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Recfishwest
Fishing Report

27/01/23

With four FADs deployed off Cape Naturaliste last week and more to follow in Perth, Albany, Geraldton, Jurien Bay and Mandurah in the coming weeks, dolphinfish will again be on the fishing itinerary for many WA fishers. More FADs will also be deployed in the coming months in Exmouth, Port Hedland and Broome. Click here for more FADs details.

Our contributors

Sam Russell

John Dempsey

Peter Fullarton

Sedin Hasanovic

G'day <>,

I don't think we've ever seen this many snaps of great catches roll through in one week! Most regions had some peachy weather to get out for a fish and we've loved seeing a lot of tight lines across WA. Keep the photos coming!

If you've got a cracking fish photo you want to send in remember to keep sending us your catches by tagging #recfishwest in your online posts! You can also follow and private message your catches to our Instagram page @recfishwest and make sure you let us know where and how you caught it!

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For your photos to appear in the weekly fishing report, please make sure they reflect Recfishwest's responsible fish handling practices (fish held horizontally, no blood, hand under the belly, no fingers in gills, etc) just like the images below.

If you're planning to head out this week, stay safe, take plenty of photos and have fun!

Jarrad Lawford

RECFISHWEST FISHING REPORT EDITOR

Pic of the Week!

Quite a rare catch through the Exmouth region and I wish we saw more of them given their stunning colours. This Maori sea perch was plucked in 1.5m of water near Exmouth, with this great snap sent in by Tyler Cooper @ocean_gromm. If you catch this species around here, make sure you send us a snap because they look like a spangled emperor and a yellow skittle had a beautiful baby.

Your fishing photos

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Dolphin fish photo credit: Kurt Wilson @kwillo89

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Broome catches

Great to see some solid barra turning up in more numbers now close to Broome, with John Kapinga @spudjaping landing this nice silver beast. The Dampier and Crab Creek are both fishing well for barra, although it will be another couple of weeks before the Fitzroy returns back to normal following the unprecedented floods. Photo courtesy of @reefchiefaustralia.

Boats

There has been another improvement in the fishing this week across a few of the local areas and we have started to see more numbers of barramundi and threadfin salmon turning up around Crab Creek. While this region is still experiencing a fair amount of flow, it has improved considerably over the past week or so and the fish have been smacking stickbaits and plastics. We also saw plenty of boats experience some solid success chasing Spanish mackerel out from Cable Beach, with trolling picking up some decent sizes up to about 15kg. Even with the storms rolling through, the winds dropped right off which saw a lot of boats also do well for bluebone around the inshore bombies. Around Entrance Point also saw decent numbers of trevally and queenfish turning up, with stickbaits flicked around here seeing some specimens landed. The mud crabbing has been quiet during the recent neap tides, although this should improve over this weekend. The storms will be sticking around over the weekend with mostly northerly winds and a bit of rain is forecast for Monday before the wind picks back up from Tuesday.

Shore-based

The land-based action is also improving nicely around town. A few anglers had good luck for barramundi and threadfin salmon when flicking stickbaits around Crab Creek. One of the most welcome species being landed from the shore this week was bluebone, which appeared in decent numbers off the Port Jetty and also around the structure closer to Gantheaume Point. Barramundi were also turning up around the structure at Port Jetty too, providing some great entertainment. Entrance Point was probably the most reliable spot for queenfish and trevally, which have made a welcome return in numbers after the past couple of turbulent weeks. As for the Fitzroy River, the flow is slowing down and is expected to return back to normal in a couple of weeks, although the roads are still closed due to damage which is preventing access around here, so it's best to avoid these areas until this is sorted. For the best tips and gear for your fishing expedition, make sure you visit the helpful pros at Tackle World Broome for advice and they will provide details on spots with the best access for a flick.

Exmouth catches

Whether you're on top of the drink or swimming in it, the adrenaline rush that accompanies watching a Spanish mackerel running at full speed is hard to match. Bo Davies is an accomplished spearfisher with plenty of great catches on his Instagram page @bo_davies07.

Boats

The boating action earlier this week was rather quiet, although the last few days saw a welcome spike in catches. Now that the neap tides are dropping off, the fishing action should improve over the next week or so. The odd blue marlin are being caught, but haven't fired up just yet. Most are tipping it to be a rather quiet season for billfish, although persistence is key when trolling for them. We saw a lot of diamond trevally caught on jigging and soft plastics this week, but the most impressive catch off Exmouth this week was definitely a record-obliterating 16kg pennantfish (African pompano) that was speared out near the islands. The Muirons have also been performing better for giant trevally and queenies over the past couple of days, especially over the shallow reefs and sand flats. The mackerel are still sticking around on the troll throughout the Muirons, although their numbers have dropped off slightly. The red emperor and goldband snapper also went a bit quiet to the west of the Muirons although are still popping up on the structure. The Gulf has been very quiet other than a few golden trevally popping up through the Shoals with the odd queenfish. The yellowfin whiting are still going wild off the shallow sand flats along the beaches though, with catches over 35cm common. Squid have almost dried up, although one fisher managed at least six near Learmonth so they are around if you find the right ground. Moderate south westerly winds are coming through over the weekend but the mornings are looking best.

Shore-based

While the weather went quite glassy throughout this week, it has made the Spangled emperor and bluebone fishing on the western side go stone cold, especially around the lagoon. They tend to prefer a little bit of wind chop on the surface near the inshore reefs, so maybe avoid flicking on the western side for these species when there isn't a breath of wind. If it is calm, try casting plastics around the deeper drop offs for better luck. The mangrove jack are firing in very good numbers however and a lot of fishers have been landing fish with a minimum size of 40cm around the marina and Wapet Creek. While the Gulf dried up for larger species this week off the land, there are still large numbers of yellowfin whiting turning up with solid sizes of 35cm common. If you're chasing queenfish or trevally through the Gulf, start at the Bundegi boat ramp and work your way down as there are still huge amounts of baitfish around here and a stickbait might entice some strikes. It's been way too hot recently for mud crabbing through the mangroves and this week will have some more scorching days, so maybe avoid this until a cooler day rolls through! Big thanks to the crew from Tackle World Exmouth for their tips!

Kalbarri catches

Boats

A lot of different mackie species are starting to fire up on the troll both north and south of town, with plenty of plump bonito thrown in the mix as well. There are a lot of sharks ruining the fun, so maybe use stronger gear when trolling, free-spool your line if they are being chased so they can use their speed to their advantage or simply reduce the distance of your trolled lure to the back of your boat. The spotted mackerel in particular have been very large, with fat healthy fish over 70cm common. Further offshore, the odd Rankin cod have been turning up along with some decent-sized groper and dhufish around the 40-50m depths. For boats sticking in close, the coastal gorges have worked very well for pink snapper, baldies and bigger tailor approaching the 70cm mark. Tailor have also been going rampant around Jakes, Red Bluff and even right up through the river. The herring were in thick numbers around the same regions, with catches over 30cm turning up frequently. The mud crabs have been lower in numbers but tended to appear more further up river towards the jetties, while the blue swimmers also dropped off but were more common closer to the mouth. As for crayfish, boats dropping around the Blue Holes, Frustrations, Jakes and Red Bluff are still pulling in good numbers. The mornings over the next few days should have some nice windows but Monday and Tuesday morning are certainly looking best for boats.

Shore-based

The tailor and herring action took a decent jump throughout this week around areas such as Jakes, Red Bluff and along the shores of the river. Most of the tailor tend to be in the 40-50cm bracket, although jumbos will come along and cross over 70cm. One land-based fisher also managed to land an 80cm spotted mackerel off the beach at Wittecarra which is hard to beat for Kalbarri's land-based catch of the week. One of the junior fishers in the recent competition landed a 70cm mulloway in the river, which saw plenty of others catching nice bream, whiting and a few cod. Casting off the rockwall also saw more solid numbers of estuary cod and bream, while a few mud crabs popped up for fishers around the jetties further up river. Big thanks to Dean from Kalbarri Sports and Dive for his tips as always and if you or anyone you know of might be interested in acquiring about purchasing his store, feel free to give him a buzz on 08 9937 1126.

Geraldton catches

Evie from @northern_addicts made the most of her family visit down to Dongara over the weekend after landing this lovely baldie. This species have been fishing very well in the region over the past few weeks and always put up a thumper of a fight.

Boats

Starting off further south around Jurien Bay and the fishing was excellent last week, especially north of the boat ramp. West of North Head along a few of the lumps in the 8-20m depths have been producing some lovely fish. Spanish mackerel captures have been reported with one being weighed in at 15.5kg, along with baldchin groper in the 45-55cm range with some breaksea cod mixed in as well. Yellowtail kingfish were also sighted north of town when boats decided on using burley cubes, however no captures were reported. A couple of the boys fishing out of Cervantes have landed some solid dhufish in the 8-12kg range using the traditional paternoster rigs. Similarly, reports off Wedge Island have been excellent as well, with decent-sized dhufish and pink snapper all being caught in the 15-25m depths. Families launching out of Dongara have had plenty of success getting their catches of baldchin and pink snapper off most of the structure. Up in Geraldton, fishing has been quite good when people could get out with pelagic species such as Spanish mackerel and tuna turning up on the troll, while the demersals are mostly turning up on the structure in the 40-60m range. Spanish mackerel are mostly being found off Horrocks while trolling. Closer to shore, Horrocks has also been producing pink snapper and dhufish while jigging, so this might be a great option for both trolling and bottom fishing in the same session. A bit of wind is sticking around this weekend, but most of the midwest should see this drop off by Monday and Tuesday morning.

Shore-based

Tailor have been in very good numbers off the coast throughout this week right from Lancelin up to Geraldton. Starting south at Wedge Island, fishing just south of Target Rock inside the Green Islands' special purpose zones was excellent for fishers using lures to target tailor. A few fishers wading around Grey and generally north of Wedge Island casting stickbaits have also had success in landing tailor up around 55cm, with plenty of herring on smaller metals. Fishing at Hangover Bay has been excellent for tailor with plenty of captures coming through with the odd mulloway. North of Dongara has been relatively quiet as the gutters seem to have disappeared and there just isn’t enough water between the reefs and the beach to soak a bait. Most people have elected to go just a bit further north and hit up spots around S-Bend and Lucy’s, with both spots providing some solid fishing experiences with plenty of tailor and mulloway being caught. The only downside is really fine seaweed does build up consistently, requiring a lot of re-casting and pulling it off the lures. Up at Geraldton, Drummonds Cove has been excellent for tailor, especially when casting near the rocks in higher tides. Big thanks to Geraldton Sports Centre for their report!

Lancelin catches

Good numbers of dhuies were landed this week around Lancelin over the inshore structure, with this nice catch coming from one of Peter Fullarton's kayak adventures. Steven Toothill from the Fishing Lancelin Area Facebook Page also landed himself a stonker.

Boats

There has been some great weather throughout this week and last weekend saw several consecutive glass-off days, which are certainly rare at these latitudes this time of year. While it was disappointing to see the Lancelin wind festival cancelled, holiday makers and day trippers from Perth certainly were out to make the most of the great boating weather. There’s been a wide range of catches from huge bass groper, eightbar and blue trevalla offshore, along with some good numbers of dhufish along the inshore lumps in 10-15m and everything in between. A number of boats have been catching cuttlefish on jigs or bait around the same areas. It's not just the demersals that have been performing nicely, with some great sand whiting landed along the 20m depths. The 8-10m depths behind the first line of reef has many schools of jumbo-sized blue mackerel feeding. The mackerel seem to have arrived on the warmer currents and joining them have been plenty of schools of southern bluefin tuna throughout the same depths. The sand strips around the bay have been producing some flathead, flounder and King George whiting, while the nearshore reef breaks have some good numbers of tailor. There was a fish kill reported after the still days inside the bay and as a result, there is not many fish along the nearshore at the moment due to poor water quality. There is a lot of rotting sea wrack close to shore at the moment, so avoid swimming around here or fishing until it clears up. Monday evening and Tuesday morning are looking great for another boat session with minimal winds predicted.

Shore-based

It's best to avoid fishing the shoreline around town until the smelly water clears from rotting seaweed and dead fish. From around Eddies Island to just north of the main jetty has seen a lot of rotting sea wrack, which has lead to poor water quality and it's best to avoid fishing or swimming around here. In other areas further south and north from this though, the fishing has been great. Tailor have been firing up at dawn and dusk, although the sizes are well down now with many undersized catches mixed in along with herring and small snapper. The big guitar fish or shovel noses have certainly been popping up all over the place, you never quite know where or when one of those big brutes is going to take a bait and give your rod and reel a serious workout. Some nights off the jetty mainly saw herring and tailor when a sea breeze has moved on the brown smelly water. I was even lucky enough to have a kayak slightly east of Edwards Island on Saturday about 100m offshore and was stunned to see hundreds of 35-50cm tailor around smashing stickbaits on the surface when flicked or trolled just after the reefy drop off. The bite was on from about 10:00am until 1:00pm and they appeared to be sitting within the 3-5m deep drop off between the start of Back Beach and the reef further offshore. If you're fishing from the beach south of Edwards Island away from the rotting seaweed, maybe try a long and flexible rod and a metal lure with some weight to yeet it out as far as possible into the deeper regions. Big thanks to Lancelin's fishing guru Peter Fullarton from Tailored Treks for his report as always!

Esperance catches

Boats

She's been blowing a gale for a majority of this week in Esperance, however a lot of fishers have still been getting out for a drop. Going out in the early mornings earlier in the week allowed boaties to target nannygai at Mondrain Island, along with some solid breaksea cod that have been abnormally large over the past couple of weeks. Thumping Sambos have been picking fights with soft plastics and unweighted baits behind Cull Island, resulting in some riveting battles and biceps receiving some major burns. Inside the Bay has been filled with squid and it's been prolific with herring when burley has been used. Small southern bluefin tuna have also been providing some good fun on the light gear weighing in around the 2-3kg mark around Black Island. The next few mornings should see some nice drop offs in the wind and it should swing around from southerlies tomorrow to easterlies on Sunday and Monday.

Shore-based

Another highly productive week for land-based fishers. Gummy sharks are being caught relatively close to town near Stockyards, providing a delicious feed of long fillets for fishers. Israelite Bay has been on fire lately for the odd large mulloway, with a lot more numbers rolling through than usual. Generally most beaches east of town have been inundated with schools of salmon, providing an excellent fight for the tourists. Most evenings, a lot of fishers have been spotting large schools of salmon at Fourth Beach as well and they will frequently come within casting distance. The Esperance Jetty has also being great for squid first thing in the mornings, with 35cm hoods common. Word on the street for the most successful colour of choice for the squid jigs has been highlighter green. Bream action has been great around Woody Lake on a warm afternoon and surface lures have tended to be the best option for the 40cm+ fish. Stokes and Lake Quallilup have also been excellent for bream recently. Big thanks to the pros from Southern Sports and Tackle for their tips as always and both mornings this weekend are looking nice for a land-based session, especially Saturday.

Great Southern catches

Albany has been pumping out some seriously beefy black bream lately and they are even more impressive when caught on surface lures. Hunter from @hunters_fishing_adventures landed this 42cm+ brute doing just that and not only does this style of bream fishing provide quality entertainment, but it also means you don't lose as many rigs by dropping plastics near the hidden snags.

Boats

Fishers have still been battling the strong easterlies in the region, however the lower swell has made it possible for boat fishers to get out wide and enjoy what’s been on offer. By all reports, it’s been some good fishing despite the easterlies making it rough. Out on the shelf, fishers have had good success on nannygai and hapuka with a few eight-bar cod in the mix as well. Those who ventured to the inshore reefs around the 40-80m depths have also had some good luck with breaksea, queen snapper and pinkies being the common captures. Closer inshore and whiting fishers have continued to have good success when dropping a line around Skippy Reef, with Gull Rock also seeing decent fish. The wind drop on Saturday looks like it's lining up to be incredible for a boat session, followed by a nice morning on Sunday as well. This weather window should allow for some fishers to get out wide again so we are looking forward to hearing what was caught for next week’s report!

Shore-based

Some more whiting have been turning up throughout the sand flats around spots such as Emu Point, but it has not been consistent fishing and this year’s summer has not been as hot as previous years, so the flats just haven’t been as productive. If we get a few more days with lower winds and scorching temperatures, we might see these numbers start to pipe up. Reports of some nice skippy have come out from Little Grove Jetty, with fishers using unweighted baits such as prawns with great success. Some very nice bream have been landed from the Kalgan River this past week, including one hefty fish measuring 43cm. The mulloway seem to have gone a little quiet, although some smaller-sized 40cm soapies have been captured from around the Kalgan Ski Club area. The fishing for herring in the region has been firing though, with some great reports coming from Cheynes Beach and the tourist rock area especially when a few handfuls of burley have been yeeted into the water. Some lighter winds are rolling in over the weekend which should see nice land-based fishing conditions.

South West catches

The crew from @2_oceans_tackle not only are great at providing quality fishing tips and gear in our South-West, but they also take some stunning snaps. This brown trout was plucked from a deeper section of one of the rivers where the water was slightly cooler.

Boats

There has been decent weather on a few days this week, which has seen a lot of activity on the water. Fishing for demersals is still cranking along nicely, with some great numbers and sizes rolling through on the regular species of pink snapper, dhufish and breaksea cod mostly on the structure in the 30-40m depths. With the FADs deployed a week ago off Cape Naturaliste and some calmer and warmer conditions tipped to roll in from early next week, we're expecting some decent fish to be caught, so make sure you send us your snaps if you have any luck for pelagics on the surface! The coordinates of the Cape Nat FADs can be found here. The tuna action has been rather dry and a lot of dolphins have been spotted closer to Bunbury, which has hindered the movement of the tuna further south. The Sambos and yellowtail kingfish action though has remained rock solid, with a lot of fish being caught off the Cape in depths of 40-80m. For boats sticking in close chasing the King George whiting and squid, they have appeared in a lot more numbers further towards Busselton. We haven't seen too many boats punching out wide for hapuka and groper, but there could be a nice window on Saturday morning with lower winds allowing you to do so.

Shore-based

Gotta take our hats off to the gentlemen who took home $1,000 for the longest mulloway caught during the recent Open Beach Fishing Competition in Binningup. Your 51cm puppy of a mulloway snagged you around $20 per centimetre of fish! Mostly north of Bunbury has seen better results for mulloway and tailor over the past week, with catches in decent numbers but smaller average sizes. Within the estuary systems, the yellowfin whiting continue to run wild and catches over 35cm are a lot more common. The river fishing in general seems to have dried up unfortunately over the past few days however. While the crabbing action has been red hot and they have been in plague proportions throughout the estuaries, we've heard a lot of reports of fishers taking them home to find they are very scarce of meat. To avoid this, have a squeeze of their shells near the gills and if it's soft, they aren't worth keeping. If you also notice a pinkish tinge on the outside of their shell that generally means they are quite full of meat. Another option is letting them roam for another month and leaving them be so they can fill up on food and fill out their shells. Big thanks to Whitey's Tackle for their tips and Saturday morning is currently looking best for land-based fishing.

Freshwater

We take our hats off to curly mo's and this great marron snap from @theroughnuts. There are still plenty of marron around so make sure you go galivanting before the season closes at 12 noon on 5 February!

We have heard of varied levels of success this week from those who have gone out with their snares and nets to try their luck for marron. The weather was almost perfect on Monday night for having a try at snaring, with a new moon and low wind, however we have reports that those who made the venture out had very limited success, especially at Harvey Dam. Sometimes they are on, and sometimes they are not. With only nine full days until season closes, make sure you get out and have a crack! On the fishy side of things, it’s been a bit of a tough week for trout with not a whole lot of captures coming through, although there have been a couple of fantastic fish landed. Some really nice brown trout were caught this week as seen above by the crew from 2 Ocean's Tackle, with some ex-broodstock fish to 50cm coming out of the Warren River. Numbers of smaller yearling captures have been down, but a couple of fish have been landed from some deeper runs in the Dwellingup region. The fishing for redfin perch has been consistent with some nice fish being pulled from the Harvey Dam and the rivers running from this, along with the Collie River. Soft plastic grub tails seem to be an effective lure currently with the amount of bug life that is getting around due to the summer heat.

Mandurah and surrounds

Ash Ramm from Tackle World Miami took full advantage of the beautiful conditions over the weekend to land himself a bunch of southern bluefin tuna which were running wild off the Mandurah coast. The warmer water is slowly creeping down and the tuna action should only improve over the coming weeks.

Mandurah

As seen in the image above, the southern bluefin tuna went rampant this past week off Mandurah and even Tackle World Miami's Ash Ramm couldn't resist jumping on the wagon. Hook ups happened very quickly for a lot of boats trolling across a wide range of depths in close and out wide, with most around the 1kg size but the occasional 6-7kg beefcake rolled through. Demersals have also been rock solid, with the 30-40m mark working best. First thing in the morning and in the evenings have also performed very well for pink snapper along Five Fathom. Jigging around the same areas has also seen great catches of Sambos and even yellowtail kingfish, which will hopefully make a decent spike in the coming weeks once the warmer water continues to move down. In closer off the beaches, there has been huge schools of whitebait rolling through which in turn has brought the tailor and mulloway with them, which have been caught in the deeper gutters mainly north of town. Casting unweighted mulies into the whitewash where the waves are meeting the reef has also produced plenty of larger tailor and the occasional snapper. Within the estuary the yellowfin whiting are getting much bigger in size, with many now being caught around the sheltered flats up to 37cm. The crabs are also everywhere, but a lot of them have been empty, so maybe have a feel of their shell to suss out if it's soft or not. If they're hard they'll be good for a feed, but if they're soft it's best to throw them back. The next few mornings are looking like the preferred windows for boats around Mandurah.

If you are land-based fishing in Mandurah, loads of snapper and mulloway were landed off the beaches this week whether you had a drone or not, with Tims Thicket having some great results. The northern beaches around Melros, Falcon and Golden Bay saw 1-2 mulloway each night from most of the fishers giving this a crack. The snapper seem to love feeding right up against the shore break further north and all you need to do is launch out your mulie, sand whiting or paternoster rig next to where the whitewash and reef is visible. The yellowfin whiting are still red hot and the big breeders up to 37cm are coming back in from local beaches and feeding hard. Crabs are everywhere on the scoop, but a lot are very scarce of meat. Ways around this are looking for a rusty or pinkish tinge on their shell or external growth such as algae or even small barnacles on them, which generally indicates they are full. You can also squeeze the underside of the shell near their gills and if this isn't rock hard, it's worth throwing them back to let them continue to fill up. The next few mornings should see lighter south-easterly winds which look best for a flick.

SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY / WARNBRO SOUND

The beaches halfway between Rockingham and Mandurah have definitely worked best for finding large tailor, mulloway and pink snapper lurking near the reef breaks. The gutters through here are some of the best you'll find for these species off the land and a lot of fishers this week have gone home with impressive catches. For the boaties, the crays are still mostly appearing deeper still in 30m+ when pots are dropped on the inside of the reef. The squidding action earlier this week saw some solid kraken reeled in, with 40cm hoods quite common when boats drifted through the sheltered weed beds around Point Peron, Garden Island and within Mangles Bay. Skippy and herring are still mostly turning up where a bit of reef is prevalent around Coventry Reef and the northern tip of Point Peron. Sand whiting have been turning up along most of the beaches between Shoalwater Bay, Palm beach and Becher Point. Flathead have also been turning up in the same regions on occasions, with a few flounder spotted roaming the shallows in these areas rustling up bait. Next few mornings are looking like the best windows before the breeze kicks off around midday.

Perth catches

The tuna action off Perth over the weekend was red hot and we saw a lot of southern bluefin and yellowfin tuna performing nicely on the troll. Mostly south and north of Rottnest saw the best results and the crew from @fishinwishinlife_official had a great time getting amongst the action.

Boats

It's been another highly productive week for the boaties in the metro area. Tuna certainly were in good numbers when trolling small skirts or Halco Laser Pros and many were caught both north and south of Rottnest along the reef systems in 20-40m depths. The northern side tended to have cleaner water though and this saw more catches of tuna ranging from 1-7kg. Parker Point was another popular spot for Samson fish, with Craig Bibra (pictured below) landing this solid Sambo in around 40m of water. The yellowtail kingfish went a bit off the boil however. Pink snapper, breaksea cod and baldchin groper also took a decent spike this week around Rottnest as well, with the 40m depths working nicely and some stonker baldies up to 60cm were quite common. Generally it was the southern reefs off Rotto that produced more of the demersals, although we also saw impressive catches located north. The 60-80m range further away from the island has still worked nicely for catching demersals, although the drift is often quite fast which has encouraged more fishers to venture closer to the sheltered waters around the island. If it is a glassy day on the water with minimal wind, we still recommend the 60-80m range for your larger demersals. Despite the flatter conditions earlier this week, not many boats went out wide to target hapuka according to the pros. In close around the shallow reefs such as Stragglers, Mewstones and Little Island has seen tailor around the 40-60cm mark, with unweighted mulies and stickbaits trolled slowly working best. As for crays, they are mostly doing best when the pots are dropped on the inside of Five Fathom for big reds, but most boats are pulling pots every morning and moving them around after each drop. Persistence is key for catching crays at the moment, but if you find the honey hole they are still in good numbers. As for the river, there were loads of chopper tailor up to 50cm caught when slowly trolling unweighted mulies, metals and stickbaits around areas such as East Fremantle and along the western side of Como. Monday and Tuesday morning are currently looking best for a metro boating session with lower easterly winds.

Shore-based

We saw a decent jump in the number of mulloway and snapper being caught off the beaches this week whether you had a drone or not. For both species however, it was mostly the beaches further north between Yanchep and Two Rocks producing the goods, while Tims Thicket down in Mandurah also saw plenty of solid catches if you don't mind the drive. The place to be for land-based fishing is still the Swan River though, with flathead and flounder going wild along the shallow sand flats seemingly everywhere you can wade out. The giant herring went rather quiet, although we did see some stonker tailor up to about 48cm landed frequently from the river around areas such as East Fremantle all the way up to Como Jetty. Even the pros from Anglers Fishing World in Fremantle got in on the tailor action, with a handful of larger specimens smashing their lures. Launching metals or 90mm stickbaits as far out as possible from the sand flats into the deeper drop off areas has worked well for tailor in the river. As for crab scooping in the river, most were caught further up towards the Swan Brewery and around Matilda Bay, along with the shallow areas generally closer to the city. South of Blackwall Reach around the Bicton area along the flats is also doing quite well for crabs. The next four mornings should see calmer south-easterly to easterly winds which could make casting easier for land-based sessions.

Recfishwest

3/45 Northside Drive Hillarys

Perth, WA 6025

Australia

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Recfishwest
Our purpose and vision is great fishing experiences for all in the WA community - forever.