Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 23 February 2024 🎣

Tuna and Spanish mackerel have been active straight out from the river mouth. Most fish were landed on trolled hard-bodied lures. Spanish mackerel and tuna were also caught at the Sand Patch but crews trolling along the cliffs missed out this week with not many hookups reported. This weekend is looking like it will cop some of the brunt from the cyclone up north so plenty of wind and hail is expected, but early next week is looking to be much calmer and could see some good fishing following the stirred up waters. 

Just about every beach in the area has held good numbers of big gummy sharks. West of town around Christies Beach, Munglinup and Whale Beach have been the hotspots with Lachie Warren landing the monster gummy (pictured above) this week, while east of town at Poison Creek and Thomas River mulloway to a metre have been swimming with the gummy sharks. Salmon around the 6kg mark have been caught at Kennedy and Dunns beaches, while smaller salmon and flathead to 60cm have come from Stockyards. The Town jetty fished well for squid, herring and garfish, while the Taylor Street rock wall offered skippy and snook in the afternoons. Early morning sessions at Bandy Creek Boat Harbour have produced King George whiting and flounder, while bream have been ravenous and taking anything thrown at them in the afternoons at Wheatfield Lake.

Click on the image below to hear from Esperance Land Based Fishing Club president Mitchell Waideman talking about some of the cherished fishing spots at risk from the Government's proposed south coast marine park. If you would like Recfishwest updates with all the latest developments on this issue and content like this, click here. 



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. 

Salmon catches have been widespread with Sand Patch, Nanarup and Salmon Holes among the more consistent spots. Sand Patch has fished best in the afternoons and also held herring and tarwhine. Smaller salmon have been caught from the beaches near Torbay Inlet along with tarwhine and the odd tailor, while at Cheynes Beach a big Samsonfish was landed this week along with good numbers of herring, tarwhine and skippy. Emu Point and the town marina have offered squid, herring and a few skippy, while Frenchman Bay produced squid and small King George whiting at times. Bream fishing in the King and Kalgan rivers has been a little quieter, but when the water was clear blue swimmer crabs were scooped at Oyster Harbour and Princess Royal Harbour. There were some pink snapper plucked from the rocks either side of Albany but make sure you analyse the conditions on arrival, wear the correct footwear and a lifejacket if attempting this. Most of the deep gutters off the beaches have also been producing plenty of decent pinkies so this would be a safer option. Very early on Saturday morning could hold a decent land-based fishing window but Tuesday through to Thursday is looking better. 

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. 

There has been quite a bit of activity at the FADs with tuna and dolphinfish about in good numbers. A few Spanish mackerel have been landed and were providing some awesome aerial displays, along with plenty of sightings of wahoo. In the Rottnest Trench good numbers of blue marlin have been raised. A few yellowtail kingfish have come from Rottnest Island’s West End, while the wrecks out from Rottnest have offered arm-stretching Samsonfish. Rottnest has been one of the better King George whiting spots this week with Windmills producing KG's as well but in smaller sizes. Sand whiting have been plentiful in 10-15m depths between City Beach and Rottnest but squid seem to have shut up shop for now. When a bit of wave action was present at the offshore reefs at Mewstones and Stragglers they have produced decent tailor. Some nice King George whiting have been caught out from Hillarys, while Samsonfish and yellowtail kingfish have been encountered out from Ocean Reef. Drop netters, many in kayaks, have been catching blue swimmer crabs off South Beach and Coogee, while in the Swan River trolling for tailor has produced reasonable results. Drop netters in the Swan River have found blue swimmer crabs to be very much on the move this season and while they have been caught in a range of depths starting from 4m, the deeper pockets of the river at Blackwall Reach, Mosman and the old brewery have been the most consistent spots. Mulloway have been mainly landed at night in Mosman Bay and at Blackwall Reach. Most of Sunday and early on Monday should hold the flatter conditions over the coming days if you're thinking of punching out.   

The moles, rock walls and beaches around Coogee have offered good numbers of chopper tailor at first and last light and mulloway at night. Herring have also been caught at the moles when burley was used. At South Beach and Bathers Beach blue swimmer crabs have been caught by divers wading out from shore. Tailor catches have also been good at Cottesloe and at Floreat, where herring and sand whiting have been among the bycatch. Tailor have been caught in the evenings at Hillarys and Mindarie, with bigger tailor generally seen further north, often with a few snook thrown in. Beaches around Yanchep have produced pink snapper and mulloway, mainly caught by drone fishers, along with decent tailor. With the warm water temperatures a few northern species have featured among the bycatch of land-based fishers including dart and longtom. Fremantle Harbour’s E-Shed held plenty of scaly mackerel but so far they have failed to attract mulloway. Among the scalies have been herring and tarwhine. Tailor have been in good numbers in the Swan River, with the mornings having proved most productive at Point Resolution and Applecross for anglers casting slices and stickbaits. In the evenings and at night the Narrows and Canning Bridge fished well for tailor. Bream have been in good numbers from the Causeway as far up river as Midland and they have been kept company by soapy mulloway. Heirisson Island, Ascot, Garratt Road Bridge, Bayswater and Guildford’s Fishmarket Reserve have been some of the better spots, while the Canning River, Canning Bridge and Mt Henry Bridge through to Shelley all fished well for bream. Those wading the Swan River flats for flathead and flounder have had to work a bit harder in recent weeks but the middle to lower reaches have been holding a few fish despite many of them being small. Lots of small tarwhine have been part of the bycatch while a couple of anglers fishing at Claremont last weekend came across a school of undersize pink snapper with the 25-30cm fish attacking their flathead lures with gusto. Yellowfin whiting catches in the lower Swan seem to have dropped off but the elusive giant herring were widespread and especially active at night anywhere between Alfred Cove and Maylands. Sunday looks best at this stage for the land-based fishers.