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Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 2 September 2022 🎣

 | By Seamus on 2/9/2022 3:39:00 AM | Views (223)
Recfishwest Newsletter
Recfishwest
Fishing Report
02/09/22
If you're wanting the most crispy, high-definition, what-camera-gear-does-this-bloke-use underwater shots of some great species off the WA coast, Marco Fraschetti's Instagram page @oceansdownunder has you covered. 
Our contributors
Sam Russell
John Dempsey
Peter Fullarton
John Curtis
G'day <>,

Spring is here, which means better weather is finally headed our way. We won't even judge you if you put your arms out and spin in circles through flowery fields like old mate from the Sound of Music. Sending my thoughts to all fishers who get hay fever.  

Remember to keep sending us your catches by tagging #recfishwest in your online posts! You can also follow and private message your catches to our Instagram page @recfishwest and make sure you let us know where and how you caught it!  

For your photos to appear in the weekly fishing report, please make sure they reflect Recfishwest's responsible fish handling practices, just like the images below.

If you're planning to head out this week, stay safe, take plenty of photos and have fun! 

Jarrad Lawford

RECFISHWEST FISHING REPORT EDITOR

Pic of the Week!
If @prototype_fishing pulled in a dogtooth tuna then this story arc is complete. We love this snap taken recently in Coral Bay showing man's best friend helping his pal get through the dog days by being a good buoy. No apologies for these ruff puns. 

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Catch up on the West Coast Demersal proposals 
It's been a busy week on west coast demersal updates. Catch up on our latest articles and video interviews below. This great snap of a breaksea cod caught off Perth over the weekend was courtesy of @instahung

Recfishwest Chief Executive Officer Dr Andrew Rowland recently wrote to our members via our Members First e-newsletter to provide them with an update on the west coast demersal issue. Click here to read the letter in full.   

In case you missed it, recreational fishing representatives were interviewed on Channel Seven's Flashpoint discussing potential impacts of the WA Government's west coast demersal nine-month ban. 
Watch the full Flashpoint interview on YouTube here.
Broome catches
@kaylahday stumbled across a red-hot barra pocket recently up in the beautiful Buccaneer Archipelago, having a 1:1 strike/cast rate in amongst the mangroves. If you want to read about the latest revisions to the Buccaneer Archipelago marine parks planning process, please click here. 

Boats
The breeze this week has been a rollercoaster along with the tides but good reports of fish still poured through. Blue salmon were popular on the other side of the bay, along with the occasional barra and muddies up the creek. Threadfin salmon have also been caught in great numbers but continue to move around quickly and don't stay in the same spots for successive days. A few mackies were reported about 12km off the western side, although reef fishing this week has been quiet because of the tides. We had a couple of marlin sighted and caught over last weekend but bait balls on the surface have been tough to locate. The sea breeze has also been coming in quite early and drifting is too fast to target bottom species with ease. The last couple of days have been relatively still and this weekend is looking decent again if you wanted to hit the open water. 

Shore-based

Little bit quiet with the onshore fishing news. The higher tides have been producing a bit of squid off Port Jetty but they've become mostly quiet as the number of trevally and queenies being caught continues to rise. Cable Beach continues to produce the goods for salmon, while bluebone occasionally popped up off the big jetty, mostly during high tide. Barramundi are still a bit mysterious closer to town unfortunately. The forecast across this weekend is looking better for a flick with big drops in the wind, so best of luck if you wet a line. 

Big kudos to Tackle World in Broome for their report this week. Don't forget the Marlin Cup fishing competition is happening next weekend so fingers crossed the weather is polished. Pay Tackle World a visit for the best tips and gear! 
Exmouth catches
That strained smile of yours reminds me of my high school annual photographs Lee, but we'll let you off considering you're holding a 25kg+ slab of GT! This beauty was caught with @peak_sportfishing out of Exmouth on the trusty Halco Rooster Popper.

Boats


There were consistent northerly winds playing havoc with the locals this week on the water. The last few days have been pretty wild but this weekend is expecting flatter conditions thankfully. Goldband snapper and rubies were very popular and thankfully the tax man was relatively quiet. There have been plenty of anglers spending big bucks on electric reels lately and using them in just 60-70m of water just to get them quickly past the jaws. If you work hard to fork out $2,100 on an electric reel then you certainly deserve a few fish! The red emperor's were quiet, although we had a big spike in the amount of longtail tuna caught in the gulf, mostly by casting out in between the islands and the mainland. The queenies are starting to show up again closer to shore and anything you can skip closer to the surface like a heavier stickbait seems to work best. We had a heap of squid reported in the lagoon on the west side, mostly on the drift. The Bay of Rest in the gulf area has also produced heaps of whiting for boats staying in close. 
 

Shore-based

If you're jumping on the land-based spango wagon, casting stickbaits around Lighthouse Bay had great results even with the higher swells this week. The western side bays have been pumping for squid where it's more sheltered, while the Bay Of Rest has produced huge amounts of plump whiting. If you're a mad surfer out of Exmouth, this larger swell would have been heaven for you. If you have a board at home, maybe take advantage of that for now until the swell drops back off. Thankfully Sunday is looking decent if you wanted to have a flick. 
 
 
Kalbarri catches


Boats

Pink snapper have been running wild when boats have positioned themselves adjacent to the cliffs, with a combination of baits and jigs working nicely. Baldchin groper continue to be on the prowl in the 20-30m mark with a lot of hefty specimens weighing 3kg+ being hauled in. Bottom bashing with bait has seen the best results for the baldies so far. Heading out slightly deeper into the 25-45m mark has seen plenty of dhufish and breaksea cod caught, with a fair few breaksea passing the 50cm mark. A few fishers also had success landing cobia around 5km+ north of town. Closer to the river mouth the reports on the whiting, tarwhine and flathead were a bit quieter. 

Shore-based

There’s still a fair bit of mulloway action happening around the Sand Spit with a few good-sized specimens over 90cm+ being caught. Whiting have been prolific also near the Sand Spit with plenty of plump catches cracking past the 20cm mark, making for a great feed. Bream up to 35cm were frequently reported near the boat pens mostly on the soft plastics. Although it has been a bit swelly this past week, Wittecarra Creek has been quite good for tailor up to 50cm. Along the cliffs has been exceptional as it had much safer conditions than previous weeks, with pink snapper being caught in good numbers. One fisher dropped a solid double-header of pinkies off the cliffs recently, let's all take a moment and wonder what swear word/s they opted for. Green muddies have also been caught around the marina, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for tasty bucks.
Geraldton catches
Evie Black @_eeevieee well done for dragging old mate Ben Svenson @northern_addicts out of bed early to take this snap of a chunky tailor caught off Geraldton. The odds of smashing the snooze-button on early morning alarms set for fishing are much lower than early morning alarms set for work.  


Boats
The weather has been a little hit and miss the past week, however there has been a few gaps where boaties could go out and land some highly-prized species. A few skippers who ventured out about 8-15km from town around the 25-30m depths reported good numbers of baldchin groper and dhufish working the same patches of reef. Closer in, estuary cod have been common while those who decided to burley-up had great success landing solid pink snapper. North of town closer to Drummonds also had some very good results for skippers chasing snapper, with the lightly-weighed baits on the surface and bottom bashing both producing the goods. Thankfully, the swell and wind this weekend is taking a big drop, so if you own a boat we recommend you do the same but keep an eye on the lightning forecast for Saturday! 
 

Shore-based

The beaches north of town have been performing exceptionally well for tailor. They have mostly been appearing in the 35-45cm size bracket, with Drummonds Cove being the most successful spot. Mixed in along the beaches have been striped sea pike, skippy and the occasional herring. Coronation's Beach has also been quite consistent with the tailor and the other bread-and-butter species. If you’re looking to target mulloway, south of Greenough, Lucky’s and S-Bend have been quite good with reports of soapies and the occasional big beast coming through. A fisher putting the time in at Flat Rocks landed a 78cm tailor via popper along the reefs there, and a few old-school fishers have had success landing tailor along 7 Mile Beach and 5 Mile Beach.
Lancelin catches
Waiting an eternity for good yak weather off Lancelin finally paid off for @lost.in.wa and @tailoredtrekfishing when they sight-casted this fat dhuie in clear water and watched it chase the Halco Madeye Paddle Prawn up to the surface. The locals of Lancelin probably feel like it's been several years since they could see the bottom in 20m! 


Boats

The swell throughout this week has been up and down and really only offered a couple of days where it was comfortable enough to launch off the beach and head out of the bay. Thankfully, once the boats were out the conditions were decent. Most fishers reported good results on demersal species in closer to shore and there is certainly plenty of dhufish and breaksea cod under 15m depths. We even heard reports of some boats having trouble finding spots away from the dhuies along White Bank! The 20m depths have also seen a good number of plump sand whiting. For skippers deciding to stay within the bay, they have been catching fair quantities of skippy, herring, squid and storm gardies.
 

Shore-based

There were a couple of good days this week where land-based anglers did very well on the tailor and soapie mulloway off most of the beaches close to town. Inside the bay there have been consistent catches of yellowfin whiting by casting just behind the beach break. The beaches have also seen improving numbers of tailor and the occasional soapy mulloway. Inside the bay there have been catches of both yellowfin whiting and yellow-eye mullet. The main jetty has also produced decent numbers of squid during the calmer and clearer water conditions, along with tailor, skippy and herring thanks to the slight increase in swell and higher tides. Big thanks to Lancelin's fishing guru Peter Fullarton for his report this week!
 
 
Esperance catches


Boats
We had a couple of decent days this week that invited boats to venture out wide, although the best reports seemed to come from those staying in relatively close. There were plenty of great catches of kraken squid and whiting being found throughout the bay, which produced the goods this week for the most consistent catches. The best surprise came from a bunch of boats returning home with small bluefin tuna also plucked from within the bay, with a combination of small metals or lightly-weighted baits doing the trick. Samson fish and yellowtail kingfish numbers are expected to improve in the coming weeks as fish start to make their presence felt around the islands and rocky headlands. Lover's Cove still continues to produce solid flathead and whiting. While the swell drops off considerably over the coming few days, the wind is still relatively high over the weekend unfortunately. 
 

Shore-based


Land-based fishing threw up a seafood-buffet variety of catches this week. Once again Tanker Jetty is stil producing squid, plump herring and small snook. Roses, 14-Mile and Duke of Orleans have all reported good schools of salmon rolling through, along with the occasional gummy shark. Dunn Rocks also had great numbers of skippy caught this week but the best results were on smaller-sized hooks. Alexander Bay also popped up as a successful spot for gummy sharks this past week. Casting in front of the Thai restaurant continues to produce high numbers of King George whiting with a lot of anglers bagging out on catches crossing past the 40cm mark. Woody Lake and Quallilup Lake continue to produce solid bream over the 45cm mark for a handful of fishers, probably because Tyson TNT Tietjens was quiet on the socials this week and decided to let other locals have a crack! 
Great Southern catches
Chris Dixon @dixonsfishing we're guessing you had to cook each ring from this kraken one at a time in your pan after reeling in this jumbo on the Daiwa Emeraldas Peak RV in Albany! 

Boats

While the weather has been average once again, we had a couple of nice glassy days for the boaties. King George whiting are coming in thick and fast for plenty of vessels, with a lot of folks bagging out on 45cm+ kidney slappers. A coupla-dozen great fillets to last you a fair while if you were one of those lucky skippers! Squid have been out deeper because of the water coming out from the inlets. The best reports of success came from boats who could find clearer water. The bigger schools of salmon were located mostly around Lowlands over the past few days. The glassy conditions for boating had some very good sessions on the pinkies and the occasional massive dhuie, but the swell has come in and the rain has been relentless the past couple of days. The weekend was previously looking okay for Sunday and into early Monday, but now it's blowing up and the earliest pocket of good weather is looking like Thursday. Hopes for this weekend are officially "cactus" according to experts in the area. The big swells coming through between 3-9m are to blame for that, but on the bright side spring is here and it can only improve. 

Shore-based

Shore-based fishing was rather quiet this week. We had reduced reports of the larger bream in the river systems and only a handful of 40cm+ catches rolled through. Herring went quiet off the beaches but the occasional tailor over 45cm popped up in the choppier white-wash conditions when the swell behaved around Sand Patch and Bornholm. This weekend isn't looking crash-hot for land-based fishing unfortunately, but fingers crossed next weekend ramps up. 
South West catches
Daniel Liuto @dansfishin_southwest has been on the prowl all around the South-West recently, he's done well on the black bream close to Busselton but lately his freshwater and saltwater fish variety on his Instagram page is up there with your favourite seafood buffet. 


Boats

The 30-40m mark off the boats has been red hot this week for pinkies and dhuies of great sizes. The snapper haven't been too far offshore either, with most boats reporting the best results within 5-6km. The Southern regions closer to Busselton continue to produce most of the snapper being caught and the average size was around the 70cm mark. No matter where you decide to send it, the pinkies should be prominent for the next couple of weeks or so. 

Shore-based

Another quiet week for land-based fishing, but the weather is looking quite peachy for most of Sunday and the earlier stages of next week if you decide to have a cheeky cast. For those opting to stay in close, the local beaches and rock walls have been holding good numbers of herring, whiting and the odd tailor. Collie River has been fishing well for bream and this is expected to improve as the river continues to clear up from the drop off in rain. The rivers around Busselton have been consistent for producing solid bream crossing over 40cm in length, as Daniel Liuto discovered in the picture above. 

Freshwater
Troutfest for 2022 is making a return on October 15 at Drakesbrook Weir! If you want to get in the drink and help release plenty of ex-broodstock rainbow and brown trout while having a chance to catch them, you can find out more about Troutfest 2022 here. 
As the coastal conditions have been rather hit and miss this week, more anglers are targeting the freshwater systems. Shallow streams or rivers are currently your best bet for trout and we've barely heard of any being caught in the depths of the dams. The Collie River and other systems closer to Bunbury reported good numbers of rainbow trout, with a few 40cm+ specimens landed. The dams inland from Mandurah and Bunbury have gone rather quiet for rainbow and brown trout due to the colder temperatures and the redfin perch landed were all on the smaller side. Most of the river systems are expected to slow down in flow as it starts to warm up and stagnant pools will start to hold more fish as we venture deeper into spring. If you're wanting to get involved with Troutfest 2022 at Drakebrook Weir, make sure you venture down on October 15 to help release hundreds of trout and try your luck at catching them! You can find more info about Troutfest on the Shire of Waroona wesbite and also check out the South West trout stocking numbers and locations here. Recfishwest will also supply fishing gear for those wanting to wet a line at Troutfest. 
Mandurah and surrounds
Shaun from @fishingwishin_life has some quality underwater release snaps on his Instagram page. If you fancy taking some underwater snaps like this yourself, waterproof cases for your smartphone are a great investment, just make sure you grip it tight or you're going after it!


Mandurah
Just a reminder that the closure for pink snapper in Cockburn and Warnbro Sound came into play on September 1 and will continue through to January 31, 2023. These areas support the largest known aggregations of spawning pink snapper in the West Coast Bioregion and are critical for sustaining an adequate breeding stock. There are plenty of other species to target in the meantime and if you catch any snapper during this time in these areas, make sure you play your role and further help the stock rebuilding process by quickly and safely releasing these fish to maximise their spawning success.

We had a couple of decent weather days but the bigger swells made it hard to punch out wide. For those who did head out, there was a big leap in the number of dhuies pulled in this week, with a lot of anglers taking home 80cm+ specimens. Baldchin groper have also been just as common this week, usually by drifting baits over reefs in the 20-30m depths. Ash Ramm from Tackle World Miami said he also saw the first southern bluefin tuna caught in a long time around the 30m mark. They have been hard to spot mainly because the birds are still way off the coast and haven't been able to help skippers locate the bait balls. Pinkies are still hugely popular in close and most skippers opted to target them closer to shore with the larger swells this week. There are still tailor in close off the beaches and a decent amount of squid despite the dirty water seeping out, which is quite odd for this time of year. From Five Fathom right into the beach, the squid have been rampant across the past week. The King George whiting have slowed down this week in the Inlet after ramping up over the last couple of weeks. If you want to catch them, make sure you keep the gape of the hook quite narrow so their mouths can get around it and use strip baits rather than balls or chunks of bait. A steady flow of water movement is also important for helping boost your hookups. The lower reaches of the rivers have seen some chunky bream landed as well. Over the next few weeks, the crays will start to pop up in numbers before they malt and turn into whites. Soon as the freshwater run off goes and the visibility starts to improve, the crays will start making the journey into the reefs at the start of October.

SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY / WARNBRO SOUND
Point Peron has done very well for decent tailor between 35-50cm this week by casting off the western and northern sides. Plenty of sand whiting have come in close to the bays and the occasional King George whiting around 35-40cm was plucked in close this week off the dinghies and shore. Palm Beach has also been producing the odd King George whiting and is a good spot to try for most species and squid at the moment. Rockingham Jetty has been another solid location this week for the herring and tailor. Just a reminder that the closure for pink snapper in Cockburn and Warnbro Sound came into play on September 1 and will continue through to January 31, 2023. These areas support the largest known aggregations of spawning pink snapper in the West Coast Bioregion and are critical for sustaining an adequate breeding stock. If you catch any snapper during this time in these areas, make sure you play your role and further help the stock rebuilding process by quickly and safely releasing these fish to maximise their spawning success. Big thanks to Tackle World Miami and John Curtis for their tips this week! 
Perth catches
We firmly believe Sambo's are responsible for a huge amount of gym memberships across Perth based on the unsuspecting hurt they give to biceps and forearms. Matty Ma @instahung felt the workout on the lighter gear pulling in this Samson fish off Perth. 


Boats

For all metro anglers, the closure for pink snapper in Cockburn and Warnbro Sound came into play on September 1 and will continue through to January 31, 2023. These areas support the largest known aggregations of spawning pink snapper in the West Coast Bioregion and are critical for sustaining an adequate breeding stock. There are plenty of other species to target in the meantime that are running red hot at the moment, so make sure you release pinkies quickly and safely during this time if they are a by-catch. 

Bottom bashing along the reefs past the 5km mark saw a lot of hefty demersal catches this week. A lot of flatter days saw skippers heading out, but the wind was quite challenging once you got out past Rotto. We had a few anglers getting southern bluefin tuna mostly on the southern side of Rottnest when drifting for snapper, with lightly-weighted mulies getting slammed. A couple of Samson fish came through, but were mostly on the smaller side. The squid performed really well usually out deeper between 10-20m depths because of the flow out from the river. If you can see broken weed patches in clearer water, try giving your heavier-weighted jigs a go in these areas on the drift. The latter half of Sunday is looking decent for boats, but the next best window after that is currently looking like Thursday. 


 

Shore-based

We heard plenty of great tales of plump herring being caught off the moles this past week. The Sailing Club groyne near Cicerello's restaurant also had a bunch of anglers pull in 14 herring in less than an hour, mostly on baited squid and soft plastics without the need for burley. Off the jetties and marinas we had one angler do well from what we heard when he pulled in half a dozen squid off south mole, but the dirtier water this week made it tough. Tailor and whiting off the northern beaches around Floreat performed well over the past few days, but the 50cm greenback tailor were mostly caught further north around Yanchep during the higher tides. The tailor have finally quietened down unfortunately up-river and seem to have been flushed out with all the freshwater running into the ocean. The warmer weather heading our way will see more plucked from the beaches in the coming months. Sunday afternoon is looking like your best day for another land-based flick this weekend, so make sure you send us your catches big or small to our Instagram page @recfishwest.

Kudos to Anglers Fishing World for providing us their report this week! Make sure you pay their crew a visit for the best gear and tips before you head out in the metro area. 
 
 
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Recfishwest · 3/45 Northside Drive Hillarys · Perth, WA 6025 · Australia

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Catch Information

Species:
Australasian Snapper
Australasian Snapper

Baldchin Groper
Baldchin Groper

Black Bream
Black Bream

Breaksea Cod
Breaksea Cod

Dhufish
Dhufish

Dusky Flathead
Dusky Flathead

Flathead Catfish
Flathead Catfish

Fourfinger Threadfin
Fourfinger Threadfin

Gummy Shark
Gummy Shark

Mulloway
Mulloway

Red Emperor
Red Emperor

Roosterfish
Roosterfish

Samson Fish
Samson Fish

Threadfin Salmon
Threadfin Salmon

Yellowfin Whiting
Yellowfin Whiting

This Fishing Report was submitted on 2/9/2022 3:39:00 AM by Seamus and last updated on 9/4/2022 8:57:05 PM.


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