Welcome to Recfishwest’s weekly fishing report, brought to you by Recfishwest’s fishing expert Joachim Azzopardi and thanks to John Curtis for his Mandurah & Surrounds report.

Keep your eyes peeled for Recfishwest’s Tip of the week, see below!

Your Fishing Photos

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Kalbarri Catches

Picture: Baldy on the Halco Tackle Madeye 8″ Flick Stick in the irresistible pearl colour! (Photo courtesy of Curtis Waterman).

Boats

Before the rough weather set in there were Spanish mackerel being caught on trolled bibbed minnows. It may take some time for the water clarity to improve before similar numbers of mackerel are seen off the coast again. Reef fishing has generally been pretty good following the blows with lots of pink snapper, baldchin groper and the odd coral trout being caught from the 10m to 15m depths out from the cliffs and the same species as well as red emperor and dhufish coming from the ground between the 30m and 40m contour northwest of the river mouth.

Shore based

Big swells limited the amount of fishing performed along the beaches, however there were a few tailor caught at Red Bluff, Wittecarra and Chinamans. Storm garfish have reappeared at Jakes Bay and Red Bluff following the rough weather. There have been a few school-size and bigger mulloway coming from Oyster Reef and Frustrations. The beaches north of Frustrations would also be worth a try for mulloway and pink snapper. Pink snapper and baldchin groper have been picked up from the coastal gorges. Kalbarri Sports and Dive’s Wayne Dewar has been doing well on black bream to 35cm on bait in the upper reaches of the Murchison River. The lower reaches of the system are starting to produce more yellowfin whiting.

Geraldton Catches

Picture: Is there a better sound in the world than a screaming reel after a mackie chases down your lure?

Boats

Pink snapper mostly between 5kg and 7kg have been caught in fair numbers along the lumps 15 miles to 20 miles out north and south of the marina. Baldchin groper and sweetlip were also caught among the snapper, however dhufish have been difficult to find. The odd spaniard has been turning up for those trolling lures out around the Abrolhos. The seagrass beds inside the inshore reefs are still producing good squid catches for the dinghies and small boats.

Shore based

Good numbers of whiting have been caught from the sand areas between the seaweed piles at Southgates and Separation Point as well as behind The Lives. A few school-size mulloway have been landed at West Bank, however the weed there has been bad. During the rough weather, pink snapper between 3kg and 4kg have been caught from the rock walls of the harbour. There were also tailor to 75cm caught together with the snapper. Squid have been caught under the lights of the Batavia Marina in the evenings. Tailor are generally about in fair numbers during this time of the season, however fishers may need to wait for conditions to settle before targeting the popular surf species.

South West Catches

Picture: There are still a few skippy, tarwhine and tailor being caught at Bunker Bay when conditions have been suitable.

Boats

The west coast has been off limits for several days due to the huge seas and swells. The winds have also been whipping up some big seas in Geographe Bay for most part of the last week. Pink snapper have been caught in fair numbers near the Four Mile and Eight Mile. Once again, the anchor and burley method has proved to be very effective in bringing the 4kg to 9kg snapper to the boat. Squid fishing is generally good from mid August to early October and expect there to be plenty of action along the seagrass beds off Quindalup once the water clarity improves.

Shore based

Pink snapper have continued to be caught from Monaghan’s Corner, Busselton Jetty and a couple of other undisclosed shore-based Geographe Bay spots during the recent stormy weather. Squid are starting to be caught in bigger numbers from the jetties and rocky headlands located within Geographe Bay. Herring remain in excellent numbers and there are still a few skippy, tarwhine and tailor being caught at Bunker Bay and Castle Rock when conditions have been suitable.

Mandurah & Surrounds

Picture: The estuary has been producing skippy and an occasional small samson fish (Photo courtesy of Tony Tropiano).

Mandurah

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. Also included in the catches have been skippy and King George whiting. Tailor have been turning up at dawn and dusk at either end of the channel. 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. The estuary has been producing skippy and an occasional small samson fish. 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.

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 Warnbro 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.

Metro Catches

Picture: There are still sambos around the metro area. If you can manage to get out on the water in between the showers and storms, you may find some in the sun out near Rottnest.(Photo courtesy of Alanna Hubbard).

Boats

Kayak and boat fishers who hugged the rock walls within Cockburn Sound did well on pink snapper. Very few managed to head out beyond the protected waters due to the rough conditions, which persisted for most part of the week. Once the water clarity improves, expect there to still be plenty of squid along the seagrass beds off Fremantle and within Cockburn and Warnbro Sound.

Shore based

Pink snapper continued to be caught from the northern and southern rock walls during this past week of big seas and swells. Several snapper ranging from 55cm to 80cm were caught from Hillarys and Mindarie Marina rock walls. Several salmon and the odd jumbo tailor were also caught at both spots. Other spots where snapper were caught included Woodman Point and Coogee Marina. There are still a few salmon turning up at the Kwinana beaches while the deep gutters formed at Golden Bay and San Remo, following the recent storms, would be worth trying for mulloway.