Metro Catches
Picture: Pinkies may be off limits in the Sounds, however that’s not to say they can’t be found out wider in metro waters, as Warrick Upton was pleased to find after launching from Palm Beach last week in quite average conditions – “Decided to head back to shore but not before doing a quick pass of some ground that can hold fish. Getting close I flicked out a soft plastic to have my line tighten up quickly. The result, a nice sized 65cm pinkie.” (Photo: Courtesy of Warrick Upton).
The boats that managed to head offshore when the weather allowed did reasonably well on a variety of species. Pink snapper have been encountered in big numbers along Five Fathom Bank as well as near Garden and Carnac islands and Stragglers. Bigger pink snapper have been coming from the 90m to 110m depths off Rockingham and Hillarys. Some nice dhufish have been picked up in 40m to 60m of water off Rottnest Island together with plenty of breaksea cod. There are loads of whiting being found in the 15m to 30m sandy areas between Fremantle and Rottnest.
King George whiting to 45cm are about Cockburn Sound, however some work is required in finding the concentrations. Squid are in an abundance along the seagrass beds off Fremantle and within the sound. A couple of nice size longtail tuna were caught inside Cockburn Sound recently and it should not be long now for southern bluefin and yellowfin tuna to start turning up in numbers offshore.
While early mornings and evenings are producing some tailor along the metropolitan beaches extending from Leighton to Trigg Point, better catches have been coming from the coast north of Mindarie. There are still tailor around the 50cm mark being caught in the middle reaches of the Swan River and near Canning Bridge. There is still no word of giant herring being caught in either of the metropolitan river systems.
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 Wilber Street Jetty in Rossmoyne. With Easy parking and access, 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, Redcliffe Jetty in Bicton – click here
Mandurah & Surrounds
Picture: Squid Hunters WA welcomes Sarah Archer to their admin team this week, and here she is displaying her prowess with a nice hood caught off Parmelia Bank. (Photo: Courtesy of Squid Hunters WA)
Evening anglers fishing the southern beaches have found a few herring and some tailor and there have been reports of a few small mulloway turning up. Preston Beach, White Hills and Tim’s Thicket have all been producing some fish during the last week. Closer to Mandurah, the Dawesville Cut has been producing herring, skippy and some tailor. These are generally being caught at dawn and dusk. Tarwhine are also being caught in good numbers but they are a little on the small side. The Old Traffic Bridge has been a little quiet and closer to the river mouth, anglers have been taking mixed bags of tarwhine, herring and whiting. The Murray and Serpentine continue to produce good numbers of black bream. Beaches to the north of the town at San Remo, Singleton, Madora and Golden Bay have been producing tailor and some small mulloway, along with herring, whiting and garfish.
Beaches around this area have been producing a few whiting, herring and small skippy and an occasional tailor and small mulloway. Locations to fish are the beaches around Warnbro Sound and the beaches around Long Point. Secret Harbour is also worth a try for big tailor. An occasional small mulloway has been taken however larger fish are yet to be taken from the area. Don’t forget that the seasonal closure on the taking of snapper from both Cockburn and Warnbro Sounds is now in force and is being monitored.
In the Sound, squid are still being taken and numbers are good. Now is the time to start diversifying your fishing since snapper are off limits. My recommendation is to consider trying for larger mulloway, particularly at night. As an alternative, tailor have been active throughout the Sound and some good fish have been taken from the rock walls and from dinghies. King George Whiting are also an alternative and when fresh squid is fished on the sand patches adjacent to the weed beds some good fish can be taken.
The beaches around Woodman’s Point are producing some good fishing for smaller tailor, herring and whiting. In addition to these fish there are plenty of squid, and a few scaly mackerel around.
South West Catches
Picture: Young gun Troy shows off the haul to the pooch after he and dad Wayne headed south for some land based Salmon action. This years Salmon season seems to just keep producing the goods! (Photo: Courtesy of Wayne M).
Pink snapper were caught from the shore during, and following, the recent rough weather at spots that included Monaghans and the Busselton Jetty. Salmon are occasionally being caught at Curtis Bay, Bunker Bay and Mitchells. Herring are being picked up in good numbers by shore-based and boat fishers.
Squid fishing has been productive along the seagrass beds off Quindalup, however it may take a few days for the water clarity to improve for the cephalopods to be active once again. Blue Swimmer crabs can be sought between Dunsborough and Abbey Beach.
This week Recfishwest are excited to announce the launch of version 2 of the Recfishwest fishing app this weekend, available through the link below for FREE. It has been updated with new features to be the one stop shop for all WA fishing matters, rules, info and more!
Download iPhone or Android
Geraldton Catches
Picture: Dorado (a fabled city in South America, rich in treasure and sought by Spanish explorers in the 16th century), mahi mahi or dolphin fish, are an impressive thrashing pelagic fighter, pursued by all forms of fishers in many tropical waters around the globe (Photo: Courtesy of Michael Tropiano).
A customer of Geraldton Sports landed a 22kg mulloway from a beach near Dongara about 7am last Friday. Smaller mulloway, 8kg to 10kg fish, have been caught at West Bank and Flat Rocks. Tailor have been appearing most mornings and evenings along the coast stretching from Head Butts to the Greenough River mouth.
The reefs close to town have been producing bigger tailor, but in smaller numbers, together with a few small coral trout. Whiting between 20cm and 31cm can be found along the Southgates to Drummonds stretch. The boats continue to pick up dhufish, pink snapper, baldchin groper and coral trout along the coral strips at West Bank, off the northern end of Drummonds and near African Reef. Pelagic species including Spanish mackeral and shark mackerel, yellowfin tuna and dolphin fish have been encountered near the Abrolhos Islands.
Kalbarri Catches
Picture: Dhufish can react to all forms of rigs approaching the bottom, paternosta for bait is a common choice for bottom bouncing, but in shallower depths where you can control the movement of the lure, even soft plastics on mono will often be picked up and ran with by some of the unruly teenage specimens (Photo: Courtesy of Reuben Simcock).
Tailor catches have been improving along the beaches with Wittecarra and Red Bluff producing fair numbers of fish to 60cm most mornings and evenings. Bigger tailor have been turning up at the river mouth, Chinamans and Oyster Reef. A customer of Kalbarri Sports and Dive landed a superb 82cm tailor at Chinamans about 3pm last Thursday.
Several pink snapper were caught from the coastal gorges and the river mouth during the past fortnight. Herring and dart can be found at Red Bluff most mornings. The boats have been doing reasonably well on dhufish, baldchin groper, coral trout and breaksea cod. Yellowfin whiting can be found along the sand flats just past the jetty. Divers have spotted a few bronze whaler sharks to 2m at the entrance of the river.
