See what's biting across WA in Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 25 February 2022 🎣

A coral trout from the top! This trout was pretty keen to take Brenton Cartledge's floating stickbait from the surface while he was enjoying a day on the water somewhere in WA's north recently. 👀

Big schools of mack tuna are still being found off Broome in relatively good numbers, writes local fisher Jade Relph. Majority of the schools have been encountered by boat fishers off Cable Beach, with the occasional Spanish mackerel also nearby. Those fishing baits and various jigs are still reporting coral trout, while red emperor have been caught by those who've ventured farther offshore. Celeste McDonald-Holland, pictured above, has been one of a few Broome fishers who've successfully targeted tripletail in Roebuck Bay. Fly fishers have also had success tempting tripletail near flotsam this week. Small boat fishers are continuing to report barramundi and threadfin salmon at Crab Creek.

Queenfish, decent ones too, have been caught by land-based fishers casting metal slices and floating stickbaits at Entrance Point this week. There's plenty of bait in the area, with small trevally also found nearby. Bluenose salmon have been landed along Cable Beach and Coconut Wells by holidaymakers this week, too. 

Spanish mackerel are being caught on trolled lures in roughly 15m of water long the edge of the reef line on the west-side. As we reported last week, Spaniards are also being caught near the Muiron Islands. Blue marlin and striped marlin have been found by game fishers out wide, with dolphinfish, yellowfin tuna and wahoo also in similar depths. Sailfish have been reported between the 100m and 200m lines. Deep droppers have caught goldband snapper in about 120m and deeper, with ruby snapper caught at the 300m contour. Spearfishers are reporting coral trout and bluebone near the shoals within the Gulf.


A night-time jack! Cooper Watson successfully targeted mangrove jack under the cloak of darkness.🥇

Fly fishers have had the opportunity to tempt permit, golden trevally and queenfish along the flats in certain parts of the Exmouth Gulf this week. For fishers casting small prawn-lime imitation vibes from the shore in the Gulf, yellowfin whiting have been found in good numbers. One fisher reportedly hooked-up to and lost a giant herring while targeting these whiting. VLF Bay, Old Bundegi and Learmonth Jetty have brassy trevally, golden trevally and GT, albeit they're smaller models. The Exmouth Marina is fishing well for a variety of species in the evening, with the mangrove jack among the sought-after fish caught.


Exploring the Gulf's wilderness, Glenn tempted this permit on Monday! 📸 Ningaloo Fly Fishing

Tailor to a very nice 70cm have been caught along the coast to the north of Kalbarri this week. Closer to town, the mornings and evenings have seen tailor to 50cm and beyond at Wittecarra Creek, Red Bluff and Siphon. Dart have also been caught as bycatch by those targeting tailor, while smaller mulloway have been landed by bait fishers in the evening. The Murchison River is producing plenty of black bream.

Tailor have been caught along much of the Mid West coast this week, with Drummonds Cove, Horrocks, Coronations and Morning Reef among the better performing spots near Geraldton. Metal slices and surface stickbaits have outperformed baits in the early morning and evening. Mulloway, albeit on the soapy side of the size scale, have reportedly been caught near Flat Rocks and at Drummond Cove. If you've been fishing at Geraldton recently, be sure to tag #recfishwest in your fishing photos for a chance to be featured in the State-wide Fishing Report.

Squid have been a staple from the Esperance Jetty this week, especially in the morning. The structure is also fishing well for herring, as is the Taylor Street Jetty. Salmon have been landed at Fourth Beach, Nine Mile, Roses, Alexander Bay and Thomas River, however, the iconic southern sportfish haven't been reported in big schools just yet.

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.

Another persistent easterly throughout the week has ensured most Great Southern boat fishers, especially those in Albany, have remained relatively close to shore this week. As a result, those who've headed out have remained within King George Sound or Princess Royal Harbour. Both locations are producing sought-after species, namely King George whiting and squid. Once the conditions improve, expect queen snapper, harlequin fish and breaksea cod to be found in the 80m depths off Albany.

Herring have been caught in good numbers across the region's breaches, while skippy have also been found at Bluff Creek and Cables. Black bream enthusiasts are enjoying good sessions in the King and Kalgan rivers, while reports of mulloway catches in the Kalgan have slowed. Frenchman Bay and Cosy Corner are both worth trying if the wind is up, with King George whiting, skippy and herring on offer. There were reports of small salmon schools at Cheynes Beach this week, with fishers reporting good catches.

Bianca Chlo, pictured with a yellowfin whiting below, had a great session chasing bread-and-butter species at Preston Beach last weekend. Yellowfin whiting, sand whiting and herring have dominated land-based captures at Preston, Myalup and Binningup this week, while tailor have been caught in the evening at Buffalo, Belvedere and near Bunbury's Back Beach. A few deep gutters have formed along the coast to the south of Bunbury, roughly near Stratham, with mulloway likely to be feeding nearby in the evening. Hamelin Bay, Injidup and Bunker Bay are all fishing well for herring.


Last weekend, Bianca Chlo was buzzing with this 'sandy' yellowfin whiting from Preston Beach! 😁

The Mandurah artificial reef has had skippy on offer this week, with reports of a 'rat pack' of yellowtail kingfish, roughly 50cm, also lurking near the structure. Just south of Mandurah one night this week, land-based angler Danny Willmott caught a 95cm mulloway from one of his secret beach locations. Soaking a bait at about 10pm proved to be the winning formula, with Danny more than happy with the catch. Tailor are being caught along the beaches to the north and south of Mandurah. The Cut has been very productive, offering tailor, King George whiting and herring. The Peel-Harvey Estuary has tailor, skippy, herring and blue swimmer crabs, while yellowfin whiting to 35cm are still taking surface lures along the flats. Upstream, black bream are taking both hard-bodied lures and soft plastics. 

Reports of Spanish mackerel off Perth are increasing, with multiple fishers reporting multiple catches of the sought-after pelagic species last weekend. While, understandably, most fishers are keeping their Spaniard fishing knowledge close to their chest, it's worth trying for them near Rottnest Island and along the back of Three Mile Reef. Baldchin groper and breaksea cod have been caught in 35m and beyond off a variety of locations this week, while King George whiting have been found in about 25m off Hillarys. The safe and accessible waters of Cockburn Sound are producing squid for kayakers and small boat fishers. Samson fish have been caught at the Perth Fish Towers and also at the north metro artificial reef. Find the coordinates to both fishing spots here. FADs fishers are still reporting dolphinfish and yellowfin tuna at the FADs deployed off Perth as part of the State-wide FADs program. The upper reaches of the Swan River have been producing good black bream fishing for catch-and-release anglers. Game fishers chased the elusive metro marlin off Perth last weekend at Perth Game Fishing Club's annual Marlin Cup, with the comp's fleet going 8-5-2. Find more info from the Marlin Cup here.


There's been plenty of fun-sized Sambos in a range of depths recently, as shown by Jack Rush. 😁

Respectable Perth tailor have been caught this week, with Sedin Hasanovic — pictured at the top of the Perth section — landing a very nice tailor from a north metro beach last Sunday night, measuring 64cm. A few other tailor tragics have reported fish to 55cm along the reef platforms at Mindarie, while Yanchep has also been fishing well for the species. Chopper tailor are continuing to be caught throughout the Swan River, while most metropolitan beaches are offering herring once burley is introduced. 


What a catch! Young gun bream angler Jai Biahgi tempted this bream at the Canning Bridge. 🙌🙌