28 November, 2025
Pic of the Week goes to @tyler_ridlzz with this stunner of a sunset barra. This topped off an incredible Kimberley trip with his mates that included metrey’s, some high 90s and plenty of 80s.
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Not many things excite fishers like the annual rock lobster ‘whites run’ and pulling in a heavy pot loaded with a feed of crays is the ultimate goal for many cray fishers.
That’s why we’ve compiled some of the best tips on the whites run direction, where to drop pots, what makes some pots more successful, what baits to use, information on crayfish habits and much more!
Click here to read our latest article to help you catch more crays!
A lovely tripletail out in the turquoise waters for @reefchiefaustralia.
A combination of unfavourable tides and strong winds turned things ugly this week and limited fishing pretty much to Dampier Creek, which was inconsistent for barramundi but better for threadfin salmon. Tripletail were thankfully landed at the mouth in decent numbers, providing a lovely feed for many fishers. Those westerly winds are being a nuisance once again this week, but midday on both days this weekend should see them drop off.
Shore-Based
Town Beach Jetty produced bumper queenfish around the metre mark this week, along with small trevally and bream. Trevally and queenfish were also taken at Entrance Point and a decent coral trout was caught there too. Willie Creek offered small barramundi and mangrove jack. The Fitzroy River continued to be hit or miss for barramundi with Langi Crossing and Telegraph Pool once again the most popular spots, although Langi has been very sharky of late. 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.
They don’t get much prettier (or tastier) than bluebone. A stunning fish on fly for @brody.sutton this week.
The few crews that found windows to fish on the west side tangled with sailfish and tuna, with blue marlin turning up for those that got out wider. Spanish mackerel were quiet on Helby Bank, but a couple of good ones were landed at the back of the reef. Deep droppers found the pickings lean, but closer in Rankin cod and red emperor were taken in 40-60m and coral trout and spangled emperor in 20-30m. In Exmouth Gulf, bait schools have thinned, but a few cobia have been landed along with tuna. The Shoals have produced a few coral trout and blue-lined emperor. Squid fishing has been going well in depths from 3-7m over patchy ground. Sunday through to Wednesday morning is looking best on the forecast and the Gulf would be more comfortable for the boaties given it’s mostly westerly winds this week.
Spangled emperor and bluebone were the main catches at Lighthouse Bay and Mildura Wreck, while golden trevally and queenfish have been active from VLF Bay and on the west side down to Tantabiddi, which also produced spangled emperor. In Exmouth Gulf most sandy beaches have yielded whiting, while around Learmonth has held bream and the odd small trevally. A reminder that Learmonth Jetty is closed due to structural damage, but you can still fish on the rocks and the adjacent beach. The town marina has offered a few mangrove jack, along with bream, small trevally and queenfish, while the marina’s outside rock wall and the light industrial area have once again been reliable for squid.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!
Shimano ambassador @nickihuntfishing tested out the strength of her gear on this solid trevally this week and came out on top!
Crayfishing has continued to be the main game, but with hot weather forecast over the weekend it might be worthwhile for those dropping pots to put in a quick troll along the cliffs to target pelagics. Big swells have limited tailor activity for those on kayaks and surf skis that have been paddling over to Oyster Reef and Frustrations, but those who instead targeted yellowfin whiting on the other side of the Murchison River did quite well late in the week. There might be a window opening up on Sunday morning to duck out along with Monday morning but brace yourself for some very hot conditions approaching 40 degrees.
Tailor have been consistent in the mornings at Wittecarra. Red Bluff held fewer tailor, but produced big herring and dart to 70cm. A member of the Kalbarri Offshore and Angling Club also picked up 13kg mulloway at Red Bluff. Bigger tailor have been caught from the coastal cliffs along with a few pink snapper. The river mouth has been looking particularly fishy of late and at Frustrations a school of big tailor were smashing Halco poppers and CID GT Ice Creams one afternoon, but kept spitting the hooks. Big tailor have also been active at Wagoe despite the swells making fishing difficult and bait schools have been prolific there, suggesting Spanish mackerel could be a chance. Big tailor have also made their presence felt in the Murchison River where they have been surprising bream fishers and harassing mullet schools at the town marina and up river. A tailor pushing 90cm was landed by a club member during the weekend comp, while a young member caught a 1.5kg mangrove jack off the marina jetty. Bream around 30cm have been in reasonable numbers in the river, but yellowfin whiting activity has been slow on the Spit and at the town foreshore. Both blue swimmer and mud crabs have been active in the system.Shout out to Kalbarri Sports and Dive for their tips! Feel free to venture into the store and ask for advice if you're wetting a line around Kalbarri.
A great session on the cast for @mat.svenson and Carla this week in town, who enjoyed landing her first land-based pinkie in Gero!
Crayfish have started to move with the south side of town having the edge this week and quite a few soft-shelled ones taken. Jumbo crays have been more active north of town, turning up around St Georges. Once again it’s swell of more than 2m and a raging southerly wind for a majority of this week but there might be a nice window opening up around midday on Monday. Make sure you cover up as she is going to be a hot one.
Tailor have been widespread but patchy. They have been taken from the first and second points at the Greenough River mouth, from West Bank to the S-Bend, and down to Headbutts. A few fishers have been getting bag limits, but most have been getting two or three a session. A reminder that you can only take two tailor over 50cm. Tailor have also been taken in the mornings at Tarcoola Beach when the weed hasn’t been too bad and a few whiting have been about as well. In the evenings good tailor have been picked up on hard-bodied and soft plastics lures between the Chapman River and Drummond Cove. Shovel-nosed sharks up to 2m have been snaffling baits after dark between Tarcoola and as far up as Coronation, where forktail catfish have been a pest. A few tailor have been taken north and south of Coronation, along with school sharks and mulloway. More mulloway up to 80cm have been schooling just north of Drummond, while the reef at Drummond has been spasmodic for tailor, pike and herring, with the latter dropping off in numbers. Some of the tailor there have been up to 60cm. Weed has been moving about a great deal overnight which has been frustrating whiting chasers, but some good fish have been caught including one nudging 40cm taken at Pages Beach.
Thanks to the team at Geraldton Sports Centre for their tips! They will happily provide you with great gear and solid advice for your next fishing trip.
Skipjack tuna have been doing the rounds off Lancelin this week and Peter Fullarton enjoyed a great session during a nicer weather window this week.
The whites have started to kick off in the past few days and this weekend is expected to see a good bump in catches. The best way to start would be dropping your pots in the 10-15m depths on the sand to the west of the reef with oily baits, but make sure you change these baits every day or so. You can catch Recfishwest’s latest tips on how to catch more crays in your pots in their latest article by clicking here. Around the Bay flathead have been the big change, with some nice fish up to 60cm caught on plastics. Some good squid and King George whiting have been lurking in these spots too and catching a few squid first and then using strips of their tentacles as bait works beautifully on the KG’s. Sunday and Monday morning are the two best opportunities to launch this week.
Beaches have suddenly had a flush of guitar fish with some of them up to 2m, which have tested the strength of fishing gear and biceps! There were also still plenty of small whaler sharks and the smaller models provide a delicious feed. The run of summer chopper tailor is in full swing with poppers, stickbaits and lightly weighted mulies on gang hooks all working well. Keep an eye out for the deeper gutters where there are less waves breaking and try casting in here, but if you don’t catch a tailor within 10 casts or so try moving around. Flathead have been a common bycatch.
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. Peter knows the best spots around Lancelin like the back of his hand.
Gido’s recent drone session off the beach resulted in this nice pinkie! Check out all the action from his latest beach session on YouTube here.
Poor weather limited boat fishing this week, but inshore waters produced reasonable catches. Chapman Point and Blue Haven offered sand whiting and flathead and King George whiting were in good numbers at Lovers Cove. Squid, herring and snook were caught in Esperance Bay. Samsonfish and big skippy were landed at Cooper Reef. Sunday and Monday morning look to be the pick of the windows to duck out this week.
The western end of Roses Beach has been good for salmon and gummy sharks, while Thomas River went well for mulloway and gummy sharks this week. Big salmon and gummy sharks were also caught at Dunn Beach. 14-Mile Beach and 10-Mile Lagoon have fished well for salmon. The port viewing area has been rewarding for King George whiting and the Taylor Street Jetty has held mainly skippy and squid. Town Jetty has produced herring and squid. Bandy Creek Boat Harbour yielded herring and skippy. Woody Lake has fished best 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.
Albany local @andrew_ward_3 swapped the saltwater for freshwater this week and ended up having a ball on six healthy rainbow trout in town! Three were released and the other three were taken home for a delicious feed. This is a great option if the weather is looking hairy and you prefer to stay out of the wind.
Boats have stayed on trailers all this week due to some hairy conditions, but crews are hopeful the better conditions forecast for the weekend will at least allow them to fish in King George Sound for King George whiting and squid. Sunday morning is looking like the pick of the good windows on the forecast.
The strong winds and rain over the past week have slammed the brakes on most fishing spots. The town marina had enough shelter to throw up a few squid, herring, small skippy and leatherjacket. The King, Kalgan and Hay Rivers also offered sanctuary and have held reasonable numbers of bream, as did the Pallingup River, where juvenile salmon have been active at the mouth. Before the weather turned nasty flathead catches were decent in the Wilson Inlet. 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, Trailblazers Albany have loan lifejackets available if you wish to fish off the rocks, but keeping the sand between your toes is always a safer option.
Hats off to @harry.fisho who finally landed his first yellowtail kingfish in our South-West after the previous hookups didn’t go his way. Kingies are definitely worth the effort and this fish would be around two years old given their rapid growth rate.
Crayfishers have started to drop pots in 15-20m in anticipation of the whites run, but so far no reports of whites have come in. Divers have continued to get good feeds of crays in 8m or so. It’s been a lot quieter on the King George whiting front, although a couple of crews got on to some big ones in 20m south of town. Geographe Bay has fished better for smaller King George whiting and it has been consistent for squid. A few crews have targeted Samsonfish on the offshore lumps with the occasional yellowtail kingfish also showing up, but tuna schools have been very hard to find. It is hoped the hot weather in the next few days will fire up the tuna in Bunbury waters and in Geographe Bay. With a big influx of salt water, fishing in the estuary has improved for dinghy fishers trolling for chopper tailor and herring. The next few mornings are looking like the best windows to duck out.
The weak cold fronts did little to fire up pink snapper activity on local beaches although there were whispers of a couple being taken by drone fishers at Preston. The cool conditions also shut down what had been a promising run of tailor, supplemented by better numbers of herring and a few sand whiting. Herring have also been taken in good numbers at Dalyellup, while the Back Beach at Binningup has produced a few along with a couple of chopper tailor. Bream have been caught in Collie River, where several big mulloway have been hooked and lost. Despite the mild weather, yellowfin whiting continued to fire in the Leschenault Estuary with quite a few fish over 30cm landed. They haven’t been too fussy lure wise, but Bassday Sugapens and Eco Gear ZX Vibes have proven reliable. At Binningup, shore divers have been picking up crays in 4m on the reef. Squid fishing has been going well at Busselton Jetty which has also produced a few skippy.
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.
Kudos on the PB redfin perch for @river__king__’s mum this week! Her 7g spinner got smashed by this 42cm tasty beauty.
Decent rainfall has produced good flows in Southern Forests rivers and enlivened trout activity in the Donnelly River and throughout the Pemberton area. Browns and rainbows have been landed in great numbers, providing some great sessions for those putting in the time and effort. Redfin perch have been active down that way as well and were also in the Collie River and at Harvey Dam around the boat ramp. This spot also produced a few rainbow trout, along with the Causeway. Most of the Harvey Dam perch have been small. A few rainbow trout have been taken at Logue Brook Dam and in the upper Collie River.
Boats
Cray divers have been picking up good numbers of reds in 7-10m out from Dawesville and Falcon and plenty of moulting whites have been mixed in with them. On the fish front, King George whiting have been the main species targeted with crews finding some good ones out from Dawesville and towards the Bouvards. Many crews have started fishing in 25-30m and were working their way in to shallow waters with good results. Inshore squid fishing has picked up too with Falcon, Melros and Seascapes worth a crack. In the Peel-Harvey Estuary crews drifting along the drop-offs have been sifting through good numbers of herring to pick up chopper tailor, which have been feasting on big schools of whitebait. Yellowfin whiting have been prolific on the flats and drop-offs over that side also. Sunday and Monday morning look inviting on the forecast.
Beach fishing has been very quiet, but tailor chasers have done all right at the Dawesville Cut where high tides around sunset have drawn in good numbers of tailor and a few juvenile salmon. Plenty of herring have been mixed in. Tailor and herring have also been active at the Mandurah bridges. Fishing has slowed in the Murray and Serpentine Rivers, but a few bream have been about along with the odd small soapie. Yellowfin whiting chasers have had the best of it this week with fish widespread in the Peel-Harvey Estuary from Falcon down past the Dawesville Cut towards Island Point. Vibes and topwater lures have been getting the job done, but it’s worth mentioning that Tackleworld Miami has worked in conjunction with a leading tackle manufacturer to produce a lure in a colour for local conditions that it is exclusive to the store, so pay them a visit as they are experts on catching yellowfin whiting.
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!
Not a lot of crews have been getting out deep, but some good King George whiting have been taken behind Garden Island and crews using the Garden Island causeway to shelter from the wind have caught smaller KG’s and skippy. Mangles Bay, Parmelia Bank and the back of Penguin Island have held mainly sand whiting. It hasn’t been to flash for squid this week due to slightly dirty water, but those diving for crays have been filling their eskies with reds and started to find the odd white. Sunday and Monday morning currently looks best on the forecast.
There was a nice little run of pink snapper at Secret Harbour and southwards during the weak cold fronts that have crossed the coast over the past week. Tailor catches have dropped off and no reports of mulloway have come in. A few good yellowfin whiting have turned up around the grain terminal beach and in Safety Bay. Herring have been caught at Woodman Point, the Ammo Jetty, Rockingham Jetty and Palm Beach Jetty, along with Warnbro Beach. A few squid have been caught from the jetties, but it’s been a lot quieter for squid 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!
The Rottnest Cray Comp delivered some impressive jumbo-sized beauties over the weekend! @rory_mac_87 nabbed the heaviest cray at 3.37kg and the heaviest bag of three at 8.77kg. With the whites run expected to kick into gear this weekend, make sure you are courteous to others at the ramps and try not to put your pots too close to others. Also keep an eye out for ropes, weigh your pots down to prevent movement and aim to soak any new pots for 24 hours so the bubbles can work their way out as crays will be put off by this.
Crays have started to move on the inshore ground and King George whiting and sand whiting have been caught in reasonable numbers inshore from Fremantle and up through to Scarborough. Sand whiting have been active off Mindarie and Hillarys as well. Whiting chasers continued to pick up blue-spot flathead in their catches. Very little has been happening offshore, but trolling for chopper tailor has become more productive in the Swan River. Early on Sunday is probably looking like your best window to duck out, but make sure you are courteous to others at the ramps as its going to get very busy given the whites run is tipped to kick off this weekend. Early on Monday is also shaping up very nicely on the forecast and given the temperature is tipped to hit 34-38 degrees across Sunday and Monday, trolling for pelagics at the back of the reefs, through current lines and along the contours could potentially see some catches.
Calling young fishos! Are you a teenager between the ages of 14-18 that loves fishing and has a passion for makiing a difference? Applications are now open for our Rising Tide Youth Program!
If you’re passionate about fishing and the community, are keen to speak up for young fishers and shape the future of fishing in WA, apply on the form below!
We are taking a group of 8-10 kids and if successful, you will be:
Connecting with fishing industry mentors and leaders;
Working alongside like-minded young fishos;
Representing young fishers in real conversations about how fishing is managed;
Help shape projects and solutions that support great fishing in WA;
Take part in workshops, events and hand-on experiences with Recfishwest
Got you hook, line and sinker? APPLY HERE.
Tailor have been slow on the beaches with Floreat and Scarborough producing one or two in the mornings among the herring and the odd flathead. Northern beaches have been quiet as well, although an 86cm tailor was caught in the Two Rocks area. The weak cold fronts did little to fire up pink snapper, although there were whispers of a couple taken over the weekend at North Mole. Fremantle Harbour has held a few yellowtail and herring have been at North Mole and the South Fremantle rock walls. A reminder that South Mole will be closed from 1 December to 31 January for the Sail GP. The beach at Coogee has produced a handful of chopper tailor and a few herring. Giant herring were widespread in the Swan River, from Point Walter as far up as Bassendean in what has started off as one of the best seasons in recent years. Most of the giants have been in the 35-40cm range with the odd 60cm model popping up. Tailor have also been fishing beautifully in the Swan River and were caught in good numbers with flathead at the Narrows, Pelican Point, Claremont, Elizabeth Quay and East Perth. The tailor started to thin out up river from there with the flatties becoming mixed in with bream in the 25-30cm range as far up as Bayswater. Mulloway action in the Swan seems to have slowed after a strong run last week, but a couple of decent school-sized fish were caught on hard-bodied lures in the upper reaches later in the week. In the lower reaches, flounder numbers have picked up as have the flathead sizes. It’s worth noting for those wading the flats that bull sharks have been sighted in the Como area and at Blackwall Reach, so be vigilant in these areas.
A big thanks to Compleat Angler Nedlands for their great metro 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!
Our Fishing Report is compiled by West Australian writer and keen angler William Bennett, who contacts tackle stores directly around WA - love your work William!
Recfishwest’s fishing report contributors: Jarrad Lawford (editor and images), Sam Bock, Sedin Hasanovic, Sam Russell, Levi De Boni and Eligh Quigley.
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