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
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.
