See what's biting across WA in Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 3 December 2021 🎣

Long-time State-wide Fishing Report writer Joachim Azzopardi has penned his final report. 
 

The fisher who founded the State-wide Fishing Report and has been writing a bulk of its copy each week for about 15 years, Joachim Azzopardi, has decided to put down the pen. We thank you for your committed contribution and hard-work over the years, Joachim. We'd like to give a big shoutout from the Recfishwest team, and of course the report's more than 12,000 weekly readers, for your efforts — thank you! 

Bluenose salmon have been a common catch by those casting metal slices near Cable Beach and Town Beach with their light outfits this week. Entrance Point has been great for queenfish and small trevally, while queenies have also been caught this week by fishers casting metal lures at the jetty near the port. Dampier Creek and parts of the Fitzroy River are fishing well for barramundi, if you're willing to put the hours in. Ayesha Salkilld, pictured below, was one of those fishers who put in the time this week and was rewarded with a 106cm trophy barra from the Fitzroy!


A Fitzroy trophy! This 106cm barra is a fish Ayesha Salkilld will definitely remember. Congratulations!

Spearfishers ducking beneath the surface off the west of Exmouth have come across plenty of Spanish mackerel in the 15m to 25m depths this past week, with young gun Bo Davies among those to get among the action. In terms of bottom species red emperor, Rankin cod and coral trout have also been found by those looking to spear a fish along the bottom. Towards the Muiron Islands, more Spanish mackerel have been caught by those spearfishing or trolling lures, with reports of a 20kg Spaniard speared in this area last week. 


Mabel joined On Strike Charters for a day on the water last week and caught this impressive spango!

As evidenced by the photo above, the lagoon on the west side has been very productive for fishers spinning lures in search of spangled emperor. Farther off shore, Red emperor and Rankin cod have been caught on jigs in about 80m of water. Goldband and jobfish have been caught in 110m and beyond.

There have been reports of bluebone caught along the reef at Pilgramunna recently, while trevally species including GTs and golden trevally have also been caught in this area, albeit they've only been smaller models. Squid have been a common catch at the Exmouth Marina, especially on an incoming tide. Find helpful fishing hints and tips for Exmouth here.

Locals are still anticipating more yellowfin tuna schools to arrive in the coming weeks, as the water temperatures heats up throughout summer summer. Not too many boats have headed offshore this week, however, a few dinghy fishers have enjoyed good sessions on tailor and the occasional mulloway within the river.

The river mouth, sand spit and Frustrations have continued to fish well for mulloway this past week, while there have been reports of 10kg-plus fish from Wagoe. Metal slices and small stickbaits have also remained great options for chasing tailor at Wittecarra and Red Bluff have been fishing well for tailor. It seems as if the bulk of the tailor catches have come in the afternoon and on dusk at these locations, with fish measuring 60cm an above.

The wind prevented most vessels from travelling off shore this week. However, for those that fished the inshore areas, the herring fishing has been hit-and-miss with people finding luck around Point Moore. Explosives and near the lighthouse have also been productive for those chasing the bread-and-butter species. Solid whiting have been caught in sandy areas. In terms of crayfish, a few have been caught but nothing of significant note. Locals believe the the crayfish action will really start to ignite over the next fortnight.

The tailor fish has been firing, with many plump models caught as opposed to the usual summer tailor which are usually skinny and long. North of Drummond's Cove, Horrocks, Port Gregory and Coronations are the areas which fishers have been enjoying the most success. The mouth of Greenough River has the odd mulloway on offer, however, most are just soapys. Last Sunday, a mighty mulloway of 15kg was caught at Drummond's.  
 

It has been a windy week in Lancelin! The whites run is in full swing, with most boats achieving good results of crays. However, the howling conditions the past few days has meant most boats have decided to come back to land after pulling their pots because it hasn't been too comfortable to fish. Inside the bay, fishers have been able to gather a feed of herring, squid and King George whiting. Sunrise and sunset have been the most productive times for tailor.

There has been good numbers of chopper tailor along the coast to the north and south of town each afternoon, with sunset sessions the most productive time to fish. After sunset, larger baits have been catching the occasional mulloway. Lancelin jetty’s been a good place to fish the windy nights for herring and tailor.

Salmon have been caught at Fourth Beach, Roses and 14 Mile Beach this week by those spinning lures or soaking baits. The headlands near Esperance have produced harlequin fish and breaksea cod this week when the conditions have been safe for rock fishers. Local anglers are reporting soft plastics, namely paddle tails, are working best when chasing these respective species from the stones. Read more about safe fishing from the rocks.

When the conditions have permitted, deep droppers have had awesome sessions jigging the depths at the shelf. For those who have made the journey, they have been rewarded with good numbers of hapuka. Closer to shore, pink snapper have been found in addition to the occasional harlequin fish. The squid fishing has been on the quieter side this past fortnight, but there are still some around if you can find clean water.


Fishing in about 50m of water off Albany last week, Rohan Black scored this awesome harlequin fish!

Herring, skippy and tarwhine have been found at Cables, Sand Patch and Lowlands this week, while there were reports of King George whiting at Goode Beach, Cosy Corner and Gull Rock. Land-based fishers wetting a line from the stones near West Cape Howe and Cheynes, when conditions were safe, have reported yellowtail kingfish and Samson fish this week. Blue groper have also been caught by rock fishers. If you're planning to fish from the rocks, read more about safe fishing here. The King and Kalgan rivers are fishing well for black bream, however, mulloway have been few and far between.

Off Augusta, big King George whiting — some of which have measured 55cm — have been caught this week. Samson fish have kept fishers entertained off Cape Naturaliste, while squidding along the weedy patches off Busselton has produced good results. Bunbury boat fishers have also enjoyed tough battles with Samson fish, while skippy have been a regular catch at the Bunbury artificial reef. For those diving for crays, the visibility throughout Geographe Bay has been terrific this week and there's been plenty of crayfish on offer. If you've got a South West fishing photo to share, tag #recfishwest. 

People diving from the shore between Buffalo and Binningup are achieving great results of western rock lobster along the reefy platforms close to shore. The same stretch of coast has also fished well for bread-and-butter species, namely herring, but tailor catches have been scarce. Farther south, the Busselton Jetty has continued to produce squid but the hood length hasn't been too significant. The usual haunts on either side of Cape Naturaliste are continuing to fish well for tailor, with metal slices proving most successful at dusk. Yellowfin whiting catches along the Quindalup flats are improving, which small surface poppers working best. This weekend should be ideal to chase whiting, with hot weather forecast. The Blackwood River has had black bream to 35cm on offer this week.

The Mandurah artificial reef has been fishing very well for skippy this week, alongside the occasional King George whiting. Samson fish have also been found at the structure, but none of which were reported to be big specimens. Potters are reporting increased western rock lobster catches. For land-based fishers, San Remo, Madora and Singleton are all producing herring and whiting during the day while the occasional mulloway has been caught by those fishing at night. Dawesville Cut continues to provide excellent fishing for big herring, tailor, King George whiting, skippy, tarwhine and sand whiting. For anglers who are wading the Peel-Harvey Estuary's flats, yellowfin whiting have been caught on surface lures. 

Those jigging from their vessels off Rockingham have reported Samson fish to 15kg. Squid have been found by small boat and kayak fishers in Warnbro Sound, however, it doesn't seem as if many hoods have exceeded 30cm. At the jetties across the region, land-based fishers are catching herring, squid and the occasional mulloway late at night. South of Becher Point, surf casters are catching tailor up to 45cm in the evening. Whiting have been caught along the sand flats between the mainland and Penguin Island, as well as the occasional flounder and flathead. 

The Samson fish have been wreaking havoc on sportfishers' reels during battle this past week. For many, jigging for Sambos has provided plenty of fun in a variety of depths. The Perth Fish Towers have been among the Samson fish hot spots — find the coordinates here! King George whiting have been hard to come by this past week, but those who persisted in the 20m to 30m depths off Hillarys and Cottesloe were rewarded with fish to 45cm. Cockburn Sound has continued to provide safe and accessible access to bread-and-butter species in addition to squid.


After many hours of effort, Jack Rush caught his first north metro yellowtail kingfish last weekend.

Reefy areas with white wash present are continuing to produce yellowtail kingfish this week, especially in Perth's north. Jack Rush, pictured above, was among those to catch a couple of kingies this past week in the north metro. While the kingies have been common, the sizes haven't been enormous, with most fish measuring 60cm. Western rock lobster catches are slowly starting to increase, with divers enjoying the most success compared to potters at the moment.


Peter 'Pepito' Forbes has been getting stuck into a few lovely tailor off Perth. Fantastic stuff, Pepito!

Flat areas throughout the Swan River featuring a bit of weed coverage have remained very productive for fishers chasing bartail flathead this past week. Most of the flatties, with some measuring to an impressive 50cm, were caught using hardbody lures while soft plastics have also been effective. There have been increasing murmurings regarding giant herring catches in the Swan this past fortnight, however, fishers in the know are unsurprisingly keeping most locations and details close to their chest. Clayton Mott achieved the Swan River giant herring feat recently. Tailor have been caught in reasonable numbers on a variety of lures from those spinning at Perth's beaches this week. Stickbaits, soft plastics and metal slices are all proving effective when it comes to tempting tailor at Yanchep, Grant Street, Swanbourne and Floreat Drain in the morning or evening. The residential school of salmon at Floreat Drain have been a fun bycatch once again this week for fishers chasing tailor along that stretch of coast.


Zach Relph, of Recfishwest, came across a school of tailor on the Swan River flats last Sunday.