11 November 2016 – Full Report

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Coral trout

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Metro Catches

Metro whiting and flathead

Picture: Mixed bag of shallow estuary species featuring a nice Flathead and trio of Yellowfin whiting (Photo courtesy doco_77).

Samson fish ranging from 10kg to a back-aching 40kg have been caught on jigs at the cluster of barges located in 90m to 110m of water west and southwest of Rottnest. Big King George whiting were caught in 15m to 30m of water south of Rottnest at the weekend and there are plenty of plump sand whiting in the sand areas between Fremantle and South Passage. Schools of small southern bluefin tuna have been appearing between Five Fathom Bank and the 50m contour.

Squid remain in good numbers along the seagrass off Fremantle and within Cockburn and Warnbro Sounds. Big schools of scaly mackerel that have appeared in Fremantle Harbour are attracting mulloway to the area. Blackwall Reach and Mosman Bay would also be worth trying for mulloway at this time of the season. Tailor to a solid 70cm were caught in the lower and middle reaches of the Swan this past week. Fishers have been using soft plastics to catch flathead in the shallower parts of the lower reaches.

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Mandurah & Surrounds

Mandurah skippy

Picture: Great light tackle sport fish targets, skippy are plentiful on southern inshore reefs (Photo courtesy of www.ilovefishing.com.au).

MANDURAH

The Old Traffic Bridge has been producing some reasonable catches of whiting and herring and there have also been reports of a few tailor, cobbler, herring and whiting showing up at the Mandurah Bypass Bridge. The Cut is still the most reliable place to get a feed of fish and it is turning on some excellent fishing at the moment.

There are herring, tailor, skippy and whiting in The Cut. Along the northern beaches there are small mulloway, skippy, herring, and some chopper tailor. Hopefully, it won’t be long before big mulloway start to make their presence felt along the beaches to the south and north of the estuary. There are plenty of bait fish around and chopper tailor, whiting and herring numbers are increasing. Beaches south of Mandurah are starting to produce a few nice tailor along with some small mulloway. Fishers in the know have been taking some very large black bream from spots in the Murray and Serpentine Rivers.

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

Herring and garfish are being taken from the local beaches in the morning and a few sized tailor are being caught. At the jetties there are herring and squid and the odd small mulloway is being taken late at night. Tailor have been quite active along the surf beaches in the area and some good fish have been taken, particularly after dark. There are a few small whiting on the sand flats between the mainland and Penguin Island as well as an occasional flathead. The Five Fathom Bank is producing some big King George whiting, tailor and the occasional good skippy.

South West Catches

South west diving for lobster

Picture: Inshore reef ledges are loaded with rock lobster at this time of year (Photo courtesy of Dylan Picken).

Surf fishers have enjoyed some late season salmon action on schools of 4kg to 6kg fish, which were residing at Eagle Bay for most of last week. Salmon have occasionally been appearing at Castle Rock and there have been a few fish also caught along the west coast. Whiting have been caught in better numbers along the Quindalup sand flats during the warmer days.

Herring can be caught at most of the headlands and bays with the help of a little burley. Squid continue to be picked up in good numbers along seagrass beds between Eagle Bay and Abbey Beach. Blue swimmer crabs are around, but it is safe to say that rock lobster have become more of a focus for those pursuing a feed of crustaceans. Schools of small southern bluefin tuna have been appearing off the west coast and the tip of Cape Naturaliste.

Albany Catches

Albany dhufish

Picture: The iconic WA Dhufish still a sought after target on the south coast (Photo courtesy James Neubauer).

A customer of Albany Rods and Tackle landed a superb 25kg samson fish from the shore at Emu Point last week. There were several other sambos suspected to be of similar size and bigger hooked and lost there during the past fortnight. Juvenile salmon have also been turning up at Emu Point together with a few tailor and small King George whiting. More tailor have been appearing some mornings and evenings at Bornholm and Sand Patch. A good mix of bread and butter species including herring, tarwhine, skippy, sand whiting and flathead can be sought at Cables, Cheynes Beach, Bluff Creek, Mutton Bird and Nanarup.

The fishing in the local rivers has been improving as the water clarity increases. There were whispers of a 50cm black bream caught out of the Kalgan last week. Juvenile salmon of above 30cm, tailor, mulloway, King George and herring were also picked up in the system. Most of the other systems, with the exception of Walpole, have been fishing well for bream and other estuarine species. Bag limits of King George have been caught in the sound within a couple of hours. Sand whiting and squid are also about in good numbers through the inshore areas. The crews who made the most of the pleasant conditions and ventured to the coral located between 60m and 85m of water did reasonably well on queen snapper, breaksea cod, pink snapper, dhufish, samson fish and red snapper.

Esperance Catches

Esperance pink snapper

Picture: Pink snapper numbers are strong along the south coast (Photo courtesy of Ann David).

The boats have been picking up big numbers of nannygai and pink snapper in waters approximately 30km out while the ground west of town has been fishing well for samson fish and pink snapper. Sand whiting and squid continue to be caught in excellent numbers around the inshore parts. More squid, herring and skippy to half a kilo have been picked up from the Taylor Street Jetty. Bandy Creek Boat Harbour is worth a visit with herring there most days.

The bream lakes have fish to 45cm responding to baits and lures. Salmon are occasionally being caught at Fourth Beach and Roses. Fourteen Mile produced salmon and gummy shark last week while Stockyards had herring and salmon. A group of customers of Southern Sports and Tackle managed seven gummy shark and two mulloway at Israelite Bay recently.

Geraldton Catches

Geraldton squid

Picture: Working seagrass beds can be effective to be rewarded with Calimari for a tasty feed (Photo courtesy of Squid Hunters WA).

Tailor have started to turn up in better numbers along the coast with fish averaging 45cm being caught most mornings and evenings. While Southgates and Tarcoola have been consistently producing the better numbers of tailor, bigger fish have been coming from the beaches north of Drummonds Cove and, in particular, near the Buller River mouth.

Mulloway ranging from 50cm to over a metre have been caught along the Flat Rocks to Greenough River mouth stretch. Bread and butter species including herring, small skippy, whiting and chopper tailor can be sought at the northern side of the new marina and at the back of The Lives. Squid have been coming from the illuminated sections of the new marina at night as well as along the seagrass between Separation Point and Point Moore.

Kalbarri Catches

Kalbarri mulloway

Picture: The old faithful Kalbarri Mulloway can be reliably plucked from the beaches and waters of the Murchison River (Photo courtesy of @robbieleck_fishing).

Perhaps among the most interesting news this past week was the half a dozen bonefish landed at Frustrations. Surf fishers targeting mulloway caught the bonefish, which are rarely caught in local waters. Equally interesting, has been reports of big schools of Australian salmon located in approximately 22m of water out from the cliffs south of Kalbarri.

While the bones and the salmon were found some distance apart, it is extremely rare to find both species sharing the same degree of latitude. Mulloway between 6kg and 18kg have been caught from the beaches north of the river mouth, especially after nightfall. Tailor are also around, however have been a little hit and miss. Blue swimmer crabs are being gathered in good numbers in the lower reaches of the Murchison. Black bream catches have been improving in the middle and upper reaches of the river.

Exmouth Catches

Exmouth mangrove jack

Picture: A venture into the protected gulf waters in Exmouth may result in some Mangrove jack from around the lower gulf structure. (Photo courtesy of @mattycox).

Peak Sportfishing landed a blue marlin on fly and raised two other blues on Monday. Black and striped marlin continue to be encountered in good numbers along the west coast while the sailfish population carries on increasing in the gulf. Giant trevally have been caught on big poppers and stick baits at the back of the reef and there has been the odd fish landed in about a metre or so of water in the lower areas of the gulf.

Queenfish and varieties of trevally are being caught on bait, lure and fly along both sides of the cape. Expect mangrove jack and estuary cod to become more active near the mangroves located on the southern and western sides of the gulf as the water temperatures increase.

Broome Catches

Broome Spanish mackerel

Picture: Spanish mackerel are firing up as the Spring sun shines down on Broome waters.

Shore-based fishers have been enjoying some entertaining light gear sessions on bluenose salmon and queenfish at Roebuck Bay, especially near Dampier Creek. Whiting have been caught in good numbers at Cable Beach. Barramundi enthusiasts who have been walking the mud banks at Dampier Creek during low tide have been picking up barramundi in the 60cm to 80cm range. Bigger barra have been coming from the Fitzroy River and there have also been a few fish caught near the jetty recently.

Threadfin salmon to a metre, and the odd bigger fish, continue to be caught in Roebuck Bay. The boats targeting reef fish have generally been doing well on bluebone, coral trout and snapper when the weather has permitted. Sailfish and black marlin were recently encountered by one of the charter boats returning from a reef fishing session in waters north of town. Spanish mackerel and mack tuna have been found off Gantheaume Point.

2017-01-13T14:02:49+08:00