Recfishwest's State-Wide Fishing Report 23 May 2025 🎣

Refishwest has teamed up with the good folks at Wildtrak Leisure Australia to offer all our members, followers and supporters 10% off ALL of Wildtrak’s extensive range of quality camping, 4WD and outdoors gear.   

To take advantage of the offer, simply jump on the Wildtrak Leisure Australia website, choose any product/s from their extensive catalogue of great gear and enter the code “Recfish1025” when you check out!  

In addition, Wildtrak have generously donated 10 of their wicked lithium battery jump starters for us to give away valued at $600 each.  

We will draw a Recfishwest member out of the hat each month to be the lucky recipient of one of these jump starters – great for getting your car, ute or boat out of strife when you’re out yonder!

The Town Jetty has produced good-sized squid, hordes of herring, reasonable skippy and garfish at night. Taylor Street Jetty has yielded the same species as well as King George whiting. Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has held lots of herring, small bream, flathead and flounder. Fourth and Salmon beaches have produced good numbers of salmon and herring, with fair numbers of skippy at Fourth Beach also. Skippy to a kilo have been taken at Stockyards along with herring, soapy mulloway and the odd salmon. Alexander Bay has held salmon, bronze whaler sharks, skippy to 2kg and plenty of herring, while Israelite Bay has offered small mulloway, gummy sharks, decent flathead and King George whiting from the rocks. At Roses Beach skippy to 5kg, bronze whaler sharks, salmon and the odd tailor have been caught, while Munglinup has offered lots of small salmon, along with skippy to 5kg, decent mulloway and plenty of herring. Maybe consider the jetties or lakes if you’re keen to wet a line until this gnarly weather subsides.

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 party seems to be winding down, but they have been appearing sporadically at well-known spots such as Cheynes, Lowlands, Shelley Beach, Nanarup and Sand Patch. Bremer Bay has been the most consistent spot for them, while a few good sessions have been enjoyed up at Walpole. Most local beaches have held plenty of herring and a few tarwhine. Bream fishing has picked up in the King and Kalgan rivers and Emu Point now has clean water and offered herring, bream, juvenile salmon and whiting. Herring, small King George whiting and decent squid have been taken at Frenchman Bay and Whalers Cove, while in Princess Royal Harbour the odd blue swimmer crab has been about. The town marina has fished well for squid and offered a few herring and small skippy among the pickers. It’s not looking possible for an easy land-based fish until at least Wednesday but a freshwater fish inland could be a good option considering rain is expected to cool down the streams and potentially spice up trout and redfin perch action.

Cheers to the Trailblazers Albany crew for their fishing 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. 

A couple of medium-sized pink snapper were picked up at North Mole late this week as the weather turned and tailor around 50cm have been taken back towards shore near the service station. Herring, squid and cuttlefish have also been caught at North Mole, while at South Mole herring fishers using blobs were getting bitten off, so a few changed up to bigger gear and did well on tailor in the 40-50cm range. Tailor around the 40cm mark have been taken between Port Beach and Cottesloe and a few big tailor have been hitting surface poppers at Trigg, while herring and the odd skippy have been taken at Floreat and City Beach. A few squid have been caught from the rock walls in South Fremantle where juvenile Samsonfish have been providing fun for those using light gear. Fremantle Harbour has held plenty of scaly mackerel and yellowtail have been active around E-Shed after dark. Herring and skippy have been caught at the Mindarie rock wall, while pink snapper have been taken between Ocean Reef and Two Rocks. It’s been slim pickings in the lower reaches of the Swan River, but flathead, tarwhine, bream and tailor have been taken at times. The Swan has fished better upstream from the Causeway with bream in reasonable numbers in the mornings and late afternoons at Burswood, Garratt Road Bridge and Maylands. A few soapy mulloway have been keeping them company. The pylons at Canning Bridge have been worth a try for bream, while the Canning River has held big schools of mullet and bream fishers and mulloway chasers have been trying their luck between the Mt Henry and Riverton bridges, with some bigger captures rolling through on occasions.

A big thanks to Anglers Fishing World in Fremantle for their great tips! These guys love their fishing just as much as we all do, so make sure you ask their super friendly team for advice and stock up before wetting a line off the land or boat!