Recfishwest's State-wide Fishing Report 08 November 2024 🎣

Poison Creek and Thomas River have fished well for mulloway and gummy sharks on the high-tide change, with the shallower gutters fishing better than the deep holes. Dunns Beach has offered smaller gummy sharks and plenty of salmon, while Roses Beach has held mulloway, salmon and skippy. Fourth Beach has been going well for salmon, as has 14-Mile Beach. The edges of the weed patches just off the town foreshore have held King George whiting, while Twilight Beach and Wylie Bay have yielded good sand whiting. Lots of squid have been caught at Lucky Bay, while the Town Jetty and Taylor Street Jetty have offered squid and garfish. Woody Lake has fished well for bream, while Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has held King George whiting and flathead.
    
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 King and Kalgan rivers have started to fish much more consistently for bream and soapy mulloway catches have started to pick up there as well. Strong winds have restricted beach fishing, but sheltered areas around town have offered bread-and-butter species. Squid have been in reasonable numbers at Whalers Cove, Frenchman Bay, Emu Point and the town marina. Herring and small King George whiting have been caught at Emu Point with small strips of squid baits working best. Frenchman Bay has held small KG's and the town marina has offered herring and skippy among the many pickers.

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 red-hot flounder action in the Swan River just won't cool down and we had to do a double-up on the snaps! Catches were reported from East Fremantle right up to Burswood by both spin and fly fishers, with avid fisher Isabella Tan @castawaybell (left) landing several big fish and 12-year old Bodie Blackwell (right) stalking this 38cm flounder with dedication for 30mins before finally enticing it to strike! Casting into the deeper drop offs and working it back over the shallows seems to do the trick. 

The Swan River has been a hive of activity, teeming with dolphins and baitfish at times. Tailor fishing has continued to be excellent with fish up to 60cm being taken from structure and drop-offs at the Narrows, Canning Bridge, Como, Claremont, Ardross, Blackwall Reach, Point Walter and Matilda Bay. In the lower Swan a few snook have been mixed in with the tailor schools. Good flounder have been taken at Point Resolution and in Mosman and Freshwater bays. Flathead have been widespread and most fishers are picking up between one and five per session, with nice flatties taken at the Narrows, Claremont, the Causeway, Bicton, East Fremantle and Point Walter. Yellowfin whiting have been ghosting the flats in the lower reaches and better spots for them have been Bicton, East Fremantle, Claremont and Freshwater Bay. Small Nomad Squidtrex vibes and Ecogear ZX vibes have worked well on them and a few have fallen to micro jigs. Good bream have been taken on mussel lures and soft plastics alongside the Causeway bridges, while on the Maylands flats bream to 35cm have been pulled out from among the rats by fishers slowly rolling hard-bodied lures. Soapy mulloway have been caught at the Causeway and further up river. Fremantle Harbour held heaps of herring and underneath the floating weed drifting through the harbour have been good numbers of small squid. Areas around the harbour and the Maritime Museum have held plenty of yellowtail scad which have been caught on baitchaser rigs. Tailor chasers have done best at Cottesloe and the northern beaches, the latter of which has been holding a few whiting as well. A few just-sized pink snapper turned up at North Mole early this week, along with a few tailor and herring, while South Mole has fished well for herring and squid. Early on Sunday morning also looks like the best window for land-based fishers but expect that strong southerly sea breeze to swing around from the calmer easterly wind quite rapidly.