Fishing Lure

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Recfishwest
Fishing Report

25/10/24

Since last week's full moon period, large schools of pink snapper have been gathering in Cockburn Sound to spawn and footy legend Glen Jakovich was there to capture this great spectacle. Check out Jako's video along with other footage of pink snapper schooling in Cockburn Sound over the years by clicking here.

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!

Will Atkinson @wa_fishing wanted to land a big Sambo during his recent trip down in Albany and his dream came true with two! One was landed on a @nomadtackle_aus Chug Norris and the other was caught on an @oceans_legacy Keeling, with both fish released to fight another day. Check out the footage here!

Your fishing photos

If you want to be included in our weekly Statewide Fishing Reports, message your best fishing photos and a description to our Instagram page @recfishwest.

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FADS LAUNCH GETS FISH MONITORING TECH BOOST!

This summers’ FADs season is here, with 30 devices going in between Steep Point and Albany by the end of November – with 10 off the north metro, back of Rotto, Rockingham and Mandurah already in the drink!

This year’s rollout will also see cutting edge tech being trialled by DPIRD on some of the FADs for the first time in Australia – including 24/7 sonar tracking fish numbers and sizes and water temperatures to better understand pelagic behaviours!

It's great to see ongoing investment and enhancement of this program which began almost 30 years ago with the Perth Game Fishing Club and since evolved through Recfishwest's successful Statewide FADs trial.

FIND OUT MORE HERE

Broome catches

Welcome to the cobia club Harry! A great fish landed during a lovely day out in pristine Broome conditions for @_the_rafters_.

Boats

Strong winds and big tides have ruled out most offshore fishing and it has been hard going in Roebuck Bay as well, with most boats targeting Crab and Dampier creeks instead which have been been fishing steadily for barramundi. Threadfin salmon have been in both creeks as well but only a few have been landed. If you are after a relatively easy and delicious meal however, both creeks have held plenty of mud crabs. There are moderate westerly winds hanging around over the weekend although the forecast indicates midday lulls. Monday is looking like great conditions.

Shore-based

The Port Jetty held its usual fare of queenfish and trevally, along with 35-50cm mangrove jack. At the Town Beach Jetty bream and javelinfish have been kept company by queenfish and trevally, while at Streeter’s Jetty mangrove jack and queenfish have been caught. Barred and Willie Creek have offered mangrove jack along with small trevally and queenfish, while at Thangoo mud crabs have been plentiful. The freshwater sections of the Fitzroy River have been fishing well for barramundi around the 80cm mark with Berkley Shimma Pro soft plastics doing a lot of the catching.

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

Bit of Rowley's GT action for @max_out_fishing this week! It's always an adrenaline rush watching these monsters chase down your lures and while some of them tend to have darker colours as they get bigger, we don't often see GT's with just a dark tail!

Boats

Fishing on the west side of the Cape has been difficult with mostly bigger boats heading out wide and targeting blue marlin in 300m-plus depths. A few crews sneaked out to chase bottom species for an hour or so when conditions allowed it and mainly found goldband snapper in the 80m depths. The lagoons around Tantabiddi have offered spangled emperor. It’s been pretty choppy at the islands as well, but Spanish mackerel have been taken in good numbers. Most boating activity has taken place in Exmouth Gulf with plenty of school mackerel and blue-lined emperor being caught on the Shoals. A few cobia have been taken around the lumps in the Gulf, while at the deeper Shoals golden trevally have been landed in 18-25m although more shallow reef bombies and ledges have also produced some solid GT's. Rankin cod and coral trout catches have waned in the Gulf this week. Squid have been plentiful on the weed banks closer in, while at the bottom of the Gulf blue swimmer crabs have turned up and fly-fishers on the offshore flats have tangled with big bluebone and tuskies. There are some pretty strong south-westerly winds accompanying a swell of around 2m so it won't be too comfortable out on the boats this weekend, the mornings between Monday and Thursday look better on the forecast.

Shore-based

On the west side campers battling the wind have managed feeds of whiting and spangled emperor down at South Lefroy and Winderabandi. In Exmouth Gulf, whiting have been the most consistent species for shore-based anglers and have been taken on baits and small lures from the tip right down to the Bay of Rest. At Learmonth, bream and mangrove jack have supplemented whiting catches and sizeable queenfish have been taken from the end of the jetty. At Bundegi the resident schools of hardyheads have been replaced by shoals of mullet, which in turn have attracted bigger than usual queenfish along with school mackerel and decent-sized giant trevally. The inside of the town marina has offered bream, cod and small trevally, while the top of its outside rock wall has yielded big queenfish and squid have been caught on the side. Spangled emperor have been in good numbers from VLF Bay around to Lighthouse Bay. Big bluebone and sizeable giant trevally have been hooked along this stretch but not landed, so the challenge has been set.

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

How's this for a giant herring! This 10.1kg, 124cm beast was landed by Will Hampson on 20lb line in his four metre tinny off the Monkey Mia side of Shark Bay and it could potentially be a new WA and national record! Hot tip: If you do hook a giant herring, try and keep your rod point down when they jump to keep the pressure on the line as that's when they are notorious for spitting hooks. A very impressive fish!

Boats

Big swells have curtailed a lot of boating opportunities but a few crews have found windows to drop craypots on the inshore reefs with decent results. Dinghy fishers have fished just off Oyster Reef on the odd calm day and picked up nice tailor. Unfortunately some strong south-easterly winds and 2m+ swell will make it tough going out on the water for the boats over the coming days, but there could be some good windows opening up on the mornings between Tuesday and Thursday.

Shore-based

Pink snapper have been in good numbers at the coastal gorges and also at Red Bluff. These locations have also held good tailor and some big herring. Good tailor have been taken on poppers at Back Beach and also at the river mouth, with poppers and baitcast mulies working well. Dinghy and kayak fishers have ventured across the river to fish Oyster Reef for big tailor and pink snapper. Last weekend a 15kg-plus mulloway was landed at Lucky Bay on Saturday night and two solid school-sized fish were picked up on Sunday morning, along with decent tailor. In the Murchison River the Sand Spit has offered chopper tailor and good yellowfin whiting have been taken on the incoming tides in the mornings, while bream and small cod have been the main catches at the marina jetty. Mud crab catches have been steady.

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

Swells and wind have kept most boats on trailers and unfortunately the next week isn't looking too flash on the forecast either, with strong winds and 2m+ swell sticking around. Thankfully inshore areas around Point Moore should produce squid and whiting when clean water can be found. Divers have caught plenty of crayfish but found many to be berried or tar-spotted, so make sure you carefully put these crays back if so.

Shore-based

Pink snapper fishing has continued to fire with good fish taken from Point Moore right up past Coronation from reefy areas 20-30m out that have a bit of sand. Most of the pinkies have averaged 60cm but a few 80cm models have been landed as well. Weed has been a challenge at times, but many anglers have opted to wade out and fish with it around their legs while casting into clean water. Some of the better pink snapper spots have been Drummond Cove north of the carpark, Morning Reef, Buller River mouth and the river mouths north of Coronation. These spots have also produced mulloway and tailor. Quite good tailor have been caught at Southgates in the mornings, while at Tarcoola Beach on the weekend at least three one metre-plus mulloway were landed (read that carefully, that's three fish measured over a metre, only flatties get over three metres). Pink snapper have been taken off the rock groyne near the Sail Inn, while at Drummond Cove herring to 30cm have been caught from the reefs, where big garfish have also been sighted. North of the Greenough River mouth school mulloway have been caught, while the first and second points at Greenough River have produced a few tailor. Squid fishing has picked up north of the Batavia Coast marina near the Medalia Bend. Whiting catches have been down, but licensed netters have caught quite a few 30-40cm fish.

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

Plenty of fishers came up trumps for mulloway after soaking baits this week, including Ray Beattie over the weekend.

Boats

Tuna were sparse until boats punched past the 30m depth isoline, where schools of bonito became prolific and southern bluefin tuna between 2-3.5kg became more dominant in depths around 35m. Casting small metal lures to the schools of bonito was very productive. The tuna schools were not always showing at the surface, but trolling high speed lures was picking up just as many fish away from the schools indicated by birds. It's best to have your drag set very loose as tuna have quite soft mouths and having it set too tight will pull the hooks. Larger tuna have been hooked and were even spooling reels, so if possible, have someone hold the rods so they can react quickly when trolling! Sand whiting have been in great sizes in 18-22m depths, but North-West blowies have started to become a problem, so it may take a few moves to gather a feed. Bay fishers have been catching herring and snook, while sand patches in 6m depths just to the north of the bay have been productive to find some larger sand whiting specimens. The stronger southerly winds will stick around this weekend but there might be a chance to duck out on Monday or Tuesday morning if the swells are manageable for a launch.

Shore-based

Seaweed has been a shocker at the moment along the northern beaches and finding a clean morning hole is a day to day proposition with the weed moving with each afternoon breeze. A mix of choppers, larger tailor and school mulloway have been caught. Mostly early mornings have produced the tailor and mulloway, while the higher tide has helped produce some decent sand whiting and herring later in the day. The jetty has been a great spot to catch a few herring, squid and tailor this week.

Big 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.

Last chance to get your entries in for the Swan River Chase for a crack at some awesome fishing prizes!

Get your regos in now for Fremantle Amateur Angling club's wicked Swan River Chase happening this Sunday, 26 October for the chance to win $8k in great fishing prizes across three species categories - flatties, flounders and bream.

Recfishwest is proud to support this great celebration of Perth's fantastic river system fishery with one of our community grants - get around it! More deets/register here.

Esperance catches

Gido's latest fishing trip to the east of Esperance was an absolutely doozie, with harlequin, nannygai, breaksea cod and Sambo's galore, check out his latest video on YouTube here!

Boats

Nanngai to 3.5kg have been caught at Waterwitch and Trinity, while good mixed bags of demersals have come from Davey Island. Tuna have been active at Long Island, while Samsonfish to 30kg have been caught at Mondrain Island. Pink snapper have been consistent at Baynes Reef, while big queen snapper have been landed at Boxer Island. Big sand whiting have been caught off Observatory Beach and in Twilight Cove, while the corner of Wylie Bay has fished well for King George whiting and squid. Squid have been in good numbers in Esperance Bay. Sunday is looking like the better of the two days this weekend to duck out with 1.5m swell and low southerly winds.

Shore-based

Share your views with us about fishing on Esperance Jetty for the chance to win one of three $100 vouchers at Southern Sports and Tackle!

Your survey responses will also help us make future jetty and fishing platform projects in Esperance the best they can be! Take the survey here.

Skippy to 4kg have been caught at Thomas River, while mulloway to a metre have been landed at Poison Creek. Back Beach in Israelite Bay has been a hotspot for 8-9kg gummy sharks, while big flathead and salmon have been caught at Warrenup. Hellfire Bay has also held salmon. Skippy and salmon have been taken at the first carpark at Fourth Beach, while the port viewing area has produced King George whiting and flathead. King George whiting and skippy have been caught at the Bandy Creek Boat Harbour, while the Town and Taylor Street jetties have fished well for herring, garfish and squid. At Woody Lake bream to 35cm have been taken on lures.

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

Max Swarbrick with a quality hapuka from the Albany canyon! One of the best tasting fish in the sea.

Boats

King George Sound has produced mainly squid but sand whiting and King George whiting have been caught on the west side, along with herring and a few flathead. Dinghy fishers in Wilson Inlet have caught flathead, herring and King George whiting. A crew that went out wide from Cheynes Beach last Saturday did well on nannygai in 80m, before heading out to 280m and picking up hapuka and grey-banded cod. On Sunday, they beach-launched from Cheynes again but stayed closer in and caught swallowtail, nannygai, big skippy and tuna. Saturday morning looks manageable, but Sunday morning looks best on the forecast this week for the boaties.

Shore-based

Beach fishing has been fairly quiet but herring have been in good numbers and the odd resident salmon has been taken east of town. A couple of Samsonfish have been caught from rock platforms and reefy beaches when the swells have been down. Cheynes Beach has offered herring, skippy and tarwhine, while tarwhine and a couple of tailor have been taken at the Sand Patch. Bream fishing has improved in the King and Kalgan rivers and mulloway have shown up more regularly in the Kalgan. Torbay Inlet has produced bream as well. At Frenchman Bay squid herring and King George whiting have been caught, while Emu Point has held King George whiting and squid. Plenty of pickers have been at the town marina but a few herring, small skippy and squid have been among them. Two Peoples Bay has produced a few salmon.

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

A nice Samsonfish caught by Ethan Grobbler this week off the Busso Jetty! Soaking baits further out will always put you in with a chance of going toe to toe with this hard-fighting species but they particularly love small squid used as live baits.

Boats

Despite the dirty water and chop over the past week tuna have been taken in good numbers 3-10km out from either side of Bunbury and in Geographe Bay, with small metal slices and stickbaits working well on them. Once again, looking for working birds has been the way go. In the Leschenault Estuary tinnie fishers have picked up good numbers of chopper tailor and herring when trolling at 3-4 knots. Geographe Bay has been fairly quiet for squid and King George whiting and both species have been pretty thin in Bunbury waters. The mornings are definitely looking like the best time to punch out over the coming days with lower winds expected alongside the low swell. Aim to get back in before the midday spike of wind.

Shore-based

The cold front early in the week produced a few pink snapper, which were mainly taken by drone fishers who had better luck finding the clearer water at Dallyellup and Forrest Beach. The local beaches have failed to fire for tailor, but herring have been in good numbers along with the odd skippy. Bunbury Cut and Back Beach have been among the better spots. Fishers at Busselton Jetty have done better on squid than many of their boating counterparts, while herring have been active there and a few Samsonfish have been landed at the end. Bream fishing has been quiet in the Collie River, but plenty of good fish were taken in the competition held at Molloy Island in the Blackwood River last weekend. Augusta’s inshore waters have held good numbers of King George whiting. A nice pink snapper was taken on light gear near Dunsborough.

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.

@freshwest_ has been on fire lately in our South-West, reeling in some solid redfin perch, rainbow trout and brown trout throughout our picturesque rivers and streams. Give his page a follow!

Big redfin perch continued to be the order of the day over the past week with a kayak angler at Wellington Dam managing to crack the magic 50cm mark (send in a pic of you holding a 50cm+ redfin while it's still alive and held horizontally and it will have a great shot at taking out pic of the week). Redfin have also been plentiful around the Collie town site, but at Harvey Dam and Drakesbrook Weir anglers have had to work harder for redfin and the sizes have been smaller. Soft plastics have proven the best way to target them. Trout have been harder to find, despite the abundant insect hatchings, but there was a release of browns and rainbows at Honeymoon Pool recently so the area could be worth targeting, with corn kernels likely to work well. Drakesbrook Weir and Harvey Dam have produced a few small trout, especially around the feeder streams.

Mandurah and surrounds

Mandurah

Boats: Tuna have been in good numbers at the back of the Five-Fathom Bank and along the 20-30m lines, and these same depths and also the 32m line, have produced some super-sized Samsonfish north and south of town and out from Dawesville. Skippy are plentiful for those who tossed out burley on the inshore lumps, while King George whiting around 50cm have been caught on lumps in 30-35m depths out from Dawesville and inside the Five-Fathom Bank. The inside of the Five has also been thick with solid sand whiting. Crayfishing has been good for those dropping pots between 5m and 15m depths, while in the estuary a few small King George whiting have been hanging off the estuary end of the Dawesville Cut. With plenty of baitfish present in the estuary, the channels and drop-offs have fished well for chopper tailor, juvenile salmon and herring. It will be a tad windy and choppy this weekend but Monday and Tuesday morning's forecasts look better for the boaties.

Land-based: Yellowfin whiting continue to be caught in the estuary on warmer days but King George whiting catches have started to decline. Decent school mulloway to 80cm have been mixed in with bream in the Serpentine and Murray rivers, while the Dawesville Cut has offered herring and tailor at the ocean end and herring, small King George whiting and juvenile salmon at the estuary end. Local beaches have started to produce sand whiting and herring have been in good numbers. Tailor to 50cm have been caught on beaches south of town, while north of town, Madora Bay and San Remo have offered smaller tailor but in better numbers.

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: Conditions haven’t been ideal but most crews have managed to get a feed of sand whiting and squid. The usual spots such as Mangles Bay, Cockburn Sound and Garden Island have produced both species, while Garden Island and Mangles Bay have offered King George whiting as well and the lumps have held plenty of skippy. Towards the Five-Fathom bank tuna have been in good numbers, while the Fish Towers behind Garden Island have produced tuna and yellowtail kingfish with the kingies showing a liking for jigs. Both mornings this weekend don't look too bad although expect a bit of chop and wind. Tuesday and Wednesday morning look better on the forecast.

Land-based: Tailor catches have been good right along the coast from Secret Harbour up to Warnbro when weed-free stretches could be found. The odd school mulloway in the 80-90cm range has been taken as well, while herring and whiting have been in good numbers too. The Ammo Jetty and Woodman Point have been quiet and Palm Beach and Rockingham jetties have not been much better, but the latter have held herring and chopper tailor. Dirty water has made land-based squidding difficult but when conditions clear Woodman Point and Point Peron should be worth a crack.

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

@saltfix has been catching yellowtail kingfish all over the place off Perth over the past few weeks and if you're interested to find out if your fish is one of the 150,000 kingies we've helped stock over the past four years, donate the frame and head to DPIRD so they can check if the otoliths are stained and your fish is part of the stocking program! You'll also be helping us better understand the health of these fish out in the wild.

Boats

The West End of Rottnest Island has held good numbers of yellowtail kingfish which have shown a liking for small-profile hard-bodies such as Halco Laser Pros, Rapalas and Nomad DTXs. Tuna have been among them, while further out Samsonfish have been taken on lumps in 80-100m. Rottnest’s inshore waters have held good numbers of King George whiting, along with herring, flathead, skippy and a few squid. Sand whiting have been in good numbers off Cottesloe Beach, but inshore off Fremantle dirty water from the Swan River seems to have shut them down. Squid catches have been down as well. Chopper tailor sizes and numbers in the Swan River have declined but they are still worth targeting, especially when the water becomes choppy with the sea breeze. Tailor and skippy have been caught at Stragglers, while sand whiting, King George whiting and squid have been taken at the Windmills. The stronger southerly winds will make it rather choppy out on the water this weekend but there might be a very brief window opening up early on Sunday morning. Monday and Tuesday morning currently look best on the forecast.

Shore-based

@hanyeoh13 was jolted awake when walking the flats of the Swan River this week by this lovely flathead that smashed his ZipBaits Khamsin Crankbait. There are plenty of flounder also starting to fire up on the flats and if you manage to land a Swan River giant herring, send in your snaps!

South Mole will be closed this weekend but it, along with North Mole, has produced tailor and herring. North Mole has been better for tailor in numbers and sizes and has also offered a few skippy. When the weather turned rougher early in the week snapper around 60cm were landed. Squid numbers have been down at the South Fremantle rock walls and the moles because of dirty water, but herring, tailor, tarwhine and smaller Samsonfish have been caught there. Weed has made tailor fishing difficult from Port Beach up to Floreat, but some good fish have been taken mainly in the mornings, along with herring. North metropolitan beaches have been more consistent for tailor and have offered a few sand whiting, while a few pink snapper were taken when the weak cold front came through. In the Swan River, tailor activity slowed with the cooler weather, but good fish have been taken at the Narrows, Canning Bridge, Como Jetty, Point Walter Jetty, Claremont and Canning Bridge. The lower reaches have offered a few flathead and flounder, while flathead have been active between the Causeway and Maylands. Around Aquarama in East Fremantle saw good numbers of chunky sand whiting taken. Bream have been fussy in the middle to upper reaches of the Swan River. A few big bream have been hitting slow-rolled hard-bodied lures on the flats up river of the Causeway, while mullet strips have accounted for better numbers of smaller bream but yellowtail grunter have been a nuisance at times. Soapy mulloway have shown a liking for bigger soft plastics from the Narrows up river to Bayswater. Sunday morning looks like the best land-based window for beach fishers this weekend but Monday and Tuesday morning also look inviting on the forecast, with a gentle easterly wind aiding your casting.

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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