Albany Catches
Picture: The weather hasn’t been ideal of late but fishers who have got out have been rewarded with some great catches, like the salmon pictured which hit a 40g Raider metal lure.
The weather has been a little hard to pick, however those who managed to score a calmer morning or afternoon generally did well on reef fish along the coral. Big schools of pink snapper were found in 60 to 110m of water off Albany, Two Peoples Bay and Cheynes Beach. Big red snapper and some good size hapuka were picked up on the edge of the shelf and beyond while the shallower areas leading up to 60m of water have been producing very good catches of harlequin fish.
There appeared to be fewer King George whiting caught through the inshore waters compared to previous weeks. The bigger King George were once again caught near Michaelmas and Breaksea, however even these areas have been hard to access due to the recent rough weather. Squid are being picked up in better numbers when the water has been clearer. A few flathead continue to feature among the inshore catches. Salmon numbers have certainly dropped along the beaches with only the odd fish caught at the popular haunts including Cheynes, Nanarup, Cables, Bornholm and Shelleys.
Bag limits of herring are being achieved with minimal effort along most of the coast. The remote beaches are worth a visit with big skippy on offer at this time of the season. Reports of big pink snapper caught at the marina have been taken with a handful of salt. A few samson fish, however continue to hooked at the channel at Emu Point. Black bream enthusiasts report the rivers east of town to be fishing very well for fish to 40cm.
Esperance Catches
Picture: Brody Ogle with a nice Skippy caught on a hard body intended for bream in Bandy Creek Boat Harbour.
Big numbers of garfish, small herring, squid and King George whiting are regularly being caught at the Taylor Street Jetty. The Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has bigger King George to 36cm, heaps of herring and big garfish on offer most mornings and late afternoons. Interestingly, the garfish caught at Bandy Creek recently have been hooked on bottom rigs.
Salmon continue to be picked up at Salmon Beach and Fourth Beach. Blue Haven and Roses are producing salmon, skippy and big herring. Poison Creek has tailor between 2 and 3kg while the proven winter skippy holes at Dunns are fishing well at the moment. Thomas provided mixed catches of skippy, mulloway and a few salmon for those who ventured east last week. The boats that were able to head offshore during the past fortnight did reasonably well on breaksea cod, nannygai, harlequin and samson fish.
