plenty of dolphinfish on offer, with William Evans among fishers getting stuck into the sportfishing action. King George whiting are being caught in very good numbers within the inshore waters. One boat managed to catch three dozen Geordies in less than 45 minutes during a recent outing. A troll near the islands should produce salmon, juvenile salmon, bonito and southern bluefin tuna. Squid catches are slowly improving inshore and there are lots of herring and sand whiting around. Reef fishers who ventured to the ground east and west of town fared better on snapper, dhufish and breaksea cod than those who worked the waters in the general south direction.

Land-based dhuie! Experienced south coast rock fisher Matt Denny was froffing this dhufish off the stones, near Albany, recently. Click here to find out more about safe fishing from the rocks here.

If you're fishing for salmon this week, keep the sand between your toes and stay safe while fishing — no fish is worth your life. Read more about safe fishing here. Salmon appeared along many Great Southern beaches during the Easter weekend, however, there seemed to be less around than the week prior. An estimated 50-tonne school that showed at Lowlands was one of the bigger shoals, while surf fishers also got among 3kg to 8kg fish at Bornholm, Shelleys, Sand Patch and Cables. Good catches of herring have been coming from Bluff Creek and Cheynes Beach. The King and Kalgan rivers are still mostly producing small black bream rarely bigger than 35cm. Juvenile salmon, herring and chopper tailor are sometimes being caught in the systems.

Hamelin Bay seems to be where most of the salmon schools passed this week while the odd shoal also appeared at Injidup, Mitchells and Bunker Bay. Herring are in very good numbers right along the coast and there are some nice skippy and tarwhine being caught from the rocky headlands and reef holes. There are still yellowfin and school whiting along the Geographe Bay sand flats. Scoop netters have been picking up good catches of blue swimmer crabs near Siesta Park and Busselton. Bunbury's beaches are produced bread-and-butter species this week, namely herring, while fishers soaking baits are still a chance of catching mulloway along this coastline at night. There have been reports of black bream to 35cm in the Collie River stretch between Australind and Eaton.


Robert Zurzolo is on the run! Donning Recfishwest's 'Official Salmon Chaser' shirt, Robert was more than happy to land a couple of salmon from Bunker Bay across the Easter long-weekend. Well done!

Fishing with his grandfather Geoff Bertolini in the 40m depths off Mandurah, James Dargie caught this blue groper! On the journey back home, James was keen to take a photo with the 12kg fish. 🤙🤙🤙

White Hills has produced tailor and herring this week, while mulloway have come from this area - however, sizes have been smaller than usual. The beaches between Halls Head are providing a feed of herring, tailor and whiting. Dawesville Cut is still fishing well for herring, tailor and tarwhine. Beaches to the north of Mandurah are still producing mulloway and tailor in addition to big herring, skippy, whiting and tarwhine. Singleton Beach and other beaches in the area have had mulloway landed in the evenings, along with tailor and herring most nights. Bream fishing in the Murray and Serpentine rivers continues to be productive.

On the last full moon, Dana Matete scored this mighty 114cm mulloway along the Golden Bay coast!

Long Point and Warnbro have been producing tailor and herring this week. The region's jetties have been producing herring and whiting, with Palm Beach jetty among the pick of the bunch. Squid have also been taken at night, while King George whiting have also been caught. Also, there have been tailor and mulloway caught near the Cruising Yacht Club.

There are still plenty of dolphinfish at the metro fish aggregating devices (FADs), in addition to striped tuna. Tuna varieties have also been caught between the devices, as well as within a mile or so of West End. Bigger yellowfin tuna are sometimes being encountered out wide. The occasional Spanish mackerel is still being caught off Rottnest Island and the western edge of Three Mile Reef. Shark mackerel to 8kg have been found in large numbers off the southern side of Rottnest. Mulloway have been located in about 100m of water west of Rottnest. Pink snapper and Samson fish are being caught in very good numbers along the southern side of Rottnest, while baldchin groper have been better off Hillarys and Mindarie. Squid catches are slowly improving along the seagrass beds off Fremantle. If you're fishing for demersals and get snagged on lobster pots or rope, remember to alert rock fishers with a Snag It, Tag It caution tag. Read more about the Snag It, Tag It safety initiative, a program Recfishwest coordinates in partnership with Western Rock Lobster, here.


Recfishwest's Mike Minutillo had an epic session catching fun-sized tuna off Perth earlier this week.