Metro Catches

Pink snapper were caught at the northern and southern rock walls during the recent spell of rough weather. Some of the pink snapper were good fish too – with a couple weighed in at a touch over 7kg. Kayak and small boat fishers working the waters within Cockburn Sound have also been getting among some nice pinks. Those in bigger boats who headed to Garden and Carnac islands before sunrise and in the evenings were also rewarded with some fine snapper catches. Squid continue to be caught in excellent numbers along the seagrass meadows off Fremantle and within Cockburn and Warnbro Sound.

Salmon schools of have been turning up west of Garden Island and near Rowboat Reef. A few salmon were caught from the rock platforms including South Mole and North Mole last week. Tailor have been running at the moles some mornings and evenings. Herring are being caught in better numbers right along the coast when the water has been cleaner. The lower reaches of the Swan River are worth spending some hours at for mulloway during the next few weeks. Big mulloway to 20kg are often caught during the incoming tide during the few days leading to a full and new moon between September and December each year. Some nice tailor are being caught at Point Walter and Point Resolution after night fall.

Mandurah and Surrounds

MANDURAH:

Anglers chasing black bream are generally not going home empty handed. There are plenty of fish in the lower reaches of the rivers. Bream are moving upstream and better fishing is upstream in the Ravenswood area. Also anglers fishing in the canals are reporting some good fish to 38 cm. Most success seems to be coming from anglers using soft plastic lures.

Anglers fishing the beaches both north and south of Mandurah report occasional catches of big tailor along with plenty of choppers. The beaches to the north were producing gummy sharks earlier in the week before the weather settled in and put a damper on fishing. They are also producing plenty of whiting, tarwhine, herring and garfish. Nobody has told the salmon that they are supposed to have moved back east as winter is now over, so there are still a few of them around, particularly along the southern beaches and smaller specimens have been reported in the Dawesville Cut. The Cut is still producing plenty of herring, King George whiting near the Jolly Frog and a few whiting for those fishing from the rock walls.

SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / WARNBRO / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY:

Safety Bay Yacht Club and Rockingham Beach jetty have been producing herring and squid. There are a few herring along most of the beaches, but not in any great number. Squid are still being caught from the jetties as well as off-shore. Palm Beach jetty is producing a few herring and skippy and there are a lot of squid also in the area. Anglers braving the cold evenings and mornings have been catching a few mulloway from these structures.

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 salmon and squid being taken in and around the area. Most beaches are producing a few tailor, plenty of herring, yellow-finned whiting and sand whiting. Anglers fishing from Kwinana Beach have found whiting, pilch and herring. Other locations in the region that have been turning on good whiting are the Penguin Island sand bar and Secret Harbour.

COCKBURN SOUND

The groynes inside of the Sound are some of Perth’s best angling locations to fish from, for shore based anglers. If you can cast a good distance the jetties around the Sound are also worth a try – but you need to get baits out wide. There are also reports of plenty of herring and garfish being taken in the Sound. Anglers chasing squid report that they are thick and are taking jigs quite readily.

Most of the popular spots have been producing snapper in Cockburn Sound, however they have been a bit choosy at times and won’t touch baits or lures. Land based anglers are also taking snapper from the rocks in and around the Sound. A tip is to find some good drop offs and fish over the edge of the drop with a big bait. There are still reports of good King George whiting being taken as well as plenty of big skippy.

KWINANA / NAVAL BASE / WOODMAN POINT / COOGEE:

This area has been consistently producing herring, whiting, skippy and a few tailor. Some of the skippy have been exceptional for land based anglers with some fish in excess of 1 kg. The Ammunition jetty is still worth trying for a few squid and some good sand whiting, yellowtail and some small skippy. It has also been producing a few herring and pilch. Squid are fishing well during the evenings under the jetty and tailor are being taken in the evenings and early morning. There are rumours of a beach angler catching snapper from the shore in the area earlier in the week.

South West Catches

An estimated 10-tonne salmon school appeared at Bunker Bay and Eagle Bay last week. The occasional salmon is being caught along the west coast beaches together with tailor and herring. Whiting are expected to start turning up in better numbers along the Quindalup sand flats once the water clarity improves.

Good catches of pink snapper, mostly between 60 and 80cm, have been reported along Eight Mile Reef. Small dhufish, rarely bigger than 60cm, have been common along both sides of the cape. Blue manna crabs were around Geographe Bay in better numbers following the recent northerlies. Squid can be sought along the seagrass beds between Eagle Bay and Siesta Park.

Plenty of fishers headed inland for the opening of the freshwater season this week. Plenty of brown and rainbow trout have been caught but no real big catches yet. Plenty of quality redfin too have been coming in as these seem to take just about anything. Harvey and Wellington Dams are fishing well and going by the kayak numbers at Harvey, that may be the spot to try. Deep holes with some structure using soft plastics are the go with only a few trout taking hard bodies and spinners. Once the water warms a little, the fish will become more active and the freshwater fishing should fire up. But so far a good start to the season. Please send in your freshwater trout or redfin photos to recfish@recfishwest.org.au and see if your pic makes it to next week’s report.

Albany Catches

The coral patches in 55 to 80m of water have been fishing reasonably well for pink snapper, dhufish, breaksea cod and queen snapper. This seemed to also be the case for those who fished out from Cheynes Beach, Two Peoples Bay and Cosy Corner. Schools of samson fish have been encountered in 50 to 120m of water while harlequin fish and skippy were mostly picked up in depths leading up to 40m. King George whiting have been caught in better numbers and bigger sizes in the deeper waters around Frenchmans, Limestone and near the islands.

Good catches squid have been picked up in these parts too. Schools of salmon appeared at Cheynes and Bornholm last week. Lowlands has been fishing well for a mix of bread and butter species including herring, skippy, flathead and flounder. Pink snapper were thick in the lower reaches of Wilson Inlet while the sand bar was intact. Most of the shore-based fishers targeting the pinkies have been releasing the fish that do not fare very well as an eating fish due to their muddy flesh. The rock platforms at Cheynes and West Cape Howe are worth a visit when the weather allows for samson fish, yellowtail kingfish, pink snapper and blue groper. A 48cm black bream was reportedly caught in the Kalgan River last week. Mulloway between 55 and 70cm have also been caught in the system.

Esperance Catches

The boats working the inshore waters within a mile or so of the coast are picking up plenty of big sand whiting plus heaps of squid. Those who ventured out wider have been encountering yellowtail kingfish and samson fish. Nannygai to 2kg have been coming from approximately 70m of water. Both jetties are worth trying for herring, garfish and squid. King George whiting around 35cm are being caught at Bandy Creek boat harbour.

A 9kg salmon was reportedly caught at Salmon Beach last week. Fourth Beach consistently has small schools of salmon turning up, while Roses is worthwhile for tailor to 50cm. Skippy between 1 and 2kg are common at Stockayards, which has also been fishing well for herring and juvenile salmon. Israelite Bay is worth the drive for mulloway between 6 and 8kg, big flathead and salmon. A run of school-size mulloway between 3 and 5kg was experienced at Thomas River recently.

Geraldton Catches

The boats working the lumps south of the Greenough River mouth and off Coronation have been picking up dhufish, pink snapper, coral trout and baldchin groper fairly good numbers. Similar species have been coming from the ground off the Abrolhos Island’s Southern Group.

Early mornings and evenings are worth a try for tailor and mulloway along the Head Butts to Greenough stretch. Bigger tailor have been responding to poppers at the reefs at Separation Point and Pages. Black bream are being caught in good numbers in the Greenough River, which is common at the start of spring.

Kalbarri Catches

Those targeting reef fish offshore have reported good catches of dhufish. A group of customers of Kalbarri Sports and Dive who fished their lumps north of the river mouth last week achieved double headers of dhufish on their first drop before going on to catch several baldchin groper. They also caught a 10kg Spanish mackerel on a trolled garfish.

One of the local charter boats managed to put its clients onto six dhuies recently. Boats fishing relatively close to the cliffs south of town have also picked up fair numbers of dhuies. Some of the coral lumps in deeper waters have been producing red emperor, pink snapper and cobia. Spanish mackerel have been more inclined to strike at trolled garfish and floated baits rather than trolled lures.

Garfish have also been the preferred bait for the bigger tailor at Chinamans. Local angler Rob Leck has continued to do well on mulloway in the lower reaches of the Murchison and along the northern and southern beaches. Whiting and garfish can be sought at Red Bluff early morning and, when the winds are light, in the afternoon. A 1.3kg black bream was the biggest weighed in during the recent competition. Yellowfin whiting stocks appear to be increasing along the sand flats in front of the supermarket.

Exmouth Catches

A 15kg longtail tuna was caught from Learmonth Jetty last week. Perhaps the longtail turned up close to shore to feast on the big schools of baitfish that have appeared in the gulf and are being targeted by a variety of species including queenfish, trevally, cobia and mackerel.

Spanish mackerel and wahoo are being caught by the boats trolling bibbed minnows along the back of the reef line and around the Muiron Islands. Wahoo have also been hitting trolled skirted lures intended for billfish. It should not be long before sailfish turn up in big numbers in the upper areas of the gulf. Squid are being picked up in excellent numbers along the seagrass in less than 5m of water.

Broome Catches

Barramundi enthusiasts report the Fitzroy River to fishing reasonably well for barramundi, especially around Langis Crossing and Telegraph Pool. The barra have mostly been between 65 and 90cm and have been more inclined to strike at lures rather than baits. Good sessions on barra have also been experienced in the local creeks including Dampier and Willie, however the fish in these systems have mostly been smaller and rarely more than 70cm.

Heaps of bluenose salmon and a few threadfin have been picked up in the local creeks and the adjacent beaches. Some nice catches of mud crabs have been coming from the river and the creeks. The jetty is worth a visit at the change of tide for queenfish and trevally. Several coral trout and bluebone were landed at the structure during the past week. Pete Nielsen, of Broome Tackle World, and a couple of mates caught three bluebone, three bluelined emperor, a big estuary cod and several Spanish flag in 20 to 36m of water last Monday. Some nice mulloway have been caught in Roebuck Bay.