Your Fishing Photos
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Metro Catches
Picture: With the demersal closure now in place, it is a great time for boat fishers to broaden their horizons and try targeting some different species, like King George Whiting (Photo courtesy of Dylan Picken).
Early morning lure fishers along the Cottesloe Groyne to Swanbourne Drain stretch have been catching tailor to 60cm together with the odd salmon. The deep gutters that were formed during the recent storms along the Floreat Groyne to Trigg Point coast would be worth trying for mulloway. A good mix of bread and butter species including herring, skippy, whiting and squid can be sought at Hillarys Marina, North and South Mole and the Ammo Jetty. There are still quite a few squid being picked up around the seagrass beds off Fremantle and in Cockburn Sound.
The broken ground east of Rottnest and inside Three Mile Reef has been producing some good catches of King George whiting. Metro reefs such as the Three Mile, Stragglers and others have started to see heightened activity with pelagic species, yellowtail kingfish and small tuna have been reported on these reefs with mackerel hopefully appearing in the coming months with warmer waters.
The sand holes in 10m to 20m of water south of Rottnest and west of Cottesloe and City Beach are holding good numbers of big sand whiting. Samson fish are being found around the 40m contour north of Rottnest and The Barges in 90m to 110m of water off West End. Mulloway ought to be making their way into the lower reaches of the Swan River. Big tailor and a few salmon are still evident in the lower and middle reaches of the river. Flathead have been appearing along the sand flats at Point Walter, East Fremantle and Chidley Point.
Rock Lobster Season 2016/17
The much anticipated Western Rock Lobster season is underway! The general consensus among lobster fishers was that the past season was an extremely productive one, highlighting just how well this fishery is managed, and it can only mean good things for the upcoming season.
The start of the season sees fishers choosing to chase rock lobster diving and free divers are generally having more success than those potting, however there have still been enough crays coming up to make the early morning trip out to check the pots worthwhile. If potting, make sure you are using adequate weight in your pots as crays won’t go near a pot that is bouncing around on the sea floor.
Make the most of your season and check out our How to Catch Western Rock Lobster article for more tips that are sure to get crays on your table this summer.
Mandurah & Surrounds
Picture: Tailor are great fun to catch on surface lures from the shore as seen here by Craig Foster, during an early morning flick (Photo courtesy of Tim Grose).
MANDURAH
Beach anglers fishing the beaches to the south of Mandurah have found a few good tailor and some herring. Mulloway are still being caught spasmodically and are still in the 6 – 8 kg range. A little later in the season the size of these fish should improve and encourage fishers to put in a little more time and effort in chasing these fish. The estuary end of the Dawesville Cut is producing some good fishing for skippy and King George whiting from both boats and the shore. This area is also producing a few tailor along with some small mulloway.
The beaches to the north of Mandurah are producing some tailor on dusk. There are some good tailor being taken by trollers in the estuary. Again fishers will have to start putting in some time and effort if they are to catch a large mulloway. During the last week people fishing from small craft have found plenty of black bream of legal size and better in and around areas where there is some structure or shelter for the bream. The ability to quietly approach and not make a lot of noise whilst fishing will ensure some success. Both baits and soft plastic lures have worked well and some fishers also report that deep diving hard bodied lures are working in deeper locations.
SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / WARNBRO / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY
Point Peron has been producing garfish, tarwhine and herring, while the beaches around Port Kennedy and Secret Harbour have been producing some tailor for both morning and evening fishers. The beaches throughout this area are starting to consistently produce small mulloway. Many fishers report taking fish between 3 and 6 kg. There are a few tailor around and plenty of herring.
South West Catches
Picture: Jigs and stick baits are very popular when targeting Yellowtail Kingfish (Photo courtesy of @massamone).
Samson fish and yellowtail kingfish were encountered around the steep structures out from Cape Naturaliste. Surf fishers have been catching tailor and salmon early morning and evening at Mitchells, Bunker Bay, Rocky Point and Elmore Road. With the demersal closure species such as flathead, King George, squid, samson fish, skippy and yellowtail kingfish can still be found on the artificial reefs, with large numbers of samson fish and flathead seen on the Reef Vision cameras lately.
A consistent stream of burley should produce herring from just about any of the headlands. Mulloway and gummy shark can be sought between Contos Beach and Hamelin Bay. Squid were caught in better numbers along the seagrass beds off Quindalup this past week thanks to an improvement in water clarity. Divers have already reported good catches of rock lobster off the west coast, however water clarity has been an issue for those attempting to dive off Bunbury.
Albany Catches
Picture: When you’re spearing for popular species such as Harlequin and Queen Snapper, keep an eye out for the iconic Dhufish as reports from fishers are suggesting increasing numbers in the region.
A customer of Albany Rods and Tackle landed a samson fish that was conservatively estimated to weigh 35kg from the shore at Emu Point last week. More suspected sambos were hooked and lost at the popular spot during the past fortnight. Fresh squid seem to be producing a higher strike rate and apparently the bigger the squid the better. The boats that ventured out to the coral lumps off Cheynes Beach, Two Peoples Bay, Cosy Corner and Albany during the week also encountered samson fish together with a few yellowtail kingfish. Queen snapper, breaksea cod, red snapper and a few dhufish were picked up in reasonable numbers.
Hapuka were caught at the shelf, but most were relatively small. Notwithstanding the dirty water, King George Sound has been fishing well for King George whiting. Squid seem to prefer the clearer parts of the inshore areas while herring, sand whiting and skippy were caught in both the clear and murky parts. Surf fishers have been picking up a mix of herring, skippy, tarwhine, juvenile and mature salmon from the local beaches. Bigger skippy seem to be hanging around the deeper channels at Bluff Creek. The rivers east of the Pallinup are fishing better for black bream than the two local systems while the local populations continue to engage in spawning. Mulloway ranging from 20cm to 60cm were caught in Kalgan recently.
Esperance Catches
Picture: Short heavy spins rods and heavy overhead reels are preferable for Samson fish. It’s best to use something like a 24kg braid and 30-50kg mono leader (Photo courtesy of @seeland_argh).
King George whiting to a respectable 52cm were picked up at the James Street Jetty during the week with evenings proving to be the better time to target these good size Geordies. Herring and squid can also be sought at the structure as well as at the Bandy Creek Boat Harbour, which also has a few smaller King George. The Bream Lakes have been fishing well recently with fish to 45cm being caught on baits and lures.
Salmon have been turning up in dense schools at Roses every now and then while packs of a dozen or so fish have occasionally been appearing at Salmon Beach and Fourth Beach. Salmon and herring have been common at Dunns. Mixed bags of queen snapper, nannygai, which were mostly of average size, and samson fish were achieved wide of the islands. Small boat and dinghy fishers have been bagging a fair feed of sand whiting, herring and squid inshore.
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Geraldton Catches
Picture: An unusual catch for the midwest! Bonefish are usually found further north and are targeted by fly fishing enthusiasts (Photo courtesy of @jakesfishstagram).
The beach fishing has been reasonably consistent with mulloway ranging from undersize to around the 15kg mark coming from the Greenough to Head Butts stretch. A group of customers of Geraldton Sports landed several mulloway in the 10kg to 12kg range just south of the Greenough River mouth during the past week. School sharks have also been turning up along the southern beaches together with 30cm to 40cm tailor. Bigger tailor – fish to 80cm – have been caught by lure fishers who have been wading out on the reefs near Separation Point and Southgates when the swell and tide has allowed.
Small whiting and herring can be found behind The Lives. Surf fishers targeting tailor at Separation Point, Explosives and the bay at Drummonds have been catching increasing numbers of snook. Large longtail and yellowfin tuna have been spotted around bait schools. Dinghy and small boat fishers who have been targeting whiting through the inshore areas have been inadvertently catching bonefish between 45cm and 55cm.
Kalbarri Catches
Picture: Black bream can handle hypersaline waters, (water saltier than the ocean) making them a hardy fish (Photo courtesy of @dan.coughlan).
Shore-based fishers caught pink snapper between 4kg and 5kg at Jakes, Red Bluff, Oyster Reef, Chinamans and the costal cliffs before the demersal ban started. Early mornings have been fishing well for tailor and occasional mulloway at Wittecarra and Frustrations.
More tailor and mulloway were caught from the shore at Wagoe during the past fortnight. Wayne Dewar, of Kalbarri Sports and Dive, caught tailor to 50cm and wobbegong sharks at Coronation last week. Yellowfin whiting between 20cm and 30cm can be sought along the sand flats in the Murchison while black bream are mostly being caught at the jetty and near the snags.
Exmouth Catches
Picture: Golden Trevally are regular visitors to shallow flats around Exmouth, Onslow, Port Hedland and Dampier, often moving in schools. They can be found near reefs amongst other larger trevally species such as Giant Trevally.
Big schools of baitfish are starting to appear in the gulf and their presence is bringing about increasing numbers of sailfish. Golden trevally, big queenfish and spanish mackerel have also been among the baitfish at times. Manta rays are also evident in the gulf at the moment and many of these majestic creatures have cobia in tow. Billfish enthusiasts have been encountering the odd blue marlin in depths starting at 400m while smaller black and striped marlin have been turning up between the 50m to 100m contours.
The billfish have unfortunately been rather finicky at times while they are thought to be gorging on the abundance of baitfish that are present in the open water. Giant trevally continue to be caught on stick baits and poppers near the west coast reefs and there have been a few fish caught from a few of the shore-based spots recently.
Broome Catches
Picture: Check out Alyssa’s Spanish mackerel, what an effort! If you’re are a woman living in the Broome area, why not join Broome Girls Gone Fishing Facebook page? (Photo courtesy of Alyssa Faulkner).
Tackle World Broome’s Pete Nielsen has been catching barramundi in Dampier Creek despite the fish still being a little hesitant to strike at baits and lures in these waters. Better catches of barra have been coming from the Fitzroy where fish between 80cm and 1m have been caught at Langis Crossing, Pelican Pool, Telegraph Pool and The Cuttings. The boats that have been heading out early morning before the sea breeze has come in have been picking up some nice catches of bluebone and snapper in Roebuck Bay.
Billfish enthusiasts continue to find sailfish and small black marlin off Barred Creek and James Price Point. Spanish mackerel have been responding well to trolled bibbed minnows and rigged garfish off Entrance Point and Gantheaume Point. Local and visiting fishers alike will be pleased to hear that the jetty is expected to reopen during the coming weeks.
