Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 9 February 2024 🎣

There was plenty of Spanish mackerel and tuna action around Sand Patch and Bald Face this week, with Halco Laser Pros and garfish baits working well on the mackies and metals on the tuna. The 30-35m depths seemed to be the sweet spot for both species and if trolling, around 4-5 knots is perfect. Bust-ups have also been noticed off Frustrations and a jetski fisher hooked into a couple of mackerel in 20m depths along the cliffs this week. Both mornings this weekend are looking quite calm for the boats if you wish to duck out for an early troll during the red hot days as that should fire up the pelagics. Just make sure you slap on the sunscreen as it's going to be a sweaty 45 degrees and try to get back in before the wind goes wild from about 10:00am. 

1) Avoid areas of high boat traffic.

2) Only send the line out a safe distance for the location (often 150m will still catch fish). 

3) Avoid setting lines high up on a dune at the back of the beach where the line is strung out across the top of the water as a small boat or jetski could have the line slice into a passenger and cause serious injury. 

4) Set the line as close to the water edge as possible, so the line settles into the sea at the back of the shore break.

5) Should a boat pass between the rod and the set bait, drop the rod tip with sufficient time for the line to settle deep enough so the boat safely passes over the line.

6) Ensure the dropper to the sinker is much lighter line and hook droppers are lighter than the strength of the main line. This way you can break off a sinker or hook without losing several hundred meters of braid line into the sea. You will catch more fish too and if the fish snags the sinker it will break free leaving you with the fish still on the line.

Dunns Beach has produced skippy, salmon and gummy sharks, Alexander Bay has also held salmon and a 15kg gummy shark was landed there last weekend. Gummy sharks and mulloway to 4kg have been the main fare at Thomas River and Tagon Beach, while big salmon have been caught at Hellfire Bay. Wylie Bay fished very well for flathead and sand whiting, while big flathead have also been doing the rounds in Bandy Creek Boat Harbour. Town Jetty and Taylor Street Jetty have held heaps of squid, while Fourth Beach and 10-Mile Lagoon have been the most reliable spots for salmon. Big numbers of bream around the 40cm mark have been smashing shallow-running hard-bodied lures such as Cranka Minnows at Woody Lake.   

Hats off to the very knowledgeable team at Southern Sports & Tackle for their tips! These guys love their fishing as well, so make sure you swing by their store for the best gear and advice before wetting a line around Esperance. 

A few small schools of salmon have passed through but catches have been inconsistent and they are considered to be resident fish on the move rather than migrating salmon. Lowlands and Salmon Holes have been two locations that have produced decent salmon at times but it will be another month or so before the schools start moving along the coast. At Emu Point, juvenile salmon have been swimming with herring and whiting, while herring and small skippy have been caught in the town marina which also offered a few squid. The odd small King George whiting along with a few squid have also been caught at Frenchman Bay. Mulloway were quiet in the King and Kalgan rivers, but there was enough bream about to keep anglers escaping the strong winds interested. Blue groper have been caught from the rocks when the swell was down but make sure you are always wearing a lifejacket and fishing with a friend if attempting this. Denmark’s Ocean Beach produced King George whiting, tarwhine and herring.  

Cheers to the Trailblazers Albany crew for their tips this week! Swing by their store if you're after some top gear and advice ahead of your next fishing trip. Remember, you'll also catch just as many fish off the beaches than the rocks and it is always much safer to go with this option on the south coast. 

The 2024 FADs competition has kicked off and there's great prizes up for grabs! 

✅ 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏 𝟏 – Grab a 2024 Mahi Mahi Tournament Brag Mat & Entry Name Card from one of the four sponsor stores included above. 
✅ 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏 𝟐 – Get out there and start fishing from 1 Feb through until the 31 March near the FADs between Rockingham and Jurien Bay.
✅ 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏 𝟑 – Catch a dolphinfish or mystery fish (mackerel, wahoo or tuna) and take a photo of your catch on your 2024 FADs Tournament Brag Mat with your name tag, rod & reel visible in the photo.
✅ 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏 𝟒 – Take a second photo of the GPS coordinates of where your fish was caught (for judges verification purposes only – will not be published). 
✅ 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏 𝟓 – Email your photo to mahitournament24@gmail.com no later than 5pm on Monday, 1 April!

Rottnest and Garden Island both fished well for King George whiting. Good KG's have been coming over the side in 12-14m depths but better ones have been found in 20-25m. Three-Mile Reef has also been holding good King George whiting. At the West End of Rottnest small yellowtail kingfish and much bigger Samsonfish have been the main fare, while boaties have encountered tuna between 40-80m depths with the higher and lower end of that range producing the best catches. The FADs have also held good numbers of tuna but dolphinfish catches there have been patchy. The dollies seem to school on certain FADs and when schools of 30 to 40 fish have been encountered the action is generally rewarding, while on other FADs with groups of three or four they have been skittish and reluctant to take lures or baits. Exposed reefs such as Mewstones and at the back of Garden Island have fished well for tailor, while divers chasing crays at Mewstones have reported seeing schools of big Samsonfish. Good tailor have also been taken inside Three-Mile Reef. The sand whiting action at Windmills has tapered off but they were in good numbers in 7-12m depths off Cottesloe and Port beaches and have been part of excellent mixed bags which included King George whiting, big flathead to 70cm and just-size pink snapper. Squid chasers have done well in 8-10m depths off South Fremantle, while in the lower and middle reaches of the Swan River chopper tailor around 40cm have been taken on the troll. Drop netters in the Swan are finding blue swimmer crabs in 11m-plus depths with Blackwall Reach, Mosman Bay, Claremont, the old brewery and Applecross among the better spots. Anglers Fishing World in Fremantle is hosting a whiting and squid information night at Cockburn Power Boats Club on Friday, February 16, from 6pm. Entry is free but spots are limited so registration is essential. Book a spot via the Anglers Fishing World Facebook page. On Saturday, February 24, a squid and whiting competition will be held. For more details or to register for the competition visit the store’s Facebook page and ask them in person about the awesome FADs comp that is now underway. It's going to be red hot over the coming days and this combined with some ideal boating conditions on Saturday and Sunday morning will see a lot of boats ducking out. The pelagic fishing should heat up along with the weather, so make sure you're trolling when moving around.  

Young Oli from @compleatanglernedlands has been having some great success on the Swan River mulloway recently and this beast was landed from the Claremont Jetty earlier this week. For the best tips on where to go and how to catch them, make sure you venture into their store and ask their experienced staff! 

Scaly mackerel were in good numbers at the E-Shed wharf after dark and a few herring were among them, although bigger fish such as mulloway and Samsonfish have been ignoring these offerings. North Mole held chopper tailor after dark and the occasional just-legal pink snapper, while South Mole has produced lots of herring when burley is used with the occasional Samsonfish pouncing on a hooked herring. Small squid have also been caught at the end of South Mole and they have been in reasonable numbers off the sailing club rock walls and groynes all the way down to Coogee. These spots have also produced tarwhine and chopper tailor in the evenings. Good bags of blue swimmer crabs have been taken out from South Beach by snorkellers wearing sturdy gloves. The Cottesloe to Swanbourne stretch of beach has offered good tailor in the mornings, which have been taking stickbaits, metals and small Halco Roosta poppers at first light and then favouring mulies as the sun gets higher. Tailor, herring and the odd sand whiting have been the main early morning catches at Floreat Beach with small Halco Twistys working well on the herring and tailor. Hillarys rock wall has also offered tailor in the evenings and bigger tailor have been caught at Quinns and Yanchep Lagoon in the mornings. In the Swan River, tailor fishing has been good with some of the better spots being Claremont and the Narrows Bridge at night, while anglers taking advantage of the morning low tides to target giant herring have done well on tailor from drop-offs at Applecross, Point Walter and Crawley. Flathead were in reasonable numbers in the Swan River but sizes are down. Better flathead spots have been East Fremantle Rocky Bay, Mosman, Claremont, Bicton and Point Walter. Yellowfin whiting catches have slowed a little at East Fremantle, while a few decent mulloway have been hooked at the Narrows and Canning Bridge with the structure at these bridges holding good bream at times. Bream catches have also been reported at Mt Henry Bridge in the Canning River and at Ascot, Maylands and Guildford. Some big blue swimmer crabs have been scooped around Canning Bridge just before the sun comes up. Both mornings this weekend look decent for a land-based flick with gentle winds expected during some very hot temperatures but expect the water levels to still be rather low.