Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 04 October 2024 🎣

Recfishwest Operations Officer and Perth Game Fishing Club committee member, Levi De Boni is no stranger to billfish fishing off the metro coast. In this article he writes about the exciting emergence of the metro swordfish fishery – the holy grail for many sport fishers.   
 

To read more about it, click here!

At Thomas River gummy sharks and mulloway have been caught, while Poison Creek has held gummy sharks and big skippy. Dunns Beach has produced salmon to 5kg, while big schools of salmon have been cruising through Hellfire Bay. Stockyards has offered big flathead and sand whiting, while Roses Beach and 14-Mile Beach have held skippy and salmon. Big salmon have also come from Salmon Beach. Bandy Creek has produced King George whiting and skippy, while the Town Jetty has offered 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. 

Most of the beaches have been carved up by the latest storm front so better options have been the bread-and-butter species around town. Frenchman Bay and Whalers Cove have been producing squid when clearer water can be found as has the town marina. Frenchman Bay has offered small herring and King George whiting and the marina has held herring and small skippy. At Emu Point a few small King George whiting and the odd bream have been caught and one or two trophy-sized bream have come from the King and Kalgan rivers but standard models have been hard to find. Whispers of mulloway catches in the river systemhave picked up.

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. 

South Mole has held heaps of big garfish along with good numbers of herring but the recent blow has ended a good stretch of squidding from there and from the rock walls further south. North Mole has offered mainly herring and one or two chopper tailor, while before the blow reefy beaches around Cottesloe and Swanbourne were producing solid tailor and herring. Reports of bigger tailor have come from Trigg and Quinns. Mindarie rock wall has produced one or two pink snapper. Recent rain has made fishing in the Swan River a bit of a lottery with plenty of good fish to be found on the right days but other days have resulted in doughnuts for many. Tailor probably have been the most consistent species with good fish up to 50cm being landed at the Narrows, Canning Bridge, Applecross and Claremont, many on surface lures or metal slices. Soapy mulloway numbers have picked up from the Narrows right up to Bayswater. The Narrows has also held a few flathead as has the stretch from Burswood to Ascot. Bream chasers have been working the same areas with mixed results. Before the rain came bream were starting to show up on the flats but in the past few days most fish have been taken from the deeper holes and around structure. Good places to try include the Narrows, Canning Bridge, the Causeway, Optus Stadium Redcliffe and Garratt Road Bridge.