See what's biting across WA in Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 18 February 2022 🎣

Wetting a line somewhere in the Pilbara, Kaylah Day landed this 80cm barramundi at the weekend! 

It doesn't happen too often, but last weekend Broome fishers enjoyed glassy conditions on a neap tide in the wet season, writes local fisher Jade Relph. With plenty of boats on the water, there were many terrific catches reported. Myself and Wade Clark, pictured below, caught a couple of bluebone on crab baits near rocky structure in less than 10m of water, relatively close to shore. Schools of mack tuna have also been found in good numbers off the Broome coast. If you spot birds diving into bait, be sure to cast a lure nearby because you'll be sure to come across a tuna... or even a Spanish mackerel. Coral trout and Rankin cod are taking baits and jigs farther off shore. Crab Creek has threadfin salmon on offer, while queenfish are being caught on lures in Roebuck Bay. Tripletail are also a chance in Roebuck Bay. Boat fishers in Dampier Creek and Crab Creek are reporting barramundi to 80cm.


Wade Clark had to muster every ounce of strength when reelin in this bluebone at the weekend. 😁

Joey Atenzi was more than happy with this land-based barramundi, caught near Broome. 🤯🤯

The jetty near the Port of Broome is still offering small queenfish and trevally, while bluenose salmon have been caught by fishers casting metal slices at Cable Beach and Coconut Wells. Different stretches of the Fitzroy River are resulting in good barramundi catches for land-based fishers putting in the long hours. Joey Atenzi, pictured above, has been among those barra enthusiasts to land a trophy specimen from land-based locations relatively close to town. 


What a catch! Nathan Southern with a lovely post-storm barramundi from the Fitzroy River. 😎😎

Spanish mackerel are being caught by fishers targeting the toothy predators on stickbaits and trolling lures at locations including near the Murion Islands and behind the reef on the west-side. In the Gulf, spearfishers are reporting bluebone and coral trout near the shoals. King Reef has continued to fish well this week, with golden trevally and spangled emperor caught.

If you're willing to cast big stickbaits for hours on end, you should be rewarded with a respectable giant trevally! For those that have been giving their arms a workout while hauling lures, GT have been landed by fishers targeting them from various parts of the coast on the west-side, with Sp1ito — pictured below — among those to land a proper specimen recently. Spangled emperor have been found at most of the accesses along the west coast. Parts of the Exmouth Gulf are continuing to offer wonderful wilderness fishing experiences to fly fishers, with permit and solid golden trevally tempted on fluff this week. 


🤯 Casting stickbaits for BIG giant trevally resulted in this monster specimen for Sp1ito near Exmouth.

The mouth of the Murchison River is holding plenty of bait at the moment, with big mulloway nearby early in the morning. With the hot pelagic action being enjoyed by boat fishers off Kalbarri, land-based anglers have also been trying to target Spanish mackerel to the north and south of town. Drone fishers have managed to land a couple of Spaniards from Wagoe Beach — how good is that!? Oyster Reef and Chinaman's Beach are both producing tailor to 60cm, while Wittecarra and Red Bluff are also fishing well. 

Fishers casting metal slices along the beaches are catching tailor to 40cm. While the land-based fishing has been slow, the reef near Drummond Cove has been a reliable spot. Mulloway to 12kg have been reported at Southgates and Drummond Cove by those soaking baits in the evening. Whiting have been found along certain parts of the coast, alongside herring. If you've got a fishing photo to share from Geraldton, tag #recfishwest!

Salmon have been reported at Salmon Beach, Fourth Beach, Roses and Alexander Bay this week. Bread-and-butter species, namely herring, have been found at Taylor Street Jetty this week. Herring have also been caught at the Esperance Jetty, while squid have been taken early in the morning or at night. Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has been producing mixed catches of herring, skippy and King George whiting. Black bream have taken a variety of soft plastics at the usual haunts near Esperance this week, as shown by Tyson Tietjens above. Those soaking baits or working soft plastics from various headlands relatively close to town, when conditions have been safe, have caught harlequin fish and breaksea cod.

Proposed south coast marine park


Whether you're fishing from the boat or along the beach, the south coast offers fantastic fishing.

As one of WA’s great recreational fishing landscapes, the south coast is hugely important for tens of thousands of recreational fishers, providing spectacular fishing opportunities from both shore and boat. That’s why Recfishwest is strongly encouraging the south coast fishing community to get involved and get their views and voices heard as part of the State Government’s plans for a new marine park on the south coast that will potentially stretch 1,000km from Bremer Bay all the way to the South Australian border. Click here to find out more and see how you can stay up-to-date with the process.

Persistent strong easterlies across the Great Southern have kept most boat fishers on land this week. However, a weather window is forecast for tomorrow morning that hopefully boat fishers will be able to capitalise on to enjoy a great time fishing offshore. With the strong winds, majority of the boat fishing has taken place within the protected waters of Oyster Harbour and Princess Royal Harbour, where King George whiting and squid have made up the bulk of the captures. Crabbing near Albany has been slow, however, activity is set to pick up in the coming weeks. 

Recfishwest safety ambassador Gideon Mettam with a lovely harlequin fish from the south coast.

Interestingly, local angler Ray Stephensen caught a 1m-plus mulloway from the Albany Town Jetty last week. While that was definitely the most notable recent catch, the jetty has been fishing very well for squid, skippy and herring lately. The King and Kalgan rivers are both still producing good bream, with whispers of mulloway also being caught in similar areas. Gummy sharks have been a welcome capture along the beaches at night near Bremer Bay. A few salmon have been picked up along the same beaches, while the odd large tailor has also been caught among the salmon! Some of these tailor have been as big as 65cm, which is a great fish for the south coast. Herring and skippy have been a reliable target at the jetty near Fishery Beach.

The Bunbury artificial reef has plenty of skippy on offer at the moment, in addition to the occasional King George whiting. Likewise, the Dunsborough artificial reef has produced good numbers of skippy this week, while Samson fish have also been found near the structure. The sandy areas off Bunbury are still producing bluespotted flathead, while boat fishers focused on sought-after demersal species are reporting dhufish at reefy areas in about 40m of water. Pink snapper have been caught at Four Mile Reef off Dunsborough, while those launching at Canal Rocks and heading off Cape Naturaliste are reporting dhufish, breaksea cod and the occasional yellowtail kingfish. Matt Durell and Tim O'Sullivan have both enjoyed great sessions at the Cape Naturaliste FADs this week, with dolphinfish taking a variety of lures with tenacity! Find the coordinates here.

A small salmon school was reportedly seen at Bunker Bay this week, however, it's likely this school was a resident school rather than one associated with this year's approaching salmon migration. Tailor and herring are still being caught at places including Injidup, Smiths Beach and Bunker Bay in the morning and evening. Bunbury beach fishers are reporting herring from the BP rockwall, while tailor to 50cm have been caught between Belvedere and Myalup. Tailor to about 40cm have been found near the Bunbury Cut in the morning and afternoon.

The northern end of Bouvard Reef has had dhufish, to a reported 10kg, on offer this week. This area has also been holding plenty of small Samson fish, which have provided a bit of entertainment when the demersal fishing has been slow. Beach fishers are reporting tailor in the afternoon, once the seabreeze picks up, from most parts of the coast and at the Mandurah Cut. Tailor to 40cm have been caught at the Dawesville Bridge after dark. Impressive black bream up to 1.5kg have been caught near the canals. 

Boat fishers travelling to the Mangles Bay Fishing Club's FADs off Rockingham are still landing big dolphinfish fairly regularly. Metal slices, stickbaits and diving minnows retrieved at a high speed have outperformed baits at the FADs this week. The larger ‘bull’ dolphinfish have been sitting slightly deeper, compared to the smaller dollies, so allow your lure to sink for about 10 seconds before retrieving it to target the bigger models. Closer to shore, bait schools near the shallow reefs are attracting yellowtail kingfish and Sambos, with the occasional shark mackerel too. There's murmurings of Spanish mackerel near bait schools too, but fishers in the know are understandably not revealing too much information. For beach fishers, the stretch from Kwinana to Long Point have been producing good catches of herring, tailor and yellowfin whiting. The region's jetties are offering tailor and herring after dark. 

Bread-and-butter species, including herring, have been staple for small boat and kayak fishers in the safe and accessible waters of Cockburn Sound this week. The Sound has also produced squid, albeit on the smaller side. There's been good reports of dolphinfish at the FADs off Perth, alongside various tuna species. Want the coordinates to the FADs deployed as part of the State-wide FADs program? Click here. 

Young gun Tom Corrie landed his PB pink snapper at the weekend from his dinghy. Well done! 🤩🤩

Tom Corrie, pictured above, has been among metro fishers to land a pink snapper. Pinkies have been found in a variety of depths from less than 15m of water off Hillarys to about 30m off Cottesloe and Two Rocks, in addition to various spots behind Rottnest Island. Boat fishers are reporting baldchin groper and dhufish in 30m and beyond off Two Rocks and Mindarie, while skippy have been found at most reefy spots closer to shore. The north metro artificial reef has reportedly been fishing well for skippy and small Samson fish. Click here and get the coordinates to the safe and accessible location. 

Fishing along the flats seems to be quietening in certain parts of the Swan River, with flathead enthusiasts really toiling for their catch this past week. Strangely, some big flathead have been reported near Maylands as bycatch by anglers chasing black bream. Fremantle Harbour is holding plenty of bait at the moment, subsequently bringing in big mulloway. North Mole has been one of the better land-based squid locations in the metro this week, with the rock wall near Hillarys also holding a few squid. Floreat Drain has been offering herring and the occasional bluespotted flathead, while Yanchep Lagoon has tailor on offer. In case you missed it, it was pleasing to see the latest fisheries scientific assessment show WA herring stocks have successfully recovered following management changes implemented in early 2015. Released on Monday, almost seven years after the management changes were introduced, the scientific evidence of herring stock recovery is a testament to what good fisheries management and stewardship by fishers leads to. Read the full story on our website.

Abalone 


The final hour fishing window for abalone will take place between 7am and 8am tomorrow, 19 February.

The weather conditions for this Saturday’s fourth and final day of the metro abalone season are forecast to be a "medium risk", based on Surf Life Saving WA’s Hazardous Surf Assessment Model. There will be a moderate rising tide of about 0.5m during the 7am to 8am fishing session, with a primary swell of 0.75m to 1.25m. Winds are 6 knots, gusting to about 8 knots. Remember to wear appropriate clothing, bring a snorkel and assess the conditions — if you’re not confident, simply don’t go in the water. Read more about staying safe while gathering abalone here.