With the 'white run' for crayfish well under way and the Demersal season set to open, fishers in WA are enjoying the most wonderful time of the year before Christmas.
To help with the hunt, WA's peak angling body Recfishwest has put together a weekly report on what's biting and where in the waters off Perth.
Boats
Spanish mackerel continue to be sighted by divers searching for crays near Parker Point and along the back of Three Mile Reef.
A customer of Anglers Fishing World had his squid jig snatched and line frayed by what he believed to be a mackerel while chasing cephalopods off South Beach on Monday.
Schools of tuna have been found off Trigg Point recently and there are fields of striped and small southern bluefin tuna near the Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) behind Rottnest Island. Squid have been caught in fewer numbers along the seagrass beds off Fremantle, however the ones picked up have been good sizes.
Shore-based
Tailor catches are increasing along the coast with the beaches south of Rockingham, Cables Beach, Grant Street, Swanbourne Drain, Floreat Groyne, Trigg Point and the Mindarie to Yanchep stretch fishing well for fish from 35cm to 55cm early morning and evening.
The northern and southern rock walls have herring. Mulloway are worth trying behind the E-Shed as well as within Mosman Bay and Freshwater Bay. Chopper tailor are right through the lower and middle reaches of the Swan and Canning rivers. Flathead are responding to soft plastic and shallow-diving hard-bodied lures along the sand flats.
Tip of the Week: Opening of Demersal season!
December 16 is the opening of the Demersal season which means it's time to go out and try get a nice Dhui or Snapper for Christmas.
If you are looking for Dhuis around some of the inshore metro reefs look for high relief reefs and caves. On your sounder caves will read quite distinctly from other bottom, so once you work out how to find these you are well on your way to finding Dhuis.
If you are fishing in deeper offshore reefs then you don't need to look for as much structure and Dhuis can be caught from patches of reef that many fishers will ignore.
Snapper will turn up on the same ground as Dhuis but move around much more and where you find them and what you catch them on depends largely on the time of day and prevailing weather conditions. Remember Cockburn and Warnbro Sounds are still closed to Snapper fishing to protect spawning Snapper.
If you're looking for a rewarding challenge definitely give Jigging a go. The best tips for Jigging for demersal from some of WA's best fishers can be found at http://ilovefishing.com.au/2016/12/16/demersal-jigging-beginners/
Remember to stay safe on the water and Fish and Survive this summer visit www.fishandsurvive.com.au
