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Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 9 June 2023 🎣

 | By Seamus on 6/9/2023 5:17:42 AM | Views (162)
Recfishwest Newsletter
Recfishwest
Fishing Report
09/06/23
Moments before a flathead goes flat out at your vibe lure! Another great photo courtesy of @almcglashan 
Our contributors
Sam Russell
Jarrad Lawford
Peter Fullarton
Sedin Hasanovic 
G'day <>,

Want to know the best tips for taking great fish photos and also on how to handle fish out of the water? We've got you covered with our responsible fish handling and photography tips page. The page gives a perfect explanation on the types of images we love to use in our weekly Fishing Report and why. 

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!  

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RECFISHWEST FISHING REPORT WRITER

Pic of the Week!

Three-year-old Sonny managed to land his first ever barra near Broome recently, and that certainly warrants taking out pic of the week! Great catch and welcome to the barra club Sonny! Photo courtesy of @tackleworldbroome.

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Broome catches
@celestemcdonald and her sister @livmcdonald managed to find large schools of longtail tuna boiling the water surface while chasing bait off Broome this week. Quite the combination with pristine conditions. 


Boats

Was a decent week for the boaties off Broome. Spanish mackerel, a host of emperor species and cobia of just under one metre have come from the 30m depths about 11km north of Broome. The mackerel have been hitting trolled hard-bodied lures, while fresh fish baits and squid accounted for the cobia and emperor species. Charter boats going way out have been doing well on red emperor and coral trout, while closer to shore small sailfish have been sighted in the 20m depths. Roebuck Bay really fired up this past week with queenfish, trevally, mack tuna and blue-nosed salmon taking a range of lures, both on the cast and by trolling, this included metal lures, stickbaits and poppers. Successful anglers have moved around, while keeping their eyes on the sounder and watching for bird activity and surface bust-ups. Crab and Dampier Creeks have been producing small barramundi and threadfin salmon with vibe lures working well on both species, Crab Creek has also been very productive for mud crabs this week. Midday Saturday right through Sunday should be ideal for boats out of Broome. 

Shore-based

The mangroves at Town Beach have been holding plenty of plump whiting, while the Town Beach Jetty has fished well for grunter, trevally species, a few cod and queenfish. The Port Jetty had similar species with giant trevally, spangled emperor and bluebone. At night, the Port Jetty has attracted schools of hard-fighting tarpon which have shown a liking for soft plastics. Bluebone and spangled emperor have come from the rocks at Entrance Point, where a few schools of queenfish have cruised by. Barred and Willie Creeks have been holding bream, mangrove jack and a few trevally, while metal lures have accounted for queenfish and threadfin salmon at Quandong Point. Coconut Wells and Cable Beach have fished well for whiting, while areas with a bit of structure at both beaches have also produced threadfin salmon and trevally for those casting metal lures. Plenty of fishers have been heading to the Fitzroy River targeting barramundi but they have been secretive about their catches. Nevertheless, favoured locations such as Langies and Telegraph Pool would be good starting points. 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
Great to see the next generation of fishers in Nate and Beau having a cracker of a time landing dolphin fish during their live aboard charter with @innkeepersportfishing off Exmouth this week! 

Boats

Out west of Exmouth on the boats billfish activity has slowed, but good numbers of dolphinfish have been caught on trolled skirt lures in 40-80m depths. Further south near Winderabandi also in the 40-80m depths saw good catches of wahoo on trolled hard-bodies and skirted lures. On the bottom in the same regions, red emperor and a few coral trout have come from around the 70m depth mark and goldband snapper have been caught in 80m-plus depths. The Muirons have fished reasonably well for Rankin cod and red emperor in around 50m depths, but in the Gulf, cooler water temperatures have slowed activity. The Gulf did see some schools of tuna around the 10kg mark providing surface action and blue-lined emperor, trevally species and Rankin cod are a chance at the shoals and King Reef. Just bear in mind there have been plenty of sharks about, so make sure you move frequently. You can find loads more tips on how to avoid shark bite-off on our webpage here. South of the Exmouth town marina squid have been in good numbers on the weed beds, especially in 2-3m depths. It should be light to moderate southerlies with around a 2m swell until Monday, so conditions are looking reasonable. 

Shore-based

If you’re a land-based fisher around Exmouth, Learmonth has been reliable for squid and bream while the resident hardyhead schools at Bundegi have attracted queenfish and trevally. As usual, the Exmouth town marina has been holding a host of species including bream, mangrove jack, flathead, small cod and small trevally, while casting from the marina wall to the Gulf side has produced a few squid. The Gulf’s beaches have been reliable for whiting and the odd flathead, while prawn baits fished at Lighthouse and Mildura Wreck have accounted for spangled emperor and bluebone. Bream and the odd spangled emperor have also been reported from Tantabiddi, while Wapet Creek at times has fished well for bream and small mangrove jack. There should be decent land-based fishing conditions this week with mostly light to moderate southerly winds. Big thanks to the crew from Tackle World Exmouth for their tips as always! 
 
 
Kalbarri catches
Wagoe turned it up to full mack attack this week via ballooning off the beach, with @soko_chhouk and his crew landing several solid Spaniards during their weekend mission. 


Boats

Before the wild weather rolled through and generally shut down most of the fishing activity, smaller boats that trolled the 20m depths in the cleaner water around Red Bluff were doing well on Spanish mackerel and tuna, but the real hot spot for Spaniards was north of town at Sand Patch. Bottom fishing had been excellent as well with good pink snapper and nice dhufish caught in 15-20m depths on both jigs and baits. Just out from the river mouth a jet-ski angler landed an 8kg baldchin groper during a quick evening session when the swell was low. When the water was a tad more choppy, some smaller boats have also had decent luck trolling smaller stickbaits and ganged mulies for tailor around the gutters and reef breaks. Expect lighter southerly winds and swell around the 2m mark over the coming days, which should provide more rewarding fishing windows. 

Shore-based

Wittecarra produced plenty of highlights before the blow. One fisher scored a 15kg Samson fish on his first cast before adding a few whiting and chopper tailor to his bag. Another angler there made the most of the strong easterlies last weekend to send out baits under a balloon. He was frustrated to lose three Spanish mackerel in one session but the next day he got a 70cm pink snapper as a consolation prize. In the Murchison River mulloway around 110cm have been landed from the Sand Spit and at the river mouth, while further up river good-sized bream and cod were caught around structure and a few mud crabs were also about. Whiting catches improved from the Sand Spit and when the swells are lower this weekend Chinamans and Frustrations will be worth a crack for mulloway and big tailor. Further south of town, Wagoe was red hot for Spanish mackerel this week, with at least half a dozen landed by numerous crews who were ballooning with the easterly winds. Big thanks to Dean from Kalbarri Sports and Dive for his tips as always!
Geraldton catches
While it was balloon macks up in Wagoe, it was yak macks off Geraldton this week for skilled fisher @mat.svenson. Make sure you give his page a follow to keep up to date with his quality Mid-West catches off the land and yak. 


Boats

Mother Nature unleashed her fury on the Mid-West this week with wild weather and big swells ruling out offshore fishing from Sunday onwards. Before the blow good catches of dhufish were coming from around the Dongara area, while boaties trolling at Lucky Bay had done well on Spanish mackerel. Squid had also been in great numbers on the weed beds around town but squid chasers will need to cool their heels for at least a few days until the water starts to clear. It's high winds and swell over the next few days but hopefully this will back off around Tuesday. 

Shore-based

Shore fishers also copped it this week with masses of weed, howling westerlies and big swells ruling out fishing. Before the cold front, mulloway either side of the one metre mark were caught on Saturday evening in the Tarcoola area and land-based squidding had been good around the Batavia Coast Marina. For hardy souls needing to fish this weekend, the best options appear to be the Greenough and Chapman rivers which should be holding bream and a few cod, otherwise an early-morning mission to fish inside Batavia Coast Marina or around Fishing Boat Harbour before the blowies wake up may produce bream or a few bread-and-butter species. Big thanks to Geraldton Sports Centre for their report as always! 
Lancelin catches
There were some solid mulloway caught over the past week up and down the Mid-West coast once the conditions provided nice evening windows, with this silver slab landed by @alex_carter_fishingwa off Jurien Bay who says it's the best mulloway season he's ever seen. 


Boats

Lancelin Angling and Aquatic Club held it’s Westralia Cup on Saturday and Pat Shinnick took out the comp, heading out wide to find a 23.5kg blue trevalla. Plenty of boat trailers were lined along the beach with fishers making the most of the weather while it lasted. Offshore anglers were finding an even mix of dhufish, snapper, breaksea cod and baldchin groper, while those staying in closer found pink snapper in good numbers along and inside the White Bank, while on the outside of the Bank there were schools of blue mackerel passing through the 20m depths. The reef breaks of the bay had greenback tailor taking up residence in the wash. Squid fishers have been doing very well inside the bay where there been plenty of skippy and garfish, but remember the gardies must be released while they are still protected. Whales have been migrating though the region so keep an eye out when cruising around. This weekend it is not looking great for an easy beach launch and the swell is up and down, so caution needs to be taken using the passage through the reefs of the bay.

Shore-based

Lancelin jetty’s been seeing a lot of squid landed and nights have been good to catch a few herring. The beach casters were peppered at numerous spots with 35-40cm pinky’s last week, with the passing of the storms we can hope to see some bigger models along the beach this weekend. The beaches are steep, narrow and soft, so best to use the backtracks if unsure about driving along the beaches. Big thanks to Lancelin's fishing guru Peter Fullarton for his tips and make sure you check out his Tailored Treks fishing tours if you want to be put on to the fish. 
 
 
Esperance catches


Boats

Boaties managed to find a few weather windows this week although most stayed in close as the swells were up. Squid, some with 45cm hoods, were the main species targeted, mainly in Esperance Bay in 3-7m depths. Drifting between the port rock wall and the Town Jetty worked well on the bigger models with the shallow water around the barges a hot spot. Old-school squid chasers did well in 17-20m depths at Cook Rocks using a paternoster rig. Sand whiting were out in force as is the winter trend and were biting all day at West Beach, Fourth Beach and outside the surf club at Twilight Beach, with sizes around 25-30cm but a few bigger ones around. Sand whiting were also off Wylie Bay but in fewer numbers, however, the weed fringes at the western corner have been holding King George whiting and big flathead, some around 60cm. Closer in off Bandy Creek and Castletown, snook and big herring have been hitting small trolled metal slices while out at Rabbit Island harlequin fish and blue groper have been caught. It won't be comfortable boating this week unfortunately, with strong winds and swells coming through. 

Shore-based

Beach fishing has been very good. Gummy sharks have just pupped which means they have been feeding and coming in really close, with many anglers catching their quota. Best spots for them have been 14-Mile Beach, Roses, Dunns and, for 15kg-plus models, Poison Creek. Esperance has been enjoying a huge run of big salmon with fish on just about every beach, so much so that locals are finding their numbers annoying! Observatory Beach and the headland at Lovers Cove have held flathead, while these locations along with Fourth Beach and Salmon Beach were among the salmon hot spots. Squidding has been good at the Town Jetty and Taylor Street Jetty, with both jetties also fishing well for herring and garfish. Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has produced small King George whiting along with bream around the 40cm mark. The pick of family-friendly fishing spots this week was Stokes Inlet which has been teeming with bream and providing lots of fun for kids, while out at Woody Lake bream up to 40cm have been caught on whitebait. Big thanks to the pros from Southern Sports and Tackle for their tips as always!
Great Southern catches


Boats

This week’s wild weather has slammed the brakes on what had been an excellent spell of offshore fishing. King George whiting and squid had been plentiful in King George Sound and on the coral ground there were the usual suspects of dhufish, red snapper, queen snapper and pink snapper. Out at the FADs a few dolphinfish had been about and a couple of boats went out to the Continental Shelf and caught hapuka. Boaties in need of a fishing fix will be hoping for a weather window late next week, where there may be a chance of getting out in the sound or around the islands if the swells settle down.

Shore-based

Big swells have carved up the beaches, fishing from the stones has been far too dangerous and conditions are way too murky for squidding. However, the sheltered waters of the Town Jetty and Emu Point could be worth a crack for herring and the odd whiting or small skippy, and the channel at Emu Point could possibly hold decent pink snapper. Otherwise targeting bream in the King, Kalgan or Hay rivers could be a good bet and there’s always a chance of mulloway, herring or juvenile salmon as bycatches. Before the storms, some good Samson fish were caught around Nanarup and Shelley beaches. Out of town, Wilson Inlet is a possibility for bream, pink snapper, flathead, herring and whiting. Big thanks to the crew from Trailblazers in Albany for their tips!

South West catches
The @2_oceans_tackle crew seemed to be the saltwater and freshwater masters this week. This harlequin fish proved its point as one of the prettiest fish off the WA coast and they are right up there as one of the tastiest as well. 


Boats

A few big vessels got out and braved the lumpy seas last Friday afternoon and Saturday morning and targeted the 18m depths of Bouvard Reef. They did well on dhufish around the 10kg mark with a few harlequin fish and pink snapper among the bycatches. Pink snapper were also plentiful closer in before the blow, while in Geographe Bay King George whiting were about in good numbers. Some hardy kayakers got out before the wild weather and did well on pink snapper and dhufish around the Capes and also caught a few harlequin fish and breaksea cod. This weekend is again looking rough, but Monday is looking decent. 
 

Shore-based

Pink snapper are the main game with good fish coming from Preston Beach all the way down to Dunsborough. Around Bunbury, Back Beach, Belvedere and Buffalo beaches are all producing pinkies and there were whispers of a few dhufish landed by drone fishers around Boranup. Back at Preston Beach the odd rogue salmon has been caught among the pinkies. A lot of pink snapper also bent rods at the end of Busselton Jetty this week, while herring were plentiful there as well. Dirty water is rarely ideal for squidding, but the odd monster is taken in these conditions on squid jigs that have an in-built rattle. Busselton Jetty would be a good place to test this theory. Herring have been plentiful all throughout the South-West and any jetty, beach or rock wall should produce a feed, especially when burley is used. Molloy Island and the Blackwood River have fished well for bream, while herring have been plentiful near the river mouth and from Town Jetty in Augusta. Big thanks to the great team at Whitey's Tackle in Australind for their report!
 

Freshwater

You know you're having a decent freshwater session when you're pulling in browns and rainbows. @2_oceans_tackle had a quick freshwater session on Wednesday and it turned out to be a brilliant decision, with a handful of redfin perch and half a dozen trout landed in less than an hour. Make sure you pay them a visit if you want to know where the fish are biting around Busselton because they are always on the money! 
It's amazing what a bit of rain can do for the freshwater action. Fishing has really picked up, especially in the Pemberton area where big redfin perch and chunky rainbow trout have been taking flies in Lefroy Brook. Good redfin have also come from the Blackwood and Collie rivers, with many caught on hard-bodies, and Harvey and Wellington dams continue to fish well for them too. Redfin chasers using bladed spinners at Harvey have reported quite a few trout following their lures but few fish have been landed. 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
Sambos will test your gear at any size and Joel Borgers @joelborgers played this nice fish well on the light gear off Mandurah this week! 


Mandurah

It’s a good weekend for sorting out the tackle box as big swells will hamper most fishing activity. Last weekend quite a few boaties took advantage of the glassy conditions to target pink snapper at the Five-Fathom Bank and they certainly fired up right on sunset, especially in the 10-12m depths. The successful crews did their homework and anchored over likely ground an hour or so before bite time to burley up. Mulies and mullet strips were effective baits and solid winter skippy around the 40cm mark were among the pink snapper. Dhufish catches were also good before the storms, mostly off Dawesville on the 40-50m reef line. Deeper waters would likely have held dhuies as well, but the current was too fierce to keep baits on the bottom. King George whiting were also about on broken ground in 18m depths, while heaps of sand whiting were caught around the 12m mark. Even closer in squid had been active on the weed banks just a few hundred metres offshore. It is hoped all these species will regroup next week if conditions improve, but despite the wild weather a few diehards have done very well fishing from beaches and rock walls. Mulloway have been taken from the sand and off groynes from Silver Sands northwards, by both droners and casters, while south of town has fished best for pink snapper especially around Pyramids, Tim's Thicket and White Hills. Elsewhere, it’s probably the last call on blue swimmer crabs before they head out to sea. Anywhere with an outlet to the ocean is worth a crack as the crabs tend to congregate before leaving the estuary. A few bream are still in the marinas and canals but most have headed to the Murray and Serpentine rivers. The traffic bridges and the Cut have offered safe fishing for herring, along with a few tarwhine.  

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

Big swells have kept most boaties in close this week but they have still managed good hauls of pink snapper, if anything the wild weather has fired them up. Sam from Compleat Angler and Camping World Rockingham has really cleaned up on the pinkies this year both on and offshore. He did well this week just a couple of hundred metres offshore in Cockburn Sound in 8-10m depths. The tried and true method of anchoring and using burley has worked but the pinkies have been so prolific that many boaties have been looking for fish on the sounder and targeting them on soft plastics, with big paddletails in white or green/brown colours working well. Chunky skippy have been among the pink snapper schools and herring have been prolific. The Port Kennedy to Secret Harbour stretch of beaches has fished well for big mulloway and also winter greenback tailor in the 50-60cm mark and it’s good to be aware that while the bag limit for tailor is eight per fisher, only two tailor over 50cm can be kept as they are the big breeders. Ganged mulies have worked best on the tailor, but a big Halco Twisty thrown into the surf around sundown has accounted for some good fish. Long Point is also worth a crack for tailor or even mulloway or pink snapper, while the rock walls around the grain terminal, Naval Base and Woodman Point have also been popular with pink snapper chasers. In calmer conditions the Penguin Island spit should produce a feed of herring, as should the Rockingham and Palm Beach jetties, both of which have a history of producing big mulloway and pink snapper over the years, so having a big rod out baited with a fresh herring fillet could be rewarded. Big thanks to Compleat Angler Rockingham for their great tips. 
 
Perth catches
Now that the winter months have arrived, so have the bigger tailor. Trolling stickbaits, metal lures or ganged mulies at 3-5 knots around shallow inshore reefs is a good bet for having larger greenbacks like this one turning up just like Sharon experienced off Freo. Photo courtesy of @anglersfishingworld. 

Boats

The few boats that got out his week mainly targeted the area between Garden Island and Five-Fathom Bank and burleyed for pink snapper which were about in big numbers. Pink snapper were in close around Coventry Reef and Mewstones as well as on the shoreside of the shipping channel. Plenty of chunky skippy were among the snapper bycatches and a few small tuna were caught around the Five-Fathom Bank on trolled Halco Crazy Deep Laser Pros. It was a similar story at the Three-Mile Reef before the storms punched in, with King George whiting complementing the bags of pink snapper and skippy. There were heaps of squid around before the blow, especially in 3-6m depths off Bathers Beach, South Beach and either side of the Freo Moles, with bigger squid on the north side but in fewer numbers. Hillarys and Garden Island also fished well for squid. Herring were plentiful just about everywhere and storm garfish were caught inside of Garden island. A few blue swimmer crabs were caught in the lower reaches of the Swan River last weekend but they may have been flushed out to sea by now. King prawns have been passing through the river in good numbers however and could be worth targeting. Trolling for tailor in the river could also prove fruitful as they do love hunting through the murky waters with a bit of chop. Very early on Saturday could be worth a crack, but it's not looking comfortable again for the boaties until late Monday or early Tuesday at this stage. 
 

Shore-based

North Mole remains the hot spot for pink snapper with plenty of good fish taken this past week. Octopus has been one of the more successful baits, mainly because of its resistance to pickers, but half a fresh herring is also hard to beat. North Mole has generally been the more favoured pink snapper spot in Fremantle but the South Mole can produce too, especially in a south-westerly. A few mulloway have also been caught at North Mole. Pink snapper are about north of the river too, with good catches coming from Hillarys and up past Two Rocks. The Moore River burst its banks this week and many anglers are likely to head there to target pink snapper and mulloway this weekend. Tailor fishing has been pretty good around Floreat and City Beach, while bigger greenback tailor should be around the reefy Cottesloe to Swanbourne stretch soon, especially with the early-morning high tides on the way. Herring have remained plentiful all along the metro coast. Bream fishing is expected to fire up in the middle to lower reaches of the Swan River as the murky water flows downstream. Before the rains there were a few good flathead caught as far upstream as Guildford, along with some soapy mulloway. River prawns, a favoured bait among Swan River bream fishers, have been hard to come by in bait and tackle shops but other good baits include cubes of bony herring or mullet, whitebait, pieces of coral prawn or even chicken. Zman soft plastic Grubz fished on light jig heads are also a good option with motor oil, bloodworm, watermelon and pumpkin the favoured colours. At the mouth of the Swan River a few tarwhine and skippy have been hanging about, along with some small chopper tailor, while king prawns have been scooped along the flats of the river’s lower reaches at night. Despite rough conditions this weekend the odds for pinkies off the beaches are looking decent. Big thanks to Anglers Fishing World in Freo for their tips! 
 
 
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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

Barramundi
Barramundi

Breaksea Cod
Breaksea Cod

Cobia
Cobia

Coral Trout
Coral Trout

Dhufish
Dhufish

Dusky Flathead
Dusky Flathead

Flathead Catfish
Flathead Catfish

Giant Trevally
Giant Trevally

Grunter Bream
Grunter Bream

Gummy Shark
Gummy Shark

Hapuka
Hapuka

Mangrove Red Snapper
Mangrove Red Snapper

Mulloway
Mulloway

Queen Snapper
Queen Snapper

Queenfish
Queenfish

This Fishing Report was submitted on 6/9/2023 5:17:42 AM by Seamus and last updated on 6/13/2023 6:41:01 AM.


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3/45 Northside Drive
Hillarys, WA AU


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