Metro Catches
Picture: #slambo, ripper of a fish caught by James. (Photo courtesy of @james_ancell)
Reef fishing enthusiasts who took advantage of the pleasant conditions earlier this week seemed to find plenty of good size pink snapper off Rockingham and Hillarys. Skippy to 1.5kg and some solid breaksea cod were picked up along Five Fathom Bank and there were a couple of dhufish around the 20kg mark taken off West End and Two Rocks. Samson fish to 20kg, and the odd bigger fish, were encountered in depths of around 40m off Rottnest Island while yellowtail kingfish in the 8 to 10kg category seem to prefer the shallower waters of less than 10m behind Garden Island and Stragglers. King George whiting continue to be caught in good numbers off Rockingham and near The Windmills and there is no shortage of plump sand whiting near Gage Roads and Five Fathom.
Squid are still about in very good numbers along the seagrass beds off Fremantle and throughout Cockburn Sound. Herring and garfish are being caught in better quantities early morning and during the calm evenings at Woodman Point, the Ammo Jetty, North and South Mole and Hillarys Marina rock wall. Early morning lure fishers have been doing well on tailor to 50cm along the Cottesloe to City Beach stretch. Black bream enthusiasts are finding some good fish around the yacht clubs in the lower reaches of the Swan River. Hard-bodied and soft plastic lures have been working well on the bream while baits have produced catches in the evenings. Flathead continue to be caught on soft plastics along the shallower parts of the river.
Jetty, Set, Go! – Point Walter Jetty
Today we’ll shine the spotlight on Point Walter Jetty. Very accessible, playgrounds, public toilets, open parks and great fishing!
Read more about the Point Walter Jetty and near by facilities here.
Mandurah and Surrounds
Picture: Tailor a common catch in WA, are in fact caught all over the world! From the Americas to Africa to the Mediterranean, where they are known as bluefish. (Photo courtesy of ilovefishing.com.au)
MANDURAH
Tim’s Thicket to White Hills has been a little quiet but there were still a few reports of big tailor being taken along with some school and gummy sharks. The Dawesville Cut is still producing plenty of King George whiting, chopper tailor, herring, garfish and yellow-eye mullet (pilch). Squid are also being caught in reasonable numbers. Crabbers are still able to get a feed from the deep water and also in the Mary Street Lagoon. Yellowfin whiting are starting to show up along the beaches from Madora to Secret Harbour. Black bream continue to be taken in good numbers and size in the lower reaches of both the Murray and Serpentine.
SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / WARNBRO / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY
Palm Beach Jetty is producing a few herring and skippy and there are a lot of squid also in the area. Fishing at night seems to be working well for mulloway, with a 10 kg mulloway being landed by a local last week. Fishers fishing from the beach have found whiting, pilch and herring. Other locations in the region that have been turning on good whiting are the Penguin Island sand bar and the beaches at Secret Harbour.
Safety Bay Yacht Club and Rockingham Beach Jetty have been producing herring and squid. There are a few herring along most of the beaches, but not in any great number. There are still some salmon hanging around Point Peron. Squid are still being caught from the jetties as well as offshore.
South West Catches
Picture: Great catches are continuing on the artificial reefs, stonker of a pinkie and a sambo (Photo courtesy of Jed Casserly)
Two young customers of Dunsborough Outdoor Sportz have continued to catch salmon along the Geographe and west coast beaches. Considering the strength of this year’s salmon season, some observers are of the view that the iconic sport fish will be lurking around in good numbers along beaches for several months to come. Herring appear to be in better numbers on the west coast with bag limits of the bread and butter species being picked up in a matter of minutes at times.
The seagrass meadows between Eagle Bay and Siesta Park are loaded with squid and a few cuttlefish. The sandy areas adjacent to the weed beds are worth trying for King George whiting. A 96cm pink snapper was among plenty of smaller fish caught in the Geographe Bay waters during the past week. The hot spots for the pinkies once again were the Four Mile and Eight Mile reefs and the artificial reefs. Shore-based fishers have also managed to land a few pinks near Abbey Beach during, and just following, a period of rough weather.
Albany Catches
Picture: The prevalence and colour of the stripes indicates that this dhuie, although sized, is still quite young. As they age the stripes fade. (Photo courtesy of Nicholas Drummond)
Opportunities to head offshore have been limited due to the weather. An eager few who managed to pick a break in the weather and made it out to the 60 to 90m contours were rewarded with fair catches of queen, red and pink snapper as well as a few small dhufish. Samson fish were found schooling in a range of different areas while yellowtail kingfish were also encountered, however most of the latter seriola caught were no bigger than 10kg. Bigger red snapper have been found in dense schools at the edge of the shelf while harlequin fish have been turning up in bags of those working the shallower waters of less than 40m.
Heading out to target King George whiting through the inshore parts has also been a little tough because of the persistent strong winds, but again, the there was the odd day calm enough to fish the sound and both harbours where fish to 45cm were picked up together with herring, juvenile salmon, squid and the odd flathead. More squid have been coming from the marina early morning and after nightfall. Shore-based fishers have also managed to grab a feed of squid from Emu Point at times. Salmon are still turning up at most of the regular beaches including Cheynes, Nanarup, Middleton, Cables, Lowlands and Shelleys. The bigger schools seem to once again be appearing at Bluff Creek and along the Bremer stretch. Herring are can be sought at most of the beaches, especially areas that feature reef or rock. Better black bream sessions are being experienced in the rivers east of town.
Esperance Catches
Picture: Nice black bream caught in Bandy Creek on a soft plastic crab (Photo courtesy of Tyler Hewson)
King George whiting around the 35cm mark, small herring and black bream were among the species caught at Bandy Creek while the Taylor Street Jetty is worth a visit with herring, squid and skippy on offer. Salmon were reportedly thick at Salmon Beach at times during the week. The 3 to 7kg fish were scattered at Fourth Beach, which has also been fishing well for herring and small skippy. Juvenile salmon, skippy and herring have been coming from Stockyards. Bigger skippy and plenty of salmon have been picked up from the rocks at Warrenup.
Several pink snapper were landed from the stones at Hopetoun last week. Southern bluefin tuna may have started to reappear in local waters following the recent capture of a 4kg fish. The common mix of nannygai, breaksea cod, samson fish and yellowtail kingfish have been coming from the ground out wide. Sand whiting and squid are the main species being picked up by the boats in close.
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Geraldton Catches
Picture: Nice coral trout caught on jig.
The boats that have been working the ground near African Reef and out from Coronation have been doing well on dhufish in the 3 to 8kg range and medium-size pink snapper. The crews who braved the big swells and targeted reef species near the Abrolhos Islands were rewarded with nice catches of baldchin groper, coral trout and snapper.
Spanish mackerel and yellowfin tuna were the most common pelagic species encountered near the islands. Surf fishers have been scoring tailor and herring along the Flat Rocks to Greenough River mouth stretch some mornings. The evenings along there have been better for mulloway. Good sessions have been had on whiting at some of the beaches close to town. A customer of Geraldton Sports picked up a dozen yellowfin whiting between 35 and 45cm south of the harbour last week.
Kalbarri Catches
Picture: Davo’s mulloway (photo courtesy of Kalbarri Offshore & Angling Club Inc.)
Tailor between 35 and 55cm have been turning up some mornings and evenings at Red Bluff, Wittecarra and the northern end of the Blue Holes. Stick baits and poppers have been working well on bigger tailor at Chinamans and Oyster Reef. Mulloway have been caught at Chinamans and Frustrations and there were several school-size fish landed at Wagoe during the past week.
Garfish and herring can be sought at Red Bluff, especially early morning when the wind is light. There were a few pink snapper caught from the cliffs following the recent rough weather. Black bream around the 35cm mark are common in the lower and middle reaches of the Murchison. Yellowfin whiting have started to reappear in good numbers along the sand flats.
Exmouth Catches
Picture: A solid Spaniard that fell victim to a deep diver trolled over rocky ground.
Peak Sportfishing skipper, Eddie Lawler, has been putting his clients onto plenty of striped marlin as well as a few blacks and the odd blue despite the water temperatures being relatively low. Crews who have been dropping baits in very deep waters during the past few weeks have been scoring some superb ruby snapper.
Spanish mackerel have been caught on trolled bibbed minnows along the back of the reef north and south of Tantabiddi as well as near the Muiron Islands. Poppers and stick baits are working well on queenfish at Jansz and Jacobz and north Bundegi. Squid can be sought at Tantabiddi boat ramp, the marina and Learmonth Jetty. There are a few whiting along the beaches with catches expected to increase as the winter weather continues to fade.
Broome Catches
Picture: The blue swimmer crab is a family favourite, and the perfect opportunity for the kids to get involved.
Bluewater sport fishing enthusiasts have continued to encounter fair numbers of sailfish offshore, especially around the common sailfish grounds off Barred Creek. Spanish mackerel are responding well to trolled bibbed minnows and rigged garfish off Gantheaume Point and Entrance Point and there are heaps of longtail and mack tuna around. Bluebone appear to be in good numbers in Roebuck Bay with some fishers managing to pick up several 3 to 6kg fish in less than an hour.
Threadfin salmon remain in good numbers through Roebuck and there have been increasing catches of the popular sport fish at the entrance of Crab Creek and Demco Beach. Barramundi to a metre are occasionally being caught in the upper reaches of the Fitzroy River together with a few threadfin salmon. Katie Sippe landed a stunning barra that looked to be around the 80cm mark recently. Blue swimmer crabs have started to show up in the inshore areas and local creeks.
