Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 5 January 2024 🎣

Pelagic fishing has been excellent with good catches of tuna, bonito and Spanish mackerel around Sand Patch and the Three-Mile Reef. Another great spot was out from the Three-Mile to the blue water 15km offshore, with wahoo, dolphinfish and cobia caught on trolled lures. Pink snapper, dhufish and baldchin groper have been the main demersal catches, while on the gravel bottom around the Three-Mile Reef Rankin cod have also been caught. Crayfish catches have been steady across a wide range of depths. Thankfully the conditions will start to improve from Saturday right into next week so get out there! 

Want to get your kids outside this school holidays and learning how to fish along our beautiful south coast? Recfishwest's FREE SunSmart Southern Fishing Clinic Tour is back this weekend and there are four fishing clinics on offer at the following locations and times!

Spots are filling up quickly at these clinics, so don't delay and book now! 

6th January - Duke of Orleans Caravan Park - one clinic from 9-11am - click here to book. 
7th January - Esperance - one clinic from 9-11am - click here to book. 
9th January - Hopetoun - two clinics from 9-11am and 12-2pm - click here to book. 

The Town Jetty has offered squid, herring, small skippy and the odd snook, while at Taylor Street near the port there have been skippy, King George whiting and herring. Bandy Creek Boat Harbour held herring, small King George whiting, skippy, flounder and bream. Big schools of salmon have been patrolling West, Fourth and Salmon beaches, while salmon and herring have been at 11 and 14-Mile beaches. Roses Beach held salmon, tailor and small mulloway, while Alexander Bay offered gummy sharks, mulloway and skippy to 2kg. At Thomas River gummy sharks, herring and mulloway have been caught, along with skippy off the rocks. Israelite Bay has been firing for mulloway with reports of up to 20 fish being landed in one session, along with herring, salmon, flathead and King George whiting. The Bream Lakes have been holding fish in the 30-40cm range.

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. 

If you want to get your kids outside and learning how to fish along our beautiful south coast, Recfishwest's FREE SunSmart Southern Fishing Clinic Tour is back on the south coast next week and while our Albany clinics have already fully booked out, there is still spots open at Denmark and Walpole!

14th January - Denmark - two clinics from 9-11am and 12-2pm - click here to book. 
15th January - Walpole - two clinics from 9-11am and 12-2pm - click here to book. 

Shore fishers haven’t had much to smile about either with most beaches ruled out. The King and Kalgan rivers have offered a few big bream and squid have been the main fare from Emu Point and the town marina, but water clarity has been an issue at times. A bit of burley might bring around some herring and maybe a few whiting but it has been hard work over the past week. Another option could be a drive out to Denmark where the Wilson Inlet could offer herring, flathead and King George whiting. A few blue groper were caught from sheltered rock platforms when the swells weren’t too bad early last week.  

Good on 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. 

Dolphinfish catches have improved greatly at the southern-based FADs off Rockingham, Mandurah and Fremantle and a few solid tuna have also been hanging about, so it's always worth trolling any time you decide to move around with one rod set up with a skirt and the other with a lure that can dive down a few metres. Demersal fishing has been steady with dhufish and pink snapper the main catches at Rottnest, the Three-Mile Reef and out from Two Rocks. Good King George whiting catches have come from off Mindarie, Marmion and at the Three-Mile Reef. It seems some of the bigger King George whiting have been caught in the same depths that the crayfish have moved out to, which has been around 40m. Anglers targeting Samson fish in 70m depths around Rottnest were surprised to find pink snapper and skippy in big numbers instead. Sand whiting and a few King George whiting have been in 10-15m depths off Cottesloe and City Beach. Squidding has been good out from Fremantle with the 8m depths producing plenty of delicious feeds. Trolling for chopper tailor in the Swan River has been productive, while there have been whispers of big mulloway caught in Mosman Bay and Blackwall Reach. Canning Bridge and the old Swan Brewery have been among the better spots to drop nets for blue swimmer crabs. This weekend is looking like another flat forecast on the water, with the mornings between Saturday and Monday currently looking best for the boaties. 

Flathead and flounder catches have tapered a little in the Swan River this week but good fish have been taken around Claremont, Mosman, East Fremantle and Bicton. Many anglers have done well with both species on soft plastics, before switching to hard bodies when the blowfish become active. A few squid have been chasing lures meant for flathead on the flats. Yellowfin whiting have been very fickle in the Swan River with most catches occurring around East Fremantle very early in the morning before the sun is up. Chopper tailor are also plentiful in the lower and middle Swan, with the better spots being the Narrows, Applecross Jetty, Claremont Jetty and its nearby flats, Freshwater Bay and North Fremantle. A few decent tailor have also been caught as far up river as Maylands. Good catches of soapy mulloway have also come from the Swan River system with the Narrows, Canning Bridge, the Causeway and Mt Henry Bridge among the better spots, with up river locations such as Ascot also producing fish. Bream were in reasonable numbers from Maylands right up to Guildford and giant herring, while very hard to land, were widespread from Alfred Cove up to Midland. The North Mole offered chopper tailor, mainly after sunset and herring in the day, with the odd snapper also landed there. Tailor catches have also been good from the rock walls from South Mole all the way down to Coogee. Good numbers of tailor have also come from Cottesloe and Floreat beaches with the evenings fishing best. Herring have been the main bycatch but a few soapy mulloway have also turned up. Trigg offered tailor in the mornings and the northern beaches such as Quinns and Two Rocks also produced decent tailor over 50cm. A few pink snapper have been caught as well from the gutters. Expect great land-based fishing conditions over the next few mornings with low to moderate easterly winds helping with casting.