Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 30 August 2024 🎣

Quagi Beach has fished well for flathead and skippy, while Warrenup has yielded salmon and gummy sharks. Big schools of salmon have been parked in the western corner of Roses Beach, while skippy to 2.5kg have been taken at 14-Mile Beach. Wylie Bay has held big sand whiting along with King George whiting and flathead, while Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has produced skippy and King George whiting. The Town Jetty and Taylor Street Jetty have fished well for squid and garfish at night.

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. 

The wintery conditions have kept shore fishers at home too with wind, rain and big swells limiting activity. Bream are an option in the King and Kalgan rivers if they’re not flowing too fast or are too muddy -- try fishing soft plastics in deeper water near structure. Otherwise, old faithfuls such as the town marina and Emu Point could produce herring, skippy and whiting. If a sheltered beach can be found it could offer the same species, along with tarwhine and juvenile salmon. All the dirty water about has squid chasers cooling their heels but consider having a crack for rainbow and brown trout along with redfin perch as they are really starting to go nuts in the freshwater dams, rivers and streams. 

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. 

Pink snapper catches have been steady at North Mole this week with tide changes and dawn and dusk the peak times. High tides have produced a little better. A common bycatch for pink snapper chasers at the North Mole this week has been flathead around the 50cm mark, which have been taking mullet strips. Dirty water has ruled out land-based squidding and even getting a feed of herring and skippy has been difficult, but burley has often brought them on the bite on the inside of North Mole, at South Mole and from the South Fremantle rock walls. Skippy have shown up at these locations as well. Tailor fishing has been sporadic, but the rock walls at South Beach and Coogee have been fairly consistent for tailor up to 45cm.  Just-size chopper tailor have been caught from the northern rock walls which have also held good numbers of herring. Bigger tailor have been caught from the northern beaches, along with the odd pink snapper. At Cottesloe and Floreat herring have been the main catch but the odd decent skippy has also been holding in the deeper gutters. In Fremantle Harbour burley has brought in yellowtail, herring and skippy. Bream fishing has picked up in the Swan River with the better spots being Canning Bridge on slack tides and the stretch from the Causeway to Narrows, where soapy mulloway have been among the bycatch. Bream have also shown up around the yacht clubs at Crawley, Claremont and Nedlands as well.