Keep your eyes peeled for Recfishwest’s Tip of the week, see below!
Your Fishing Photos
Picture: We are pleased to announce that the 50th Angel Ring has been installed, thanks to all of our partners that help make fishing safer in WA.
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
Tip of the week banner images courtesy of Shutterstock RuggieroScardigno,Smiltena & Garry L.
Exmouth Catches
Picture: Red emperors are recognisable for their red colouring and their darker red bands across their body. They can live for over 34 years and weigh up to 33kgs!
Boats
Spanish mackerel are being encountered off the west coast with good catches coming from the Helby Bank area. One boat managed to land 10 mackerel during a session last week. Yellowfin tuna in the 10kg to 25kg range have been turning up in depths beyond the 120m contour. Red emperor and rankin cod have been picked up in 30m to 60m of water while goldband snapper have been coming from the 90m to 120m depths.
Shore based
Squid catches have been improving from the marina and gulf beaches. The incoming tide period seems to be the best time to target the tasty cephalopods. Whiting are in good proportions along Town Beach and the lower areas of the gulf. Queenfish and assortments of trevally have been caught on stick baits and poppers at VLF Bay and nearby beaches.
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Photo courtesy of Shutterstock_AleksKey
Top Water Lures: Poppers
Technical Rating: Intermediate
Top water fishing is at the forefront of exciting salt water sport fishing action. Top water lures particularly are varied in their size, weight, form and function, from poppers to stickbaits. There are basically two types of popper, blooping and pencil poppers, with other styles loosely falling into one of these two types or stickbaits. The most basic principal with poppers is they float, with a somewhat concave, cupped face and no diving bib.
Those with wide, round bodies and large concave faces are for “blooping” where a stroke of the rod causes a spray of water from the cupped face. They are designed for maximum splash and commotion on the surface, drawing predatory fish from deeper water to attack the surface.
Various forms of pencil popper retain a cupped face but in a much slimmer profile. Although there are some sinking models they are more of a stickbait than a popper in performance. Pencil poppers are designed to be either skipped along the surface in a high speed retrieve or in a slower “walk the dog” retrieve where winding in sync with a side to side rod action causes a constant zig-zag lure action on the surface.
