WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING AT POPULAR FISHING LOCATIONS.

If you are going to fish in open ocean waters or from the rocks, please - wear a life jacket.

MANDURAH:

Reports from anglers fishing the Dawesville Cut indicate that there have been some big tailor taken from either end of The Cut during the last week. There has also been herring and some very big garfish taken here. Whiting and skippy have also been caught over the last couple of weeks. There are some good tailor and mulloway still coming in from the beaches north of the town. Locations such as San Remo, Singleton and Madora are producing herring, skippy, garfish and whiting early to mid-morning and late afternoon. It is a similar story from anglers fishing the southern beaches. They are producing herring and whiting during the day with tailor early morning and evening. Larger tailor are being caught around dusk and after dark. Tim’s Thicket and White Hills are the areas that have been producing some excellent catches. Small sharks are also a regular catch, particularly after dark. In the estuary, anglers have been catching some good tailor around 45 - 50 cm. There are plenty of crabs being taken by drop netters working in deeper waters. Further upstream there are some good black bream being taken by anglers using both fresh baits and a variety of lures. Several years ago most anglers would not have considered using lures to target bream, but nowadays it seems that if you want to catch a reasonable bream you use a soft plastic or hard bodied lure.

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

Rumours of big tailor being taken from a few locations abound, and anglers are being very tight lipped over specific locations. Small mulloway are also being taken on a regular basis and there are reports of several larger fish to 12 kg being taken from the beaches in this area. Beaches around Port Kennedy and Secret Harbour are still producing tailor, skippy and tarwhine. Anglers ballooning from the beaches in Warnbro have taken a few spanish mackerel in the last couple of weeks. It requires a little effort and some good easterly winds to get the balloons moving but once out a couple of hundred metres, it could be anything that takes the bait. Anglers working over the weed banks have found some good squid, not big numbers but a good size.

COCKBURN SOUND:

King George whiting are featuring amongst bags of fish being taken from dinghies in the upper parts of the Sound and also out on the broken ground behind the Five Fathom Bank. In the Sound itself there are reports of some good snapper being taken by small boat anglers and spots to look at are on the various gravel patches adjacent to reef and weed banks out from Kwinana and down towards the Causeway. When fishing for these bottom dwellers, keep a squid jig handy and work it over the weed banks as there are still some very good squid being taken. There have been several spanish mackerel and tuna taken in the upper sections of the Sound.
KWINANA / NAVAL BASE / WOODMAN POINT / COOGEE:
Herring, pike and large garfish and scaly mackerel are making up the bulk of anglers’ catches at the Ammunition Jetty. There are also a few reasonable tailor being taken after dark. The various rock groynes have been providing some tailor action with mainly choppers being caught. Occasionally there are larger tailor being taken to make the outing a little more interesting.

FREMANTLE / INNER HARBOUR / LOWER REACHES OF SWAN RIVER

At Fremantle, anglers fishing the North Mole are catching a few herring during early morning and late afternoon, along with a few blue mackerel which have been taken from inside the Harbour. The tailor are more consistent at night along both Moles and there are still a few reports of mulloway and small sharks. Bonito have also been taken during the early morning. 
The South Mole is providing anglers with good fishing for herring and large garfish and a few skippy and tarwhine. Large whiting are also being taken just on dusk close to shore in the shallow water. South Beach has been producing some excellent sand whiting and a few herring and garfish. In the Inner Harbour anglers fishing from the E Shed wharf have landed a variety of fish including yellowtail scad, herring, skippy and mulloway. Up at the traffic bridge there are tarwhine and skippy being caught regularly.
PORT BEACH / LEIGHTON / COTTESLOE / SWANBOURNE:
With the “Sculptures By The Sea” exhibition on, access to the groyne is somewhat restricted for anglers however there are still anglers catching fish. A lot of smaller tailor have been taken from around the groyne at Cottesloe There have been a few big tailor caught, but only for those in the know as to where to find them. It pays to work the white water near the reefs and bait cast unweighted baits. Consider alternative baits such as sardines, small scalies or white bait in lieu of mulies. Along the Cottesloe to Swanbourne section of beach, anglers have found some good yellow finned whiting and tarwhine in the early morning. Evenings have also been productive, with tailor and small sharks being taken regularly. If you are prepared to walk into locations at South City Beach and Swanbourne Drain you will find some good fishing for a few herring, flathead, tarwhine, skippy and some very large sand whiting with fish of around 22 - 25 cm being caught regularly.
CITY BEACH / FLOREAT / SCARBOROUGH / TRIGG ISLAND
The beaches along this section of the metropolitan coastline have been producing some good fishing for the bread and butter species. Of an evening anglers can generally find a few tailor and an occasional mulloway. The beaches are still being formed and shaped by larger than normal swells and this is causing holes and gutters to form and then disappear just as quickly. When there are good gutters formed up just offshore they become hiding spots for mulloway and tailor. The smaller species also seek refuge from predators at low water. 
Don’t cast too far as the fish are often just at your feet. Read the beach and note where the wave breaks are and where the holes and gutters have formed. Being able to read the beach like an open book will definitely improve your catch rate.

NORTH BEACH JETTY / HILLARYS / OCEAN REEF / MINDARIE:

The three marinas have been fishing well, particularly during the afternoons. During the day there are herring, whiting, garfish and skippy on the bite in most spots. Tailor action is best during the late afternoon particularly when there is a bit of a sea breeze from the south west. Pinnaroo Point has been producing some excellent sand whiting and herring fishing along with an occasional sand flathead.

QUINNS ROCKS /YANCHEP / TWO ROCKS / MOORE RIVER

Anglers fishing the beaches to the north of Mindarie right through to Moore River have reported taking tailor to 70 cm. Although the exception rather than the norm, they are not as uncommon as people believe. Don’t forget that there is a restriction of two tailor per angler over 50 cm with a bag limit of 8. The prevailing easterlies have allowed anglers to bait cast unweighted or lightly weighted mulies, and this helps present the baits more naturally. It is a method that seems to take a lot of fish around this time of year. Anglers fishing further north up around Seabird have found a lot of weed marring their fishing.

SWAN AND CANNING RIVERS:

In the lower reaches of the Swan River there are still a few flathead and flounder being taken but they seem to be moving up further into the middle reaches of the river. There are still reports of a few mulloway being taken from the deeper holes in Mosman’s Bay. A couple of spots that have fished well for this species include a deep hole in front of the Bamboos in Freshwater Bay and the other, inside of the marker post at the end of the Point Walter spit. Several good fish have been taken from these spots over the last few weeks. Most of the bream being taken at the moment are coming from areas upstream of East Perth with lots of smaller fish becoming somewhat of a nuisance. In the Canning, anglers have been catching a lot of 30+ cm bream around Canning Bridge and up into Bull Creek. Other anglers fishing around the Casino have also taken some good fish. After dragging a prawn net during the week with my family as an escape from the heat and spending time with the grandchildren, it was interesting to only find three prawns for our efforts. There was a lot of detritus in the form of leaves and weed in the net and it was also interesting to note the number of juvenile black bream in the net. These were all kept in water and released as soon as possible. The future of bream in the river looks positive if this sample is anything to go by.

BOAT FISHING:

There are heaps of sand whiting close to shore for small boats. Numbers of large King George whiting are also biting well in depths around 30 metres. Big skippy and herring are also being taken in numbers by anglers with judicious use of an oil slick and berley. Small boat anglers fishing areas adjacent to the Three Mile Reef are also taking some good tailor by casting lures into the white water near the reefs. This activity requires skill and also requires that anglers maintain a careful watch on the sea swells as it can become quite hairy very quickly when a larger swell than normal bobs up while you are concentrating on a good fish. 
Still there are reports of a few good sized King George Whiting being taken from the lower end of Cockburn Sound and out on the broken ground around Rottnest. My tip is to try the region along the North West corner. Fairway Buoy is also worth a drift for whiting. Not only are there some good King George whiting here but also yellow tailed kings and their cousins, the samsonfish. You could also pick up a Westralian jewfish, pink snapper, and baldchin groper.
There have been some good snapper and Westralian jewfish caught in water depths of 28 – 32 metres about 5 Km out on the broken ground west of the Hillarys and Ocean Reef marinas. Bottom fishing has been relatively quiet but bigger boats venturing to the Bank and beyond are finding a few quality jewfish. More jewfish have responded to anchoring and berleying techniques north of Ocean Reef. Anglers fishing the back of the Three Mile have caught several mackerel and small tuna. Most of the pelagic action is coming from areas to the north west of Rottnest Island. 
Southern bluefin tuna, shark mackerel, yellowtail kingfish and spanish mackerel are all hitting baits and lures at times. Several anglers have reported catching small yellowtail kingfish while watching heaps of shark mackerel jump nearby. They have also hooked and lost some larger tuna. There are a lot of baitfish schooling out there at the moment and this is an encouragement to other species to get in on a good thing. There has also been a lot of good bottom fishing action reported from this region with Westralian jewfish, snapper, King George whiting and some very large breaksea cod being caught. Areas to fish seem to be over broken ground in depths of 28 to 45 metres.