Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 1 March 2024 🎣

Tuna have been caught offshore on both sides of town and the size has been good, but only a few Spanish mackerel have been landed. The pelagics in general have been widespread though, with fish hooked along the cliffs, south of town in 30m depths and further north at Sand Patch. Spanish mackerel were landed south of town. Early on Saturday and Sunday morning at this stage look the most comfortable for the boats but get back to shore before the wind kicks off from midday. 

The great gummy shark run continued this week with multiple fish being landed each night on small strips of mullet pinned to snelled 7/0 hooks. The better spots have been Whale Beach, Dunns Beach and Tagon Beach with the incoming tide producing the best results. Tailor to 3.5kg have been caught at Thomas River, while Dunns and Rossiter beaches have held good numbers of mulloway. Flathead, gummy sharks and big skippy have been landed at Stockyards. Salmon hotspots this week were 10-Mile Lagoon and Observatory Beach. Taylor Street Jetty offered King George whiting and herring after dark, while squid have been going off night and day at the Town Jetty in what has been one of the best summer squid runs in recent memory. Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has been holding good skippy, while many bream over 40cm have been caught in big numbers at Wheatfields and Woody lakes.

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Click on the image below to hear from Recfishwest's Research & Development Lead Sam Bock discussing the Government's illogical decision to propose putting a no fishing/sanctuary zone all along the beaches and rocks at Thistle Cove and Hellfire Bay. Safe fishing infrastructure was implemented at this location over 15 years ago by dedicated local fishing club members, clearly demonstrating the importance of these spots for fishing. 

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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. 

Cheynes Beach produced a few salmon, tarwhine and skippy, while Sand Patch offered salmon, herring and tarwhine. The town marina held herring and a few small skippy and the odd squid, while Emu Point produced herring, whiting, juvenile salmon and squid. At Frenchman Bay the odd blue swimmer crab has been scooped and a few King George whiting and squid have been landed there as well. Mulloway fishing has improved in the King and Kalgan rivers and bream catches have been reasonable. Beaches around Denmark have offered juvenile salmon and bull 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 mornings have fished quite well for whiting this week with many crews dropping craypots then heading to the inside of Rottnest Island and doing well on King George and sand whiting in 9-20m depths. Most of the KG's have been around 40cm but some of the sand whiting have been well over 30cm. KG's and sandies have also been caught at Windmills and some other good sand whiting have been caught out towards the Gage Roads channel. At the Three-Mile Reef King George whiting have been kept company by decent skippy. Small King George whiting around 33-35cm have been caught inshore at Mindarie in 3-8m depths. The West End of Rottnest held a few yellowtail kingfish and the occasional Samsonfish, while at the FADs a wahoo was landed this week and dolphinfish have been active. Tuna numbers have dropped off out there, but good tuna catches have come from the waters off Mindarie. Squid have been quiet as well but those chasing sand whiting off Cottesloe and City Beach in 9m depths have been putting out old-fashioned baited squid spikes to add calamari to their whiting hauls. Blue swimmer crab numbers have tapered off a little in the Swan River but some good ones have been pulled up in 9-11m depths around Blackwall Reach and the old brewery. Chopper tailor fired up for those trolling in the river‘s lower and middle reaches but the sizes have been nothing special. There are some aggressive easterly winds roaring through this weekend but Sunday afternoon's forecast doesn't look too bad at this stage, just be wary that there may be a storm hanging overhead. 

It's been another sensational week for mulloway catches in the Swan River, with this great catch popping up on the Swan River Mulloway Facebook Page. Give it a follow to stay up to date with the Metro mulloway action but most jetties between Maylands right up to the river mouth have been rewarding for those willing to put in the time and effort. 

Bonito have been showing up at North Mole and at beaches around Coogee but they have often been just out of casting range. At North Mole anglers casting Nilsmaster lures at bonito have been bitten off by what they think were Spanish or shark mackerel.  North Mole fished well for herring when burley was used. Chopper tailor have also been active at North Mole at dawn and dusk.  Herring have been the mainstay at South Mole, while the rock walls further south and the Freo Fishing Boat Harbour have fished well for herring, flathead, juvenile snapper, whiting, flounder and tailor. Micro jigs have worked well on all these species. Good numbers of garfish were seen hanging about with the herring schools at Capo D’Orlando earlier this week which is a good sign for anglers with the ban on gardies being lifted on March 1st.  At Cottesloe beach fishers have been getting a handful of tailor in the evenings, while Floreat and City Beach have offered mainly herring and good numbers of whiting. Good tailor have been caught at Trigg and Hillarys, both inside and outside the marina, and from beaches north to Two Rocks. Reports of pink snapper have come from the northern rock walls. A big mulloway was finally pulled from E-Shed wharf this week and a few big mulloway have been landed around Blackwall Reach. The Swan River has been teeming with baitfish and in the unsettled and overcast conditions last weekend quite a few tailor up to 45cm were landed, often as a bycatch for flathead chasers fishing the drop-offs. Good tailor have also come from around Claremont, the Narrows and at Canning Bridge. Canning Bridge has also offered bream. Near the traffic bridges yellowfin whiting have been caught at night on live baits, while the deeper sections of the Swan River from East Fremantle up to Applecross have held a few flathead and flounder but not in the numbers present earlier this summer. Bream have been caught in good numbers in the upper reaches of the river with soft plastics and vibes proving effective on them. The better bream spots have been the Causeway, Ascot and Guildford. Soapy mulloway have been active up river as well with the Causeway, Belmont, Katanning Street in Bayswater and Garratt Road Bridge among the better spots. Bigger mulloway around 80cm have been reported from Canning Bridge and the Narrows. Scoopers have found it hard to get a feed of blue swimmer crabs in the river but divers have done all right around Claremont.