Your Fishing Photos
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**Simply share on our Facebook page or email bronte@recfishwest.org.au a photo of you in front of/ or in your boat with your old foam life jacket (that normally lives under the bow or seat of your boat gathering dust & salt spray – we know they do) and go in the draw to win a new fishing life jacket!
We’ll pick 3 of the worst life jackets going around as winners. **But for every photo of an old jacket you enter, you’ll receive $10 off any life jacket on our ‘Fish and Survive’ online safety shop. Share with your fishing mates and help keep boaties safe in WA.
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Metro Catches
Picture: Tailor, caught by Recfishwest Fishing Expert and Fishing Report Author Joachim Azzopardi.
Large numbers of pink snapper are being caught in 20m of water southwest of Rottnest on soft plastic jigs. Dhufish ranging from just undersize to 20kg have been mostly found in approximately 40m of water. Emilio Orifici has been catching King George whiting to an impressive 70cm off the southern side of Rottnest. Schools of southern bluefin tuna in the 3kg to 5kg category have started to turn up in depths of 20m off Fremantle and Hillarys.
Squid continue to be caught along the seagrass beds out from Fremantle. At least two spanish mackerel were caught on gas balloon rigs off Point Peron last week. Mulloway in the 10kg to 20kg range have been caught at Fremantle Boat Harbour. Schools of bonito have been turning up some mornings and afternoons at North Mole. Perhaps the bonito and mulloway are present due to the masses of scaly mackerel, yellowtail and herring about the inshore parts of Fremantle. Bag limits of tailor are being caught along the metropolitan coast while the lower reaches of the Swan are also producing a few. Peter Zahradaka picked up a superb 58cm flathead on imitation prawn near Dalkeith last week.
Picture: Congratulations to the Winner of the Squid hunters Western Australia best of 2016 Christmas Competition: Kids category, Finley Street.
Mandurah & Surrounds
Picture: Two classic inshore and estuary table fish species King George whiting and flathead (Photo courtesy of Harry Tropiano).
MANDURAH
Holiday goers fishing from the old traffic bridge have been catching skippy to 30cm. The Cut is still consistently producing good catches of tailor, herring, whiting and tarwhine. There are reports of mulloway coming in on the rising tide after dark along the Cut. The Murray and Serpentine Rivers are still producing good bream for fishers in the know. Crabs in the estuary are plentiful but many are still undersized. The best way to get a feed of crabs is by drop netting or scooping.
Along the southern beaches, Tim’s Thicket and Preston have both been producing good tailor with some fish up to 50cm. Reports indicate some mulloway were taken last week from the beaches north of Mandurah. Golden Bay, San Remo, Singleton and Madora are all worth a closer check. The Golden Bay area has been producing some good catches of tailor, herring and whiting and this would suggest that the mulloway aren’t too far away.
SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / WARNBRO / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY
Many of the local jetties are producing good catches of herring and tailor. Shoalwater is still producing some good catches of both yellowfin whiting and an occasional King George whiting. There have also been some good catches of tarwhine and skippy taken as well in the incoming tide. Long Point, Kwinana and Warnbro beaches have all been producing good tailor during the last week. There has been some excellent fishing for yellowfin whiting, with good reports of herring, tailor and plenty of crabs out in the deep water. The jetties are turning on herring early in the morning, along with squid and blue mackerel.
South West Catches
Picture: Skippy caught by Olivia, the little gun is only 4 years old and loves to fish! Thank you for sharing Richard (Photo courtesy of Richard Doogan).
Good numbers of big pink snapper are being caught in Geographe Bay and off the west coast. Breaksea cod, skippy and dhufish were also picked up offshore and those working the lumps off Bunker Bay have been getting among some nice nannygai.
There are some big King George whiting around the shallower waters along with skippy and herring. Squid can still be caught along the seagrass beds off Quindalup. The flats are fishing well for yellowfin whiting and there are tailor and salmon appearing occasionally along the west coast.
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Albany Catches
Picture: A few dhufish were around for the boat fishers trying their luck out wide with a host of other quality demersals (Photo courtesy of @castaways_fishing).
Reef fishing enthusiasts who ventured to the coral lumps in depths leading up to 90m of water, during the festive period, caught pink snapper to 9kg and red snapper together with a few queen snapper, breaksea cod and dhufish. Those who worked the deeper waters beyond the shelf scored bigger red snapper, hapuka and blue eye trevalla. Green-eyed sharks were present at the shelf, and beyond, while leatherjackets were thick around the coral.
Samson fish were also about and were responding well to knife and plastic jigs. The steeper drops and areas off the headlands produced yellowtail kingfish to 12kg for some. The inshore areas of King George Sound and its surrounds have been fishing reasonably well for King George whiting, herring, small skippy, sand whiting and squid. Smaller King George and similar mixed species of bread and butter fish were also caught in Oyster Harbour and Princess Royal Harbour.
Shore-based fishing has been challenging, however a persistent few have managed mature and juvenile salmon, some tailor, sand whiting, flathead and skippy around the local beaches. Bigger skippy were picked up from the deeper channels and gutters at Bluff Creek and the coast east of there. Herring, which are ordinarily in excellent numbers during this time of the year, still remain scarce along the southern coast. Black bream buffs have been using a variety of methods including hard bodied, vibe, blade and soft plastic lures to entice fish to 40cm and the odd one bigger one in the King and Kalgan Rivers. Try the upper reaches of the Kalgan for mulloway.
Esperance Catches
Picture: Classic symptoms of barotrauma; the reduced pressure at the surface causing expanding air to bulge the eyes on this harlequin fish. Remember, if releasing, to use a release weight to help demersal fish to reach the bottom and recover from the effects of barotrauma (Photo courtesy of @pjgringo).
Holidaymakers and school students are being kept entertained at the Taylor Street Jetty, which has King George whiting, herring and squid on offer. Bandy Creek Boat Harbour also has King George and herring as well as a few small skippy. Black bream enthusiasts have been catching fish to 45cm at the local lakes and 50cm specimens at some of the estuaries.
Surf fishers have been picking up herring, flathead and juvenile salmon at Stockyards. Mulloway and shark were caught at Thomas River recently. Warrinup has good herring, skippy and blue groper to 15kg near the rocks. The small boats have been coming across schools of small southern bluefin tuna as well as whiting and squid. Bag limits of big nannygai have been common out wide as well as a few harlequin fish.
Geraldton Catches
Picture: Plenty of good sized baldchin groper have been reported around the coral out from Geraldton (Photo courtesy of Brody Laroux).
Boat fishers have been catching plenty of dhufish and some nice estuary cod near African Reef and out from Point Moore. Samson fish and small shark have also been caught near Africans while the coral areas seem to be holding lots of big baldchin groper. Spanish mackerel have been responding well to trolled bibbed minnows within a mile or two of the Abrolhos Islands and in 20m to 40m of water out the back of Pensioners.
An estimated 50kg yellowfin tuna was caught off Dongara recently. Tailor have finally turned up along the coast in good numbers. Surf fishers reported catching bag limits of healthy 35cm to 50cm tailor along the Flat Rocks to Greenough River Mouth stretch. Both points at Greenough have also been fishing well for tailor as well as mulloway to 15kg, dart to 50cm and herring averaging 25cm.
Mornings have been good for tailor at Southgates while evenings have been better at Tarcoola and Glendenning Road. There are plenty of whiting on offer at Point Moore, which is fishing well for tailor during low tide along the reefs. Tailor, mulloway, herring and patches of yellowfin whiting can be found along the Drummonds to Coronation coast.
Kalbarri Catches
Picture: Good numbers of demersal fish like this ripper pink snapper are being caught out from Kalbarri with local charter boats putting their clients onto a few (Photo courtesy of @ramagraam).
Ash McClintock caught two mulloway of 20kg and 17kg from two casts at Wagoe last week. More mulloway have been coming from Frustrations and the beaches north of there as well as at Wittecarra. Tailor have started to turn up in better numbers along the coast with surf fishers picking up bag limits some mornings and evenings.
A customer of Kalbarri Sports and Dive caught a 1.2m spanish mackerel while trolling near Bluff Point last week. Expect mackerel numbers to increasing during the coming weeks. Bonito have been found in big schools just out from the cliffs. The charter boats have been putting their clients onto plenty of dhufish, pink snapper and baldchin groper. Mulloway to 75cm, black bream to 40cm, yellowfin whiting, blue swimmer and mud crabs were among the species caught in the Murchison this past week.
Exmouth Catches
Picture: Try giving a few different lure fishing techniques a go in Exmouth for some fun like this rankin cod caught on a 7″ jerk shad soft plastic in 20m water off Tantabiddi (Photo courtesy of Robbie Peck).
Billfish enthusiasts continue to encounter blue marlin near beyond the 500m contour and smaller black and striped marlin in less than 100m of water at times. Sailfish have also been found off the west coast while numbers of the aerobatic sportfish are increasing in the upper regions of the gulf. Some nice catches of spangled emperor, coral trout, red emperor and rankin cod were picked up off the west coast and northwest of the Muiron Islands.
Fair numbers of queenfish and plenty of small golden trevally are frequenting the lagoon waters of the west coast. Giant herring to a metre, queenfish and spangled emperor have been turning up at old Bundegi during an incoming tide. Permit are appearing along the shallows in the gulf but have been reluctant to strike at even the most delicately placed crab imitations. The lower areas of the gulf are loaded with small tusk fish. Squid can be sought in the gulf at the peak of high tide.
Broome Catches
Picture: Mangrove jack can be a hard hitting adversary with the many options for creek fishing around Broome, a small hard body lure the undoing of this little guy.
At least half a dozen barramundi over a metre in length were caught at Dampier Creek during the past week. More barra in the 60cm to 80cm range were also caught at Dampier Creek together with mangrove jack and bluenose salmon.
Threadfin salmon to a metre and the odd bigger fish have been coming from Crab Creek and Roebuck Bay. Shore-based fishers have been doing well on queenfish and assortments of trevally at Entrance Point. Good catches of fingermark bream have been picked up at Black Ledge.
