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Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 28 October 2022 🎣

| By Seamus on 10/28/2022 3:43:06 AM | Views (315)

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Recfishwest
Fishing Report

28/10/22

Yellowtail kingfish are one of the most sought after sportfish around much of the southern regions of WA. To see these fish in all their glory, make sure you check out the amazing underwater footage by @almcglashan

Our contributors

Sam Russell

John Dempsey

Peter Fullarton

John Curtis

G'day <>,

Some quality snaps came rolling through this week, not even going to pretend I wasn't jealous.

We need to say a huge thanks to the fishing legend John Curtis as this will be the last time he provides us with his fishing report for the Mandurah and surrounding regions. He has been involved with the Recfishwest Fishing Report, ABC Saturday Breakfast Fishing Report and CurtinFM fishing for over 35 years and he has decided to call it a day. We hope you get more chances to wet a line mate and thanks for your incredible contribution to fishing in Western Australia over the years!

Keep up to date with events, clinics, news and amazing catches across WA by following our Instagram page @recfishwest and give our Recfishwest Facebook page a like!

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!

Darren Griffin's old man managed to land their one and only King George whiting of the day, but what a beauty it was. You can never be too old to break your PB's on catches, with this 52cm specimen being plucked from the Dawesville Cut. Check out the Fishing the South West W.A Facebook page!

Your fishing photos

If you want to be included in our weekly State-wide Fishing Reports, send your best fishing photos and a description to jarrad@recfishwest.org.au to potentially be featured.

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Don't miss our next FREE family-friendly trout stocking event in our beautiful South West!

To celebrate 50 years of Fisheries Department management of the Pemberton Hatchery, you're invited to help release hundreds more rainbow and brown trout big and small at the Big Brook Dam Foreshore & Picnic Area!

There's something on offer for people of all ages, including free rod hire to wet a line, pop-up stalls, fishing clinics and fly-fishing tips from the pros at WA Trout & Freshwater Angling Association!

Bring your family along and don't miss this special experience!

Broome catches

Great snap of Jaxon with a ripper Broome barra! Image courtesy of the @broome_fishing_club

Boats

The sea breeze has been consistently howling from the west and stuck around into the evenings, causing most boat fishers opting to stay in close and target the shallower reef and creek systems rather than journey out wide. There have also been bigger tides rolling in, although we did see plenty of solid threadies being caught on the other side of the bay, with plenty crossing the metre mark. Many of these great tasting fish were caught on lures and the occasional barra also featured usually around the 70cm mark. The westerly winds made it very choppy however and it was rather quiet apart from the salmon and barra. Thankfully the wind should drop off from Monday through to Thursday, with some good windows popping up in the afternoons.

Shore-based

The other side of the bay is the place to go if you're chasing threadies or barra. The threadfin have been very good size too. Plenty of trevally and queenfish are still coming in from most beaches and the town jetty. Those who tried for mud crabs have had a turn of luck and a few big bucks were caught up Willie Creek via hooks, just make sure you keep an eye out for where you're walking if you decide to venture into the mangroves as crocs also call this place home! The occasional bluenose salmon are still being captured at Cable Beach. There is also the 2022 Interclub Barra Fishing Competition coming up next weekend which can get as fired up as a western derby, so make sure you check out the details above and get your entries in by Saturday, October 29! Thanks to all the team at Tackle World Broome for their tips!

Exmouth catches

The queenies are performing nicely in Exmouth at the moment as @brody_ogle found out in the shallows! Great snap by @cooperrwatsonn

Boats

The weather has improved in the region allowing fishers to head out more this past week. Campers at Winderabandi Point have had success on Spanish mackerel trolling the currents behind the fringing reefs on diving minnows, with fish up to 18kg being caught. Fishers who made the journey deep into the Gulf and fished the mangroves had limited success and only found smaller trevally, queenfish, and plenty of undersized cod. Those who didn’t travel as far down came into the larger queenfish on fly and floating stickbaits. Spearfishers who targeted the Gulf found varied levels of success on coral bombies, with coral trout and the occasional spangled emperor and bluebone. Giant trevally and Spanish mackerel have been picked up from the outer reefs south of Tantabiddi, with fish ranging from 10-20kg on stickbaits.

Shore-based

The shore fishing has picked up a little from the previous report, with small sized giant trevally picked up from the western side on stickbaits. Bluebone have been captured in close by fishers using fly and soft plastic crab imitations. Look for rocky outcrops and try your luck in the shallow water, you will be surprised how close in they can be found! Deep into the Gulf those who made the effort to target mud crabs have managed to find a few and make the trip worthwhile with some good-sized bucks. The forecast for this week looks to be continuous westerlies, making the shore-based fishing on the westside difficult, although there are a few weather windows ahead. VLF bay will be a good place to try in these conditions with the area renowned to fish well for queenfish, trevally and the odd spangled emperor – stickbaits are the go-to lure!

Kalbarri catches

Boats

It's been rough this week and boats have stayed in close targeting tailor and mulloway mostly. The tailor remain red hot and the back of the waves around Chinaman's are still doing nicely but it's been a bumpy ride. The deeper gutters areas around the Sand Spit are still a solid mulloway spot, while the northern beaches are still your best bet for the larger mulloway approaching one metre. Most of the hefty bream around 35-40cm are still being plucked from further up river within the snags. While the boating action has been very quiet, the mornings have been best for dropping and pulling in the cray pots and the numbers have started to pick up a little bit. The next week is going to see big spikes in the wind and swell from today, so it's unlikely a lot of boats will have the chance to cruise out unfortunately, but it should calm down by the end of next week.

Shore-based

Pretty quiet off the land this week, although Wittecarra Beach and Chinaman's are still your best spots for bigger tailor and they seem to be loving the choppier conditions at the moment. The rivers continue to fish better a little further upstream if you're chasing mulloway around 50-70cm, while bream around the 35cm mark have been popping up on a mix of soft plastics and stickbaits. Unfortunately this week is looking pretty rough, but we should see some decent fishing weather return by about Wednesday or Thursday morning.

Geraldton catches

Ben Svenson from @northern_addicts woke a couple of the young fellas up at 5am to chase nice tailor off the Geraldton beaches on Sunday morning. If you're not a morning person you'd be mad about that until you pulled in these beauties! Sunrise and the 5:30-6:30pm window is best at the moment!

Boats

You boaties just can't seem to catch a break with the weather! The afternoons have been atrocious, but those who did manage to head out reported great tailor off Tarcoola usually in the 35-40cm range. Drummonds has been a reliable spot also. Late last week, there was a bigger 1.2m mulloway pulled in from Drummonds on the lower tide before the weed rolled in and made it tough for inshore boating. At the start of this week we did see plenty of school whiting and many were caught on lures in the sand holes. The weather is going to be horrendous until Thursday morning unfortunately.

Shore-based

Despite the horrible weather, the land-based action has been great for tailor and mulloway. Drummonds and Tarcoola are your best bets for both species and the mornings have provided the most convenient windows. Before the weather turned sour there was consistent tailor of 35-40cm at both spots along with the 50-90cm mulloway. Around town on the north side of the marina and adjacent rock walls there have been smaller tailor, pike and herring. The 1.2m mulloway caught earlier this week off Drummonds was 12-14kg but the weather probably won't be suitable to have a solid crack off the beach until at least Thursday morning when the wind will be behind you.

Lancelin catches

Boats

Weather limited the number of boats venturing out and without demersal species on the cards, boats have been waiting for the right day to enjoy their time on the water. Tuna species are still around, though copious amounts of floating weed has made trolling impossible in most depths. Casting to the schools as they bust up on bait has been the best way to avoid the weed factor. Lobster potters have been doing very well off two to three day pulls. Dinghy fishers prowling the inside of the bay were reporting plenty of herring, snook, tarwhine and yellow tail pike coming into the burly trails. This weekend is looking way too rough for boating and it should start to become more friendly by about Thursday.

Shore-based

The floating weed has been a nightmare during the westerly winds. Mornings have been the easier time to fish, but the usual weed in the wash has still caused issues along some stretches, so it pays to scope out spots before fishing. Just keep an eye out for clearer patches or gutters and try your luck there. With the strong southerly influence forecast this weekend, it will pay to take shelter behind some of the headlands to grab a feed of tailor or mulloway. Fence Reef, the northern point of the bay, Didie Point, Narrow Neck or Wedge Island will all offer some refuge from the wind if you decide to wet a line. Big thanks to Peter Fullarton once again for his tips this week!

Esperance catches

Boats

Esperance took a weather turn back to winter this week and it will be dismal all weekend, but there's still plenty of great fish being caught! There is a fantastic gutter running through Wylie Bay and it has seen great whiting and flathead being pulled in by boats sticking in close, along with great skippy up to 1.5kg. Stockyards around Wylie Bay has also seen plenty of juvenile salmon around 60cm. The harlequin and nannies have been mostly featuring further offshore closer to the first group of islands and we highly recommend having a taste of harlies as sashimi as it's right up there with the best. Further west, there were good gummy sharks around Thomas River usually around 6-10kg, along with soapie mulloway around 50-60cm. The weed beds around Wylie Bay and Bandy Creek have been best for King George whiting on high tide. Samson fish were in close at 8-15kg. Woody Lake has seen consistent bream of 40cm being pulled in.

Shore-based

You guys are in for a monumental spike in the swell and wind over this weekend! Last Sunday was great though, with good blue groper and harlequin caught off Cape Le Grand as the northerly winds helped with casting. Just make sure you wear your lifejackets and fish with a friend if you venture to the headlands when the conditions improve. Wylie Bay has been a great spot for whiting and flathead recently, along with bigger skippy up to 1.5kg. There have been loads of salmon hanging around around the western end of Roses Beach and the school just doesn't seem to want to leave, with some great catches around 6kg rolling in. The Esperance jetty continues to fish well for your squid and whiting. The weather isn't looking decent again until Thursday morning at this stage unfortunately. Cheers to the crew at Southern Sports and Tackle for their report this week!

Great Southern catches

Boats

The weather has been less than favourable for most of the week and the week ahead is not looking good either - do take caution if you are planning to head out. Those who found weather windows managed to pick up a few demersals, including queen snapper, breaksea cod and dhufish in the 40m-70m contours out to the east and south-east of Michaelmas and Breaksea island. Small boat fishers kept in close and picked up feeds of King George whiting, squid and skippy surrounding the ever-faithful Griffiths Street. The wind and swell isn't backing off until Wednesday so we recommend saving fuel until then if you don't mind a bit of rain.

Shore-based

The Kalgan River has fished well for those targeting black bream on foot. The banks of the river provide great access for casting into snags with a range of soft plastics, lures and baits working well over the past week. Fish to 40cm+ have been captured, although connecting to these fish does take some time and commitment! King George whiting ranging from 30-40cm have been pulled from Hartman’s Beach and surrounding rocky outcrops, along with some smaller squid. Good captures of herring have come in from Cheyne’s Beach also. Don't forget the Statewide bag limit for herring recently increased to 20 and these fish are extremely abundant at the moment, so have fun targeting this much-loved species. Wednesday is your next best forecast for land-based fishing.

South West catches

The crew from @2_oceans_tackle in Busselton have been chasing the elusive brown trout for months and the hard work finally paid off! The Yo-Zuri Pins minnows were on fire, with rainbow trout also getting in on the action!

Boats

It's been a tad choppy this week but the weather was okay for boats. It's been rather cold, so the estuary saw less whiting than usual rolling in but they still popped up on surface lures. Geographe Bay continues to maintain its lead as the best squidding location across WA at the moment, with plenty of larger kraken still rolling through for boats on the drift. The King George whiting are also still red hot, with most popping up between 40-60cm on the sand patches among the weed. The wind will pick up from this weekend, but it should start to drop right off from Tuesday through to Thursday with some glassier days headed your way.

Shore-based

Thankfully a few mulloway are being caught in good numbers off the beaches and it's expected they will start to swim into the river systems soon. Most of their sizes have ranged from soapies right up to the one metre specimens. The canals seem to be the best spots for bream fishing at the moment and we've also seen fishers venturing to the Collie bridge having great success. The beaches around Binningup have also been okay for the occasional tailor. Tuesday through to Thursday morning should be decent for a land-based flick and thanks to the crew at Whitey's Tackle for their report this week!

Freshwater

The lads from @south_westfishing_life had a great session chasing the 'freshwater dhufish' recently, landing multiple stonker redfin perch in our beautiful South-West forests. These fish are five-star eating quality and no size and bag limits on this introduced species means plenty of delicious fillets.

The freshwater fishing in the southern regions has been going great recently. Captures of redfin perch up to and above 40cm have been coming in from many of the rivers and streams in the southern regions surrounding the Pemberton region and the Preston in the Collie region. Alongside them, rainbow and brown trout captures have increased with many of the rivers, streams, and dams now recently stocked with yearlings thanks to DPIRD and the Pemberton Freshwater Research Centre’s (PFRC) ongoing commitment. This year has seen the stocking of brown trout yearlings increase significantly, so its sure to be a bumper season ahead for them. Reports of broodstock captures haven’t seemed to be surfacing as of yet, but this may be due to more elusive anglers keeping their captures and locations off social media. Reports are also that the dams are fishing better now after the winter’s rains have reduced. Harvey Dam had not been fishing well over the last two months, but expect this to change over coming weeks as temperatures rise.

Just to dispel any concerns or queries regarding redfin perch, there is no bag limit for the species, a freshwater fishing licence is required to target the species, and they are legally able to be returned to the waterbody from where they are captured. It is illegal to transport the species while they are alive (such as in a bucket with an aerator) or introduce them into any separate waterbody from where they were captured. Although, it is recommended they are humanely euthanised once captured – plus they taste incredibly good!

Mandurah and surrounds

@kholeon_outdoors states in his Instagram bio "I don't know how to catch half decent fish" but two salmon over 60cm caught on live baits around Port Kennedy begs to differ!

Mandurah

The crays are still going very well across pretty much every reef system closer to town and most pots have been full. Oily baits are working well to pull them in. There were a few bluefin tuna rolling through further offshore this week around the 2kg size. The estuary end of the Dawesville Cut is producing some good fishing for skippy and King George whiting from both boats and the shore, with some larger specimens popping up in the 15-25m depths. The squid are performing nicely across most of the sheltered inland waterways but the bigger catches have been most common off the rockwalls. For land-based fishers, black bream are being caught in both the Murray and the Serpentine Rivers. A number of solid bream have also come from the canals. The Cut is producing herring, tarwhine and tailor. Skippy are also being caught in the estuary along with herring, tailor and a few small mulloway. White Hills, Tim’s Thicket and Preston Beach have all produced a couple of mulloway in the last few weeks, although they are a little small at around 4-6kg. Tailor up to 45cm have also been caught from these areas and the beaches are producing whiting and herring.

SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY / WARNBRO SOUND

Offshore around Coventry Reef there have been regular reports of herring, yellowtail kingfish, Samson fish and tailor being caught. The beaches around Warnbro Sound have been producing tailor in the afternoons when the sea breeze kicks in, along with herring, skippy and sand whiting. An occasional mulloway has been taken late at night but these have been usually between 60-90cm. Point Peron has been producing tarwhine and herring, while the beaches around Port Kennedy and Secret Harbour have been producing some tailor. King George whiting have been taken from the beaches around Safety Bay and larger specimens have been taken offshore between 5-20m depths.

We need to say a huge thanks to the fishing legend John Curtis as this will be the last time he provides us with his fishing report for the Mandurah and surrounding regions. He has been involved with the Recfishwest Fishing Report, ABC Saturday Breakfast Fishing Report and CurtinFM fishing for over 35 years and he has decided to call it a day. We hope you get more chances to wet a line mate and thanks for your incredible contribution to fishing in Western Australia over the years!

Perth catches

The Swan River is bustling with bream at the moment. Matthew De Boer @matthewdeboer94 was right in the thick of the metro bream tournament recently, pulling in some nice fish close to Garratt Road Bridge.

Boats

Most of this week has been rather choppy and rough for the boaties, with the seabreeze rather wild and preventing most from punching it out wide. For the brief windows that were okay earlier this week, there has been some great King George whiting kicking off in great numbers and sizes around Windmills and across the shallower patches of weed and sand in close. Squid have come in to the shallows this week seeking shelter thanks to the chop, with most of the catches being larger in size. Most of the King George whiting featured around the 35-40cm size but occasionally a whopper 'kidney slapper' of 50-60cm will thump the rods. The western end of Rottnest has gone very quiet for tuna due to the colder chop this week, but the Sambos and yellowtail kingfish are still doing nicely around Five Fathom. According to the crayfish expert Dr Simon de Lestang from DPIRD, the whites run should get underway slightly earlier than last year over the next couple of weeks and the numbers should be great once again, so make sure you get your pots ready. Thankfully the weather is starting to look great for boating from Tuesday so best of luck if you decide to head out.

Shore-based

Tailor remain the talk of the town for land-based fishers and we've seen some very good catches over the past few weeks across the northern beaches, especially around Scarborough, Cottesloe and Fremantle. Both Freo moles have also seen a few tailor plucked usually just before sunrise and most featured between 35-40cm, with some decent skippy thrown in the mix. Most of the beaches have been rather quiet for other species, although we did see some good action a fair way up the river, with bream in good sizes and numbers popping up around Bayswater and Ascot. The Garratt Road Bridge has been a solid spot this past week and most of the bream have averaged around 35cm, while some decent mulloway have also been popping up in the same areas. Kudos to the crew from Anglers Fishing World in Freo for their report this week!

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Catch Information

Species:
Black Bream

Bluefin Tuna

Breaksea Cod

Brown Trout

Coral Trout

Dhufish

Giant Trevally

Gummy Shark

Mulloway

Pike

Queen Snapper

Queenfish

Rainbow Trout

Redfin Perch

Samson Fish

Snook

Spangled Emperor

Spanish Mackerel

Whiting

This Fishing Report was submitted on 10/28/2022 3:43:06 AM by Seamus and last updated on 11/1/2022 8:15:38 PM.

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