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

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

Esperance Catches

Picture: Some nice catches of King George whiting have been coming from Wylie Bay and Bandy Creek (Photo courtesy of Reef Life Survey: Fishes of Australia).

Boats

Lloyd Needham landed an impressive 40kg hapuka and several blue eye trevalla while dropping baits beyond the continental shelf last week. A couple of boats that worked the waters off Cape Le Grande picked up some nice pink snapper, which are also being found in relatively shallow waters in the bay. Nannygai are mostly being found in 50m to 70m of water near the islands. Squid and whiting are the main species being caught by the dinghies and small boats.

Shore based

Salmon continue to be caught along the beaches with Fourth Beach, Salmon Beach, Eleven Mile, Roses and Munglinup among the spots where the 3kg to 7kg fish were caught this past week. Roses also produced a few nice skippy as did the reef at Eleven Mile. Evenings at Fourths have been good for mulloway while Thomas River has gummy sharks and Lucky Bay is fishing well for sand whiting. Storm garfish have been turning up at the Taylor Street Jetty together with herring and squid. Some nice catches of King George whiting have been coming from Wylie Bay and Bandy Creek.

Albany Catches

Picture: A busy day at Shelleys with surf fishers still enjoying some late season fish (Photo courtesy of Tony Tropiano).

Boats

When the boats have managed to head to the coral lumps scattered between the 60m and 90m depths, they have generally done well on queen, red and pink snapper as well as dhufish, skippy, breaksea cod and samson fish. The odd bigger craft that ventured beyond the shelf found bigger red snapper, mixed size hapuka and cod. King George whiting catches have varied through the inshore waters with the clearer areas. Cosy Corner, Two Peoples Bay and the ground near Michaelmas and Breaksea islands were among the areas where the better hauls of Geordies were achieved during the past week. A consistent stream of burley should also bring herring and juvenile salmon around in these parts while squid have required some effort at times.

Shore based

Surf fishers are still enjoying some late season fish at Shelleys, Nanarup, Cheyne Beach and Bluff Creek. Bigger skippy are being plucked from the deeper channels at Bluff and Cheyne while Bornholm and Nanarup had the odd tailor turn up early morning and evening. There is herring right along the coast with some thumpers of more than 30cm mixed in with the common 20cm to 25cm fish. Black bream catches have been improving in the King and Kalgan rivers, which waters have been a little clearer.