Fishing Lure

Want to upgrade your skills with a blade and get the most out of your fish? Check this video out! 

A common complaint in popular coastal towns is seeing good meat wasted at cleaning stations — fish poorly filleted, with wings, cheeks and backbones often left behind. Not only does this show a lack of skill, it’s a missed opportunity for a great feed.

In this video, Konway Challis from Fillet Fish Australia shows how simple techniques can help you maximise your catch and minimise waste.

Before you hit the road, be sure to download the Recfishwest App so you’ve got up-to-date fishing rules, bag limits, marine park zones, and eating quality info — even when you're off the grid.

And for everything you need to know about respecting the fish, the places you visit, and your fellow fishers before your next trip, check out our new Responsible Fishing Guidelines here. 

Strong winds this week churned up whitecaps in Roebuck Bay and ruled out a lot of offshore fishing, which had been going really well for Spanish mackerel and sailfish. In the Bay itself, most fishers stayed in very close targeting bluebone off Entrance Point, while the Fingers along with Barred and Crab Creeks produced a few small barramundi, blue-nosed salmon and mud crabs. Thankfully it won't be howling easterlies again this week although this weekend will see them return across both days. Both Saturday and Sunday evening look okay for a fish, but Monday through to Wednesday should hold better conditions for the boaties. 


A 117cm beauty of a barra landed by @marcuslonghurst on the 6.5" Shimma! 

The strong easterly winds have eased, but most of the action on the west side has been in the south. Most of the best action was around Pilgramunna and the Lefroy passages, where Spanish mackerel have been plentiful. Small black marlin and sailfish have also been firing inshore, but goldband snapper numbers have been down around the 100m depth mark. Thankfully a few pearl perch have been in the mix in these areas. The 60-100m zone has been best for Rankin cod and the odd red emperor has turned up as well. Spangled emperor, cod and small trevally have been active in the lagoons, while a few small Spanish mackerel have been taken from the back of the reef. Crews have had some good sessions over at the Muirons, where spangled emperor have been plentiful and coral trout have been firing in 14-30m. Spanish mackerel have been quiet, but sailfish have been in good numbers with Blue Horizon charter clients picking them up on bottom rigs along with some nice red emperor. Blue-lined emperor turned up on the shoals in Exmouth Gulf and they have been landed with red-throat emperor and Rankin cod. Tuna schools have been feeding not far out from the town marina, while squid fishing has improved. Fly-fishers on the offshore flats struggled with the wind, but they did well on mainstream species including spangled emperor, golden trevally and queenfish. This weekend doesn't look too bad on the forecast for the boaties albeit with some lighter north-easterly winds expected. The west side should be more pleasant than the Gulf across the weekend before the moderate southerly winds and swell take a spike from Tuesday onwards. 


With the wind coming in from the east throughout most of this week a lot of fishers opted to target the west side and @wa_fishing managed to hook this nice mangrove jack right at his feet. 

Good queenfish have been caught at Bundegi and a few have been landed from the marina’s ocean-side rock wall, where a Spanish mackerel was also caught this week. Squid have been on the outside wall as well and they have also been taken from the industrial area. Inside the marina saw bream, cod, mangrove jack and even a couple of Rankin cod caught this week. Whiting numbers in the Gulf have dwindled, although a big school was parked at Bundegi this week. They are still worth a crack though and some solid garfish have been swimming with them. Learmonth has held whiting too, along with bream and the jetty has fished okay for squid. Queenfish have been going hard down that way too. Cod, bream and small trevally have been in Wapet Creek, while around the wrecks and the lighthouse bluebone have been firing and spangled emperor have been active. Tantabiddi has yielded cod, trevally and spangled emperor.

Good mulloway and gummy sharks have been caught out west at Whale Beach and Warrenup, while mulloway have been reported at Munglinup. Salmon and skippy have been prolific at Roses and 14-Mile Beach, while salmon have been thick at Fourth and Salmon Beach also. Wylie Bay has offered sand whiting and flathead, while good numbers of King George whiting have been caught in Bandy Creek Boat Harbour. Afternoons and nights spent at the Town Jetty have rewarded fishers with lots of big squid.

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. 

Herring and skippy have been the main catches at Bluff Creek, while good squid have been caught at Frenchman Bay, Whalers Cove and Quaranup. Salmon Holes, Muttonbird and Sand Patch have held herring and just the odd resident salmon, while herring, skippy and bream have been in the town marina where it’s been worth bringing along a couple of squid jigs as well. With all the brown water in the King and Kalgan rivers and at Emu Point bream chasers have been cooling their heels, but it should clear in a day or two. In Wilson Inlet bream and herring have been caught.

Cheers to the Trailblazers Albany crew for their fishing 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. 

Under the Canning Bridge is a good bet for bigger winter tailor and the mornings and evenings are the best time to target this iconic spot, with @millfishing producing the goods this week. 

The calmer weather slowed the pink snapper activity with not as many fish being taken from the rocks. In Fremantle Harbour, South Fremantle and the Moles herring, slimy mackerel, scaly mackerel and yellowtail have been about and one or two skippy have been caught from the rock walls. The northern beaches have fished a little better for pink snapper and a big mulloway was caught near Alkimos this week. One or two big tailor have been smashing poppers in reef holes around Cottesloe and Trigg, but most tailor have been in the chopper range and have been taken on baits at Floreat and Scarborough. Cottesloe and City Beach have produced sand whiting and herring and most rock walls from Coogee to Two Rocks have also held reasonable numbers of herring. In the Swan River school prawns and blue swimmer crabs have been heading out to sea from the lower reaches and scoop and dab netters have been getting some action. In the river’s middle reaches bream have been mixed in with tarwhine around Canning Bridge and the Narrows with a couple of monster bream landed near the yacht clubs. Around sunrise and sunset under the Canning Bridge also saw some decent tailor landed in the 40-50cm range. Smaller bream have been reported from the Causeway up river, as was the odd mulloway. Both tonight and tomorrow at sparrows are the only possible windows for a land-based flick, but it will likely still be rather choppy. If you don’t mind the rain and wind a pinkie is a solid chance off the local groynes and Moles but make sure you wear a lifejacket if attempting this and put your safety first as those rocks will be very slippery.   

A big thanks to Compleat Angler Nedlands for their great tips! These guys are all avid fishers, know the best spots for every particular species and have provided great support to Recfishwest and metro fishers for many years. Make sure you ask their super friendly team for advice at their store just off Stirling Highway and stock up before wetting a line off the land or boat!