Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 20 September 2024 🎣

They look cool. They're plentiful. They're good on the chew and great fun to catch.What's not to like about Rankin cod? Check out what Scott Coghlan has to say about Rankins and how to target them in this Scott's Species article.

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Good numbers of gummy sharks and mulloway have come from Thomas River, while the western end of Dunns Beach has yielded good skippy and salmon have been cruising by there as well. Stockyards has offered tailor, salmon and sand whiting, while 14-Mile and Roses beaches have fished well for gummy sharks and salmon. Tailor and salmon have been caught at the first carpark on Fourth Beach. In town, Taylor Street Jetty has produced garfish at night, while the Town Jetty has fished well for squid. The foreshore has produced King George whiting on the high tide, while Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has held skippy and flathead. Bream chasers have done well at Wheatfield Lake.

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. 

Big swells have ruled out a lot of beach fishing with many tracks washed out. But depending on conditions, Cheynes Beach, Two People Bay and further east to Bremer Bay could be worth a try for herring, skippy and resident salmon. Nearer town the water is very murky at Emu Point so better land-based squidding can be had at the town marina, Frenchman Bay and Whalers Cove.  The marina and Princess Royal Harbour have offered family-friendly fishing and herring and the odd skippy and whiting have been caught from among the pickers there this week. As well as squid, Frenchman Bay has produced herring and a few nice whiting. Bream fishing has been slow in the King and Kalgan rivers as the dirty water has been slow to clear but as more fresh water is flushed downstream it can only improve, while late September is usually when mulloway start to stir in these systems. Wilson Inlet has held bream and King George whiting.

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. 

Bream fishing in the Swan River has picked up with small to medium-sized fish caught between Redcliffe and the Causeway. Baits such as prawns and mulie pieces have worked best, although have few have been taken on small hard-bodied minnows. Surprisingly soft plastics weren’t in favour, however there were plenty of 35-45cm flathead there that were happy to hit them instead. A few bigger flathead have been picked up in the Swan’s lower reaches, while bream have been hitting surface lures on the flats around Claremont. Bream have been caught at the Narrows too and the odd tarwhine has been mixed in. Chopper tailor have been in good numbers in the river although sizes have been small. The Narrows, Canning Bridge, Nedlands and Claremont have been some of the better spots. Fremantle Harbour has offered herring, a few tarwhine and yellowtail at night. North Mole has been quiet but it produced tailor around the 50cm mark this week and herring have been in good numbers. South Mole and the South Fremantle rock walls have held the odd squid, along with small skippy and herring but fishing there has generally been slow. Some nice tailor have been caught at Floreat and Swanbourne beaches in the morning and the northern rock walls have held herring.  A pink snapper was taken at Hillarys this week and inside the rock wall the odd bream has been picked up around pylons. Tailor catches have also been good on the northern beaches and a couple of pink snapper were picked up by drone fishers up that way earlier this week.