See what's biting across WA in Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 10 September 2021 🎣

Sashimi! Fishing somewhere in the North West, Gemma Matheson was buzzing with this yellowfin tuna.

Spanish mackerel have been caught on bibbed minnows and rigged whole baits trolled in waters out of from Gantheaume Point, Barred Creek and near Grey Shoals. Reef fishing has been productive in 20m to 40m of water where red emperor, Rankin cod, blue-lined emperor and saddletail seaperch have been picked up. Gino Chambers, of Tackle World Broome, caught nice coral trout and blue-lined emperor during a recent trip to Port Smith. Threadfin salmon and bluenose salmon can be targeted within Roebuck Bay and other inshore areas.


The early morning barra mission in the West Kimberley was fruitful for Wade Clark on Saturday. 🙌

Barramundi activity has started to increase in the Fitzroy River, as well as the local creeks as water temperatures in these systems continues to rise. Threadfin salmon have also been quite active in Crab Creek, where some big mulloway were recently caught. Sportfishers have been using soft plastic and hardbody lures to catch queenfish, golden and small GTs along the local beaches. 

Boat fishers have been entertained by golden trevally at King Reef this week. Check our YouTube footage out from earlier this year of trevally patrolling the artificial reef off Exmouth here. Billfish enthusiasts have continued to encounter very good numbers of small black marlin as well as sailfish, bigger blue marlin and striped marlin out wide. Sailfish have started to appear in larger numbers in the upper areas of Exmouth Gulf. There seems to be a lot more dolphinfish around at the moment, while wahoo are still being caught on lures intended for billfish at times. Spanish mackerel can be targeted on bibbed minnows and rigged garfish trolled along the back of the west-side reef and near the Muiron Islands. Pink snapper have interestingly been caught off the west coast during the past few weeks. Goldband jobfish and ruby snapper can be found in the respective depths of 150m and 250m if water.

Spangled emperor between 50cm and 65cm have been caught on baits and lures near Tantabiddi and North West Cape. Queenfish have also been appearing along the west side beaches in addition to golden trevally to about 5kg and solid giant trevally in the 10kg to 15kg range. Yellowfin whiting catches have been improving along the beaches near Learmonth. Squid have been caught in Exmouth Gulf as well as the west side.

If you've got a trip to Kalbarri planned, click here and visit our 'I Love Fishing' website for helpful fishing hints and tips! The local charter boat operators have been putting their clients onto pink snapper, baldchin groper and the odd Moses perch in depths of 30m to 50m. More snapper have been picked up in shallower waters of less than 20m, especially south of the river mouth. Spanish mackerel catches have dwindled during the past few weeks, however there are still schools of longtail, mack and yellowfin tuna around. Dinghy and small boat fishers have been catching tailor and mulloway just inside the river mouth.

Rock fishers have been landing good numbers of pink snapper at the local rock platforms. Snapper have also been caught from the beaches close to Wagoe Beach this past week. Tailor have been appearing some mornings and evenings at Red Bluff, Wittecarra Creek and Chinaman's Beach. Bigger tailor can be targeted on poppers and stick baits at Oyster Reef. Yellowfin whiting were found along the sand flats in front of the supermarket. Black bream to 40cm were picked up in the upper reaches of the Murchison while the rocky areas have been producing estuary cod to 45cm. Blue swimmer crabs are starting to be caught in bigger numbers in the river.

Yellowfin and school whiting are about in very good numbers along the coast with good catches this week coming from West Bank Road, the northern side of Batavia Marina, Drummond's Cove, Coronation Beach, Southgates and Separation Point. Skippy to 1kg have been caught at the marina rock walls along with chopper tailor and pike. The bigger tailor have been a little patchy, but there were some reasonable fish in the 45cm to 55cm range caught at Drummond's, the first and second points at Greenough and Flat Rocks. Mulloway to 1m have been caught in similar areas along with lots of pike. Pink snapper are occasionally being landed at Drummond's and Coronation. Squid can be picked up at the northern side of the marina.

Boat fishers with an eye for demersal species have been heading travelling well west before finding dhufish and pink snapper, with the better fishing had in the 45m depths. The inshore reefs have been holding plenty of Samson fish, while skippy are aggregating around reef areas and lumps within 10m to 15m. Small yellowtail kingfish and large tailor have been encountered around the wash areas of the bay's fringing reefs.

Beach fishing has steadily improved since last week's big swells tapered off. Tailor up to 65cm are moving back into the nearshore reef breaks and gutters. Drone fishers have been catching pink snapper and Samson fish this week when dropping baits at the nearshore reefs. Lancelin's jetty has been a bit quiet amid the low tides and persistence is need to catch a feed of herring in the evenings. However, fishing at the jetty should improve this weekend with more favourable tides forecast.

King George whiting have been active within Bandy Creek Boat Harbour this week. There are still lots of salmon being caught at the local beaches, as well those located within Cape Le Grand National Park. Blue groper to 15kg have been landed from the rocks at Alexander Bay, where gummy sharks have also been caught in good numbers. Soft plastic lures have been working well in the local lakes on black bream in the 30cm to 40cm range. The Esperance Jetty and Taylor Street Jetty have herring, whiting and squid on offer. Big schools of skippy residing near the pylons of both structures have been attracting a few large Samson fish.

Deepwater enthusiasts who took advantage of the suitable conditions and travelled beyond the edge of the shelf at the weekend, and earlier in the week, scored hapuka, grey-banded cod, blue-eye trevalla and big nannygai. More nannygai were caught along the reef in 60m to 90m of water alongside queen snapper, pink snapper, breaksea cod and the odd dhufish. The inshore waters are starting to clear somewhat and this seems to have resulted in better catches of King George whiting at places that included Goode Beach, Ledge Beach, Middleton Beach and Caseys Beach. Schools of small pink snapper are present inshore, especially near Michaelmas and Breaksea islands where it has apparently been difficult at times to get past the juvenile fish that are rarely bigger than 50cm. Squid have been caught in fair numbers for some whereas others had trouble finding the tasty cephalopods.

Surf fishers have doing well on herring at many of the popular haunts close to Albany, as well along the beaches to the east and west. Tarwhine remain in almost plague proportions along some coastal areas between Walpole and Denmark. Big skippy can be targeted at Sand Patch, Cables and Bluff Creek. Salmon can be still be caught at Reef Beach, where some decent size schools are stilling lurking around. The odd tailor has been picked up morning and night along the Bremer Bay beaches as well as at Nanarup and Bornholm. Emu Point is worth a try for Samson fish, while many of the rock platforms may also have the brutes within casting range. The King and Kalgan rivers, as with many of the other systems along the southern coast, are still reasonably discoloured, which has made chasing black bream and mulloway relatively tough.

Mad-keen fisher Luke Thom caught a pending State record dhufish in the South West this week, tipping the scales at 26.4kg. The current record was achieved off Walpole in 1971, with the dhufish weighing 25.85kg. Dhufish have been found beyond 30m off Bunbury this week, while pink snapper have still been caught in the 15m to 30m depths. There were reports of pink snapper caught relatively close to shore off Binningup, while Samson fish have provided plenty of fun for fishers at Bunbury's artificial reef. Off Busselton, pink snapper seem to have moved into deeper waters in excess of 20m. The anchor and burley method has been effective on the snapper, which have mostly been in the 3kg to 6kg range. Big dhuies have been scored in 30m to 50m of water off Hamelin Bay, Cowaramup Bay and Canal Rocks. Squid catches have been increasing along the seagrass meadows off Quindalup.

An estimated 10kg mulloway was caught from the beach somewhere between Dalyellup and Stratham by a drone fisher soaking baits for pink snapper recently. Buffalo Beach, north of Bunbury, has been fishing well for herring and whiting with burley enticing the bread-and-butter species. Tailor have been appearing some mornings and evenings at Moses Rock, Honeycombs, Injidup and Smiths Beach. Big skippy have been caught on baits and soft plastics near reefs and some of the rocky headlands on the west coast of Cape Naturaliste. Yellowfin and school whiting are starting to appear along the sand flats near Quindalup in bigger numbers. Busselton Jetty has produced solid squid this week, in addition to the occasional pink snapper for those targeting the sought-after species in the evening. Black bream fishing is slowly improving in the Collie River, following recent rains.


The Busselton Jetty is providing access to big squid found in Geographe Bay, as shown by Reef Brown.

Last Sunday, Brian Edwards and his daughter Tayah Edwards took part in a Mandurah Offshore Fishing and Sailing Club's Fathers' Day Fishing Competition. And, the father-daughter fishing combo weren't disappointed, after Tayah landed the dhufish below. "Tayah caught her PB dhufish, tipping the scales at 11kg, to give the best Fathers' Day memory for us both," a proud Brian told Recfishwest. Well done, Tayah, we love your work! Swells have made beach fishing conditions along the beaches to the south of Mandurah a little hit-and-miss this week. The seas and swells have deposited a lot of seaweed. Herring and tailor are providing the main catches in the Dawesville Cut. Most of the beaches around Mandurah are producing tailor, but too many big fish. Bream fishing has slowed down a little with not a lot of activity in the upper estuary. However, it has been a different story downstream with good bream caught.


Tayah Edwards with her impressive 11kg dhufish caught off Mandurah last Sunday!

For boat fishers, dhufish tipping the scales at 12kg or more have been caught in a multitude of depths, ranging from 30m to 70m off Rockingham. The Rockingham Jetty is producing herring and the odd tailor. Palm Beach is a good spot to try for most species and also squid. Sand whiting and tailor are being taken from Warnbro Beach and Long Point. 

Reef fishers who set out in search of quality table fish when conditions were pleasant this week found pink snapper along the western edge of Five Fathom Bank and in deeper waters south-west of Rottnest Island. Snapper were also caught in depths of 50m to 70m off Hillarys and Mindarie, while baldchin groper and breaksea cod were also found in shallower depths, of about 30m to 40m, off both areas. Impressive dhufish up to 15kg caught in wide ranging depths of 30m to 70m off Fremantle and Two Rocks. Interestingly, many of the large dhuies were caught on metal and soft plastic jigs. King George whiting to 55cm have been caught near The Windmills and in depths of 10m to 20m off Cottesloe and City Beach, while smaller KGs have been picked up along Parmelia Bank. Squid catches are improving along the seagrass beds off Fremantle, and within Cockburn Sound, as the water continues to clear inshore.


Leroy Maclou joined Shaun Wieffering off Perth recently and landed this dhufish. That's a great result!

Surf fishers have been enjoying some good sessions on tailor at many of the metropolitan beaches. Tailor between 40cm to 60cm have been caught on lures in the morning at spots that included Cottesloe, Grant Street, Swanbourne and Trigg, while baits resulted in mixed size fish at South Beach, North Mole, Leighton Beach, Floreat Drain and Scarborough, at night. There are still lots of herring being caught from the rock walls, groynes and jetties. Sand whiting have been caught by the dozen near Secret Harbour and Yanchep along with the odd flathead. Squid catches have been improving at the Fremantle rock walls as well as the moles. Tailor have been found near the baitfish schools in the Swan and Canning Rivers. The deeper parts of the Swan, including Narrows Bridge, Freshwater Bay and Mosman Bay, would be worth trying for mulloway, which are ordinarily caught in good numbers at the start of spring. Find tips and hints on how to fish the Swan River here.



The Ammo Jetty is one of Perth's most loved land-based fishing spots, producing epic catches of salmon, squid, herring, skippy and even Spanish mackerel! Recfishwest strongly encourages all metro fishers, especially Ammo Jetty devotees, to have their say on proposed new designs to replace the existing iconic fishing platform to ensure the best outcome for our community before the Department of Transport's (DoT) survey period ends today, 10 September. Recfishwest would like to see a T-head section added to the design of Concept 1 to allow for a greater casting range and more lines in the water — this addition would make it the preferred design in our view. Have your say here before the Department of Transport survey closes today!