Your Fishing Photos
If you want to see yourself or your kids feature in our weekly state-wide Fishing Reports, send your best fishing photos and a description to dan@recfishwest.org.au
Power in Numbers for Pink Snapper in Cockburn Sound
This year’s Pink Snapper spawning closure begins at midnight tonight (Fri 30th Sep) and the wealth of research continued over the last 16 years is showing that it is set to be one of the most important since its introduction in 2000, especially following the uncertainty of last year’s fish kill in Cockburn Sound on breeding stock.
Read the full story here.
Metro Catches
Picture: Young Squid Hunter Jace Watson displays this nice 28cm hood earlier this week. Dad Shane: “Caught in the arvo around Woodies Point” (Photo: Courtesy of Shane Watson & Squid Hunters WA).
Pink Snapper in the 4kg to 9kg range were caught from the northern and southern rock walls during the recent period of rough weather. Woodman Point, Coogee Marina rock wall, South Mole, North Mole and Hillarys Marina were among the spots where the snapper were caught. Longtail tuna to 15kg have been turning up within Cockburn Sound while schools of southern bluefin tuna have been appearing off the southern side off Rottnest Island.
Off Hillarys and Mindarie, yellowfin tuna to 12kg are being encountered at times. Joanna Day and Michelle Antunovich caught pink snapper to 5kg, breaksea cod to a superb 3kg and some nice size swallowtail while fishing in 90m to 110m of water off Hillarys while aboard one of the local charter boats on Saturday.
Squid remain in good numbers along the seagrass beds off Fremantle and within Cockburn Sound. There have been some nice size King George whiting caught between Five Fathom Bank and Stragglers. The sand holes near Gage Roads are holding plenty of plump sand whiting. Dave Thomson and I caught four tailor to 51cm on olive green and white deceivers and clousers in the Swan River on Monday.
A friendly reminder to all fishers that Cockburn and Warnbro Sounds are closed to Pink Snapper Fishing from midnight 30th September until midnight January 31st – for more info on the rules and regs click here.
For all you need to know on how to catch, cook and clean your squid, head here.
Plus: Check out the awesome brand new Squid Hunters WA website for great WA egi community info.
Jetty, Set, Go!
Browse the many diverse and unique fishing experiences awaiting you at our Swan River Jetties here.
Fishing in the Swan or Canning this weekend? Not sure where to fish or what facilities are close by? We will give you a snapshot of popular fishing locations to make your family fishing days more enjoyable!
Today, we’ll be looking at Redcliffe Jetty. Read more about how to maximise your experience fishing the Jetty and check out the near by facilities here.
In case you missed last weeks jetty, Kent Street Jetty in Bicton – click here
Mandurah & Surrounds
Picture: If you’re after big pinks like this one here sent in from Adam Smallridge caught off Rockingham last week, the change of light is a peak bight time so it’s definitely worth getting up a bit earlier or staying out a bit later to catch it (Photo: Courtesy of Adam Smallridge).
Bream anglers fishing the Murray and Serpentine rivers continue to catch, and often release, good numbers of black bream. One angler caught and released a beauty that was over 45 cm during the week. Small hard bodied lures and soft plastic lures are accounting for most of the fish.
Beach anglers fishing the beaches between Tim’s Thicket and Preston have been catching herring and some tailor and there have been reports of a few small mulloway up to 50 cm. The bigger fish are yet to turn up regularly, but it is only a matter of time. Weed has been a problem but seems to have cleared a little later in the week.
The Cut is still producing good fishing and the kids have had a ball during the holidays. Herring are still the main catch but bags have also included a few tailor, sand whiting, King George whiting and an occasional big skippy. Locals in the know suggest that you fish the incoming tide for herring, with the tailor being caught at dawn and dusk. Tarwhine are also being caught in good numbers but they are a little on the small side. The Bridge has been turning on some small tailor and a few good skippy. Around the river mouth you can catch a mixed bag of tarwhine, herring and whiting.
The southern beaches have been turning on some tailor after dark and early in the morning. One spot that has been fishing well over the week has been Shoalwater Bay where there have been plenty of herring, whiting and skippy for holiday anglers. Tailor anglers have found the beaches around Secret Harbour worth a try, but this is the only spot that seems to be producing these fish regularly in this region.
Good catches of herring, sand whiting and skippy are being taken from the local jetties. Dinghy anglers in the area are finding plenty of yellowfin whiting and King George whiting at the moment. The King George whiting can be found in reasonable numbers on the southern flats and also out behind the Five Fathom Bank. Small samsonfish have also been taken in and around the Sound and can prove to be a bit of a handful on light tackle meant for whiting.
Woodman’s Point itself is still providing good fishing for scaly mackerel, herring, whiting and some tailor plus some squid. Just offshore, the sand and yellow finned whiting are of a good size, herring are plentiful, and there are still some tailor out at the islands along with a few King George whiting.
South West Catches
Picture: While salmon will usually take most baits and lures, on the days when you’re having trouble tempting them, a lightly weighted soft plastic will often be their undoing. (Photo Courtesy of T. Lyons)
Toby Heyring quickly pounced on a school of salmon that appeared at Eagle Bay last week and managed to landed several fish during a hot hour-long session. Salmon have also been turning up at Rocky Point and there has also been a few fish caught every now and then at Bunker Bay. A handful of burley should get herring around any of the rocky headlands in the bay or west coast.
Small boat fishers have been picking up their share of herring through the inshore waters of Geographe Bay. Squid catches have been better off Quindalup when the water has been clear. Pink snapper and dhufish were caught off Cape Naturaliste and Canal Rocks when the weather permitted. Blue Swimmer crabs are being caught numbers in the bay following a period of northerly winds.
Albany Catches
Picture: Cheynes Beach in Albany – view from the national park (Photo courtesy of facebook.com/cheynesbeach).
When conditions have permitted, the boats have been picking up fair catches of red snapper, breaksea cod, queen snapper and the odd dhufish along the coral in depths leading up to 85m of water. Pink snapper and some nice harlequin fish have been coming from 30m to 40m of water while samson fish and yellowtail kingfish were encountered in a range of depths and areas. King George Sound continues to fish well for King George whiting.
Good catches of King George were also picked up from the inshore waters off Cheynes Beach and near Denmark. Bigger KG, fish around the 45cm mark, have been found near the islands when the boats have been able to head out to them.
Squid catches have again been better from the seagrass meadows east and west of town. Pink snapper to 70cm have been caught in the lower reaches of Wilson Inlet. The pinkies caught in this waterway are generally not very good eating due to the quality of the water and it is recommended that fishers return all snapper promptly following capture.
Mostly herring and whiting have been caught from the local beaches together with the odd salmon. Big schools of salmon continue to turn up along Bremer Bay. Black bream have been hard to tempt in most of the river systems along the South Coast, including the King and Kalgan, while the local populations engage in spawning.
Esperance Catches
Picture: Some heavy tackle and some furious winding required for landing a Queeny from the land, as Lachie Mc Sevich found out last week (Photo: Courtesy of Lachie Mc Sevich).
Small boat and dinghy fishers continue to do well on whiting and squid within a mile or so from the coast while then bigger boats have been returning to shore with mix catches of nannygai, queen snapper and breaksea cod. Salmon have been caught in their ones and twos at the local beaches including Salmon Beach and Fourth Beach.
Fourteen Mile has consistently been producing skippy to a kilo. Stockyards is worth a visit with herring, flathead, juvenile salmon and skippy on offer. Small skippy and herring can be sought at the Jane Street Jetty. Bandy Creek boat harbour has herring, King George whiting and black bream.
Geraldton Catches
Picture: Pages beach – one of the many well known land based spots in the mid-west town for schools of whiting, herring and even the odd mulloway.
Surf fishers have been using a variety of methods to catch tailor to 70cm at the reefs near Explosives and Flat Rocks. Runs of smaller tailor have been experienced along the beaches south of Greenough together with school-size mulloway and shark.
Young fishers on school holidays can seek bread and butter species, including herring, skippy, pike and chopper tailor, at the marina, The Lives and along The Pages to Explosives stretch. Black bream and chopper tailor are being picked up in the lower reaches of the Greenough River. The small boats have been encountering quite a few school mackerel along the seagrass between Pages and Separation Point.
Kalbarri Catches
Picture: You won’t see many shots of mulloway taken during the light of day, and while there are always exceptions in the fishing world, many who pursue this fish will brave long cold nights and the small hours of morning in the lead up to a full moon all for a chance to encounter one of these beauties (Photo: Courtesy of @Jakesfishtagram).
A customer of Kalbarri Sports and Dive landed an impressive 43cm black bream that weighed 1.4kg in the Murchison last week. There were also several other bream picked up in the system that went close to the esteemed 40cm mark. Yellowfin whiting remain in good numbers along the sand flats located in the lower reaches while the jetties and pens continue to produce catches of estuary cod and small mulloway.
Blue swimmer and mud crab catches are improving near the river mouth. Mornings seem to be fishing better than evenings for tailor along the popular beaches including Red Bluff, Wittecarra and the northern end of the Blue Holes.
Bigger tailor have been coming from Oyster Reef and the river mouth. Pink snapper around the 4kg mark were landed at the gorges, river mouth and Red Bluff during the week. Boat fishers managed to pick up bigger snapper around the 6kg, of which some were caught within a few hundred metres from Blue Holes.
Exmouth Catches
Picture: On days when the bottom fishing is slow, towing around lures for pelagics can turn up great fish like this Spanish mackeral.
Yellowfin tuna are being been caught on trolled skirts and bibbed minnows along the back of the reef between Tantabiddi north and south passages. Schools of sailfish have also been encountered close to the reef.
In the deeper waters of around 60m to100m, schools of striped tuna have been found together with the odd wahoo. Bluewater Tackle World’s Azza Fitzgerald, James Abberley and friends enjoyed an entertaining session on shark mackerel and Spanish mackerel north out from the tip of the cape.
Anglers Leah Burkala and Lexi Taylor landed yellowfin and striped tuna during the recent Ladies Day fishing tournament. Nikki Sutton caught her first marlin, which assisted her to team take out the Champion Team tag and release Billfish section. Team In Deep won Champion Boat overall. Permit, trevally, snapper, marlin and sailfish were among the species caught during the Saltwater fly-fishing festival held earlier this month.
Broome Catches
Picture: Check out how closely the colour on the top of this Barramundi matches the water colour… any poor mullet swimming above this guy would have a hard time spotting him below (Photo: Courtesy of Broome Fishing Club).
Billfish enthusiasts continue to encounter sailfish and small black marlin, especially near The Peanut. Longtail tuna schools have also been found among the billfish as well as in waters off Entrance Point and Gantheaume Point.
Threadfin and bluenose salmon have been caught in better numbers in Roebuck Bay during the bigger tides.
Shore-based fishers have been getting among plenty of bluenose salmon at Barn Hill Beach. Barramundi have been responding well to live baits and lures at Telegraph Pool, Pelican Pool and The Cuttings. Barra catches have been improving in the local creeks, which are also fishing reasonably well for queenfish, mangrove jack, estuary cod and assortments of trevally.
As you can see above from the awesome ‘meter moment’ from last years B.F.C Barra Comp – the value this fishing brings to the local communities of the top end of our state is priceless.
Existing members can register before Oct 7 via the link below:
