Recfishwest's State-Wide Fishing Report 27 June 2025 🎣

Spanish mackerel have been abundant in close, while sailfish were in good numbers offshore from Barred Creek and Coconut Wells. Reef species have been going well out wide with good catches of red emperor, coral trout and saddletail snapper reported this week, while the shallows at Gantheaume and Entrance Points have continued to fire for bluebone. The town’s creeks have been very quiet for finfish, but mud crabs have been plentiful. Crab and Willie Creeks have produced a few mangrove jack. Those nasty easterly winds are looking very grumpy until at least Wednesday and it will make it tough going out on the boats, with the swell also hitting 1.5m at its peaks until then. If you wish to duck out aim to tuck right in close to the coastline for shelter. 

Strong and cold easterly winds have made fishing a challenge, but the west side has offered a little relief. A few black marlin have been caught in 150-200m with tuna and dolphinfish among the bycatch, while bottom fishers have encountered goldband snapper in 70-100m. Red emperor and coral trout have been caught in 40-60m. Spanish mackerel seem to have gone quiet, but the lagoons around Tantabiddi have thrown up a few spangled emperor. Strong winds have curtailed access to the Muirons with no reports coming in, while fishing in Exmouth Gulf has not been very pleasant either. Squidding has been hard work in the Gulf, but garfish have been about in good numbers. The Shoals have been very quiet with just the odd blue-lined emperor and school mackerel hanging around. The pesky easterly winds are sticking around this week and midday will see them at their strongest until at least Tuesday. With the swell hovering around 2m for a majority of that time most fishers will opt to fish the west side, but the mornings and evenings in the Gulf should see calm conditions. 


A special shoutout to two awesome captures up in our Pilbara region! Little Isla (top image) started catching some bait aboard @bluelightningcharters in the Montebello Islands this week before turning it into a lovely coral trout on her birthday! The bottom image shows the 88cm GT landed by avid fisher @junior_grassy off Point Samson back on Australia Day that has officially been classified as a new Junior Angler World record and IGFA All-Tackle Length Junior World record for the species! 

In the Exmouth Gulf, the town marina has held small trevally and queenfish, along with bream and cod. Some bigger trevally and squid have been caught from the outside rock wall. Whiting fishing throughout the Gulf has been mixed, with Learmonth one of the better spots and some decent queenfish also being caught from the jetty. Respectable queenfish and trevally have been caught at Bundegi, while the tip of the Gulf has offered spangled emperor and golden trevally. Tantabiddi has been very hectic around the boat ramp with most crews favouring the west side, but it has produced a few spangled emperor and the odd dart.

Nice gutters formed on the beaches after the cold front. The 14-Mile Beach now has some very fishy holes which produced gummy sharks, mulloway and salmon, while Fourth Beach has gone OK for salmon as well. There have been lots of herring and a few King George whiting in the sheltered corner of the port, while the Town Jetty has fished well for squid first thing in the morning. Bream, herring and King George whiting have been active at Bandy Creek Boat Harbour, but bream fishing has been very quiet at the lakes. Thanks to the better conditions across this weekend the squid catches should improve off the local jetties as the water continues to clear up so get out there. 



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. 

Local beaches have been cut up by the blow, so caution is urged when driving on them. They were unfishable this past week, forcing anglers to target the King and Kalgan Rivers for bream, which had been running well. The rivers started to get dirty this week, but they should clear by the weekend. The town marina and Emu Point could be too murky for squid, but they should offer a few herring, skippy and black bream. Whalers Cove and Frenchman Bay could be a good option for squid chasers and might throw up herring and small King George whiting as well.

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. 

Not what you would usually see in the metro section but this 69cm mud marlin is a pretty impressive catch on fly for @jameslauchlan! James and his pal were fishing all morning throwing the usual carp flies with no luck, so they threw on some bigger flies in black leech patterns which finally saw a strike.

Pink snapper have been caught intermittently at day and night from North Mole. South Mole has produced a couple as well and both Moles have produced the odd mulloway. Herring have been plentiful at the Moles and have been the favoured bait for pink snapper fishers. North Mole has also produced nice mixed bags of garfish, skippy, tarwhine, flathead, snook and sand whiting, often on the harbour side. Both Moles offered a few squid. A few pink snapper were taken from the Coogee rock walls, but the northern rock walls fished best for them this week. Hillarys, Mindarie, Ocean Reef and Two Rocks all produced good pinkies, along with skippy in the 40-50cm range. A few pink snapper have hit the sand at the northern beaches, while Swanbourne Drain and Scarborough have produced herring and 35-45cm tailor. The South Fremantle rock walls have held garfish, skippy and a few squid and bream which have started to show up in the marinas. In the Swan River, squid have been caught mainly at night in North and East Fremantle and they could be worth targeting after dark at Claremont Jetty, Mosman Bay Jetty and Green Place Reserve Jetty. Swan River bream chasers have continued to concentrate on structure from Bayswater downstream, while a few big mulloway have been active throughout the system. Chopper tailor have been taken from jetties in the lower reaches and a flathead pushing 60cm was caught in the Applecross area. Both tonight and tomorrow look best for land-based fishing across this weekend before the nasty northerly winds return from Sunday onwards. 

A big thanks to Compleat Angler Nedlands for their great tips! These guys are all avid fishers, know the best spots for every particular species and have provided great support to Recfishwest and metro fishers for many years. Make sure you ask their super friendly team for advice at their store just off Stirling Highway and stock up before wetting a line off the land or boat!