See what's biting across WA in Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 27 August 2021 🎣

Billfish enthusiasts have been encountering sailfish and small black marlin in waters off Barred Creek. The Peanut and ground farther north towards the top of Dampier Peninsula have also been productive. Spanish mackerel have been responding to rigged garfish and bibbed minnows trolled wide of Port Smith, Entrance Point and Gantheaume Point. Schools of longtail tuna have been providing some entertainment in many areas for sport fishers using light gear. Reef fishers have generally been doing well on red emperor, Rankin cod, blue lined emperor and saddletail seaperch in 30m to 50m of water.


Broome angler Jade Relph landed this cobia last Sunday afternoon while searching for new ground. 📸

Sportfishers have been using a variety of hardbody, metal and soft plastic lures to catch bluenose and threadfin salmon along Cable Beach. Queenfish, small golden trevally and small GTs are sometimes appearing along Cable Beach, as well as along the bays and headlands north of town. Barramundi activity is slowly increasing in the local creeks and the river as the water temperatures start to rise. Bluebone can be targeted on octopus and crab baits from the rocks at Gantheaume Point.

Black marlin and sailfish have been responding well to skirted lures trolled in approximately 100m of water near Tantabiddi. More sailfish are expected to appear in the upper areas of Exmouth Gulf in the coming weeks. Wahoo have been inadvertently caught on skirts intended for billfish while Spanish mackerel have been caught on deep-diving minnows trolled closer to the reef edge. Reef fishers have been picking up Robinson sea bream and goldband snapper in about 100m, while ruby snapper have been coming from 200m and deeper. Schools of longtail tuna are evident within the Gulf.


Speedy sashimi! A recent trip to Exmouth resulted in this yellowfin tuna for Matt Vaillancourt. 🍣🍣🍣

Spangled emperor have been caught on baits and surface lures near Tantabiddi and the lighthouse. Bluebone are occasionally being picked up in similar areas, as well as near Mildura Wreck. The beaches closer to town have been producing mixed catches of yellowfin whiting, flathead, yellowfin bream, queenfish and small trevally. Squid can be targeted at Bundegi boat ramp, the marina rock walls and Learmonth Jetty.

Charter operators have been putting their clients onto good numbers of pink snapper, big red emperor, dhufish, spangled emperor and Rankin cod. More snapper have been caught on soft plastic and metal jigs alongside coral trout and baldchin groper not too far from the cliffs extending towards Wagoe. Yellowfin and longtail tuna have been appearing in schools off Red Bluff as well as other areas. Spanish mackerel catches have become less frequent and only being occasionally encountered.

Tailor have been appearing most mornings and evenings at Red Bluff, Wittecarra Creek, Oyster Reef and Chinaman's. Mulloway to 1.3m were landed in the lower reaches of the Murchison River at spots that included the sand spit, marina jetty, pens and various rocky outcrops. Pink snapper and baldchin groper were among the species recently landed from the cliffs. Black bream and estuary cod have been picked up near the jetties, pens and farther up river. There have been some nice yellowfin whiting caught along the sand spit.

Surf fishers have been enjoying a fair run of tailor along Headbutts Beach to Greenough River mouth stretch. More tailor have been caught morning and dusk at Southgates, Separation Point and the beaches north of Drummond's Cove. The sensational run of mulloway experienced along the local beaches during the past two, or so, months has slowed with only the odd fish of significant size landed during the past fortnight. Pink snapper in the 3kg to 4kg range are occasionally being caught from the beaches north of Coronation. The bigger catches of yellowfin and sand whiting have been coming from Separation Point, Pages Beach and Drummond's Cove.

Only a small number of boats made the most of weather windows this week. For the boats that did get out, dhufish were found close to shore. Dhuies were caught from both inside and along White Bank and on isolated lumps a little farther out in depths of 24m to 26m. Kayaks and small boats made good use of the calm afternoons scoring mixed bags of squid, skippy and herring. It’s an unfortunate fact of life that saltwater and boat trailer brakes really do not mix, so keeping your trailer brakes in top working order should always be a priority. Read about the different types of trailer brakes and get a few tips on how to keep them working properly.

Beach casters have dealt with plenty of seaweed along most of the beaches near Lancelin. However, south of town at Fence Reef has been clear and there are also a few areas north of town which haven't been inundated with seaweed. The approaching spring run of larger tailor is slowly gaining momentum, with a good number of the fish around 50cm. Anglers putting the hours in are still reporting mulloway catches, with the usual haunts south of Lancelin producing the 'silver ghosts'. The Lancelin jetty has continued to produce herring at night this week, while there have been good numbers of cobbler along the bay's shallows after dark, too.

The Taylor Street Jetty and Esperance Jetty have lots of herring and squid on offer, while flathead and small King George whiting have been common at Bandy Creek Boat Harbour. Salmon ranging from 3kg to 7kg have been caught in big numbers on baits and lures along most the beaches just to the east of town as well as at some of the bays and beaches within the Cape Le Grand National Park. Stockyards has been producing good catches of flathead to 50cm. Skippy to an impressive 5kg have been landed recently at Fourteen Mile.

Deepwater enthusiasts who travelled beyond the shelf, when conditions permitted, caught blue-eye trevalla, hapuka, nannygai and grey-banded cod. Crews who fished the reefs in 60m to 80m managed reasonable catches of dhufish, breaksea cod, harlequin fish, queen snapper and pink snapper. King George whiting were caught in bigger numbers near Middleton Beach, Michaelmas and Breaksea islands, Caseys, Goode Beach and Limestone Head. Sand whiting have been a little hard to find at times inshore while those who targeted squid reported mixed results.

Surf fishers have mostly been catching bread-and-butter species including skippy, herring and sand whiting along the local beaches. The beaches towards the west of Albany seem to be producing quite a lot of tarwhine, while salmon catches were mostly reported east of Hopetoun. Rock fishers have been landing pink snapper, breaksea cod, dhufish and yellowtail kingfish from the platforms near West Cape Howe and Bremer Bay. The King and Kalgan rivers remain discoloured following the heavy rains experienced last month, which means that black bream catches have mostly been picked up in the lower reaches of both systems.

Pink snapper have been caught in reasonable numbers early morning and evening off Busselton and Dunsborough. Most of the snapper were caught on anchor, and when a consistent stream of burley was introduced, in depths of 6m and deeper as well as near the Four Mile Reef and Eight Mile Reef. More snapper were caught off Canal Rocks and wide of Cape Naturaliste alongside dhufish, breaksea cod and queen snapper. King George whiting can be targeted off Eagle Bay, Quindalup and Abbey Beach while squid can be found in similar areas where seagrass is present. For those fishing off Bunbury, dhufish have been found in 30m-plus while Samson fish are being caught at the Bunbury Artificial Reef.

Tailor have been appearing some mornings and evenings along the west coast beaches at spots that included Moses Rock, Honeycombs, Mitchells and Smiths Beach. Herring are in very good numbers at many of the beaches, while skippy are mostly being caught in areas that feature reef and deep channels. Yellowfin and sand whiting are a chance along the sand flats in front of Quindalup. Pink snapper and Samson fish can be targeted at Busselton Jetty. Black bream have been caught in the Collie River this week, especially along the stretch near Eaton, while the Leschenault Estuary has tailor on offer. 

The terrific run of pink snapper in relatively shallow depths off Mandurah has kept boat fishers entertained this week. For those who have managed to punch out wider when the weather has allowed, dhufish have been caught alongside the occasional breaksea cod. If you've been fishing near Mandurah, from the boat or shore-based, tag #recfishwest in your fishing photos on social media for a chance to be featured in next week's State-wide Fishing Report. The Dawesville Cut is still producing herring, yellowfin whiting and King George whiting. Anglers chasing black bream are finding plenty in the lower reaches of the Serpentine and Murray rivers. Anglers fishing the beaches both north and south of Mandurah are finding a bit of weed on most beaches, but also report occasional catches of big tailor alongside plenty of choppers. Whiting and herring have also been caught.

Plump sand whiting have been caught by those in small boats off Warnbro. For those heading farther out, the 20m to 50m depths off Rockingham have remained productive for pink snapper and the occasional dhufish this week. For those fishing from the beach, there have been reports of mulloway catches south of Rockingham. All of the mulloway reportedly landed across the region this week came during long sessions at night — persistence pays off, ey? Squid are still being caught from the region's jetties, particularly after dark. Palm Beach's jetty is producing herring, skippy and squid. 

Tailor have continued to appear in good numbers along the metropolitan beaches. The occurrence of tailor on the coast during the past few weeks is in keeping with previous years when a run of tailor was experienced in August. Herring remain present at many areas of coast including South Mole, North Mole, Cottesloe Groyne, Grant Street Reef, City Beach Groyne, Hillarys Marina rock wall and Mindarie Marina. King George whiting are a chance at the Fremantle and Cockburn Sound rock walls while squid can be targeted at the same locations early morning and night. The lower reaches of the Swan River have been producing mixed catches of tailor, black bream, juvenile Samson fish and yellowfin whiting. Mulloway can be targeted in the deeper waters of Mosman Bay and Freshwater Bay. Blue manna crabs have mostly been caught in the deeper areas of the Swan and Canning rivers. If you're new to fishing, watch our instruction videos to learn how to tie basic knots.