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Recfishwest
Fishing Report
15/05/20
Reef Wilsoncroft with a great metro squid, caught post storm. Great to see young keen fisho's getting out and catching a good feed!
Dear <<First Name>>,

Welcome to WA's biggest and best weekly Fishing Reports!

In this report you'll read all about what's biting across the state brought to you by keen fishers Joachim Azzopardi, John Curtis, Peter Fullarton, Curt McCartney and our valued tackle stores right across WA.

We've recently added in three new exciting features to make your fishing report even bigger and better -  in 'Scott's Spots' renowned fishing writer and Western Angler editor Scott Coghlan takes a look at some of WA's best fishing locations; in the 'West Aussie Ultimate Angler' series we've teamed up with our partners Shimano to give you some of their experts' hot tips to take your fishing to the next level and in Tackle Shop Talk you'll get to know better some of the unsung heroes of the fishing community - your local tackle dealer.  We hope you enjoy this additional content.

If you know someone who would love to receive these reports and needs some help on the fishing front, forward this onto them! Join us here.

Pic of the Week!

Catch of the week goes to Bradey Paini with this horse of a Chinamanfish caught on a recent dive trip. Measuring at 82cm, this is up there and is worthy of being the catch of the week. Great stuff!

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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 sedin@recfishwest.org.au
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Kununurra Catches
Local rockbar guns Lizzy and Blaze with some big metre-plus barra's from Ivanhoe Crossing.
As the weather finally cracks and the nights cool down the fishing is still running hot on the local rock bars of the Ord River around Kununurra. Reports have been consistent of metre-long barra being pulled from all the rockbars and the iconic Ivanhoe Crossing. Most fish are found in the fast flowing white water tucked away in an eddy of some sorts waiting for any form of food to be flushed past them. The average size has been metre-plus with reports of a 140cm fish being plucked off the crossing one night. Down further on the Ord, the floodplains had typical short but very productive runoff over the March-April period, with some anglers having 50-plus fish sessions down past the Mambi Island area. Other great news is the stocking efforts on Lake Kununurra from the 2019 releases are starting to appear. Curt McCartney did a trip a few weeks back and managed six fish between 350mm and 630mm. The 630mm fish would be a year old, that's an impressive growth rate! Things look great for years to come up that way.


The iconic Ivanhoe Crossing is a great place for locals and visiting fishers to try their luck at catching barramundi.
Broome Catches
Broome Fishing Club uploaded this great photo of a thready caught up further north. Quality photography!


Boats

Sailfish numbers have continued to increase offshore with dozens of the majestic creatures encountered in waters off Barred Creek and Willie Creek this past week. One boat managed to land 50 sailfish in three days last week while others caught up to a dozen in a session. Cobia and Spanish mackerel are also present offshore, however yellowfin and longtail tuna are yet to appear in strong numbers. Reef fishing within Roebuck Bay has been producing bluebone, fingermark bream and mulloway while threadfin salmon, queenfish and trevally have been caught near the surface.

Shore based

Sportfishers have been using a variety of hard-bodied and soft plastic lures to catch queenfish, golden and giant trevally at Entrance Point. Metal lures and baits have been working well on bluenose salmon, queenies and trevally along Cable Beach. Roebuck Bay is worth a try for bigger threadfin salmon. There has been the odd bluebone landed at Gantheaume Point. Crab Creek and Dampier Creek have been producing barramundi.
Exmouth Catches
On Strike Charters once again putting their clients onto the goods with this stonker spangled emperor! Great work!

Boats

Spanish mackerel are being caught on minnow-style lures and rigged whole baits, including garfish in 15m to 30m of water along the back of the reef line. Sailfish have been encountered further out while black marlin have appeared in spreads in depths ranging from 50m to 300m. Reef fishers have been finding red emperor, Rankin cod and spangled emperor in 30m to 60m of water. There are plenty of golden trevally and Queenfish within the gulf. Exmouth Reef and Cooper Shoals are worth a try for coral trout and varieties of emperor.

The Exmouth FADs, due to remain in place until November, are reportedly firing – but we would love to see more photos/footage of captures from these FADs – so please send them to us to still be in with a shout to win a Shimano Stella as part of our Fab FADs photo competition.

Shore based

Old Bundegi and VLF Bay have been fishing well for queenfish, golden trevally and small giant trevally, especially during an incoming tide. Yellowfin whiting, flathead and yellowfin bream are common along the gulf beaches. Bluebone can be targeted along Mildura Wreck Road as well as some of the accesses south of the lighthouse. Try Tantabiddi for spangled emperor, Queenfish and varieties of trevally.
 

Scott’s Spots

Scotty with a fantastic salmon caught pout of his kayak at Cheynes beach recently.
This week Scott highlights the fantastic fishing on offer at Cheynes Beach in Albany. Salmon, herring, skippy and flathead are all safe, accessible and enjoyable options for families fishing from the beach and there's some fantastic fishing on offer for boaters and kayakers. Cheynes Beach is surely one of the getaway gems of WA’s south coast. Find out more about this fishers delight and nearby accommodation here.
 
Kalbarri Catches
Kate Ralph from Kalbarri Offshore & Angling Club Inc. with her first Lucky Bay baldie and she is pretty stoked to say the least! Sweet catch!

Boats

Pink snapper are still being caught in relatively shallow waters near the cliffs as well as some of the shallower lumps situated offshore. Dhufish and red emperor can be targeted in waters beyond the 30m contour. Spanish mackerel are sometimes being caught on bibbed minnows and rigged baits trolled north and south of the river mouth. Schools of longtail, mack and yellowfin tuna continue to show on the surface.

Shore based

Tailor have been appearing in bigger numbers late afternoon and evening along the beaches. Doug Krause caught and released a 71cm tailor at Chinamans last Thursday evening. Mulloway have been caught in the upper and lower reaches of the Murchison River. Hutt River has experienced a nice run of tailor after dark some nights. Black bream, of about a kilo, have been picked up throughout the system while mangrove jack are mostly being found near the jetties. Balloon fishers are occasionally catching Spanish mackerel from the beach at Wagoe.
Geraldton Catches
Jack Cassin sent in this stonker of a coronation trout caught off the Abrolhos. Mint catch, mate!


Boats

Reef fishers have mostly had to work hard for their catches of quality table fish. Pink snapper, averaging 70cm, have been caught in numbers in 12m to 25m of water north of the shipping channel. Dhufish and baldchin groper have been coming from similar waters and deeper. Some crews targeting reef fish in 35m to 45m of water reported losing jigs to Spanish mackerel. Squid can be targeted inshore between Point Moore to Separation Point.

Shore based

Big deposits of seaweed along the local beaches have created very challenging conditions for surf fishers. One fisher had a single tarwhine to show for his efforts following a five-hour session at Flat Rocks last week. Herring have been caught in fair numbers at the rocks in front of the Sail Inn. Whiting and herring have been coming from the back of The Lives.
Lancelin Catches
Peter Fullarton with a nice blue swimmer crab caught at Lancelin Bay. Great catch!

Boats

Boating numbers have been low due to the intrastate borders remaining closed. Last weekend offered a break in the swells seeing better numbers of local boats heading offshore chasing demersal species. Most dhufish were coming from direction bank, some fishers that went out wider landed some very large hapuka. There are still good numbers of baldchin groper in range of the smaller boats out from 25m depths, although their numbers increase moving further offshore with the 30s a much better bet. There are some good options inside the bay to find a feed for the small boats and kayaks, with King George whiting, herring, skippy and tarwhine to name just a few. The smaller boats have been doing very well chasing squid in the bay, the best catches are occurring late afternoon to sunset. Blue swimmer crabs are very large and in good enough numbers to gather a decent feed along the shore line.

Shore based

Limited numbers of locals and a few people who can travel have been fishing the beaches. Still there has been some great catches with a number of mulloway and pink snapper caught between Lancelin and to the north of Wedge Island. There is still plenty of tailor around to 50cm, although this week saw larger numbers of smaller fish around the 30cm size in places. There are plenty of herring and good sized sand whiting right along the coast. The jetty has been seeing a lot more squid hitting the deck with first and last light of the day the best time to look for them. There are plenty of herring at night too.
A bit of a beach report for those itching to get up as soon as the roads open; The recent storm did leave a legacy of a lot of weed along the beaches, which has been consolidating in certain areas now. Mornings with offshore conditions have been excellent to fish with completely weed free stretches available. The weed moves about quite dramatically with the tides and winds, so be prepared to spend some extra time finding the right spot for the conditions. Short sections of the beach are not safe to drive on, back tracks need to be used to access around these sections.
 

West Aussie Ultimate Angler Series

A school of salmon frantically chasing a Recfishwest lure.
In this series we've teamed up with our partners at Shimano to share with you some of their experts' top tips. This week the Shimano crew take a look at ‘Fishing surface feeding fish schools.’  Here’s a taste ‘’The sight of bulky predators on the surface throwing sprays of white water in all directions can cause a massive rush of blood for fishos. Hands and knees suddenly start to shake and logic can go out the window. There’s no doubting that a level head is the way to approach this situation and try to save all the hooting and adrenalin for when you’re hooked-up. This is easier said than done though!’’ Click here to read more.
 
Esperance Catches


Boats

Small southern bluefin tuna, many of about 10kg, continue to be encountered in a range of depths and areas during what some locals are calling one of the best seasons on the speedy bullets. Samson fish and yellowtail kingfish can be targeted on metal and soft plastic jigs near the islands. Crews who travelled wide scored nannygai, breaksea cod and queen snapper.

Shore based

A nice mix of bread and butter species including herring, squid and skippy can be targeted at the Taylor Street Jetty while Bandy Creek boat harbour has King George whiting and herring. Salmon are scattered along the beaches stretching from Fourth Beach to Nine Mile. Skippy to an impressive 5kg were landed at Roses together with tailor, salmon and bronze whaler sharks. More bronzies were landed at Duke of Orleans Bay and Alexander Bay where salmon, skippy and herring have also been picked up.
Albany Catches
Jade Suzanne with one of these lovely acrobatic salmon caught in Albany waters. Awesome photo and a great catch!

Boats

King George whiting efforts have been mixed inshore with some managing to pick up their boat limits within a couple of hours and others spending most of the day to come home with less than half a dozen fish. Squid catches are increasing inshore and there plenty of herring and juvenile salmon in the protected waters. Reef fishers who worked the waters out from Parrys and Peaceful Bay found lots of dhufish in the 60cm to 80cm range. Hapuka have been picked up wide of the shelf, however, blue eye trevalla have been hard to come by.

Shore based

Salmon schools have continued to pass along the local beaches as well as those stretching east towards Bluff Creek and west to Walpole. Herring remain in very good numbers along the coast and there are some big skippy starting to be caught from the deeper gutters at spots including Bluff Creek and Cheynes Beach. Rock fishers have landed a mix of species including yellowtail kingfish, Samson fish and small southern bluefin tuna. Mostly small black bream have been caught in the King and Kalgan rivers.
Southwest Catches
A picture-perfect pink snapper from the South West...This beauty caught a few days ago by Pjfishingwa measured in at 83cm. A great catch!

Boats

Dolphinfish are being caught near the Recfishwest FADs - but you'll have to get out there in the next few days as they're being brought back in for the winter later this week. Southern bluefin tuna have been encountered in a range of depths and areas. There are plenty of boats doing well on pink snapper and dhufish within Geographe Bay. Squid can be targeted along the seagrass beds off Quindalup.

Read the latest update on the trial three-year statewide FADs program here. 

Shore based

Salmon have continued to appear along the west coast and Geographe Bay beaches. A customer of Dunsborough Outdoor Sportz caught and released more than 30 salmon one day last week. Herring are in very good numbers along both sides of Cape Naturaliste and there are some nice skippy being plucked from the deeper gutters and reef holes. Pink snapper were caught from the beaches between Quindalup and Busselton Jetty following the recent storm.
Mandurah and Surrounds
Official Anglers Odyssey with this nice dhufish caught off Mandurah waters. Great catch!


Mandurah

Herring and some very large salmon have been caught from the southern beaches along with a few small to medium sized mulloway. Closer to Mandurah there are tarwhine and skippy around the ocean end of The Cut. On the incoming tide there have been several larger salmon caught from the ocean end of the channel along with tailor. At the estuary end of The Cut there is herring, whiting and an occasional salmon. In both the Murray and Serpentine rivers, bream are a little more active. There has been bream caught from the lower end of the river system. Prawn movement is also on the increase. Anglers chasing prawns are starting to read the tide tables and are putting in some late hours on the outgoing tide at places such as the bridge and from moored dinghies. During the day there has been some good sized herring, yellowtail and tailor being caught from the estuary. Beaches to the north of the town continue to produce herring and whiting, generally of a morning. Tailor have been spasmodic and are being caught during the late afternoon and evening.

SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / WARNBRO / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY

Anglers fishing throughout this area report good catches of herring and some big whiting. Squid are also being caught throughout the area. Small boat anglers fishing out in front of the jetties at Rockingham have been catching King George whiting, squid and snook along the edges of the weed banks. Beach anglers fishing Becher Point and the Point Peron beaches have been doing well on salmon and tailor. There have been some very big salmon caught from beaches in the area, with one fish of 6 kg reported.
Perth Catches
Frankie Busetti with a beautiful pink snapper caught off the north side of Rottnest island. Great photo and even better catch! Quality work!

Boats

Spanish mackerel are still being caught off the metropolitan coast in waters including Cockburn Sound, Parker Point, West End and Three Mile Reef. There are dolphinfish, as well as tuna at the Recfishwest and Perth Game Fishing Club FADs. Pink snapper are biting early morning and after dark near the inshore reefs and islands off Fremantle. Dhufish and breaksea cod seem to be mostly coming from in excess of 30m of water. King George whiting catches are improving between Cottesloe and Rottnest Island. Squid catches improved along the seagrass meadows off Fremantle this week following an increase in water clarity.

Shore based

Dozens of pink snapper were caught from North and South Mole following last week’s storms. Mulloway were also caught at North Mole while both rock spots had salmon schools pass at times. The northern rock walls, including those featured at Hillarys and Mindarie marinas, also produced pink snapper when conditions were rough. A few salmon have been turning up along the beaches together with tailor and plenty of herring. King George whiting are starting to be caught along the Fremantle rock walls. Mulloway are being caught in the evenings at Fremantle Harbour. There are juvenile Samson fish and tarwhine near East Fremantle and North Fremantle. Tailor are evident in the middle and lower reaches of the Swan.
 

Tackle Shop Talk

Tackle store owner Damien Lane with a sensational ruby snapper!
Many in the tackle industry have been doing it tough in recent weeks and we reckon some of these unsung heroes deserve a bit of the limelight. This week we hear from Damien Lane from Dunsborough Outdoor Sportz. Damien talks about the hot tackle items currently in store and what he would do if he was Fisheries Minister for a day. Read more here.
 
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