Your Fishing Photos
If you want to see yourself or your kids feature in our weekly state-wide Fishing Reports, send your best fishing photos and a description to dan@recfishwest.org.au
DEMERSAL CLOSURE STARTS MIDNIGHT SUNDAY 17th OCTOBER IN WEST COAST BIO REGION
ROCK LOBSTER SEASON STARTS SATURDAY 16th OCTOBER – STATEWIDE
This year, the annual demersal closure for the West Coast Bio Region will begin midnight on the 17th and run until the usual time of midnight 15th of December (inclusive) meaning you can resume fishing for demersals on the 16th. The 48hr difference to previous years is to allow for National Gone Fishing Day this Sunday, which is also WA’s first ever licence free day.
Exmouth Catches
Picture: Any of the larger trevallys landed from the beaches of Exmouth are a pleasing catch – but smaller trevally catches are just as fun, including golden’s, brassy’s and bludger trevally- all now found in version 2 of the Recfishwest Smartphone App).
Sport fishing enthusiasts have been catching giant trevally mostly between 10kg and 15kg on poppers and stick baits retrieved from the white water at the back of the reef as well as within VLF Bay. You know the start of spring is here when GTs are targeted from the shore at spots including Oysters and Bundegi. Crews trolling along the back of the reef north and south of Tantabiddi continue to catch Spanish and shark mackerel.
More mackerel have also being caught at Exmouth Reef and Cooper Shoals, which also have trevally and queenfish turning up. The 40m to 80m depths are worth trying for red emperor, rankin cod and spangled emperor while goldband snapper can be targeted beyond the 100m contour. Sailfish and black marlin are about in depths starting at 50m and 100m respectively. Expect the bigger blue marlin to show in numbers when the water temperatures increase. Schools of longtail and yellowfin tuna are being spotted rounding up schools of baitfish offshore and there have been a few dolphin fish among these feeding frenzies.
