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Fishing Report

27/09/24

Barra Bash smashes WA comp record AGAIN with 1,412 anglers and epic catches!

For the second year running, this weekend’s Apex Kununurra Barra Bash has smashed the State record for most entrants in a fishing competition, which included 300+ juniors and anglers coming from as far as Tasmania!

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!

Turns out prehistoric dinosaurs are sometimes a by-catch on the On-Strike Charters! Though they never got a weight on it, it definitely looks every bit of a 30kg Spanish Mackie. Epic work guys and definitely takes the top spot for this weeks fishing report!

Your fishing photos

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Broome catches

Check out this nice mangrove jack caught by Marcy-bei from a recent trip to the lower Fitzroy River! Pic: Reef Chief Australia.

And remember, if you donate your mangrove jack fish frames to an exciting first-of-its-kind Australian study you'll be able to claim an exclusive Halco lure for free in return! For more information click here.

Boats

Not many boats seem to be chasing billfish since the Broome Fishing Club’s Marlin Cup was held, despite conditions having been conducive for them. That being said, plenty of crews have fished in Roebuck Bay and done well on queenfish, trevally and bluebone, while the recent big tides have brought a lot of floating debris into the bay and attracted good numbers of tripletail, which have shown a liking for prawn baits and soft plastics. Barramundi have been caught in Crab and Dampier creeks and at the Fingers. Threadfin salmon have been active in Crab Creek along with mud crabs and Willie Creek has produced mud crabs as well.

James Peck had an awesome day out on the boat with dad catching his personal best Spanish Flag! Caught on a running rig with a prawn off Port Hedland, James is showing us he's a gun fisho and 100% worthy of a spot on our fishing report this week!

Shore-based

Fitzroy River mainstays Langi Crossing and Telegraph Pool have been producing sizeable barramundi, while smaller barramundi have been caught in Willie Creek and one was landed near the Town Beach Jetty, which has also produced small trevally and queenfish, as has the Port Jetty, which has also offered a few bluebone. Trevally, queenfish and bluebone have been caught from the rocks at Entrance Point, while Barred Creek and Quandong have produced bluebone as well. Willie and Barred creeks have also held mangrove jack, while the Eighty Mile Beach has fished 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

Must be that time of the year to be up at the Monte's, who are we kidding it's always that time of the year to be there! Ruby managed to break a PB after sniping this Spanish mackie. Awesome work!

Boats

Blue marlin have started to show up out wide and they have been the prominent billfish species this week. Keeping them company have been wahoo and tuna. Bottom fishers have done well on goldband and ruby snapper in 120m depths, while red emperor have been in 80m but sharks have been a problem at times. Closer in, Spanish mackerel catches have been good and cobia have been about, along with spangled emperor. The Muirons have produced Rankin cod in the deeper pockets and coral trout in shallower depths. A few red emperor have been caught but sizes have been small, however, Spanish mackerel and cobia have been in good numbers. In Exmouth Gulf the shoals have offered mainly golden trevally, coral trout, cobia and the odd school mackerel. In close, whiting and squid have been plentiful.

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!

I'd also have my eyes locked on that cobia! Jarek Smithson caught this awesome cobia not far off the Exmouth coast, great work! Pic: Jesse Smithson

Shore-based

Whiting have been prolific in the gulf from Learmonth up to Bundegi. The Learmonth Jetty has fished well for squid and also produced a few bream, while small trevally and queenfish have been hitting lures at Bundegi in the mornings and evenings when baitfish have been active. There have been no surprises in the town marina, mainly bream, javelin fish and small cod, queenfish and trevally. Squid have been caught on the marina’s outside wall and also from the rocks at the light industrial area. Lighthouse Bay and the Mildura Wreck have been reliable for spangled emperor and the odd bluebone. Spangled emperor have also been caught at Tantabiddi.

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!

Katie Gray managed to get out for a fish with her partner Troy on the inside of the Exmouth Gulf. Safe to say Rankin cod may be "ranking" high on her list!

Need some tips for avoiding shark bite-off?

Pic: Finn with a "PARR-t" of a pink snapper! Cheers for the photo Jayson Spencer!

All around WA and particularly heading north of Geraldton, a lot of fishers know the frustration of losing prized hooked fish to sharks.

While sharks might have 400 million years on us regarding perfecting hunting fish in the ocean, losing high volumes of high value species to shark bite-off is avoidable.

Recfishwest has reached out to many experienced fishing experts, charter operators and top sportfishers who have great tips below on how to best limit if not avoid shark bite-off – and profanity-riddled fishing trips.

Click the link here to find out more!

Kalbarri catches

Boats

Plenty of snapper have been taken from both sides of town, along with some good baldchin groper to the north. Fishing near the cliffs has also produced good pink snapper and baldies. There have been few reports of dhufish. It is definitely worth having a troll to and from the demersal grounds after a big fish, believed to be a wahoo or a tuna, snaffled a lure off Bluff Point but proved unstoppable

Shore-based

Pink snapper catches from shore have been very good this week with 60-65cm models caught at Red Bluff and the northern end of Wittecarra. The odd pink snapper has also come from Pot Alley and Mushroom Rock and at Oyster Reef. Tailor catches have been good too, with all the above locations producing fish up to 70cm. A big mulloway was dropped at Chinamans this week, while a 15kg fish was caught and released in the same area. Mulloway reports have also come from the town marina and the sand spit in the Murchison River. The sand spit has also fished well for whiting, while bream and cod have been in good numbers from the marina up river. A nice mangrove jack was taken from the marina jetty this week and a few flathead have turned up as well.

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

Muhammad Abir Quayum Hasman lands himself a hefty 1.10m mully off Tarcoola Beach. Fantastic pic, mate!

Boats

Very early sea breezes with winds up to 30 knots have marred what had been a pretty good start to the demersal season with pink snapper, dhufish and baldchin groper catches reported both sides of town. Since then a few boats have chased squid around Point Moore but have only caught them in ones and twos.

Shore-based

Fishing has been much better from the shore especially for those targeting mulloway. A metre-plus model was landed between Southgates and Tarcoola Beach this week, while Glendinning Road produced one of similar size early one morning and a 1.3m fish came from Drummond Cove. There have also been widespread reports of soapy mulloway around 60cm. Pink snapper are another prized species that has turned up and 60-80cm fish were taken in howling sea breezes at Drummond Cove this week. Tailor, however, have been patchy. A nice haul of healthy choppers was taken from a beach near Dongara this week, while near town Drummond Cove, Explosives and the west end of The Lives have fished well at times. For whiting chasers, Morning Bay has produced good numbers first thing in the morning. They have been mostly yellowfin whiting around 20-25cm with the odd 30cm model mixed in. Whiting catches have also been good at Pages Beach.

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

While the weather has not been ideal, boats have managed getting out for a drop between the periods of wind. Fishers found an even mix of the usual species including baldies, dhufish, breaksea cod and pink snapper. Inshore there has been a lot of very small dhufish, use discretion as when to release these as fish from under 20m depths with no obvious trauma can be expected to have a high survival rate. Best catches are mostly coming from depths greater than 35m. Traveling through the 25-35m depths has seen an abundance of tuna. Trolling small lures in the bay has been productive for herring and snook, some good feeds of King George whiting can be found around the sand holes.

Shore-based

Beach fishing wasn’t much easier with plenty of weed along the beaches and a trail of bogged 4WD's. Low tides throughout the day and strong sea breezes in the evenings did not help the fishing either. The morning offshore winds has produced some great sessions on school mulloway and a good average size to the tailor around 40-50cm. The town jetty fished well for tailor, herring and sand whiting.

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

Nannygai have fired up this week with Figure of Eight Island and Boxer Island the pick of the spots, while big breaksea cod and queen snapper have been caught at Douglas Patch. Pink snapper have been in good numbers at Buddys Head, while Samsonfish have been active behind Observatory Island. All the bays between West Beach and Observatory Island have been firing for big sand whiting, while Esperance Bay has fished well for herring, snook and squid.

Shore-based

Thomas River has produced gummy sharks and mulloway, while big skippy and salmon have come from Alexander Bay. Dunns Beach has held big herring and salmon, while in Wylie Bay big flathead have been caught along with sand whiting and, in the corner, King George whiting. At Lucky Bay squid and skippy have been caught from the rock, while herring, salmon and flathead have been taken at 10-Mile Lagoon during the day. Warrenup Beach has held good salmon and gummy sharks at night. Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has fished well for King George whiting and skippy, while both jetties in town have produced squid and garfish. Woody Lake has fished well for bream.

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

Callum Dowell ended up landing 12 quality bream using his signature mussel vibes. Here's one of the quality fish caught!

Boats

King George Sound has been the most reliable location this week, producing good mixed bags of squid, King George whiting, sand whiting and flathead. Kayak fishers have done well on small KGs close in. The few boats that got out to the coral ground caught mainly pink snapper but not in great numbers. Reports of pink snapper and skippy came from around the islands.

Shore-based

Resident salmon have been landed at Bremer Bay, while closer to town herring have been the main species caught with the odd tarwhine thrown in. The rocks at Emu Point have fished well for small King George whiting but the water has been too dirty for decent squid catches. Squid catches have been much better at Frenchman Bay and Whalers Cove, and also at the town marina, which has offered herring, small skippy and whiting as has Princess Royal Harbour. Frenchman Bay has also produced small King George whiting, though KG numbers have waned at Middleton Beach. The King River Bridge has produced bream, while the Kalgan has yielded bream as well, along with one or two mulloway.

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

Trudy Moorehouse AKA the Squid Queen had a fantastic day out on the water catching snapper, fighting a few stingrays and also landing this beaut gummy shark. Throw in some whale and dolphin spotting and that's a solid day out!

Boats

Plenty of good fish have been taken from inshore waters on both sides of Bunbury. Pink snapper have been caught from in close out to 20m, and 20m and has been the domain of dhufiush. Harlequin fish have been among the demersal bycatch and a fox fish was taken this week as well. Good pink snapper have been landed in Geographe Bay, while dhufish were more prominent out from the Cape. King George whiting catches have been good off Busselton, from 5m or so out to the Four-Mile Reef, and squid have been in good numbers in 5m in the bay as well, while skippy have been around the inshore lumps. Busselton kayak fishers launching off Dolphin Road have found squid and cuttlefish in 2-3m and in similar depths King George whiting around the 40m mark. Lots of baitfish have been seen around the Cape and off Bunbury so it could be worth keeping an eye out for tuna or bonito bust-ups.

Shore-based

Tailor have started to show up north of town with Binningup and Preston producing a few. Herring have been in good numbers there as well and drone fishers have picked up one or two pink snapper. Pink snapper have also been caught on the drone in the Dunsborough area. Closer to town herring and chopper tailor have been around Back Beach, the Bunbury Cut and Dalyellup, which along with Stratham has held a few juvenile salmon. Bream and soapy mulloway have been in the lower reaches of the Collie River. In promising signs, yellowfin whiting have shown up in the estuary with a couple caught on surface lures but most taken on vibes. There has been plenty of ink patches right along the Busselton Jetty and along with squid herring have been plentiful, while at the end of the jetty Samsonfish have been hitting live baits and big stickbaits.

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.

Always a memorable fish when it's your first trout on a fly! This fella took a liking to the woolly bugger at sunset. Great work, Matty Ma!

Plenty of big redfin perch up to 1.5kg were caught in the Waroona Redfin Challenge last weekend, a competition that allowed participants to fish in a range of locations. Harvey Dam and Drakesbrook Weir produced the most perch but they were in good numbers right throughout the area, while some very good rainbow trout and the odd brown trout were caught at Waroona Dam and Harvey Dam and at Drakesbrook Weir. At Wellington Dam rainbow trout have been caught close to the dam wall, while behind the wall 50cm-plus redfin have been taken, mainly by kayak fishers.

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: Crews that have found weather windows have generally done much better south of town, mainly off Dawesville, in depths ranging from 5-40m, with a few crews going right out to the Southern Bank. Dhufish have been in good numbers, most have been modest sizes but a 22kg model was landed this week. Pink snapper have fished well in depths around 10m and the dhufish and pink snapper bycatch has included harlequin fish, breaksea cod, baldchin groper and big King George whiting. Water quality has been poor offshore, shutting down pelagic activity and it seems to have affected the Five-Fathom Bank where pink snapper have been hard to find, although skippy have been in good numbers.

Land-based: Northern beaches such as San Remo, Golden Bay and Madora Bay have been reliable for tailor, mostly choppers but a few fish around 60cm have been landed. Other than that it has been quiet. There have been no reports of pink snapper from the reefy beaches south of town and mulloway catches have drawn a blank also, although there were a few school-sized models in the estuary a couple of weeks back. For those not chasing tailor local beaches have yielded herring and yellow-eyed mullet, while the Dawesville Cut has produced a few herring and one or two chopper tailor.

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: Demersal chasers have done well during weather windows on pink snapper and dhufish, mostly behind Garden Island and between there and the Five-Fathom Bank. The Five-Fathom Bank has held some solid skippy and Samsonfish have been caught on the lumps, often in burley trails. Plenty of bonito have been at the back of the Five and they have been hitting small stick baits and metal slices. King George whiting have been fairly hard to come by but sand whiting have been in good numbers in Cockburn Sound, inside of Garden island, on Parmelia Bank and in Mangles Bay. Squid catches have been good in 2-5m at these locations.

Land-based: Weed has built up on the beaches making fishing difficult. Tailor numbers have been down but those that have been caught have been either side of 50cm, with Secret Harbour and Port Kennedy beaches good spots to target them. Herring are plentiful on most beaches and good numbers of sand and trumpeter whiting have been taken too, with Port Kennedy one of the better spots for sand whiting. Woodman Point and the Ammo Jetty have offered herring, chopper tailor and squid, as have Rockingham and Palm Beach jetties. Better tailor have been caught at Long Point, along with herring and whiting. The latter two species have been plentiful at the Penguin Island spit, where a few flathead and flounder have started to show up. Good squid have been caught at Point Peron.

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

Sambo on a popper would've been a sight to see! Cody Suladra would be having back troubles after fighting that horse.

Boats

Pink snapper and dhufish have been caught at Rottnest and Carnac Islands and off Ocean Reef and Two Rocks. The northern locations have also produced decent baldchin groper. King George and sand whiting have been in good numbers too, off Rottnest at the Windmills and inshore from Fremantle. Plenty of decent sand whiting have been at these locations and also in 10-15m off City Beach and inshore at Hillarys. Squid catches have been good too, out from Fremantle and in the bays at Rottnest. The West End of Rottnest has held a few tuna and decent tailor and skippy have been at Stragglers. In the Swan River chopper tailor have been active from the Narrows down to the Fremantle bridges and trolling for them has yielded a few, while kayak fishers have found bream in the Redcliffe and Burswood areas.

Shore-based

North Mole has fished well for smaller species including herring, whiting, skippy and chopper tailor, while these species have been caught at South Mole along with garfish. South Mole has been the better mole for squid fishing and the South Fremantle rock walls have produced squid along with herring and skippy. Fremantle Harbour has held herring and yellowtail and it could be worth soaking a bait for mulloway there as they are now widespread in the Swan River. A 50cm-plus tailor was taken on a Halco Twisty at Swanbourne Beach, which has also held herring. Herring, sand whiting and trumpeter whiting have been caught from the Coogee rock walls. Good tailor have also been taken from the flat reef just south of the Cottesloe Groyne while the northern beaches have produced solid tailor. Big tailor have been caught at Wilbinga. The northern beaches have yielded the odd pink snapper for drone fishers as well, while sand whiting have been in good numbers from Alkimos down to Hillarys. Things have started to hot up in the Swan River with a range of species starting to be caught in better numbers. Excellent mulloway around the metre mark have been taken in the middle reaches, including one on a bream outfit that snaffled a soft plastic, while some nice soapy mulloway have been in the upper reaches. Juvenile Samsonfish have been caught in the lower reaches, while the East Fremantle yacht clubs have produced by some big early-season flathead and the odd flounder. Flathead have also been caught from the Narrows up to Burswood, while tailor chasers have found choppers at the Narrows, Claremont, Canning Bridge and Point Walter Jetty, which has been holding a lot of bluebait. Bream are widespread and have been caught in deep holes near Blackwall Reach and at the yacht clubs and around structure at Canning Bridge, the Causeway, East Perth and Maylands. Most of the captures have been during the day.

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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