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Recfishwest
Fishing Report

01/11/24

The eyes of a spearfisher always light up when a big coral trout cruises past. Make sure you try shallow frying up small strips of the skin (scales still on) in oil - it turns into an incredible crackling that tastes like a mix of fish and pork.

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!

Gotta love when you take the kids to chase some bluey's and they beat your PB! You've got your work cut out for you @matt__maguire trying to top your youngsters beast of a tusky! A great catch not far offshore from Broome.

Your fishing photos

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Broome catches

With the northern FADs being rolled in over the coming weeks ahead of the summer months, now is the time to make the most of the great fishing still on offer at the devices before they come in for maintenance. The Broome FADs in particular have produced great dolphinfish captures this year so get out there while they're still there! Coordinates can be found here.

Boats

Northern mulloway have shown up on the lumps in Roebuck Bay, while Spanish mackerel have been active in the middle of the bay. Further offshore a few boats have managed to beat the sharks and landed red emperor, stripey seaperch and Rankin cod, but blue marlin activity has slowed. Dampier and Crab Creek have held barramundi and mud crabs, but threadfin salmon have been hard to find and the normally reliable Fingers has been hit-or-miss for these species. Those moderate north-westerly winds are sticking around for most of this week though so most boats will opt to go the creeks or stay close within the bay.

Shore-based

With the Port Jetty closed indefinitely a lot of activity will be focused on Town Beach Jetty which has held bream, javelinfish, small trevally and queenfish. In the afternoons, Entrance Point has produced trevally and queenfish. At Barred Creek mangrove jack and trevally have been about, along with the odd small barramundi, while mangrove jack and queenfish have been targeted in the creeks north of James Price Point. Strong winds have made fishing for whiting difficult, but a few have been caught from Town Beach. Rain has made access to the Fitzroy River tricky and dangerous in some places so take caution when approaching, but good barramundi have been caught in easily accessible areas such as Langi Crossing, Telegraph Pool and near Willare Bridge.

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

In Scotland, the term 'Nice jobby' means something completely different, but it had a much nicer meaning aboard @exmouth_fishing_adventures this week regarding this solid jobfish.

Boats

Exmouth Gulf has had the pick of the conditions this past week with afternoon weather windows offering plenty of opportunities. The Shoals have held good numbers of golden trevally and lots of queenfish, while blue-lined emperor, coral trout and spangled emperor have been the main bottom species landed. Cobia have also been active in the Gulf, but only a few sailfish have been sighted. Squid have been plentiful throughout the Gulf, while in the Bay of Rest blue swimmer crab catches have been good and the offshore flats down there have produced dart, permit, tusk fish and bluebone for fly-fishers. On the west side, blue marlin catches have been patchy, but on some days good fish were taken out wide. In the 100m depths sailfish, black marlin and wahoo have been in reasonable numbers, while in the same depths bottom fishers have found plenty of goldband snapper. Spanish mackerel have been active on Helby Bank and around the point where the current rips through and plenty have been caught close in too, right on the reef line on the west side. This same area on the bottom produced blue-line emperor and spangled emperor. The Muirons have produced good numbers of Spanish mackerel, while the islands further out offered wahoo as well. Rankin cod and red emperor have also been taken at the Muirons, along with golden trevally, giant trevally and cobia. The already strong south-westerly winds and swell will pick up as the week progresses unfortunately, so lower down in the Gulf would be the most sheltered place to fish. Mornings look best at this stage.

Shore-based

Whiting and squid continue to be the easiest species to be targeted in Exmouth Gulf. Learmonth Jetty has held quite a few squid, along with whiting and bream, while at Bundegi, hardyhead schools and mullet shoals have been harassed by queenfish and trevally in a range of sizes. Bundegi has been reliable for squid and whiting as well. Squid have been caught in good numbers from the rocks at the Industrial estate, while the town marina’s outside rock wall has produced squid, decent queenfish and the odd Spanish mackerel for those putting in the hours casting stickbaits and unweighted garfish on ganged hooks. Inside the marina, cod, small trevally, queenfish and mangrove jack have been active around the bait schools. Tantabiddi has offered whiting and spangled emperor, while the tip of the gulf around to VLF Bay has been reliable for spangled emperor. In Wapet Creek blue swimmer crabs have been caught.

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

Shimano ambassador @nickihuntfishing is quite the mulloway master in our Mid-West and despite catching hundreds of these fish over the years, she's still always happy to see them come in off the boat.

Boats

Crayfishing has been the main boating activity this week apart from a few dinghy fishers crossing the Murchison River and fishing for tailor off Oyster Reef. When conditions are good in the afternoons a quick squirt out to Jakes Bay once the surfers have packed up can often yield decent whiting and squid, along with the occasional big tailor. The early mornings this week are definitely looking best for a quick duck out before the southerly winds rip through.

Shore-based

The cliffs have continued to fish well for pink snapper with the pick of the spots being Goats Gulch and Mushroom Rock. Red Bluff has also produced a few pinkies as well, along with some very good tailor. Big tailor have also shown up at Shark Fin Rock, while smaller tailor in better numbers have been caught at Back Beach and Chinamans. In the Murchison River, chopper tailor have been caught around the boat pens in the marina, which have also held a few mangrove jack. Yellowfin whiting and tailor have also turned up at the Sand Spit. Good bream have been caught further up the river and mud crabs have been taken around the marina jetty.

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

Just @mat.svenson using a Samsonfish to tow him most of the way back to Geraldton on the yak as always.

Boats

Water visibility has been very poor with cray divers barely able to see past their hands. Consequently, there has been little squid activity and most boats have remained on trailers. If the water clears, squid are the obvious species to target around Pages Beach and Point Moore, along with pike, whiting and tailor. Saturday morning currently looks best for the boaties on the forecast but another okay looking window may open up between Monday and Wednesday morning.

Shore-based

Strong sea breezes over the past week limited most fishing activity to the mornings but weed has been a problem. When weed-free patches can be found, Tarcoola Beach has fished well for tailor and chunky school mulloway. At Greenough, tailor and pike have been landed, while north and south of Drummond Cove tailor averaging 40cm, big herring and whiting have been caught. North of Batavia Coast Marina squid in various sizes have been active when clearer water has been found, while the town breakwater has held school whiting and smaller tailor. The eastern breakwater has yielded tailor and pike, while kids fishing from the platform there have caught juvenile snapper, tarwhine, bream and chopper tailor. Blue swimmer crabs have been caught in the Batavia Coast marina.

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

Chris Hartanto caught several mulloway on Monday morning, releasing all the fish to fight another day.

Boats

Boats reported numbers of Samsonfish around 6-8kg in size on the lumps in 25-35m depths, while tuna activity was best in 28-35m. Sand whiting have been the staple for gathering a tasty feed in 20-22m depths. Within the bay, there were snook, skippy and herring. Lancelin Angling & Aquatic Club will be holding their ‘Squid Shootout’ on Saturday morning where club boats will be targeting the tasty cephalopods till noon, before returning to the club in time to see who caught the largest of the day followed by a delicious feast. It's still looking rather choppy over the weekend with a swell just under 2m and a moderate southerly hanging around, but early on Saturday looks like the preferred window this weekend. Tuesday looks like the best day for the boats on the forecast.

Shore-based

Low tides have not been ideal for casting a bait to the gutters. Despite less than ideal conditions, mulloway were active in the shallows with a range of sizes showing a good local recruitment of fish from the last several seasons. It is great to see these fish that are so lauded by recreational anglers on the rise in captures and most anglers have been happy to take a quick picture before releasing the fish to fight another day. Tailor were not so keen to be in the shallow wash of the gutters close to shore this week, with more fish found on the open beaches and taking lures and baits further out. Reefy areas have been holding some pink snapper within casting range in the early hours of the morning.

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.

Esperance catches

A lovely queen snapper caught in close by @lachy-warren this week to go with a cracker of a harlequin!

Boats

Pink snapper to 4kg have been caught near Ram Island, while good numbers of Samsonfish and breaksea cod have been taken at Mondrain Island. Plenty of nannygai have been landed at Figure of Eight Island and Waterwitch, while reports of dhufish and pink snapper have come from Baynes Reef. Sand whiting have been thick at Twilight Beach and Wylie Bay, while big flathead and King George whiting have come from Lovers Cove. The inside of the port area has fished well for squid. Sunday through to early on Tuesday look decent on the forecast for the boaties.

Shore-based

Share your views with us about fishing on Esperance Jetty before this Monday, 4th November 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.

The Munglinup area has offered gummy sharks and big salmon, while big skippy have been caught at Dunns Beach. Roses Beach held small mulloway and salmon, while Fourth Beach and 10-Mile Lagoon have been hotspots for salmon, herring and flathead. Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has yielded King George whiting, skippy and flounder, while some thumping King George whiting have been caught along the town foreshore. At night, squid and garfish have been caught at Taylor Street Jetty, while the Town Jetty has fished well for squid in the middle of the day. Woody Lake has once again been the pick of the bream spots.

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

Boats

A couple of cracker days popped up in the past week with Sunday being a standout. Good catches of queen snapper, and breaksea cod, along with the odd dhufish and harlequin fish came from the coral ground and out from Cheynes Beach. King George Sound has been producing too with excellent mixed bags of King George whiting, sand whiting, flathead, squid and cuttlefish taken. Boats fishing very close in, near the harbour, off Emu Point and off Middleton Beach also did well on these species.

Shore-based

The Town Marina, Frenchman Bay and Emu Point have been reliable for herring, King George whiting, squid and cuttlefish. Afternoon fishing at these locations has been productive. Bream catches in the King and Kalgan rivers have improved and mulloway have started to show up in the Kalgan. Beaches such as Cheynes and Sandpatch have held resident salmon, herring and sand whiting.

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

King George whiting were in fantastic numbers throughout the South-West this week with some plump fish coming in over the side. @leanbackfishing_ managed a couple of tasty PB's on the @vexedfishing micro gear off Bunbury!

Boats

Geographe Bay has been ever reliable for 40-50cm King George whiting and squid, along with a few sand whiting. Squid have favoured depths around 10m, although kayak fishers have found them in 7m. Bunbury waters have been quite murky and catches of these species have been less consistent. Geographe Bay has also continued to produce good numbers of tuna as did Bunbury waters. Crews keeping an eye out for working birds have done well on them by casting slices and stickbaits up to 80mm. The lumps 2-3km out from Bunbury have been holding good skippy and the odd Samsonfish has shown up in the burley trail as well. In the Bunbury estuary dinghy fishers have found lots of chopper tailor but they have been barely legal-size. Early on Sunday morning looks like your best boating window this weekend.

Shore-based

The warmer weather has fired up yellowfin whiting in the Bunbury estuary but they have been far from widespread and a bit of prospecting is required to locate them. Once found however they have been enthusiastically hitting surface lures. At the Bunbury Cut, local beaches and rock walls herring have been in good numbers along with some chunky skippy and a few small tailor. Burley has been the key for attracting the herring and skippy. Beaches such as Preston and Myalup have been quiet, producing just the odd small tailor. Squid have been in excellent numbers at Busselton Jetty with many people bagging out on them.

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.

Simon Holland @southernforests_angler finally had a good solid hit out this week and fished some waters he hadn't prospected for some time, picking up this healthy rainbow at Big Brook Dam.

Big redfin perch continue to be pulled from Wellington Dam, mainly by kayak fishers, and there were rumours of a 50cm-plus fish taken from Lake Kepwari as well. The water has been murky around Collie and the best redfin fishing has been west of town. Redfin have also shown up at Waroona and Harvey dams and in the Capel River. At Honeymoon Pool on the Collie River, some nice brown trout were taken on small hard-bodied lures. Rainbow trout have been caught in the Dwellingup area. Fly fishers at Logue Brook Dam and Harvey Dam caught a good mix of browns and rainbows this week.

Mandurah and surrounds

Mandurah

Boats: The estuary, which is full of whitebait, has been firing with tailor up to 50cm which were snaffling surface lures such as 90mm Bassday Sugapens as well as the more traditional Halco Twistys. Mixed in with them have been juvenile salmon as big as 60cm and loads of herring, which have been in huge numbers at times. On the flats, boaties have done very well on yellowfin whiting, with some nice flounder among the bycatch. Some of the better whiting flats have been in the Point Grey area. In the open sea tuna have been active and the sizes have picked up. The back of the Five-Fathom Bank is a good spot to target them as well as the 30m line, but further out the 38m line has been especially productive. Big sand whiting have been caught inside the Five-Fathom Bank and inside Avalon Reef. Skippy catches have been good on broken ground and some big King George whiting have been among the by-catch. Sand whiting chasers have picked up sizeable KG's as well. Samsonfish have been active on the lumps in 30m. Sunday morning looks best for the boaties at this stage.

Land-based: Big yellowfin whiting have been widespread in the estuary and in big numbers. Those wading the flats did very well on them at Len Howard Reserve and other good spots have included Coodanup, South Yunderup and way up at Island Point, but water depth has been a problem at some of these locations. The Dawesville Cut has started to fire for herring, while juvenile salmon have been caught at the estuary end and big tailor from the ocean end. Bream fishing has been good in the Serpentine and Murray rivers. Tailor fishing has improved at beaches either side of town and herring have been in good numbers with sand whiting and yellowfin whiting mixed in, especially at the more sheltered beaches.

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: Cockburn Sound has been producing lots of squid in 2-5m with the better spots including Mangles Bay, Parmelia Bank, off Woodman Point and inside of Garden Island. Slightly deeper waters have fished well for King George and sand whiting, while skippy have been around the lumps. Behind Garden Island and towards the Five-Fathom Bank Samsonfish and tuna have been caught, while Mewstones offered some nice tailor. Sunday morning between about 5:00-10:00am looks to be the sweet spot this weekend.

Land-based: Tailor have been a good option off the beaches with plenty of fish around the 40cm mark showing up at Port Kennedy and Secret Harbour, along with a few school mulloway. These spots have also produced nice sand whiting and herring. Rockingham and Palm Beach jetties have produced herring, chopper tailor and the odd soapy mulloway. These species have also turned up at Woodman Point and the Ammo Jetty and both of these spots have fished better for squid. Point Peron is worth a crack for squid too if clear water can be found. With the warmer weather, Long Point and the Penguin Island spit have started to produce flathead and whiting, along with herring, chopper tailor and the odd bigger tailor over 50cm. On warm days a few yellowfin whiting have been caught on lures near the grain terminal.

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

Marine scientist and skilled freelance photographer Mat Kleczkowski managed to gather some incredible snaps and footage of schooling pink snapper within Cockburn Sound this week and you can catch all this remarkable footage on his page @mat.kleczkowski.photography.

Boats

King George whiting and sand whiting have been the main game this week and they have been in good numbers off South Fremantle, at Stragglers and the Windmills. Hillarys and in the bays at Rottnest also had abundant numbers of sand whiting and the ever reliable Cottesloe in 10-15m was another productive spot. Rottnest Island’s western end offered tuna and bigger King George whiting, while the back of Rottnest fished well for big Samsonfish. Stragglers has offered some nice tailor, while trolling for tailor in Swan River downstream from the Narrows has been productive in the early mornings and evenings. The southerly winds are spoiling the weekend fishing party for the boaties with a bit of chop expected. Both Monday or Tuesday morning look best on the forecast at this stage.

Shore-based

This past week has easily been the most productive for flounder that we've seen in recent memory throughout the Swan River, with the tasty ambush predators often outnumbering the flathead catches three to one. @instahungfishing was just one of many metro fishers who got in on the action this week.

It’s been pretty quiet at the North and South moles with squid, herring, small tailor and the odd bigger one the main fare. The South Fremantle rock walls have fished well for squid, herring whiting and flathead. Good squid have been caught at Hillarys Boat Harbour at night. Tailor have gone quiet at Cottesloe, Swanbourne and Floreat beaches, but good numbers of sand whiting have turned up. The northern beaches have held tailor and sand whiting. The Swan River has started to fire with these warmer days. Some good flathead were taken around Applecross last weekend but stringy green weed was a problem. Weed was a problem in the Claremont area too which also produced flathead and few flounder. In the East Fremantle area last weekend flathead were mostly small but they seemed to have been outnumbered by flounder in a range of sizes, including some very big models. Down river both species have been taken on Vexed Buckabou jigs, artificial prawns, Nomad ZX vibes and hard-bodied lures, while up river vibes and soft plastics have worked best. At Bicton Baths on Thursday morning juvenile Samsonfish around a kilo were ripping into baitfish schools. They were following lures but not committing. Better up river spots have included the Causeway, Burswood, Garvey Park and Maylands. The sand whiting around HMAS Leeuwin have gone but yellowfin whiting seem to have turned in in their place. Tailor fishing continues to be excellent in the river with quite a few fish over 50cm landed and talk of 60cm plus fish as well. Good fish have been caught as far up as the Causeway with other top tailor spots including the Narrows, Canning Bridge, Point Walter Jetty and the water police jetty in North Fremantle. Wading out to the drop-offs around Claremont, Nedlands, Como and Bicton has also been an effective way to target them with lures such as Nomad Madscads, Halco Slidogs and small Halco Roosta poppers. Soapy mulloway catches have picked up in the Swan River as well with decent fish coming from Burswood and Garratt Road Bridge. Bream catches have been good around the Maylands boatyards, Canning Bridge and at the yacht clubs in the middle Swan.

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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