Keep your eyes peeled for Recfishwest’s Tip of the week, see below!
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 bronte@recfishwest.org.au
Tip of the week banner images courtesy of Shutterstock Ruggiero Scardigno, Smiltena & Garry L.
In case you missed it: Winter Fishing is Hot!
Winter is a time when some boat owners put the cover over their boat and park it up until the warmer weather arrives again. But for a lucky few it is that time of the year where bags are packed and the trip north to warmer climates is made. Some head up north for a week or two while many more make it a pilgrimage and stay there for the whole season.
Read the full article here.
Esperance Catches
Picture: How’s this for a fish?! Yellowtail kingfish are a prized fish in the Esperance area (Photo courtesy of @gawn_fishin).
Boats
Dinghy and small boat fishers have been doing well on squid, sand whiting, skippy and herring within a mile or two of the coast. Nannygai to 2.5kg, breaksea cod and queen snapper have been common out wide. Schools of 10kg to 40kg samson fish and yellowtail kingfish to 20kg have been encountered in a range of depths and areas.
Shore based
Salmon continue to be caught in good numbers at Salmon Beach, Fourth Beach, Nine Mile, Eleven Mile and Roses. Roses and Fourteen Mile have been producing skippy to an impressive 3kg. Skippy between 2kg and 3kg have been occasionally caught at Dunns together with salmon and plenty of herring.
Alexander Bay fished well for mulloway, salmon and skippy last week. Big sand whiting, herring, skippy and salmon can be found at Wylie Bay. The Taylor Street Jetty has herring, garfish and squid. Black bream, herring and the odd King George whiting were among the species caught at Bandy Creek Boat Harbour.
Albany Catches
Picture: Squid have been showing up in great numbers this week with fishers getting their boat limits (Photo courtesy of Wazza Upton of Squid Hunters Western Australia).
Boats
The shelf and the waters wide of the continental line fished well for a variety of deep dwellers including hapuka, blue eye trevalla, red snapper and western bass. Fair catches of pink, red and queen snapper were taken along the coral in 65m to 85m of water together with a few breaksea cod, dhufish and samson fish. The crews who fished in shallower waters managed a few harlequin fish as well as a few smaller pink snapper.
King George whiting enthusiasts reported there to be reasonable numbers through the inshore areas of Two Peoples Bay, Cosy Corner, Cheyne Beach and King George Sound. Sand whiting are relatively easy to find as are herring, pike and skippy when burley is introduced. Squid have shown up in numbers not seen for some months with plenty of bag and boat limits achieved this past week.
Shore based
Salmon are still lurking around the beaches with 3kg to 7kg fish found at Bluff Creek, Cheyne Beach, Sand Patch and Shelley Beach this past week. A group who fished Bluff Creek recently scored some nice skippy and plenty of herring in addition to salmon. Mulloway are active in the Kalgan River during the start of the incoming tide. The bigger black bream take some effort in both of the local systems.
Fish Friendly Farms Workshop
If you’re a farmer around Albany and love your fishing, come down to the Parnell’s farm, 380 Willyung Rd, Willyung 2pm this Saturday to learn about how you can ensure your farm is fish friendly and keep great marron and bream fishing in the region for generations to come. There will be discussions around how fertilisers can be applied more effectively by using farm nutrient mapping services as well as the habitat requirements of your favourite fish.
For more information contact Bryn Warnock or check out the link, here.
Photo courtesy of Tacke HQ
Top Water Lures: Stickbaits
Technical Rating: Expert
Top water fishing is at the forefront of exciting salt water sport fishing action and top water lures are varied in there size, weight and form from poppers to stickbaits. Stickbaits come in various functions and all manner of size and weight combinations. Essentially a bibless minnow lure, stickbaits range from floating to suspending and slow sinking to fast sinking. The size and purpose of the lure will determine its properties.
Small stickbaits are often quite light weight and nimble and their action and the way they are fished can be vastly different to large ones. Small stickbaits are at the mercy of the water medium they are in and their small size means the lure cannot create a lot of force on the water to create a drastic action. For this reason small stickbaits rely a lot upon the action imparted on the rod by the angler. Their size means they are generally versatile and responsive to twitches of the rod tip causing an erratic dart, whilst being manageable enough to work for a period of time.
As the lure gets larger and heavier it becomes harder and less effective to work with short, sharp rod jabs and the size of the lure creates a lot more resistance against the water. This is when a long “sweep” action of the rod is used to effectively pull the lure along in the water as it “swims”. The shape of the lures face will cause it to dive, glide or zig-zag, with a classic s-action becoming most desirable for large stick baits.
Stickbaits may be floating or sinking. Generally floating stickbaits are designed to be worked with a sweep, dive and pause action, or a “walk the dog” style with side to side rod strokes paired in sync with regular winding. Smaller floating stickbaits may be worked much the same as small sinking stickbaits with lots of twitches to make the lure dart and dive erratically with no particular action.
Sinking stickbaits are much more variable with different sink weights. Slow sinking and suspending lures can be worked in much the same way as floating lures with a sweep and pause or a constant slow to medium retrieve with rod strokes/twitches. They may also be allowed to sink to a desired depth if needed with lengthy pauses or may be worked constantly over shallow ground etc. to keep the lure top water.
Fast sinking stickbaits may have a variety of purposes but generally the extra weight is either to fish deep or to cast far. The more weight that is added to a lure, the less reactive and nimble it becomes, succumbing rather to falling than the other forces on the lure trying to make it swim with any action. For this reason, fast sinking stickbaits are generally used with a fast retrieve sub surface and used to cover ground quickly with long casts. Secondarily, fast sinkers are allowed to sink and cover the whole water column or used to combat heavy current. Sometimes large fish are feeding on small bait and a small, heavy lure is needed to cast on heavy tackle, other instances might be casting from shore where a long cast is needed to reach deeper waters.
Whatever the fishing scenario, there is a stickbait to suit the situation so give them all a go.
