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 bronte@recfishwest.org.au
Kalbarri Catches
Picture: Sail fish amongst other pelagic and game fish are a chance for punters competing in the annual Kalbarri Sport fishing Classic this weekend.
The freshwater flowing from the Murchison River has discoloured the water within a few miles of the river mouth. This has reduced the number of spanish mackerel, which ordinarily prefer clearer blue waters, caught during the past week. There are still a few mackerel and other pelagics being caught north and south of the river mouth. Andrew Lawson caught a few spanish mackerel near the Sand Patch during a morning trolling session on Saturday.
Craig White, of Evolution Charters, has been putting his clients onto good catches of dhufish, pink snapper, cod and the odd sailfish. Tailor have been turning up at Red Bluff and Wittecarra most mornings and evenings. The mulloway that have been caught near the murky water of the river mouth have mostly been soapies of 50cm to 80cm.
Mangrove jack, estuary cod and black bream have been caught in the lower reaches of the system, which is also providing plenty of blue swimmer and mud crabs. Expect more river and offshore species to be caught during the 31st Kalbarri Sports Fishing Classic being held this weekend.
Geraldton Catches
Picture: Time spent searching the Greenough River has resulted in some good black bream for some whilst the river mouth remains open to the ocean (Photo courtesy of Tyson Lyons).
Surf fishers have been catching mulloway to 15kg, tailor and the odd pink snapper near Coronation. More tailor and some big herring have been picked up at Explosives. The Greenough River remains connected to the ocean and while this occurrence usually results in big mulloway catches, mostly small fish of about 60cm have been caught there this past week.
Black bream to 40cm have been caught in the lower and middle reaches of the system while the deeper parts have been producing a few mangrove jack. The Flat Rocks to S-Bend coast has been fishing well for tailor and school-size mulloway. The boats trolling bibbed minnows for spanish mackerel have been catching the 6kg to 10kg fish in the waters expanding from The Greenough River mouth to Port Gregory.
South West Catches
Picture: Dhufish have been on the table in the south west with spear fishing a productive method for targeting the highly regarded, iconic WA fish. Local spearfishing champion Barry Paxman pictured with a quality specimen (Photo courtesy of @vinrush).
The boats fishing the 20m to 40m depths off Canal Rocks have been doing well catching a variety of reef species including dhufish, pink snapper, breaksea cod, big skippy and samson fish with spear fishing proving an effective method to target your catch for the table. The pink snapper that were being caught in good numbers along the Four Mile and Eight Mile during the past month have been harder to come by.
Tailor have mostly been turning up in better numbers at spots such as Honeycombs, Mitchells, Smiths, Bunker Bay and Elmore Road at sunset rather than early morning. Herring can be brought around any of the bays and headlands with the introduction of burley. Squid are still being caught along the seagrass meadows off Quindalup.
Mandurah & Surrounds
Picture: Slimy mackerel have been abundant and schooling up on the Mandurah artificial reefs recently. Getting past the hoardes to target bigger fare proved difficult for Recfishwest Habitat Officer Michael Tropiano with some good sized specimens hitting lures aggressively.
MANDURAH
Beaches north of Mandurah continue to fish well for tailor late afternoons and an occasional mulloway after dark. There are reports of plenty of squid over the weed beds between Silver Sands and San Remo. People fishing in The Cut report that the jetty in front of the Jolly Frog is still producing some good crabs but you have to work for them.
Others fishing in The Cut report good tailor, particularly on a rising tide, skippy and herring. Tim’s Thicket and Preston are still the pick of the beaches with good tailor after dark. The bridges are also producing good fish with herring, tailor and bream being caught in numbers. Large numbers of slimy mackeral have been present, particularly schooling up around the Mandurah artificial reef.
SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / WARNBRO / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY:
There are still good catches of herring, tailor being taken from the beaches near the grain silos right through to Long Point. Tailor seem to have thinned out somewhat along this stretch, but there are still enough being caught to keep fishers interested. Divers are reporting crabs around.
Metro Catches
Picture: Classic WA scene as the sun sets over the iconic Fremantle land based fishing location, the North Mole (Photo courtesy of @mattysmancave).
Spanish mackerel continue to be caught on trolled bibbed minnows and rigged garfish off the metropolitan coast. Areas where mackerel were caught this past week, included Coventry Reef, Cockburn Sound, Five Fathom Bank, the dirty water line near Fremantle Harbour and along Three Mile Reef. Fishers who have had success on the mackerel have recommended locating the baitfish and concentrating on these areas. Schools of small southern bluefin tuna have been encountered in depths starting at 20m while striped and yellowfin tuna have mostly been found farther offshore.
Dolphin fish are still at the Fish Aggregating Devices and expect marlin and wahoo to also be lurking near the devices and the deeper waters of the trench. Reef fishing has been productive, especially off Rockingham, the northern side of Rottnest the waters off Two Rocks where big dhufish, pink snapper and some solid breaksea cod were recently caught.
Masses of scaly mackerel and other baitfish within and just outside Fremantle Harbour are attracting mulloway in the 10kg to 17kg range. Smaller mulloway have been appearing at Secret Harbour and Golden Bay together with tailor and herring. More tailor – fish of 35cm to 55cm – have mostly been turning up about an hour after sundown. Blue swimmer crabs continue to be picked up in the Swan River as well as near Woodman Point. Please be advised crabbing is closed in Cockburn Sound south of the line from Woodmans Point to Carnac Island. Read more here.
