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Dear <<First Name>>,
You are receiving this because you are a Recfishwest Member! As a member, you'll receive fishing updates and info from WA's peak fishing body, Recfishwest. We're here to help make your fishing better and one of the ways we do that is by sending out WA's biggest and best weekly fishing reports! If you know someone who would love to receive these and needs some help on the fishing front, forward this onto them! Join us here.
Welcome to Recfishwest's weekly fishing report, brought to you by Joachim Azzopardi, John Curtis for the Mandurah section and Recfishwest safety ambassador Peter Fullarton from Tailored Treks for what's happening in Lancelin.
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Catch of the Week!
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| An unbelievable catch from James Harbeck. A metre-long queenfish caught on fly. Quality stuff, mate! |
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Email info@recfishwest.org.au and let Ruth, our Membership Officer, know your new details - mention your name, old email and new email address, and we'll update your details.
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| Mick from Absolute Ocean Charters caught this 750mm coral trout south of Broome on a recent Broome to Exmouth extended stay charter. Absolute beauty, mate, good stuff! |
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| Reef fishers were picking up blue lined emperor, Rankin cod and spangled emperor in fair numbers along the 30m to 40m depths before, and following, the recent cyclonic activity. Bluebone ordinarily appear close to shore during this part of the season and there are some nice fingermark bream in Roebuck Bay. Mack and longtail tuna have been found near the baitfish schools in the bay together with small trevally and queenfish. |
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Barramundi enthusiasts were catching fish to a metre on baits and lures within the Fitzroy River before Cyclone Blake brought strong winds and rain. The river has started to flow again following the deluge and, consequently, some effort may be involved before the bigger concentrations of barra are located within the system. Some nice mud crabs have recently been picked up within Dampier Creek. Bluebone have been caught from the rocks at Gantheaume Point while the stones at Barred Creek have been producing broadbar mackerel at times.
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| Tessa White onboard of the Evolution Fishing Charters with a beautiful Spanish mackerel. |
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Billfish enthusiasts have continued to encounter blue marlin beyond the 500m contour together with yellowfin tuna in the 10kg to 40kg range and big packs of mixed size dolphin fish. Smaller black and striped marlin are in shallower depths, within the 200m contour at times. Spanish mackerel can be targeted along the back of the reef line north and south of Tantabiddi, however sharks have been quick to snatch hooked mackerel at times. Reef fishers have been finding red emperor in depths of 70m and goldband jobfish in 120m and deeper.
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Mostly small brassy and giant trevally have been caught at the west coast accesses while spangled emperor and bluebone are occasionally being picked up near the lighthouse and Mildura Wreck. Old Bundegi has queenfish to a metre and giant herring turning up during an incoming tide. There is no shortage of yellowfin whiting along the gulf beaches. Fly fishers have been experiencing mixed results on permit in the lower areas of the gulf, however big blue bastards and black spotted tuskfish have been eager to take crab flies at times.
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There seemed to be a lot more pelagic action this past week following reports of several Spanish mackerel, mostly in the 8kg to 12kg range, and yellowfin tuna to 10kg caught north and south of the river mouth. A rock lobster enthusiast, on his way out to check his pots, also spotted a free swimming marlin out from Frustrations. Reef fishing has been generally good with many picking up dhufish, pink snapper, baldchin groper and Rankin cod in depths leading up to 40m.
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Tailor in the 35cm to 55cm range have been appearing most mornings and evenings at Wittecarra Creek and Red Bluff while fish to 75cm have been turning up at Oysters, Frustrations and the back beach. Surf fishers used quad bikes to access gutters located north of Frustrations last week and landed some nice mulloway. Estuary cod and black bream can be targeted near the rocky outcrops within the Murchison River. Blue swimmer crab numbers are slowly starting to increase in the lower reaches of the system while mud crabs are mostly up river.
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Spanish mackerel are mostly being encountered in waters north of town as well as near the Abrolhos Islands. Baitfish hanging near the shipping channel are attracting a variety of predators including longtail and striped tuna and school mackerel. Schools of dolphin fish are occasionally being found offshore at areas that included Mid Reef. The lumps off Coronation and the ground near African Reef seem to be producing plenty of dhufish as well as baldchin groper and pink snapper.
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Tailor have been turning up some mornings and evenings at the first and second points at Greenough together with a few pike and herring. More tailor and the odd small mulloway have been caught along the beaches south of Greenough extending to Flat Rocks. Mornings have been better for tailor at Tarcoola Beach, which also has herring and dart. The tailor at Explosives have been turning up midafternoon, about 3.30pm, and biting for about two hours. Drummonds Cove has been difficult to fish because of the seaweed while Coronation is worth a try for tailor and mulloway.
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| Mates David and Chris fished the beaches north of Lancelin catching tailor to 50cm and finishing with a wobbegong at the end of the session. |
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There have been dhufish 10-15kg caught in depths 40-80m, fishers were reporting the demersal species as being difficult to tempt over the full moon period. Baldchin are still the most common species being landed, several anglers found red throat emperor in the mix as well as the usual pink snapper and break sea cod filling out the bags. Tuna schools of southern bluefin and striped tuna were encountered during the week. Water temperatures have been around 23-23.5C and some free jumping mackerel have been sighted. There are still a lot of good sized herring in the bay and samson fish are patrolling the bay busting up on the schools. Some excellent size squid are widely spread along the weed beds of the bay and the wider area.
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Fishing was difficult due to loose seaweed in the breakers along most the coast during last weekend and the week. A lot of the places we usually see some deep near shore gutters are shallow having sanded up over the past weeks. On the plus side most beaches are in typical summer shape, less steep with a hard base making driving them easier. If you do battle with the weed, there are plenty of tailor 40-50cm range to reward your efforts. Due to the beach conditions, the jetty was the easiest place to find a feed of herring most evenings. Waders have been doing very well on cobbler along the bays shoreline.
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Dinghy and small boat fishers have been doing well on squid, herring, snook and barracuda within the bay. Crews who worked the waters near the islands picked up queen snapper, breaksea cod, samson fish and sea sweep. Nannygai to a very impressive 65cm were mostly found wide of the islands.
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The Taylor Street Jetty has an assortment of bread and butter species on offer including herring, King George whiting to 40cm, garfish, in the evening, and squid. Bandy Creek boat harbour has plenty of herring as well as some small black bream and the odd King George. Salmon and Fourth Beach have been fishing reasonably well for juvenile salmon, big herring and the odd skippy while mulloway and salmon were landed at Eleven Mile and Fourteen Mile. Juvenile salmon and herring are the main species on offer at Stockyards. Rossiters had mulloway and gummy shark last week. Schools of salmon have occasionally been passing at Duke of Orleans Bay, which has also been producing herring and bronze whaler shark. Thomas River has been good for mulloway, gummy shark, skippy between 2kg and 6kg and juvenile salmon. A group who recently ventured to Israelite Bay caught two dozen bronze whaler sharks and as many mulloway in a couple of days.
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A nice queenie caught recently about 3km off West Cape Howe, west of Albany by Kenny Henderson.
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There were limited opportunities for reef fishers to head out in search of quality demersal fish due to unfavourable winds. The few who did manage to find a small window, when conditions were mild enough, headed out and picked up queen and pink snapper in 50m to 80m of water together with a few breaksea cod and small dhufish. Big schools of leatherjackets and sea sweep have unfortunately been a nuisance in some areas. The inshore waters of the sound and both harbours have recently been producing mixed catches of King George and sand whiting, herring, juvenile salmon, small skippy, flathead and squid.
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Surf fishers reported encountering salmon at Bornholm, Cheynes Beach and Blue Holes this past week. Herring are in very good numbers at Cheynes, Mutton Bird, Salmon Holes and Ledge Beach. Cables is worth a visit following some nice flathead, sand whiting and herring caught there recently. There are still a few squid being caught from the marina early morning and at night. Black bream to 40cm were caught on baits and lures in the local systems this past week. Mulloway have been coming from waters upstream of Honeymoon Island.
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| Aaron Moses from Recfishwest with a nice Marron caught at Harvey Dam. |
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| Reef fishers have been picking up dhufish to 20kg, breaksea cod, baldchin groper and pink snapper in 30m to 50m of water off the west coast and out from Dunsborough. King George whiting can be found in depths leading up to 20m off Quindalup and Siesta Park. There are still a few squid being caught along the seagrass beds within Geographe Bay. Schools of small southern bluefin tuna are evident along both sides of Cape Naturaliste. |
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Surf fishers have been picking up mixed catches of herring, skippy, tarwhine, flathead and tailor along the west coast. The recent fuller morning tides have been good for yellowfin and school whiting along the sand flats within Geographe Bay. Scoop netters have been managing some fair hauls of blue swimmer crabs around the flats between Tobys Inlet and Busselton.
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Anglers fishing in the estuary report that tailor are wide spread and are mixed with a few skippy. The Dawesville Cut is still producing some good fishing for herring, whiting and King George whiting along with an occasional skippy and tarwhine.
On the beaches to the north of Mandurah there are still a few small sharks being taken after dark. Most anglers are taking mixed bags of herring, whiting and tailor. Small mulloway are being taken from the beaches at Golden Bay and Secret Harbour. Mulloway up to 15kg have been caught from the beaches at Singleton and Madora.
Along the southern beaches most catches have been made after the sea breeze comes in of an afternoon. Mulloway and small sharks have also been taken from these beaches and are generally being taken after dark. Included in most anglers’ bags have been some good tailor, flathead, herring and sweep. Some of the mulloway have been up around the 10kg mark. Generally the size and numbers of tailor being caught in and around the Mandurah area continue to improve with some good fish being taken from the beaches.
Bream are still active in the rivers with an occasional larger fish keeping anglers interested. Crabs are still spread throughout the estuary and dabbers and netters are doing well. Sizes and numbers are improving and crabbers are advised to keep a check on the size of their catch.
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SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / WARNBRO / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY
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Long Point, Kwinana and Warnbro beaches have all continued to produce a few good tailor during the last week. There have been some yellowfin whiting as well, along with herring and a few skippy. The jetties are turning on herring early in the morning, along with squid and blue mackerel. Penguin Island sandbar is still a good spot to fish for flathead along the drop off into deeper water. The beaches around this region continue to produce good fishing for whiting and tailor. Better times to fish are either very early morning or later afternoon through to dark. Several anglers report small mulloway and sharks from the beaches.
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| Austin Brightling putting in the hours late at night and being rewarded with a mulloway caught in the Swan River. Good job, mate! |
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Reef fishers have been picking up their best catches of dhufish, baldchin groper and breaksea cod in 40m to 60m of water. This has been the case whether the boats have been heading out from Rockingham, Fremantle or Hillarys. Pink snapper have been found in shallower depths, but have mostly been biting very early in the morning or after dark. Big numbers of yellowtail kingfish to 10kg continue to be found near Rottnest Island. The Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) are still holding dolphin fish and varieties of tuna. Sand whiting are being caught in good numbers and sizes about five miles out west of Cottesloe. Squid can still be found along the seagrass beds off Fremantle and there are still some nice hauls of rock lobster being picked up.
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An estimated 20kg Spanish mackerel was landed at Woodman Point last week, and considering the warm water temperatures close to shore at the moment, it would be of little surprise if more mackerel are caught at other metropolitan spots including the Ammo Jetty and North Mole during the coming weeks. Big schools of scaly mackerel within Fremantle Harbour are attracting mulloway to the area. There has been at least one mulloway hooked or landed during the past week. Tailor and herring continue to be caught from the beaches and rock walls as well as within the middle and lower reaches of the Swan River.
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(Update) Swan River Algae Bloom
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| An algal bloom warning has been issued for those fishing within the Swan River from Pelican Point to Como Jetty and upstream to Tonkin Highway Bridge. It now also includes the stream from Como Jetty all the way to Ferndale and Wilson |
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The Department of Health has updated its toxic algal bloom warning to include parts of the Canning River.
The update follows earlier health advice, warning people not to eat fish, crabs or shellfish collected from within the Swan River – from Pelican Point to Como Jetty and upstream to Tonkin Highway Bridge (this includes the commonly known areas of Matilda Bay, Perth Waters, Elizabeth Quay, Barrack Street Jetty, Claisebrook Cove, Maylands Yacht Club, Ascot Waters and Riverside Gardens).
Recent testing by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) has now identified elevated levels of the same, potentially toxic Alexandrium algae in the Canning River and the health warning has been extended to the area from the South of Perth Yacht Club to Como Jetty and upstream to Kent Street Weir.
This algal bloom warning was originally issued before Christmas and doesn't appear to be clearing as of yet. This continues to be alarming and there still remains little information around what caused the previous bloom.
Recfishwest will keep you updated on developments and we will continue to ask DBCA questions about the bloom and what is being done to tackle it.
Find out what we had to say about it here.
To see a map of the affected areas, click here
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