Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 10 May 2024 🎣

Gummy sharks have been abundant at Munglinup and lots of salmon and skippy to 5kg have hit the sand at Roses Beach. The 10-Mile Lagoon has held big flathead and nice-sized salmon, while skippy and sand whiting have been caught at Blue Haven Beach. The Town Jetty has fired for squid, while Taylor Street Jetty has produced big garfish at night. Dunns Beach held mulloway and big salmon, while Bandy Creek Boat Harbour fished well for flathead, flounder and King George whiting. At Woody Lake bream to 40cm have been taking lures and baits.

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 salmon were going absolutely nuts in the shallows of Cheynes Beach this week (watch the footage here), with Western Angler's Scott Coghlan hooking up to two salmon on the same lure!

The salmon action died down a little and the best spots to target appear to be places known to hold resident fish such as Lowlands, Cheynes, Nanarup and Sand Patch. Ocean Beach near Denmark has held a few as well, but the swells have been a problem. Most anglers targeting salmon have put out a bait such as a herring fillet or mulies and then when a school has passed by they’ve been changing to lures. The beaches around town have been thick with herring and a few tarwhine have turned up as a bycatch. Emu Point and the town marina have held a few squid, along with heaps of herring and some small skippy. Frenchman Bay was the pick of the squid spots. It has also held lots of herring and a mix of small King George and sand whiting. Most spots out of the wind have been worth a crack for whiting, with a feed of herring almost guaranteed. Rain has given the King and Kalgan rivers a good flush, making bream easier to target in the lower reaches.

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 unsettled weather has produced an excellent run of pink snapper, particularly at North Mole and on the northern beaches. North Mole has also produced plenty of herring, night-time tailor, skippy and garfish, as well as the odd big mulloway. It’s fished well for squid too, as did the rock walls around Fishing Boat Harbour and on Capo D’orlando Drive. Big winter tailor have been caught from reefy beaches such as Swanbourne, Leighton and Cottesloe and a few mid-sized snapper have turned up as well. On calmer days Floreat Beach has produced herring, skippy and whiting. The far northern metro beaches have produced mulloway including one monster landed at Quinns last night, as well as pink snapper. No land-based salmon catches have been reported apart from the brief session south of Scarborough early last week. Fremantle Harbour has been quiet, but it was full of scaly mackerel. Herring have also been caught there as well, but bigger species have been absent. The Swan River was also quiet, with mulloway chasers putting in long hours for little reward in what is usually a prime time. Skittish bony herring or mullet schools are usually a sure-fire indicator of mulloway action but baitfish have been hard to find. Nevertheless, the Narrows Bridge is always worth a shot for big mulloway. The upper reaches of the Swan, which had been fishing well for small bream, flathead and soapy mulloway have become a little quieter but further down big bream have been taken from areas with a bit of structure, including Canning Bridge, the Narrows, the Causeway and Mt Henry Bridge in the Canning River. There have been some good tailor catches in the Swan River, from Canning Bridge downstream, with a 50cm model pulled out from among the choppers at Canning Bridge this week. The Swan’s lower reaches have been quiet, offering the odd flathead, tarwhine and juvenile pink snapper.  A couple of anglers flicking soft plastics behind Optus Stadium last weekend had a nice session, landing a dozen flathead ranging from 30-40cm on Z-Man Grubz soft plastics. Pumpkin Seed and Midnight Oil were the most successful colours.