Your Fishing Photos
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NEW:
Kununurra fishing report written by Matt Cox, a barra enthusiast who will be bringing you the latest from the mind blowing country and incredible barra fishing that the East Kimberley has to offer. *Please note, this is not a weekly location update, but an important edition to improve your fishing reports.
Picture: Please welcome our newest fishing report writer, coming to you from the tropical waters of the Kimberley, Matt Cox.
WA Fish Size Limit Review Survey
Have Your Say Now
Recfishwest is undertaking a survey on the proposed changes to size limits in WA. The survey will assist in providing advice to the Department of Fisheries on the views expressed by the recreational fishing community.
Click here to start the survey. Survey closes midnight December 16, 2016.
Metro Catches
Picture: Big Samson fish start to school up around the offshore metro reefs coming into the warmer months (Photo courtesy of @pjgringo).
Despite the demersal ban in place until 15 December 2016, there are still plenty of options offshore at this time of the year. Samson fish are being found in dense schools at the cluster of barges located in 90m to 110m of water west and southwest of Rottnest’s West End. The sambos, which have ranged from 10kg to 40kg, have been responding well to heavy knife jigs. Yellowtail kingfish are being caught on trolled herring, yellowtail and squid behind Stragglers. There are also some nice skippy being caught between Stragglers and the back of Five Fathom Bank.
King George whiting to 60cm have been caught in 20m to 30m off the southern side of Rottnest while sand whiting can pretty much be found in any of the sand holes between Fremantle and Rottnest. Squid remain in good numbers along the seagrass beds off Fremantle. Tailor have been turning up some mornings and evenings along the metropolitan beaches, but it seems that the typical tailor run which ordinarily starts around Melbourne Cup Day each year is yet to commence. Tailor catches in the river have been more consistent than the coast with fish to 70cm being caught in the middle and lower reaches on lures and mulies.
Mandurah & Surrounds
Picture: King George whiting are an excellent alternative species to catch during the demersal closure.
MANDURAH
Beaches south of Mandurah are starting to produce a few nice tailor along with some small mulloway. The Cut is still the most reliable place to get a feed, with some big herring and some tailor being caught. There have also been some large squid taken in The Cut during the week. The Bridges have been producing some reasonable catches of whiting and herring and there have also been reports of a few tailor, herring and whiting showing up at the By-pass Bridge.
The beaches to the north of Mandurah have been a little quieter with a few smaller mulloway being caught. It shouldn’t be too long before larger specimens start to appear along the San Remo, Madora, Singleton section of the coast. There has been a variety of fish being caught out on the 5 Fathom and 19 Fathom Banks. King George whiting, big skippy and plenty of the ‘bread and butter species’ have all been caught recently.
Fishers chasing black bream in the Murray report that some good fish have been taken. Fishers in the know have been regularly taking very large fish in excess of 38 cm. Offshore reports indicate that the local divers are getting a few rock lobster, but for those pulling pots the season has started slowly.
SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / WARNBRO / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY
Kwinana Beach, Rockingham and Safety Bay jetties have been producing an occasional mulloway for people fishing through the night from these platforms. There are still a few flathead being taken from the sand flats along he Shoalwater shoreline. These jetties are also producing a few herring and squid late at night. Don’t discount a fresh small squid as a fresh bait for mulloway.
There are still reports of herring and garfish being taken from the local beaches in the morning. Tailor are also being taken from these beaches of an afternoon when the breeze comes in and puts a chop on the water. There are a few small whiting on the sand flats between the mainland and Penguin Island as well as occasional flathead.
Tailor have been taken from the beaches south of Long Point, where some nice mulloway have also been caught recently. The beaches from Golden Bay around to Secret Harbour are producing some good fishing for mulloway and tailor.
Mandurah Artificial Reef Update
Hear the latest from Recfishwest Research Officer, James Florisson on what species have been spotted on the reef and the fishing opportunities that are on offer.
Click here for 6MM radio interview
Picture: A nice sized flounder caught on a jig intended for sambos on the reef.
South West Catches
Picture: Beautiful yellowtail kingfish specimens like this are a popular South-West reef target.
Surf fishers working the gutters along the west coast and Geographe Bay beaches have been catching some nice tailor, mulloway and salmon. There are plenty of herring and a few skippy to be caught along both sides of Cape Naturaliste.
Whiting numbers are increasing along the Quindalup sand flats as the summer months edge closer. Yellowtail kingfish are being regularly caught off the tip of the cape and there are samson fish being encountered near the drop offs and structure. Squid continue to be picked up in good numbers along the seagrass beds.
Albany Catches
Picture: Pink snapper in Albany are in good numbers (Photo courtesy Dylan Picken).
Conditions similar to those experienced on Sunday do not come around too often and those who took to the waters off Albany, Cheynes Beach and Two Peoples Bay were surprised at just how pleasant it was. The crews who headed out wide and dropped in depths ranging from 100m to 400m were rewarded with big red snapper, nice size hapuka and some unusual catches which included pink ling.
The coral patches between the 60m and 90m contours produced a good mix of the usual suspects, which included pink, queen and red snapper, breaksea cod, dhufish and samson fish. King George and sand whiting are the main species being caught from the sound and the other inshore areas. Squid catches are increasing as the water clarity improves. Squid also remain the preferred bait for the big samson fish that are residing at Emu Point. Several more sambos were hooked and the odd fish landed there this past week.
Shore-based fishers interested in spending a morning or evening at one of the local spots ought to try Sand Patch where some nice catches of skippy, herring and sand whiting have been had recently. Bremer Bay has mostly herring and sand whiting while bigger skippy can be found at Bluff Creek and nearby Cheynes. Tailor have been turning up at first light and after dark at Nanarup while Middleton is worth a try for mulloway at this time of the year. Black bream have become more inclined to strike at hard-bodies as well as plastics and vibes in the Kalgan.
Esperance Catches
Picture: Max with his very first fish. He caught this Skippy at the Taylor Street Jetty on his second cast, ever! Thanks for sharing Toby. (Photo courtesy of Toby Virgin).
A good mix of bread and butter species including herring, skippy of about half a kilo and King George whiting can be sought at the Taylor Street Jetty and Bandy Creek Boat Harbour. There have been 1kg to 2kg salmon turning up most days at Fourth Beach. Roses has been graced with better numbers of salmon as well as the odd tailor.
Fourteen Mile Beach has gummy shark while Stockyards is worth a try with herring, juvenile salmon and flathead caught there last week. Good numbers of skippy to a kilo have recently been caught at the rocks at Wylie Bay. Shore-based adventurists who undertook Poison Creek picked up salmon, gummy shark and tailor. Nannygai to 3kg, queen snapper and pink snapper were the main species caught out wide. In close, there are still heaps of whiting and squid around.
Geraldton Catches
Picture: Squid enthusiasts even enjoying a bit of a catch and release challenge like this one caught by Branko (Photo courtesy of Squid Hunters Western Australia).
School mulloway to 11kg and tailor have been appearing along the Flat Rocks to Greenough River mouth stretch with the first point at Greenough among the better performing spots for the latter species. Dozens of tailor ranging from skinny 20cm models to healthy 60cm fish were caught at the first point during the weekend together with at least one mulloway, which was a good fish of about a metre.
Mornings have been better for tailor along the Southgates to Tarcoola stretch. The area between Point Moore and Pages has a few tailor turning up after dark, but blowfish have been problematic. Mostly chopper tailor have been caught behind The Lives. The dinghy and small boats working the waters out from Point Moore have generally been doing well on squid and herring. Whiting can be sought around the sand holes there and out from Pages. Weed movement has made things challenging north of Drummonds Cove, however there have been tailor caught there when conditions have permitted.
Kalbarri Catches
Picture: Beach fishing around Kalbarri is amongst the best in the state with Tailor still a viable option even in slow times (Photo courtesy of Tony Tropiano).
Kalbarri Sports and Dive’s Wayne Dewar has been catching black bream to 38cm, mulloway to 70cm and has been busted off several times in the upper reaches of the Murchison during the past week. The sand flats located in the lower reaches have been fishing well for yellowfin whiting.
Bag limits of blue swimmer crabs have been achieved near the river mouth while the middle and upper reaches are where most of the mud crabs have been caught recently. Tailor have been a little hit and miss along the beaches north and south of the river mouth. Mulloway have mostly been coming from the northern beaches.
Exmouth Catches
Picture: Queenfish are a sporting target for lure fishers inside the Exmouth Gulf and around the many beaches (Photo courtesy of Quan Hong Tran).
Billfish enthusiasts are encountering blue marlin to 250kg beyond the 600m contour while smaller black and striped marlin have been raised on skirted lures and rigged baits in depths starting at 100m. Sailfish continue to be found near the bait balls located in the upper areas of the gulf.
Trolled bibbed minnows are working well on spanish and shark mackerel at the back of the reef line. Poppers and stick baits retrieved from the white water are enticing giant trevally to 30kg as well as red bass. Fly fishers working the lower parts of the gulf have caught queenfish to a metre and permit. VLF Bay has queenfish and assortments of trevally turning up, especially at the change of tide.
Broome Catches
Picture: Threadfin salmon caught by the ladies from the Broome Girls Gone Fishing group. If you’re in Broome and love to fish why not check out their facebook page? (Photo courtesy of Alyssa Faulkner).
Several metre-plus barramundi were caught during the recent Inter-Club Barra Classic. Derby took out the annual event by a few centimetres with the fish caught on baits and lures in the Fitzroy River. While many parts of the river produced catches, the most reliable area seemed to be around Langis Crossing.
More barra are expected to be caught in the local creeks during the upcoming set of neaps. Roebuck Bay continues to fish well for threadfin and bluenose salmon. Shore-based fishers have been enjoying some entertaining light line sessions on queenfish, trevally and salmon along Roebuck Bay and Cable Beach.
Kununurra Catches
Picture: Good numbers of barramundi are firing up inside the freshwater reserves around Kununurra (Photo courtesy of @northboundcharters).
Well the Build Up is officially upon us with temps averaging from 38-41 degrees everyday making fishing during the day quite uncomfortable, although those who have braved the elements and headed out of Wyndham have been rewarded with some great fingermark fishing. Some of the best reports have come from boats anchored in tight to a coastal cliff or drop off and jigging plastics down deep has been raising a few scales.
Closer to Kununurra there has been some excellent surface fishing after dark in the Lower Ord with reports of 90cm plus Barramundi being caught on a regular basis and in good numbers. Mainly taken on the ever trusty Bills Bug Fizzer. For anyone venturing down that way take extreme caution when fishing at night on the bank as the saltwater crocs are extremely active at the moment.
Lake Kununurra has also been fishing strongly, barramundi have been found in the shallower faster water and falling victim to the Classic Barra lures.
