28 August 2015 – Full Report

Metro Catches

Several pink snapper were caught from the southern and northern rock walls including Coogee Marina, Woodman Point, South Mole, North Mole and Hillarys Marina during the recent rough weather. A couple of nice mulloway were also taken at the stones during the past week. Early mornings and evenings are seeing a few tailor turn up at South Mole and North Mole. Things have also started to improve on the tailor front along the metropolitan beaches with reports of fish to 50cm coming from the open areas of coast during the past week.

Salmon have been occasionally been appearing along the metro coast, however better numbers have been coming from the sand areas near Mewstone and Stragglers. Big schools of bait, believed to be small scaly mackerel, are stacking up in the 35m depths between the waters north of Rottnest and Hillarys. It should not be long before predators such as Spanish and shark mackerel and southern bluefin and longtail tuna show up to feast on the baitfish masses. The Swan and Canning rivers have been fishing well for black bream during the past couple of weeks with keen bream anglers catching respectable numbers of fish between 28 and 37cm during single sessions on hard-bodies and plastics. Increasing numbers of flathead are being caught by those targeting black bream.

Mandurah and Surrounds

Mandurah:

The estuary has been producing skippy and small samsonfish. Crabs are spasmodic and are widely scattered in the estuary. The beaches to the north have started to turn it on with tailor and whiting being caught at places like Madora Bay, Silver Sands and San Remo. Mulloway will start to make an appearance around these beaches over the next few weeks, starting with smaller fish and then increasing in size and numbers in a couple of months.

It’s been mainly just herring and whiting in the Dawesville Cut along with a few tailor earlier in the week. Many of the herring have been quite large with several fish up around the 30 cm mark being caught. Also included in the catches have been yellow-finned whiting, skippy and King George whiting. Tailor have been turning up at dawn and dusk at either end of the channel.

Earlier in the week at the western end, the fish went mad for a period and one angler took home a bag limit of tailor around the 60 cm mark. Remember there is a size limit as well as a bag limit on tailor. The minimum size for tailor is 30cm and you can only take a total of 8, with only 2 over 50 cm.

Almost all of the beaches around Mandurah have been producing fish. Most of the fish have been the smaller varieties such as herring, whiting and pilch. Anglers at White Hills through to Tim’s Thicket report good tailor early morning and late afternoon with fish up to just over the kilo mark not uncommon. Small mulloway are also becoming a regular catch from this area with fish between 5 and 7 kg being taken.

Fishing in the Murray and Serpentine rivers has been good, particularly for black bream in the Serpentine. Anglers chasing black bream have been finding better fishing in the lower reaches of the Murray River. Most bream have been around the 36 cm mark.

Secret Harbour / Port Kennedy / Warnbro / Rockingham / Safety Bay:

Warnbro Sound has been producing some good catches with some very big sand whiting, skippy, tarwhine and some good snapper. There are still plenty of squid being taken in and around the Sound. Point Peron has been producing tarwhine, herring and some nice sized tailor. Snapper are being taken around Carnac Island. Most spots around Rockingham are producing the usual run of herring, pilch, whiting and skippy.

Cockburn Sound:

Anglers who know the Sound have been fishing hard from the jetties and rock platforms looking for snapper. They haven’t been disappointed either. Anglers who know the better spots are being rewarded with good snapper and mulloway after dark. The north end of the Sound is the better spot to try with fish of up to 6 kg reported.

Squid are being taken in numbers with good catches being reported from all over the Sound. Size is also very good and looks like continuing for the next few weeks. One indication that the Sound will continue to produce good fishing in the next few weeks is the amount of baitfish around. The lower reaches of the Sound have a lot of blue mackerel, yellowtail, snook and herring around. Big snapper are not adverse to a feed of these baitfish and fresh fillets of the oilier fish are a top bait. A little berley will assist in attracting the bait fish. King George whiting have been taken consistently throughout the Sound over the last week. There are still schools of salmon around the area and several large fish have been taken in this last week around the top of the Sound and out behind Garden Island.

South West Catches

The boats have been picking up some nice catches of pink snapper and dhufish along the Four Mile and Eight Mile while breaksea cod and queen snapper were an addition for those who hit up their marks off Cowaramup and Canal Rocks. Good catches of herring have been reported right along the west coast and the Geographe Bay beaches.

A few mulloway and tailor to 70cm have been picked up at some of the beaches featuring deeper channels near Contos and east of Hamelin Bay. The seagrass meadows between Eagle Bay and Abbey Beach are worth trying for squid while the sand holes out in slightly deeper water should be holding King George whiting. Blue manna crab catches within the Geographe Bay inshore waters have been better during the few days following a spell of northerly winds.

Albany Catches

There were mixed reports from the boat fishers who managed to head offshore when the weather permitted during the week. Queen snapper were among the most common species to be picked up along the coral, which seemed to also fish reasonably well for breaksea cod, dhufish and red snapper. Evenings have been fishing better for big pink snapper with a couple of boats that hit up the ground behind the islands getting among fish in the 10 to 14kg range.

Daylight hours have mostly been producing pinkies of the 45 to 48cm size. One crew who made it as far as the shelf did not have much to show for their efforts. King George whiting are in the sound, but require some time and effort to find. Oyster Harbour is still quite dirty and with that being the case it would be prudent to try for the Geordies in the cleaner areas such as off Goode Beach, out from the whaling station, Flat Rock and Seal Island. The boats trolling bibbed minnows in these areas have been picking up the odd snook to a metre. Afternoons are fishing better for squid through the inshore parts.

Big schools of mulies off Limestone Head should be attracting schools of bonito and small southern bluefin tuna. Salmon are being caught quite consistently along the Bremer Bay coast, however the 3 to 7kg silver torpedos have been hard to come by at the local surf beaches. Nanarup, Torbay, Shelleys and Lowlands are worth a look for a mix of herring, skippy, tarwhine and shark. Good numbers of pink snapper continue to be caught in Wilson Inlet. Small black bream are dominating catches in both of the local rivers. The Kalgan has been producing a few mulloway, especially near Honeymoon Island.

Esperance Catches

Squid and herring continue to be caught in good numbers at the Tanker and Taylor Street jetties. Bandy Creek is worth a visit for King George whiting following reports of fish to 35cm being picked up from the boat harbour during the past fortnight. At least two good size mulloway were landed at Fourth Beach recently.

Salmon have also been caught from there in fairly good numbers. Stockyards has heaps of herring, juvenile salmon and a few salmon on offer. Skippy to a kilo, herring and salmon are the main fare at Thomas River. The boats hitting up the inshore waters have been doing well on big whiting and plenty of squid. Those who ventured to the islands and beyond reported catching queen snapper to 9kg and heaps of samson fish.

Geraldton Catches

Tailor between 40 and 55cm are turning up some mornings and evenings along the Flat Rocks to Greenough River mouth stretch together with the odd mulloway and good numbers of herring. Bigger tailor are responding well to poppers and stick baits retrieved by surf fishers walking out along the reefs at Southgates, Separation Point, Point Moore and Chapman Road at low tide. A good mix of herring, chopper tailor, small skippy, whiting and squid can be sought from the back of The Lives.

Dinghy fishers working the inshore waters inside the reef line have been doing reasonably well on herring, bigger skippy, squid and pike. Nice catches of dhufish, pink snapper, coral trout and baldchin groper have been picked up near African Reef and the lumps towards Coronation. Similar species, however bigger numbers, have been caught at the Abrolhos Islands. Schools of yellowfin tuna to 15kg and Spanish mackerel to 20kg have been encountered by those trolling within a few a few miles of the islands.

Kalbarri Catches

A 13kg mulloway landed on a single-hook rig at Chinamans by a customer of Kalbarri Sports and Dive was one of several croakers to be caught from the popular shore-based spot during the past week. Mulloway were also caught at Back Beach together with tailor, with the latter species responding well to poppers and stick baits.

Early mornings are seeing plenty of garfish and herring being caught at Red Bluff. A 4kg pink snapper was also caught from the beach there recently. A couple of crews who fished their spots north of the river mouth last week picked up dhufish, baldchin groper and Spanish mackerel. Black bream around the 35cm mark have been found in better numbers in the upper reaches of the Murchison. Yellowfin whiting, which have been hard to come by during the past couple of months, should start to show up again in better numbers as the water clarity improves.

Exmouth Catches

Spanish mackerel are being caught in fair numbers by those trolling bibbed minnows and rigged garfish along the back of the reef line and near the Muiron Islands. Those dragging big teaser spreads and switch baiting are encountering good numbers of sailfish and small black marlin.

Blue marlin are also starting to show as the water temperatures in the 400 to 1000m depths begin to increase. Queenfish to a metre and loads of small giant trevally are being caught along the west coast beaches together with a few spangled emperor. The gulf waters are producing squid and yellowfin whiting.

Broome Catches

The boats targeting billfish are encountering reasonable numbers of sailfish near The Peanut as well as the ground about three miles off Barred Creek. Small black marlin have also been found in both of the mentioned areas together with Spanish mackerel, longtail and mack tuna.

Divers and line fishers alike have been picking up quite a few bluebone, coral trout and painted crayfish within Roebuck Bay. The jetty is worth a visit at the change of tide for queenfish and big golden trevally. Smaller trevally can be found in the local creeks in accompany with bluenose salmon and the odd threadfin salmon. Barramundi mostly between 60 and 65cm have been caught in the Fitzroy River.