Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 26 July 2024 🎣

Good-sized salmon have been caught at Salmon Beach, while decent tailor and salmon have been the main fare at Fourth Beach. Big surges and high tides have fired up flathead in 10-Mile Lagoon. The first kilometre along Wylie Bay has held good numbers of sand whiting, while Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has produced big King George whiting and flounder. At Roses Beach big skippy to 6kg and 80cm have been landed. Squidding has been excellent at the Town Jetty, while the foreshore has offered King George whiting and big flathead. Taylor Street Jetty is a nice sheltered spot to fish if the westerly winds are howling and this week it produced garfish, especially 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 huge swells also ruled out most beach and rock fishing but local rivers such as the King, Kalgan and Hay have been producing reasonable bream, with many caught on soft plastics. A few squid have been caught when clear water could be found. Even normally sheltered locations have been at the mercy of the elements this week but those determined to fish have managed to catch small herring and whiting at Emu Point and the town marina. Bream, herring, flathead, tarwhine, juvenile salmon and King George whiting could be worth targeting in Denmark’s Wilson Inlet, with smallish pink snapper also a possibility around Prawn Rock Channel.

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. 

Chasing an easy and delicious feed? Squid are plentiful around Fremantle off the moles and rockwalls at the moment, especially when the water has been clear. @saltyfishos got in on the action and you can watch his latest catch and cook footage here. 

This week’s storm fronts failed to produce the anticipated run of pink snapper from the metropolitan rockwalls, with only a few taken from North Mole and a couple from Cottesloe groyne. However, North Mole did produce plenty of solid 45-50cm skippy and some big flathead and tailor. More decent tailor were also caught in the gutters at Port Beach and Cottesloe along with big skippy. Big tailor have also been taken from the northern beaches such as Trigg and Floreat. The rockwalls and marinas around Fremantle have produced bream, skippy and herring, with micro jigs working well on these species. In the Swan River sizeable tailor continued to be caught at Canning Bridge in the early mornings and evenings, while bream have been active at Garvey Park and the Causeway. The Optus Stadium to Causeway stretch has also thrown up some decent flathead, while in the river’s lower reaches squid have been caught. If you're wanting to wet a line off the land then Saturday morning is your best bet before the stronger westerly winds roll through over the coming days.