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Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 4 November 2022 🎣

| By Seamus on 4/11/2022 8:00:00 PM | Views (115)

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Recfishwest
Fishing Report

4/11/22

Spangos in all their glory off our northern coastline, make sure you check out the amazing underwater footage and snaps by @almcglashan

Our contributors

Sam Russell

John Dempsey

Peter Fullarton

Sedin Hasanovic

G'day <>,

Just like the last season of Game of Thrones, the march of the whites is upon us and crays are starting to pop up. Unlike the last season of the hit show however, the upcoming cray season will be appreciated by everyone. Wasn't as bad as the last episode of Dexter though, sheesh.

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
(Have a go at my bloody ripper trout releasing skills)

Pic of the Week!

Wade Williams from @salty_slidog forgot the apparent number one rule of fishing which is always carry a squid jig. Didn't matter much because the talented 16-year-old angler landed this kraken in Exmouth on a Madscad 95 lure instead.

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Don't miss the FREE family-friendly trout stocking event in Pemberton on Sunday!

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 this Sunday!

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

@good_dhu_dhu from @broomebillfishcharters is having 'separation anxiety' of his feet squelching through the mud of the Yardoogarra creeks and we can see why he wants to get back. This is the last big muddy he caught and released to help produce more monsters. Kudos to the brave souls who reach into the holes to grab these beasts!

Boats

The easterly wind has been pretty wild the last couple of days and before that it was a cooler south-westerly which was odd. The boat fishing has been rather quiet because of this but the threadfin and barra are doing very well around areas such as Telegraphs. Boats staying in close and casting towards the rocks have been reporting great runs of golden trevally and queenies. The pros from Tackle World Broome recommend surface stickbaits for the queenies, while letting your lures sink down before whizzing them in for the golden trevally as they tend to roam closer to the bottom. The waters out deep have been too rough for most boaties unfortunately but Saturday and Sunday are looking decent.

Shore-based

The other side of the bay is still the place to go if you're chasing threadies or barra and they have also been popping up around Telegraphs. The threadfin are great on the feed too and we recommend cooking the smaller ones whole in alfoil as their bones can be fiddly to deal with if you try filleting them. Plenty of trevally and queenfish are still coming in from most beaches and the town jetty. The occasional bluenose salmon are still being captured at Cable Beach. Other than that it was rather quiet this week even for the crews patrolling for big muddies, but the wind should drop off slightly this weekend thankfully.

Exmouth catches

Joel Borgers @joelborgers set a new personal best for giant herring on the northern coast recently and it will be very hard to top this one again mate. This beauty was caught via @aswblures and was one of the most impressive catches of the week.

Boats

While it has been up and down with the wind, there was a couple of decent days and a lot of boats reported some great Spangos, pearl perch and goldband snapper in depths of 50-100m. The mornings and afternoons have provided narrow windows to duck out to the Muirons and the Spanish mackerel continue to perform very well when trolling these areas along with Tantabiddi. Out in 200m depths, the dolphin fish have taken a decent spike in the size and numbers being caught. The winner of the recent fishing competition also managed to pull in nine sailfish in the Gulf recently and all were caught on live baits. The western side has also performed nicely for marlin, but the better results this past week have also been reported in the Gulf as the western side was being battered by winds. The wind is looking to pick back up from tomorrow throughout most of this week but there could be some decent windows in the mornings for a send out wide.

Shore-based

Little bit quiet this week but some great fish still rolled through. The western side has seen good numbers of Spangos despite the rougher conditions, which just goes to show that a stickbait will always generally be in danger on the western side from this great species no matter the weather. In closer off the jetties there have also been solid numbers of bream, whiting and squid. For those going after big mud crabs, you can generally find them within 40km of town, but those who have ventured further out right into the sticks tend to have better luck. The wind is expected to pick up from this weekend but a patrol through the mangroves is always a good option if you can manage the heat and it's a great work out. Big kudos to the Tackle World Exmouth crew for their tips and make sure you pay them a visit if you're heading out.

Fishing Extras - Get ready for the cray craze

According to DPIRD's leading cray expert Dr Simon de Lestang, the whites run of Western rock lobster will start to kick off around now to mid-November, get your pots and cray loops ready.
Image: @matthewbarnesphotos

Another solid season is expected for crays and the whites run is predicted to kick off over the next week or so, slightly earlier than last year.

It's welcome news for a growing number of more than 56,000 licenced cray fishers, who target this unique and delicious West Aussie species that are distributed from around Augusta up to Onslow and feature most prominently between Perth and Geraldton.

Click here to read the forecast and tips for the upcoming cray season!

Kalbarri catches

Boats

Most boats have decided to target the tailor and mulloway lurking off the beaches and around the river which has paid off nicely. The beaches around Frustrations had solid numbers of both species being caught and they have been quite close to shore. One mulloway caught around frustrations this week was around 19kg and a few sharks have also been lurking around the boats taking baits. Further down at Lucky Bay there have also been good numbers of tailor and mulloway. If you prefer to target tailor with a popper, try flicking around Back Beach as there were plenty of anglers who pulled in 70cm beasts. The bream have been performing better further up river but were bigger in size around the 1kg mark. For whiting, try staying closer to town. Saturday and Sunday will see some spikes in the wind, but it should start to calm back down by Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

Shore-based

It's been a great week for land-based fishers chasing tailor and mulloway, with both species popping up in good numbers and sizes around Frustrations, Lucky Bay, the Sand Spit and the river mouth. Fishers hurling poppers around Back Beach seemed to be pulling in the biggest tailor this week, with some hefty 70cm catches reported attacking surface action and also floating mulies on gangs. The mornings seem to be the best time for tailor around Wittecarra Beach to Red Bluff as the arvos have been too windy. For those chasing bream, try going further up river and find the structure as this seems to be the best odds for catching 1kg specimens over 35cm. The stronger southerly wind is sticking around from tomorrow until at least Tuesday morning so try and position yourself with the wind in your back if having a flick. Thanks to Dean from Kalbarri Sports and Dive for his tips this week!

Geraldton catches

It's crays for days in our shallow reefs off most of our coast at the moment and Geraldton has been one of the hot spots. If you're using pots, try to soak them for a couple of days and they should fish better and soft oily bait seems to be working best to lure them in. If you want to see the predictions and tips for the upcoming cray season, click here.

Boats

The weather played a bit nicer this week but most boats are still opting to stay in close and target crays, squid, tailor and mulloway. The crays are still doing very well in the reefs closer to town and will only improve as the water starts to warm up over the next month or so. The tailor have become very widespread but seem to have become a bit smaller with the average size sitting around 35cm. The best beaches for boats to sit off and target tailor and mulloway at the moment are still Coronations, Drummonds, South Gates, Tarcoola and the marina. The first point around Greenough has been a very good spot in particular. As the water cleared up a bit this week, the waters around the Batavia marina did very well for good numbers of squid. The southerly wind isn't looking that welcoming for the boats until at least Tuesday unfortunately but there are always sheltered spots you can find where fish will congregate.

Shore-based

The land-based action continues to be lively for tailor and mulloway. Anywhere around Drummonds, Tarcoola, South Gates, Coronations, the marina and the first point around Greenough in particular are your best tailor spots. Around South Gates there was a couple of mulloway pulled in around the one-metre mark when fishers could avoid the copious amounts of weed. Fishers flicking around the Batavia marina also enjoyed good feeds of squid thanks to its sheltered waters. There wasn't too much action reported from the rivers this week although the Chapman river seems to be flowing once again. There is a pretty solid southerly wind that will stick around until Tuesday morning, so if you're going for a land-based flick try spots where this can work to your advantage around Champion Bay, Drummonds, the Esplanade and near Greenough river. Big thanks to Geraldton Sports Centre for their tips!

Lancelin catches

Boats

The weekend didn’t provide great boat fishing weather, although those lucky enough to get out midweek managed a window after the easterly winds dropped. Those who whipped out to the 18-20m depths have reported it has not taken long to gather a good feed of sand whiting before the sea breeze kicks back from the other direction. Some schools of small yellowtail kingfish have been encountered along the reef breaks of the bay that have aggressively responded to lures. A little further out from the break, there have been schools of mackerel and bonito feeding on schools of white bait, while further offshore southern bluefin tuna have also been feeding on the whitebait.

Shore-based

The jetty fished well for sand whiting this week, while herring and tailor have been coming on the bite after sunset. Fishing the beaches was difficult over the past weekend between wind, swell and drifting seaweed. Offshore winds forecast for the mornings will make for comfortable conditions this weekend, with the distance of casts set to benefit. Tailor are on fire with fish to 50-60cm not uncommon, though the bite has been quite short on sunrise, while the evenings it has been a battle with strong winds. Sand whiting and herring have been coming into the burly trail after the tailor bite to keep the interest up. Big thanks to the Lancelin fishing guru Peter Fullarton for his tips!

Scott's Species - Goldspot trevally - the much-loved sportfish of the north

They might not be as sought after as other trevally species, but goldspots still put up a great fight and adrenaline rush for anglers.

Scott's Species is back and this week he has covered the hard-fighting goldspot trevally, which always provides a solid workout for anglers generally from around Kalbarri to the northern regions of WA and occasionally in metro waters.

Read the latest Scott's Species article on goldspot trevally here.

Esperance catches

Boats

It's been a rough one for most of this week. Some boats that managed to head out into the bays reported solid schools of salmon, but the gummy sharks went very quiet thanks to the colder wet weather and won't be back until we see some warmer and calmer days. The King George whiting are still performing very well for boats sticking close to Wylie Bay and Bandy Creek, although most have been on the smaller size around 30cm albeit in good numbers. Some dinghies also reported great flathead and flounder also around Bandy Creek especially when they could find a bit of shelter from the wind. Further up river and within the deeper sections of the lakes a few bream around the 35cm mark have been turning up, with the bigger catches reported from the sheltered areas.

Shore-based

Salmon have been going very nicely around Fourth Beach, with many anglers experiencing the thrill of pulling in multiple fish of at least 6kg. The bays have also been great spots, but Fourth Beach was certainly the busiest for salmon this past week. The gummy sharks went quiet due to the wilder weather this past week but once it warms up and the wind calms down they'll return in close to the beach gutters. Around Bandy Creek the land-based fishers have also done very well on the King George whiting, flathead and flounder, all of which are great for the plate if you can manage to find them among the broken ground of sand and weed. A few land-based anglers who could position themselves with the wind in their backs also managed to pull in some decent bream around 35cm in most of the lakes this week. The wind is a bit haywire throughout most of the weekend, but it should calm down slightly by around Wednesday. Cheers to the crew at Southern Sports and Tackle for their report this week!

Great Southern catches

Matthew De Boer @matthewdeboer94 has traded pulling in solid bream in Perth last week to breaking his personal bests down in Albany this time round. The talented angler found a small pocket in the rough weather and landed plenty of high 30cm's and two 40cm+ donkeys. With the rough winds playing havoc, the heavier 1/8th jig head and bloodworm grub from @forceluresandtackle did the job.

Boats

Unfortunately this week has been blasted with horrible weather so not much to report as minimal fishers decided to brave it, but thankfully we'll see a much calmer day tomorrow with some lighter easterly winds headed our way. If the fishing is anything like last week, you can expect to see queen snapper, breaksea cod and dhufish turning up around the 40m-70m contours out to the east of the islands. When the weather turns again, whiting, skippy and squid should still be an option off Middleton Beach. Hopefully I'll have a juicier report for you guys next week.

Shore-based

Nothing to report this week thanks to horrendous weather, but you might have a good window opening up tomorrow with a lighter easterly wind sticking around until Sunday before it curls around into a lighter southerly from Monday morning. The King and Kalgan should still be producing black bream around then. King George whiting and the odd squid will be a chance from the beaches and rocky outcrops to the east of town if last week is anything to go by, while the beaches to the west of town will likely be producing herring and the odd salmon. There is a bit of rain coming once again from Monday, but fingers crossed it isn't too hectic.

South West catches

@oskars_s.w_fishing is keeping this spot in Busso to himself and we don't blame him after reeling in this monster of a giant herring on 4lb gear. Not even a cheeky squint would reveal this location so kudos for the fishing and editing skills there mate!

Boats

Coupla good days provided decent boating windows this week. The estuary was doing very well for whiting due to the warmer conditions razzing them up in the shallows, which is a great sign as we creep towards summer. Boats that are cruising closer to shore around Busselton are still doing extremely well for squid and King George whiting, while some boats trolling and flicking along the northern beaches closer to Bunbury said there were decent numbers of tailor around usually in the 35-40cm range. The herring have been very hit and miss with some boats bagging out and others not seeing one, although further north around Perth is starting to go wild for herring due to the warmer waters spicing them up. These warmer conditions should arrive to the South-West regions within a couple of weeks and have a similar positive effect. The southern bluefin tuna are still doing extremely well on the troll and while schools have been seen busting up as little as 100m from shore, the best trolling depths seem to be between 6-16m within 2km of the coastline. The river is still a bit dirty thanks to recent rain and it generally takes about three weeks for it to clear up entirely after the last downpour. The winds should be quite light throughout most of the upcoming mornings so good luck if you head out for a flick.

Shore-based

The whiting have gone wild in the shallower warmer waters this week off most beaches. The Busso jetty is still your best bet for good numbers of squid, with the occasional King George whiting thrown in the mix when anglers could find a good sand patch closer to the weed and combined it with burley, a paternoster rig and patience. The beaches north of Bunbury seem to be the best tailor spots at the moment. There are still plenty of bream and mulloway in the river but there numbers will only improve once the water clarity clears up following the recent rains. We're in for a warmer weekend with gentle winds in the mornings so good luck if you go gallivanting. Thanks to the crew at Whitey's Tackle for their report this week!

Freshwater

Chris Dixon @dixonsfishing has been enjoying himself all across WA recently and stumbled upon this lovely rainbow trout in the streams close to Waroona. Bush bashing through our picturesque South-West for trout and redfin perch is incredibly unique and addictive once you switch it up from saltwater fishing.

The freshwater fishing has continued to pick up in the region with reports that fishing in the dams is on the up. Harvey Dam has fished better this last week, with some good captures of rainbow trout and redfin. Most of the rainbow trout captured are recently stocked yearlings, with the occasional fish between 30-40cm while most redfin in the 20-30cm size range. The redfin are still sitting deep in the water column, so use some deep diving minnows or soft plastics. Wellington Dam has seen some impressive redfin captured of recent but this dam requires persistence as there is so much water to cover but the hard work on foot has paid off to some of the avid anglers. Drakesbrook has also fished well with one of the recent ex-broodstock captured and released, although the majority of captures are yearlings. With the warmer days coming through you can see these fish rise with the early morning sun. The fishing for redfin has been better in the rivers and streams compared to dams, with areas such as Lane Pool, Collie River and Honeymoon Pool recording some fish nearing 40cm. When targeting redfin, fish the slower water away from runs (where the trout will be), as they don’t like fast moving water current and will populate the deeper pools.

Mandurah and surrounds

@bay_to_bluewater discovered there are plenty of chunky redfin perch doing the rounds in Drakesbrook Weir at the moment. This spot recently had hundreds of larger yearling and ex-broodstock brown and rainbow trout stocked there during Troutfest so let us know if you're catching these beauties!

Mandurah

Thankfully that sun seems to be saying howdy a bit more as of late. Earlier this week was very quiet for boats but a lot have headed out over the past few days and many have come home will full pots of crays after dropping them within 2km of the coast. The pros from Tackle World Miami also recommend dropping your pots in an easterly to westerly spread, rather than a northerly to southerly spread, with some pots located on sand and others on weed closer to reefs seeming to have the best results. The 35-40m depths seem to be the best range for landing stonker King George whiting at the moment with solid 50cm+ kidney slappers common. The squid haven't improved all that much due to the colder waters recently but thanks to the warming weather coming our way they will start to pop up closer to shore in the coming week or so.

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

Around Coventry Reef there have been large reports of herring in big numbers, with a lot of boats bagging out very quickly after throwing burley. Yellowtail kingfish, Samson fish and tailor are also being caught in the same areas. The beaches around Warnbro Sound continue to be a great tailor spot, although the herring have also really taken off in this area and reigned supreme. Point Peron has been producing tarwhine and herring, while the beaches around Port Kennedy and Secret Harbour have been producing some tailor generally around the 35-40cm range in the mornings. King George whiting have popped up occasionally from the beaches around Safety Bay and larger specimens have been taken offshore between 5-20m depths. For the best luck landing the 50cm+ KG's however, the 30m depths that contain a combination of sand, weed and reef have seen great results.

Perth catches

Harley Jarosz @harleyjaroszz has become a very talented 16-year-old fisho, pulling in this 110cm mulloway on soft plastics in the Swan River recently. If he had instead caught it using mullet as bait then the beautiful irony would have been complete but we'll just let that one go.

Boats

Not a bad week for the boaties. Many have been trying their luck by already dropping pots for crays and a few have had good success but this will heat right up over the coming weeks as the whites run is predicted to get underway. There is still a huge amount of squid around at the moment and most boats that choose to drift over the shallower weed beds closer to shore all seem to be going home with at least 2-3, while others will stumble across a great patch and can literally sight cast for them. King George whiting are still doing extremely well around the deeper sand patches off Hillarys, Cockburn Sound and closer to Garden Island, while yellowtail kingfish popped up on the reefs north of Rotto. Herring have gone absolutely wild this week thanks to the warmer waters mostly from Woodman's Point to the Freo moles. For boats who headed out wider, there was still great reports of larger southern bluefin tuna a fair way west of Rotto, with multiple 7kg chunky specimens landed. If you can't see diving birds, try trolling the spinning metals for them in 70m depths. There were also big tailor and Sambos lurking around the reefs at Mewstone Rock. There are narrow windows of lower winds around midday on Saturday and Sunday with nice 28-degree forecasts, so good luck if you head out.

Shore-based

The river fishing this week has been great and this time of year is when the mulloway numbers tend to take a good spike. The Canning Bridge platform also reopened for fishing recently and has seen some decent mulloway up to about 90cm being landed. Bream are still doing well further up river around Ascot and Bayswater, but the real river surprise this week was seeing a few anglers bag out on tailor over 30cm in length at the Narrows Bridge. The best part is you don't even need bait as they were all seemingly plucked on metal twisties. The evenings seem to be the best time for this if you're going for river tailor but they have also been popping up on the coast near the Fremantle Sailing Club and along the South Mole rockwall. There is the occasional mulloway and tailor popping up along our northern beaches such as Scarborough and Cottesloe when you can find deeper gutters. If you're wanting a feed of squid, inside the marinas at Hillarys or Mindarie or heading down to Rockingham or the Freo moles and casting over the sheltered weed beds is your best bet. Kudos to the crew from Anglers Fishing World in Freo for their report this week!

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Recfishwest · 3/45 Northside Drive Hillarys · Perth, WA 6025 · Australia

Catch Information

Species:
Black Bream

Bluefin Tuna

Breaksea Cod

Brown Trout

Dhufish

Flounder

Golden Trevally

Gummy Shark

Mulloway

Pike

Queen Snapper

Queenfish

Rainbow Trout

Redfin Perch

Sailfish

Samson Fish

Spanish Mackerel

Whiting

This Fishing Report was submitted on 4/11/2022 8:00:00 PM by Seamus and last updated on 11/6/2022 5:51:12 PM.

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3/45 Northside Drive
Hillarys, WA AU

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