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Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 3 March 2023 🎣

| By Seamus on 3/3/2023 4:09:44 AM | Views (380)

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Recfishwest
Fishing Report

03/03/23

The last pair of eyes a prawn or small fish doesn't see! It's easy to see why flathead are the camouflage masters and these eyes are brilliant at spotting your soft plastic or vibe style lures in the shallows.

Our contributors

Sam Russell

John Dempsey

Peter Fullarton

Sedin Hasanovic

G'day <>,

Gotta love a long weekend! Two great fishing competitions also kicked off this week, including the 2023 Salmon Slam with over $10,000 in prizes up for grabs and also the FADs photo competition with a whole bunch of Madfish and Richter Lures gear on offer! Both competitions run from 1 March until 1 May and if you want to get involved or find more info on either comp, click on the links below!

CLICK HERE FOR SALMON SLAM 2023 INFO

CLICK HERE FOR FADS PHOTO COMP INFO

If you've got a cracking fish photo you want to send in 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!

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!

For your photos to appear in the weekly fishing report, please make sure they reflect Recfishwest's responsible fish handling practices (fish held horizontally, no blood, hand under the belly, no fingers in gills, etc) 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!

Landing a 150cm Spanish mackerel from a yak certainly takes the cake for catch of the week. Hats off to David McGregor @maccydave who had a solid tow when he hooked this beast around the waters of Cape Range National Park.

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.

Send photos

Changed your email?

If so, please e-mail our Membership Officer, your new details and mention your name, old email and new email address in order to keep receiving the State-wide Fishing Report.

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SALMON SLAM IS BACK!

Our Awesome Autumn of Salmon celebration kicks off on 1 March and so does Australia's biggest land-based fishing competition – the Salmon Slam!

This FREE to enter, app-based competition runs from 1 March until 1 May and there's more than $10,000 in prizes up for grabs simply by catching a salmon, taking a snap of it next to a ruler with the tournament code '#SS2023' visible and entering it via our Salmon Slam 2023 app into the competition.

The top prize? $3,000 in fishing goodies from Shimano (pictured below) – more than you can poke a rod at!

Simply download the Salmon Slam app via the App Store or Google Play!

CHECK OUT THE SLAM COMPETITION PHASES, INFO AND PRIZES UP FOR GRABS HERE

A huge Recfishwest thanks to our supporters and sponsors in Shimano, Western Angler Magazine, Richter Lures, Halco Tackle, Assassin Tackle Australia, Anglers Fishing World and Compleat Angler Nedlands for their donations of prizes!

Broome catches

Gotta love that first barra feeling! Congrats to Ellie who landed this solid specimen with @dirty_baito close to Broome. Image courtesy of @reefchiefaustralia.

Boats

Unpredictable weather including some hairy electrical storms have again kept fishers close to town, but there are still options. Both Dampier and Crab Creek continue to be reliable for barramundi and threadfin salmon and the good news is that sizes are improving, with barramundi caught up to 80cm and threadfin around the magic metre mark. Trolling continues to work well with Nomad vibes and the Jackal range of Squirrel deep-diving hard bodies being effective. Barramundi and threadfin are also being caught on the drift and from boats anchored near snags and at the entrance of feeder creeks, with anglers having success using prawns or live baits. The creeks are also holding bluenose salmon to 60cm and pesky forktail catfish, especially on the rising tide. Reports of mud crabs in both creek systems are light on, but they could be worth a crack over this long weekend. Boaties fortunate enough to find a weather window and a sheltered spot in Roebuck Bay have worked hard for a feed of small bluebone and coral trout around the bombies in 15-20m depths and found prawns to be the most reliable bait. Elsewhere in the bay, lightly weighted fillet baits have accounted for the odd threadfin, while tripletail are always a chance on calm mornings around the mooring buoys or among drifting weed. Westerly winds will be sticking around the next week but they should drop right off from Monday.

Shore-based

Bream, javelin fish and small trevally are providing light tackle fun all day at the Town and Port Jetty while a gold Halco Twisty thrown out from there have been getting hit by queenfish to 60cm and smaller golden trevally. When the tide is low anglers have been wading the rocky headlands around Entrance Point and catching golden and brassy trevally mainly on metal slices, while those using bottom rigs around the bombies have caught a few bluebone and the odd coral trout to 50cm. The Fitzroy River remains tainted and fast-flowing making barramundi fishing nearly impossible, although a couple of barra have been landed here during the slim windows this week. Cherabin are still being caught at Langi and Telegraph crossings. For the best tips and gear for your fishing expedition, make sure you visit the helpful pros at Tackle World Broome for advice and they will provide details on spots with the best access for a flick.

Exmouth catches

Kyle Poole from @salty_horse called this cod a donkey, we countered that by stating it should be upgraded to a horse, then we both settled on labelling it a rhino. Kudos for catching and releasing this whopper.

Boats

Conditions have been very favourable this week and the big news around town is that the artificial King Reef is almost shark-free and absolutely firing. All around the reef has been producing Rankin cod, red emperor, coral trout and Spanish flag in decent sizes. A range of baits have been effective, but whole octopus has been the standout. As for lures, vibes worked across the bottom have been red hot and the go-to lure has been the Nomad Squidtrex. In the deeper waters west of the Muirons, goldband snapper over 5kg have featured among the catches. Fishers are also being rewarded with Spanish mackerel when trolling out-to and back-from King reef and also around the islands. The Gulf also had giant trevally in the 15-20kg range with the boaties successfully targeting them keeping an eye on their sounders as well as looking out for diving seabirds as the fish are feeding at various depths in the water column. The best lures have been Nomad vibes and Halco Barra Spoons and stickbaits. On the other side of the cape, anglers trolling deep-diving lures at the back of Ningaloo Reef have fared well on Spanish mackerel nudging the one metre mark. The south-westerly winds will roll through this weekend but the mornings until midday are looking calmest for a boating session.

Shore-based

Learmonth Jetty is still fishing well, particularly around tide changes for mangrove jack up to 2kg and trevally to 5kg, along with squid in good numbers. Metal slices are the most effective lure for the jacks and trevally, while bait fishers have done well using prawns and fillets. At Bundegi the boat ramp and its surrounds have produced queenfish and small trevally with chrome lures and soft plastics working best, while good-sized yellowfin whiting have been caught anywhere you can find a sandy patch. Lighthouse Bay has fished particularly well for spangled emperor up to 2kg, with the best results achieved when using light running sinker rigs with burley and fillet baits. At Tantabiddi, there have been trevally and a few queenfish as well as spangled emperor. The beaches around town are holding yellowfin whiting but it pays to move around until you see their tell-tale silver flashes just off the shoreline. The town marina is providing family-friendly options in the evenings with bream, flathead and the odd mangrove jack being caught. Local school kids are also having a ball using tiny hooks baited with small bits of bread to catch mullet up to 1kg. Big thanks to the crew from Tackle World Exmouth for their tips and mornings are looking best over this long weekend for a land-based flick.

GREAT PRIZES UP FOR GRABS IN OUR FADS PHOTO COMPETITION!

There are thousands of dollars in prizes up for grabs from Madfish and Richter Lures simply by catching a sportfish at any of the FADs across WA and sending in a snap! (Big hint – this great dolphinfish pic from Beau Suladra won the photo comp last year!)

It's time to go mad for another FADs best photo competition!

To celebrate the great fishing opportunities at FADs currently between Cape Naturaliste and Two Rocks (more to come at other locations soon), we're giving away some quality prizes thanks to Richter Lures and Madfish Gear simply for catching a fish at any of the devices between 1 March - 1 May and sending in a snap of your fish!

PRIZES:
Best photo: An XL Madfish Fishing Bag (to keep your catches frosty) with 10x Richter skirt lures inside.
2nd best photo: A medium-sized Madfish Fishing Bag with 10x Richter skirt lures inside.
3rd best photo: A medium-sized Madfish Fishing Bag with 5x Richter skirt lures inside.
4th-10th place: Each receive a handful of Richter skirts and lures!

HOW YOU CAN WIN:
1) Visit any of the FADs;
2) Catch a pelagic sportfish and take a photo of your catch that reflects our responsible fish handling practices with the FAD clearly visible in the photo;
3) Message a photo of your catch to our Facebook or Instagram page detailing where and when you caught it;
4) Keep an eye on our socials when we announce the winners after May 1!

Good luck! Get all your FADs locations here

Kalbarri catches

Boats

It seems the sharks that have been plaguing fishers in Exmouth for months have moved south to Kalbarri, spoiling the otherwise spectacular offshore action and glassy conditions. Some solid fish are still turning up though, with thumping yellowfin tuna up to 40kg, plenty of Spanish mackerel nudging a metre and even bigger wahoo keeping them company. The best results have come from trolling in 30m depths north and south of town. Finding the pelagics hasn’t been a problem, but the sharks are wreaking havoc with fishers unable to reel in the tuna and mackerel quick enough. To improve your odds, try using stronger gear and troll your lures closer to the back of the boat. Holding your rods when trolling also means you can react faster, reducing the window of opportunity for big bad Bruce to grab the fish. Free-spooling your rod and letting the fish outrun the sharks on speed and endurance also works well as sharks have short bursts and fatigue quickly. C lick here for the best tips from the pros on avoiding shark bite-off . Old-favourite lures like Halco Laser Pros and skirts have been getting the most hook-ups on the troll though. Boaties trolling closer in along the cliffs have avoided a lot of the shark carnage and managed to land some good Spanish mackerel, but the tuna seem to be staying further out. Island Rock is also worth a shot for those trolling closer to shore. Dinghy fishers in the Murchison have been getting blue manna crabs up river, but it pays to move around. Mud crabs are scarce but are also worth a crack this long weekend with some stronger southerly winds rolling in.

Shore-based

Anglers ballooning off Wagoe have landed Spanish mackerel to more than 10kg, but ballooning and drone fishing in general has been quiet off the cliffs closer to town. The weed has thankfully cleared around Red Bluff and Wittecarra and tailor averaging 45cm along with dart have been plentiful. There are also good-sized herring at Red Bluff around the 30cm mark. The marina jetty is still the hot spot in town and bream are being caught around the pylons along with estuary cod up to 50cm. Chopper tailor are cruising by in the evenings and for those sticking around after dark, the chances of mulloway action are high for those soaking a mulie or a live bait. Yellowfin whiting can be caught off the spit and along the foreshore and it's also worth a go throwing a drop net off the banks and jetties up river for blue swimmer crabs. Big thanks to Dean from Kalbarri Sports and Dive for his tips as always and the mornings should see the lighter southerly winds over this long weekend.

Geraldton catches

It was mulloway mayhem along the midwest coast this week! Finn and Jayson had a great evening session north of Jurien Bay, with this beast landed from the surf. Photo courtesy of the crew from @compleatanglernedlands.

Boats

Pelagics have been out in force north of town, but those pesky sharks have been causing problems. The 12-25m depths are a good place to start and some solid yellowfin tuna in the 18-25kg range have been the main catch, along with a few Spanish mackerel up to 1.2m and plenty of leaping bonito around one kilo. Trolled pencil garfish have produced good results and the better spots have been north of Coronations right up to Horrocks. Off Point Moore, fishers are targeting tailor to 50cm and there are yellowtail kingfish around that size also providing great fun. Lures have worked best with CID Shiversticks and Halco Slidogs among the most popular. Dinghy fishers heading out of the marina have caught a few herring, while squid are about when the water is clear. Those strong southerlies are sticking around all long weekend (curse you weather gods, you had one job). Thankfully Tuesday should be a glass off.

Shore-based

South of town beaches around the S-Bend and Lucy’s had reasonable tailor and reports have come in of mulloway up to 15kg being caught. Fishing has been quieter at the Greenough River, but the first and second points have been reliable for a few small tailor and some herring. There are also chopper tailor at Southgates in the mornings. The reefs off Separation Point have produced good mixed bags with anglers catching tailor in bigger sizes, 30cm+ herring, leaping bonito and slimy mackerel. Fishing the reefs around Drummonds Cove has also been good for similar species, while on the beaches school and yellowfin whiting are plentiful but long casts are required to get over the floating weed and on to the sand. The Batavia Marina seems to have gone quiet, but it is always worth a go for squid. Big thanks to Geraldton Sports Centre for their report and it's strong southerlies all long weekend until the wind drops off on Tuesday.

Lancelin catches

It's been a great week for land-based fishing in Lancelin with the lighter easterly winds and lower swells making conditions ideal. Keyana had a great morning catching a wide variety of fish with her family, including whiting, big herring and tailor!

Boats

The lobster numbers have taken a solid spike in close to the beach and with the long weekend approaching, it's a great opportunity to put the pots back out for some good catches or jump in the drink for a dive. There have also been reports of big octopus being caught in close too, so it's worth dropping down some occy traps as well. So far this season the mackerel fishing has remained quiet despite plenty of fishers giving the lures a troll. Divers are regularly reporting Spanish mackerel are here finding the bait, although where they are feeding has been the problem and they seem to be moving around. Persistance is key if you're chasing the mackies and just keep an eye out for the bait balls as they won't be far away. Some great catches of squid in 10-15m depths have rolled through this week, while burley in similar depths has been bringing in schools of skippy and King George whiting. Inside the bay boats have been catching plenty of big herring and snook via trolling small lures. The near shore also saw filled bag limits of blue swimmer crabs. Some stronger southerlies are rolling in over this weekend but the winds are expected to drop right off again from Wednesday morning next week which should be perfect for boaties.

Shore-based

The easterly winds and low swell made the beach fishing a treat this week, with a smorgasbord of great mixed catches of snapper, tailor, herring, whiting, various small shark species, guitarfish, skippy and flathead. About the only thing there is to complain about is some spots do have plagues of smaller pink snapper that have been stealing the baits intended for larger species. This has become an increasing trend, but at least it’s a good sign for the future even if it can be a little frustrating at times. There are still plenty of legal snapper being caught off the cast at the moment, which are taking baits launched into deeper gutters near structure. The biggest problem for drone fishers at the moment is the number of cray pots close to shore near all the best reefs, but dropping closer to shore has been productive for snapper in the early mornings without the need to dodge through the pots. Big thanks to Lancelin's fishing guru Peter Fullarton from Tailored Treks for his report as always and the southerly winds will be sticking around until at least Monday before the easterlies make a welcome return from Tuesday morning.

Esperance catches

Oli @olistevensonn from Southern Sports and Tackle in Esperance @southernsports_tackle managed a cheeky evening session after work and managed to pull in this nice mulloway, which have been turning up along a range of beaches this week. If you see any salmon around, make sure you try and catch one and enter the pics into the Salmon Slam app for a great range of prizes!

Boats

Dinghy fishers wetting a line just 200m offshore in the Port area are doing well on big herring. It’s often a fish a cast with most of the herring well over 30cm. Among the herring are decent King George whiting around the 40cm mark. Squid are plentiful throughout the bay from the Port through to the Esperance Jetty. Further offshore, southern bluefin tuna have finally showed up in good numbers. Trolling skirts at 6-8 knots off Devil’s Rock and Cull Island has been the most successful method with most of the fish around the 3-5kg mark. Nannygai up to 3kg have also been caught at Mondrain Island with big breaksea cod up to 2.5kg mixed in with them. Black Island and Lion Island produced queen snapper up to 8kg. It's south-westerlies for most of the long weekend, but you can always fish early in the mornings around the islands in that direction then punch it back in to shore with the wind in your back.

Shore-based

Mulloway up to one metre have been caught at Rossiter, Dunns and Thomas River at night on the incoming tide. Roses Beach has also produced monster gummy sharks up to 25kg after dark. Schools of salmon have been heading west past Roses in big numbers. They have mostly been smaller fish around 3kg, but it’s still a good sign for the two-month long Salmon Slam competition which kicked off this week. At Stockyards there are tarwhine up to 40cm near the weed banks, while Wylie Bay had heaps of sand whiting, skippy and big herring. There were also some cracking flathead up to 60cm in the gutters at high tide along with a few juvenile salmon. On the hot afternoons Woody Lake produced bream up to 40cm on river prawns and surface lures. The Esperance jetty has been consistent for squid in the early mornings and herring throughout the day. It’s much the same at Taylor Street jetty with bigger herring after dark, but there is also the bonus of skippy to 40cm being caught on prawns and whitebait. Big thanks to the pros from Southern Sports and Tackle for their tips as always and while the south-westerlies are sticking around this long weekend you can always find sheltered spots for a land-based flick.

Great Southern catches

While the weather wasn't great, Robert Goodlich @south_westfishing_life had an unbelievable demersal session recently on the south coast with nannies, pinkies, breaksea cod, harlequin and dhufish galore!

Boats

Nasty winds and big swells have slammed the breaks on offshore fishing, although there may be a small window on Sunday morning. Fishers have generally stayed in close around the harbour and King George Sound, with its name living up to its reputation producing the usual fare of King George whiting and squid. Weed-fringed holes in a range of depths have been best for King George whiting, while squid are also widespread with Mistaken Island being one of the better spots. Small pink snapper are a chance in the deeper parts of the Sound or for boaties who manage to get out during Sunday’s low-swell window. Otherwise herring and small skippy are plentiful right throughout the harbour and the Sound.

Shore-based

Emu Point and around Gull Rock have been one of the better spots around town for bread-and-butter fish. Wetting a line on the slack tide worked best to produce a feed of herring, skippy or 28-32cm King George whiting. Mulloway seem to have tapered off in the King and Kalgan rivers, but there are still a few bream around. Small hard-bodied lures have worked well on the bream along with the trusty Outback Breamer Baits mussel imitation made by local Callum Dowell. Closer to the mouths of both rivers, yellowfin whiting and herring are being taken on the flats. The salmon run is being eagerly awaited but this week the only good signs have been a few schools passing through Nanarup. Bigger schools are believed to be around Bremer Bay. The usual land-based spots such as Lowlands, Cheynes Beach and Sand Patch have been quiet with no reports of salmon, but it shouldn’t be too hard to get a feed of herring and skippy from any of them. Big thanks to the crew from Trailblazers in Albany for their tips and both Sunday and Monday mornings should see slight drops in the wind and swell.

South West catches

Boats

There were a couple of mid-sized dolphinfish turning up around the Cape Naturaliste FADs earlier this week and the coordinates of the Cape Nat FADs can be found here if you want to fish them. The Bouvard Reef has also been popular with fishers seeking an arm workout on Samson fish up to 15kg, which have been plentiful anywhere from 6-12m. Burleying up has been the best method, then dropping down lures such as jigs, vibes and soft plastics. Any weed patch between 3-12m in Geographe Bay or out from Bunbury is likely to produce King George whiting around the 40cm mark, with a few chunky skippy about as well. In the Cut, dinghy fishers are catching herring and skippy and also trolling small shallow-diving lures for chopper tailor. Crabbing has slowed in the Cut and whiting numbers have eased as well. The snaggy areas upstream in the Collie River are worth a try for bream and mulloway. The mornings until midday over this long weekend are looking like the best windows before the wind spikes.

Shore-based

Anglers prepared to cover plenty of ground are still getting yellowfin whiting on lures, while wading to the edge of the drop-offs has also produced 30-35cm tailor. Better tailor up to 40cm are coming from Back Beach and Buffalo Beach, along with sand whiting to 30cm. Fishers prepared to put in the hours on the banks of the Collie River are also getting bream and the odd mulloway on prawn baits or soft plastics. Squid and herring have been the mainstays at Busselton Jetty as always, while the beaches from Busselton to Dunsborough have a few yellowfin whiting doing the rounds taking surface lures, poppers and soft plastics. Big thanks to Whitey's Tackle for their tips and your best windows for land-based fishing over the next three days is the mornings.

Freshwater

Great to see the crew from @dads_and_lads_outdoors having another decent freshwater session on the redfin perch recently! Redfin are a great species for youngsters as they are easy to catch, have no size or bag limit and they taste fantastic.

Redfin perch are still about in numbers for both shore fishers and kayakers, with Harvey Dam and Drakesbrook Weir holding fish generally between 25-35cm with the occasional whopper over 40cm turning up. Low light periods in the early mornings and around sunset have produced the best results and they have generally been taking spinner lures, vibe style lures in brighter colours and also natural-coloured soft plastics. Trout have also been caught but fly-fishers are finding it difficult and deeper diving vibe-style lures or soft plastics have been more successful this past week. Rainbows up to 35cm have been taken, but mostly on small hard-bodied lures that can dive down to about 2m depths. Once again, natural colours have been successful and even small redfin perch imitation lures have worked nicely. Moving further south towards Pemberton the larger redfin perch were more prevalent in the rivers and creek systems where anglers could find deeper pockets, while the rainbow and brown trout also were more common in the deeper regions of the dams and rivers. If you catch any great trout or redfin, make sure you message us a snap of the catch to our Instagram page @recfishwest.

Mandurah and surrounds

Mandurah

Warm water temperatures in the 45m depths have produced plenty of southern bluefin tuna and a few striped models as well. Trolled diving lures and small skirts have been effective, with most fish around the 50cm mark. The Five-Fathom Bank has been great for King George whiting in varied depths and with a bit of burley a good haul of skippy of up to one kilo can be had. Squid are active over the weed banks especially now the water has cleared a little. Divers on the Five-Fathom Bank have reported sighting Spanish mackerel of around one metre, but they have been hard to hook on the troll. Divers are also finding plenty of crayfish backed deep in holes. The boaties using pots have also done well, often getting two or three crays per pot and sometimes just 800m or so out from the Cut in 10m depths. Anglers trolling hard-body lures have been catching tailor up to 40cm right throughout the estuary, while shore-based fishers in the estuary are catching tailor, herring and skippy up to 40cm if they wade out to the drop-offs. Crabbing in the estuary has been rather quiet this week. For scoopers, night-time is best, while drop-netters prepared to work hard are getting a feed if they drop their nets in muddy areas. At the Cut there have been herring and sand whiting, while estuary fishing for yellowfin whiting is still hit or miss. Anglers are having much more success on yellowfin whiting early in the morning on beaches such as Melros and Falcon. Beaches north of town are also producing chopper tailor in the mornings and evenings, while south of town the best spot has been the northern end of Preston Beach which also has a few herring. Big thanks to Tackle World Miami for their tips as always and the south-easterly winds should be calmest during the mornings over the long weekend.

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

The FADs out from Rockingham (coordinates here) have been fishing well for dolphinfish around the 5kg mark, along with plenty of southern bluefin tuna averaging 3kg and a few yellowfin tuna pushing 10kg. In promising signs, a fair amount of skippers have also reported sighting wahoo of decent sizes. The reefs at the back of Garden Island have been good for tailor up to 2kg with stickbaits working well. Smaller tailor along with herring have been caught by dinghy anglers trolling metal slices along the sheltered waters of the Garden Island Causeway. In 20m depths on the Five-Fathom Bank, King George whiting around 40cm have been taken while most of the reefy holes in that area are also holding skippy. King George whiting have also been caught in Cockburn Sound in depths as little as 5m and burleying with pellets has been the key close to shore. Cockburn Sound is also fishing well for squid in depths of 4-6m and herring are plentiful throughout the Sound when burley is used.

The land-based fishing also saw decent results this week and the Secret Harbour to Port Kennedy stretch has fished exceptionally well for tailor up to 2kg. Mornings have been better for the bigger fish and popper-style lures are recommended. The same beaches are holding plenty of mulloway in the evenings, from school-sized fish right up to 18kg beasts. A good plan is to fish for choppers in the evenings while having a big rod with some fresh bait out for a chance of a mulloway. Long Point also produced big tailor, while night time saw pink snapper around 8kg being landed. The Penguin Island spit was a great spot for flathead, herring and flounder along with yellowfin and sand whiting. Herring are also being taken at the Palm Beach and Rockingham jetties throughout the day and in the evening chopper tailor are hitting lures and whitebait on gangs. Big thanks to Compleat Angler Rockingham for their great tips!

Perth catches

The structure around Rottnest Island has been pumping out great numbers of amberjack, yellowtail kingfish and Samson fish this week, with jigs like the Proto-J-Custom from @snapbait_aus working nicely!

Boats

The metro FADs continue to reward those making the trip out with dolphinfish around the 5kg mark plentiful along with Spanish mackerel up to one metre. It's perfect timing with our two-month long FADs photo competition kicking off this week with some great prizes up for grabs. Trolling skirts or deep-diving hard-bodies has worked well, but fishing live baits on the drift has also been effective. At Rottnest, the 30m depths produced yellowtail kingfish and Samson fish, while the island’s West End had plenty of southern bluefin tuna. King George whiting around the 40cm mark are being caught at Windmills and further north from the reefs around Trigg and Marmion, while big sand whiting have made fishing worthwhile for boaties staying closer to shore. Clearer waters this past week have led to improved squid captures inshore, particularly inside of Garden Island while a bit of burley will produce a feed of herring in quick time just about anywhere. At Mewstones, tailor around the one kilo mark have been caught in the white water breaking on the reef. Tinny fishers trolling small hard-bodied lures or weighted mulies in the Swan River have caught plenty of 30-40cm chopper tailor as far upstream as the Narrows. Crabs are also plentiful in the Swan in 12-18m depths but make sure you avoid the regions further upstream (detailed on the map image below) as there has been Alexandrium warnings. Fishers are being reminded not to eat mussels or other bivalves caught in the Swan-Canning Estuary and to clean their crabs before eating or freezing. There are stronger southerly winds sticking around all long weekend (great timing, cheers for that weather gods you literally had one job and that was pairing good weather with a long weekend). The mornings are your best windows though so good luck!

Below is a map detailing where the higher concentrations of Alexandrium were present in the Swan and Canning rivers as of 20 February.

The reminder comes following a recent visible pale orange Alexandirum bloom spotted near Riverside Drive. Alexandrium produces Paralytic shellfish toxins that can accumulate in crabs and mussels and if eaten can be dangerous and in extreme cases fatal. DPIRD advises to not eat mussels or shellfish from the Swan-Canning at all and recommends you clean your crabs before eating or freezing. You can find DPIRD’s and DBCA’s guide on how to clean crabs here.

Shore-based

Yellowfin whiting up to 35cm are around the East Fremantle and North Fremantle areas of the Swan River, especially between the Stirling and Fremantle Traffic bridges. Micro jigs and Eco Gear ZX vibes have worked well for them, but very fresh river prawns fished after dark when the blowfish have gone to bed have produced outstanding results. Flathead are still worth a crack in the Bicton and Claremont-Dalkeith areas, but flounder numbers seem to have dropped off. Small hard-bodied lures have been snaring flathead, although undersized tarwhine have also been a nuisance. Scooping for crabs is very hard work, but drop-netting from jetties in deeper water around Mosman Bay and Minim Cove is likely to produce results. Bream are well up river and there have been some outstanding catches, including the catch-and-release of a 49cm monster bream caught on an artificial crab lure. Naturally the exact location remains top secret, but otherwise decent bream are being caught on prawns and soft plastics as far up as Midland, Garratt Road Bridge, the Maylands flats and Fish Market Reserve in Guildford. Mixed in with the bream are quite a few soapy mulloway, providing a lot of fun on light gear but be mindful the legal size is 50cm. If fishing up stream (especially at night), use plenty of insect repellent because mosquitoes are out in force! Off the metro beaches Brighton Road and Floreat have been reliable for chopper tailor via baitcasting in the morning or evenings. Chopper tailor are also plentiful in the evenings at South Beach and the Ammo Jetty. South Mole had a few herring and small skippy, while fishing within the fishing boat harbour around South Fremantle produced bream, big sand whiting and chopper tailor. Big thanks to Anglers Fishing World in Fremantle and Hillarys Boat & Tackle for their great tips and the mornings should be best for land-based fishing this long weekend but expect some stronger southerly winds.

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

Catch Information

Species:
Barramundi

Bluefin Tuna

Breaksea Cod

Brown Trout

Coral Trout

Dhufish

Flounder

Giant Trevally

Golden Trevally

Gummy Shark

Mulloway

Nannygai

Pike

Queen Snapper

Queenfish

Red Emperor

Redfin Perch

Samson Fish

Snook

This Fishing Report was submitted on 3/3/2023 4:09:44 AM by Seamus and last updated on 3/3/2023 7:25:42 AM.

Location

3/45 Northside Drive
Hillarys, WA AU

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