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Recfishwest
Fishing Report

06/09/24

Troutfest returns this Saturday, 7 September to Drakesbrook Weir from 9am-1pm and all families are invited to come down and help us enjoy the unique experience of hand-releasing hundreds of trout into their new homes! While you’re down there why not have a crack at fishing for trout and redfin? We’ve got the gear, we’ve got the instructors and we asked the Government to make this weekend a freshwater licence free weekend – so you and your family can get to do this all for FREE! Click here for more event details!

Our contributors

Sam Bock

Sam Russell

Jarrad Lawford

Sedin Hasanovic

Want to know the best tips for taking great fish photos and also on how to handle fish out of the water? We've got you covered with our r esponsible fish handling and photography tips page. The page gives a perfect explanation on the types of images we love to use in our weekly Fishing Report and why.

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!

Keep up to date with events, clinics, news and amazing catches across WA by following our Instagram page @recfishwest and give our Recfishwest Facebook page a like!

For your photos to appear in the weekly fishing report, please make sure they reflect our responsible fish handling practices (so 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!

William Bennett

RECFISHWEST FISHING REPORT WRITER

Pic of the Week!

Captain Harry from @onstrikecharters wrangled in this beauty of a longtail tuna after it burned through the line on PE2 tackle. It was caught only two minutes from the Exmouth boat ramp too, so make sure you get your lures out and start trolling immediately!

Your fishing photos

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PAY US A VISIT AT THE 2024 CLUB MARINE PERTH BOAT SHOW!

The Recfishwest crew will be at the 2024 Club Marine Perth Boat show over this weekend between the 6-8th of September to answer any questions you may have about fishing across WA, with everyone who signs up as Recfishwest premium members receiving exclusive Halco lures to go target pelagics! Click on the banner image above for more info on this popular attraction.

Broome catches

The barra fishing is firing up around town! A couple of big metre-plus gals turned up for Kyal and Brock this week (as seen above) and Alex Chambers @boochface also tustled with a 97cm model on Wednesday. Get those lures in the drink!

Boats

Crews have been upping their billfishing game in the lead-up to the Marlin Cup next weekend and have encountered mainly black marlin ranging from 30-50kg, with most turning up from about 50km off Cable Beach. A few tuna and Spanish mackerel have been landed inshore and the odd bluebone has been caught very close in when sharks have been less active. Barramundi and threadfin salmon activity has picked up in Roebuck Bay, at the Fingers and at Crab and Dampier Creek, with live baits and lures such as Nomad Vertrex vibes doing well. Mud crabs have been in decent numbers in Crab and Willie Creek and most of the creeks have held blue-nosed salmon. The south-westerly winds are a bit all over the place over the coming days but it should still be pleasant out on the water once you manage to line up a launch with the tides.

Shore-based

Barramundi were widespread in the Fitzroy River with Langi Crossing, Telegraph Pool and the Cuttings among the better spots. Crab and Willie Creek have been holding trevally, queenfish and blue-nosed salmon. Trevally and queenfish have been in good numbers at the usual spots around town including Entrance Point, Town Beach Jetty and the Port Jetty. They have also been showing up around Quandong, where the odd small bluebone has also been caught. Eighty Mile Beach has been fishing well for threadfin salmon.

Big thanks to the crew from Tackle World Broome for their tips! Make sure you pay them a visit for the best gear and advice for your next fishing trip.

Exmouth catches

A couple of lovely barramundi cod speared by @allyyfrances this week which included a new PB of 60cm, one of the best table fish going round!

Boats

Weather conditions have made billfishing tough on the west side but a couple of good days early in the week produced small black marlin. Bottom fishers did a little better, encountering good numbers of decent-sized goldband snapper in 80-100m depths. Inshore fishing on the west side has been very quiet this week, likely because of the elevated winds and swell. The Muirons have been fishing well, producing good numbers of Spanish mackerel and big coral tout, while there was no shortage of goldband snapper in the deeper depths. Red emperor catches around the islands were down though. Exmouth Gulf produced a good range of species this week. Inshore squid were plentiful, a few blue swimmer crabs have popped up and mud crabs have been caught deep in the Gulf near Exmouth Gulf Station. Garfish have also been in good numbers close in and plenty of crews have been chasing them either for bait or for a feed. Manta rays have been sighted in the Gulf, leading to a few cobia catches this week. Mackerel catches have been quiet, but some nice golden trevally have been taken from the Shoals. Coral trout and blue-lined emperor have been in good numbers too. Sunday is looking like the better day this weekend after some pretty high southerly winds and swell but expect the water to be a tad dirty.

The Exmouth King of the Reef competition wraps up at midnight on September 30th, so time is running out to get your share of the $15,000 in prizes!

The major prize of a Surge Orion fishing kayak worth over $2,000 (pictured above) for the most species caught on King Reef is still right up for grabs, with the current leader on 10 species. Remember, there's no restriction on the type of fish that count for your total species tally in this section, with anything from baitfish to billfish eligible, so get out to King Reef in Exmouth Gulf and rack up as many weird and wonderful species as you can to win! Find more details on the competition and fishing tips for King Reef here!

Shore-based

"Head south" has been the tip for whiting chasers this week, either south of Tantabiddi or south of Learmonth. At Tantabiddi a few spangled emperor have been among the whiting, while Learmonth has offered squid from the jetty and a few small mangrove jack. Baitfish at Bundegi have been drawing in small trevally and queenfish, while the town marina has produced squid from the outer rock wall and small queenfish and trevally inside. The mouth of Wapet Creek has been steady for flathead and a few stray whiting. Spangled emperor have been in reasonable numbers at Mildura Wreck and Lighthouse Bay with the odd golden trevally also showing up.

These great tips were courtesy of the friendly team at Tackle World Exmouth. Swing by their store for the best advice and gear ahead of your next trip!

Kalbarri catches

@mat.svenson managed to reel this Spanish mackerel in to the yak up in Shark Bay this week and with a bunch of bull sharks following the yak laying in wait to pluck it off upon release, Mat decided to take it home for a feed instead. The pelagic action off our Mid-West took a decent spike this week and hopefully with improving weather on the horizon the reports should only get better as well.

Boats

A young fisher chasing mulloway on the lumps about 5km out from the Murchison River mouth instead landed a nice yellowtail kingfish that tipped the scales at 11kg. Another fine catch came from a member of the Kalbarri Offshore & Angling Club who landed a good amberjack north of town in the club’s monthly competition -- in which most members opted to fish from shore. Crayfish catches have been steady for pot pullers, while professional crayfishers have reported seeing the odd Spanish mackerel jumping offshore. Elsewhere it has been fairly quiet, but a few dinghy fishers have been targeting mulloway inside of Oyster Reef with a couple of good catches turning up. The swell and wind is still up a tad over the coming days so expect it to be choppy.

Shore-based

Kalbarri Offshore & Angling Club’s monthly competition produced some good hauls of tailor, bream, cod and mulloway, which were mainly taken from the Murchison River, while a club member landed a baldchin groper and a pink snapper from the cliffs. At Wittecarra and Red Bluff tailor have been active with big dart mixed in with them and showing a liking for Halco Twistys. The Back Beach has produced tailor in the 50-70cm range, while more big tailor and mulloway have also been caught north of Frustrations. Mulloway action has slowed a little in the river but plenty of good fish have been caught in the past week. The Sand Spit has been one of the better spots for them. Chopper tailor have been active around the marina and bream and cod catches have been good in similar areas. A few blue swimmer crabs have been caught near the town foreshore.

Shout out to Dean from Kalbarri Sports and Dive for his tips! Feel free to venture into his store to ask for advice if you're wetting a line around Kalbarri!

Geraldton catches

Boats

When the swells have been down and the water was clear dinghy fishers around Greys Bay have done well on school mackerel to 65cm, often when trolling. They have also encountered some decent skippy at the back of the reefs and have caught some good tailor when casting towards the reef. Divers have been doing well on crayfish in relatively shallow waters. It's still not looking great on the forecast with swells over 2m but Saturday morning might hold a manageable window for bigger boats.

Shore-based

Fishing has been very quiet around town and even whiting catches have dried up. Just south of Secret Men’s Business in Greenough a couple of 80cm mulloway were landed, but weed has been a challenge there as it has settled in right along the coast, so it pays to move around to try and find clear patches where possible. The Port Denison Marina has produced big yellowtail, some nudging 30cm, a few pike and skippy around the rock walls, along with soapy mulloway.

Thanks to the team at Geraldton Sports Centre for their tips! They will happily provide you with great gear and the solid advice for your next fishing trip.

Lancelin catches

Boats

Weather shut down most of the boating opportunities this week. While the wind has been favourable at times, consistent swell has made leaving the bay a risk. Inside the bay fished very well however, with herring, skippy and snook schooling in good numbers over the weed beds and King George whiting have been caught from the sand holes. While it's not looking perfect, the weather this weekend should certainly be better with lower winds and swell of around 2m expected, so launching may be tough but manageable for some. Sunday looks the better of the two days.

Shore-based

There were some great opportunities wind wise this week to cast a line and a few solid greenback tailor were caught from the gutters and reef breaks that offered some shelter from big swells. Drone fishers took advantage of some light winds and were sending out baits around 200-300m offshore where most of the tailor seem to be holding up until the swell drops. The wild weather brought big tailor and Samsonfish into the bay where they have been feeding on bait fish around the jetty lighting at night. Sunday morning at this stage looks decent on the forecast for land-based fishers with a light easterly wind expected to aid your casting.

A big Recfishwest thanks to Peter Fullarton for his tips on what's biting around Lancelin each week! If you want Peter to put you on to the fish directly, make sure you check out his Tailored Treks Tours page. Always a great time and Peter knows the best spots around Lancelin like the back of his hand.

Esperance catches

Boats

Big swells kept crews inshore this week with Esperance Bay again fishing well for squid, while at Dempster Head big King George whiting and sand whiting have been in good numbers. Lots of snook and good-sized squid have come from Flat Rocks, while there have been reports of pink snapper around Observatory Island. There may be a very small window arising on Sunday arvo into Monday morning for larger boats but the swell should still remain close to 3m.

Shore-based

Mid-week conditions were good with big schools of salmon camped at Roses Beach and skippy to 3kg at Warrenup, along with the odd gummy shark. Quagi Beach has offered flathead and solid skippy. A nice hole at Observatory Beach has yielded herring and salmon, while Wylie Bay has fished well for sand whiting, flathead and King George whiting. Hellfire Bay has been a hotspot for salmon out east. In town, Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has held small tailor, skippy and good-sized King George whiting. At high tide the foreshore has been productive for flathead, while the Town and Taylor Street jetties have offered herring, garfish and squid in the afternoons and evenings.

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.

Great Southern catches

Will and his brother @sam_eccles2001 got onto a good couple of pinkies during an arvo sesh on the south coast, with loads more pinkies reported from Augusta right through to Busselton. Photo credit: @willznmillz_adventures.

Boats

Huge swells have ruled out boating activity offshore and even in King George Sound, which before the gnarly weather had been producing squid and small King George whiting. The wind and swell will thankfully finally drop off from around Sunday into next week which is welcome news for the patient boaties. Because the swell has stirred things up so much the inshore lumps should produce fish and pink snapper catches were widespread off the beaches over the past few days, so burley should work in your favour if you finally decide to punch out.

Shore-based

Once again sheltered locations have been the go-to with Emu Point and the town marina probably the best bets. If clear water can be found (which often happens on a tide change), squid could be an option at these locations. Herring, whiting and small skippy have been plucked out from among the pickers by those willing to brave the weather. Pink snapper catches further west around the Augusta beaches took a good spike this week and it's a matter of finding gutters clear of weed. Bream fishing in the King and Kalgan rivers is another option and some big bream were pulled out of the Kalgan earlier this week. Sand Patch produced a couple of resident salmon for an angler who found a weather window on Monday.

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-West catches

It’s been a while since @kristy_diable soaked some baits due to the weather but she managed to stay above the weed and pulled in a couple of solid pinkies, a nice gummy shark and flathead all from a nice gutter off a South-West beach this week.

Boats

Weather windows earlier this week gave crews an opportunity to get on to good squid straight out off Bunbury, while the 10-30m depths there also produced good numbers of plump King George whiting in the 45-50cm range. Herring and skippy were also active around inshore burley trails. Geographe Bay also offered good squid fishing with several crews bagging out when drifting. Five metres proved a good depth for them and banana-coloured squid jigs worked well. Smallish King George whiting, herring and the odd skippy were caught in Geographe Bay as well. At Eagle Bay and Dunsborough when the swells were down kayak fishers found solid skippy in 10-20m depths. Sunday is currently looking great on the forecast for the boaties who have been patiently waiting for the lower swells and easterly winds, get out there!

Shore-based

Weed and big swells have made beach fishing difficult, but drone fishers not too far north of Bunbury landed some good pink snapper and a couple of gummy sharks early in the week. With plenty of dirty water flowing out of the estuary conditions have been poor at the Bunbury Cut, but the small groynes on the Back Beach have offered herring and skippy. Conditions haven’t been ideal at the Busselton Jetty either but there has been enough clear water along the structure to produce a few squid, while schools of herring have been responding well to burley. Drone fishers have landed a few good pink snapper either side of Dunsborough and Sunday morning looks like a good window for a land-based session off the beach. Keep an eye out for deeper gutters (usually don't have breaking waves).

Big cheers to Whitey's Tackle & Camping for their top fishing tips as always! If you're in Australind or Bunbury and are keen to wet a line throughout our South-West make sure you ask their very friendly team who love their fishing for advice and stock up on gear at their store. If you're in Busselton, the 2 Oceans Tackle team are also incredibly helpful.

Matty Ma @instahungfishing managed to land another beautiful brown trout and has been in red hot form for freshwater captures over the past few weeks. A great way to celebrate Father’s Day with his little helpers! We'll be releasing hundreds of trout around this size into Drakesbrook Weir this Saturday from 9am so make sure you're there early with your families so you don't miss out!

Harvey Dam, Drakesbrook Weir and Waroona Dam have been producing medium-sized rainbow trout, while Harvey Dam has also held smallish redfin which have been holding deep and were mainly taken by kayak fishers. Kayak anglers using soft plastics have been landing big perch to 50cm at Wellington Dam and thumping redfin have been caught in the Pemberton area this past week. The Collie River around the town has fished well for redfin too. A heads up that you will not need a freshwater licence to fish this weekend after we asked the Government to wave it in celebration of Troutfest, so make sure you take advantage and wet a line for trout and reddies in our South-West freshwater dams, rivers and streams!

Make sure you don't miss out on Troutfest which kicks off at Drakesbrook Weir THIS SATURDAY on September 7th from 9am-1pm! This is always a very popular family-friendly event that allows everyone to roll up their sleeves and help us release beautiful rainbow and brown trout into Drakesbrook Weir, along with plenty of other fun activities such as pop up stalls and free fly fishing tutorials. C atch the highlights from our previous Troutfest event here and bring your family down! Hint: Get there early so you don't miss out on the fish as the hundreds of trout are usually all in the drink within about 45 minutes!

Wanting to know where 66,500 rainbow and brown trout are going to be stocked over the next year? Click here to see the number of trout being stocked in all the dams, rivers and brooks!

Mandurah and surrounds

Mandurah

Boats: Lousy weather has seriously curtailed boating action over the past few weeks but a few crews targeted sand whiting inside the Five-Fathom Bank, while others headed to the artificial reef to chase yellowtail kingfish early in the week but only a few catches turned up from both locations. A few King George whiting have been caught at the estuary end of the Dawesville Cut, while pockets of clear water in the estuary have yielded herring along with the odd tailor and juvenile salmon. Thankfully the good boating weather should return across this weekend with lower winds and swell expected, so get out there and make the most of it.

Land-based: With the poor weather continuing throughout this week it’s not surprising most of the action has been in the estuary. Bream have been caught in good numbers from the marinas and canals, while a bream fisher was pleasantly surprised to hook and land a pink snapper from a canal wall. The fish was about 55cm and it was a terrific effort on bream gear. School mulloway have also been active around the estuary’s drop-offs and structure. The new Mandurah bridge has been producing juvenile salmon, as was the water around the Seba’s Song Giant near the Dawesville Cut, especially in clean water during the incoming tide on the left side. Herring and snook have shown up there as well, but dolphins have often crashed the party. Herring have been popping up occasionally along the Dawesville Cut. Swells and weed have made beach fishing very difficult, but beaches well away from estuary outlets such as Tims Thicket and San Remo could fish well for herring, skippy, whiting and chopper tailor. Pink snapper are definitely a chance from these areas too during the expected ideal land-based conditions on Saturday and Sunday.

Thinking of wetting a line around Mandurah? These great tips were courtesy of the super friendly and helpful team at Tackle World Miami so make sure you swing by their store for the best tips and gear before your next fishing trip!

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

Boats: Crews finding weather windows earlier this week mainly targeted squid, with good hauls coming from Cockburn Sound, Mangles Bay and the inside of Garden Island. Both sand and King George whiting have been much harder to find, but skippy were in good numbers on lumpy ground and when burley has been used Samsonfish have shown up too. Smaller skippy and big numbers of herring have been caught closer in, while decent tailor have been active at Mewstones and other exposed offshore reefs. We're finally in for some nice boating weather from Saturday onwards at this stage on the forecast so get out there and enjoy yourselves on the water.

Land-based: In what has been a tough week for land-based squid fishers, Woodman Point has proved the exception and produced consistently good hauls. As well as regular squid jigs, a mulie on a squid spike has been effective and this caught cuttlefish as well. Woodman Point also fished well for chopper tailor and herring. The nearby Ammo Jetty has offered all of the same species as well. Weed has made beach fishing difficult, but the inside of Long Point produced herring and tailor, while Secret Harbour held a few soapy mulloway and drone fishers managed to land a couple of pink snapper there. Rockingham and Palm Beach jetties have offered a few squid, good numbers of herring and some chopper tailor.

These great fishing tips were provided by the friendly team at Compleat Angler & Camping World in Rockingham, so make sure you chat to their experienced crew in store and stock up before heading out!

Perth catches

How's this 127cm, 15.8kg slab of a mulloway landed by Jake Heath in the Swan River! Mosman Bay has been a pretty good area recently for larger mulloway although catches have been widespread over the past week. Follow the Swan River Mulloway Facebook page to stay in the loop!

Boats

Monday was the pick of the days in what has been a frustrating week weather-wise. Squid were hard to find off South Fremantle but herring, skippy and sand whiting were in reasonable numbers. The Windmills had its usual mix of sand whiting and 35-45cm King George whiting. Sand whiting were also on the chew in 10m depths off City Beach, which has become a very reliable spot for them even in the rougher conditions. Three-Mile reef held skippy and the odd Samsonfish with burley working nicely here. When fishable, Stragglers offered herring, tailor and a few small yellowtail kingfish but generally if you are struggling to catch herring or tailor there that's a good sign bigger yellowtail kingfish are lurking around. Boaties can celebrate after weeks of horrendous boating weather with a good forecast finally headed our way across this weekend. At this stage Sunday morning looks like the slightly better day and it should be clear skies, so make sure you're trolling as tuna should be doing the rounds. Don't forget to register for Freo Sailing Club's yellowtail kingfish comp which kicks off tomorrow (Saturday 7 September) and has great prizes on offer! Scan the QR code to enter or click here!

Shore-based

Herring have been prolific along all the rock walls around Fremantle and also the groynes in the northern suburbs, with the odd skippy also among them. Metro pink snapper catches have waned this past week but North Mole produced a couple, along with a few big tailor. The Mindarie rock wall produced pink snapper too, while drone fishers caught a couple from the northern beaches. A decent pinkie was landed at Trigg this week also. Pinnaroo Point produced a couple of decent tailor earlier in the week and the low swell currently forecast for Sunday means Cottesloe Groyne could offer tailor, along with herring. Swan River bream chasers have been finding fish in lower reaches, mainly around structure, with a couple of big models landed. The river’s middle reaches have held bream too, with the Narrows and Canning Bridge worth a crack after a few good catches this week. Another solid mulloway was landed in the Claremont area this week and soapy mulloway have been widespread throughout the system. Both Sunday and Monday morning currently looks great on the forecast for a land-based flick off the metro beaches.

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!

Recfishwest

3/45 Northside Drive Hillarys

Perth, WA 6025

Australia

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Recfishwest · 3/45 Northside Drive Hillarys · Perth, WA 6025 · Australia

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