With the arrival of summer comes an increase in both the heat and fishing opportunities for West Aussies – and Recfishwest wants you to have the best chance to catch many great species on offer.
Whether its catching dolphinfish at the FADs, dropping pots for crays, casting for tailor and herring off the beaches, snaring a feed of marron, targeting squid and KG’s inshore, or trolling for Spanish mackerel and other powerful pelagics – we are very lucky to have so many options available to us.
Below are some great tips for helping you catch a wide variety of species over summer.
How to dance with dolphinfish at the FADs
With the southern half of WA’s FADs now deployed from Geraldton down to Albany, many fishers in medium to large-sized boats are gearing up for a great summer of pelagic fishing.
Dolphinfish are the most common species caught at the FADs, and the video below from Kurt Wilson contains some great tips on how to wrangle them in.
For more information on how to fish the FADs along with their coordinates, check out our dedicated FADs webpage here.
Dropping pots for Christmas crays
Not many things excite fishers like the annual rock lobster ‘whites run’ and pulling in a heavy pot loaded with a feed of crays is the ultimate goal for many cray fishers.
Around 80 per cent of all recreational crays are caught using pots, so we’ve compiled some of the best tips on how to catch more crays in your pot leading up to Christmas.
Included in our article below is tips on the whites run direction, where to drop pots, what makes some pots more successful, what baits to use, information on crayfish habits and much more.
Click here to read our tips for dropping pots for crays
Peter Fullarton’s tips for land-based tailor
Lancelin-based angler Peter Fullarton is a master at catching big tailor, pink snapper, mulloway, herring, whiting and sharks off the beach and his YouTube channel contains dozens of videos aimed at helping other fishers experience the thrills of catching these species.
Not only does Peter help fishers recognise grounds they should be fishing, but he also details the best lures, baits, tides, gutters and conditions to fish for particular species.
Click on the video below to see how he enjoyed a great tailor session recently off the beach in Lancelin and if you want to increase your land-based fishing skills, hit Peter up to join him on one of his Tailored Treks tours off the beach by clicking here.
Trolling for Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel are commonly caught around Perth during summer as they follow the warmer currents down the coast, but due to a strong marine heatwave last summer, the Spanish mackerel catches were outstanding.
Not only were 20kg+ Spaniards smashing trolled lures and baits throughout the West Coast, fishers were also catching solid wahoo and tuna using the same tactics.
For the best advice on gear, layout, trolling tactics, baits and where to target these powerful pelagics around Perth and Rottnest, check out Nick Cannon’s great video below.
Watch Nick’s tips for Spanish mackerel here.
Taking home a feed of KG’s and squid rings
You don’t need to duck out far from shore to be in prime territory for both squid and King George whiting – two species that West Aussies will fight over to taste on the table.
The best part? Once you’ve landed some squid over the weed patches, small strips of their tentacles work brilliantly as bait for landing KG’s across the same ground.
The video below from TackleWest’s Luke Ryan and avid fisher P Willy contains many great tips for how to come home with both species for a delicious feed.
Check out the tips for catching King George whiting and squid here.
Making the most of marron mania
WA’s much-loved marron season is fast approaching, running from 12 noon, 8 January to 12 noon, 5 February.
With more than 11,000 licensed fishers ready to drop nets and dangle snares, this iconic West Aussie family tradition injects millions of dollars into South-West regional tourism and marron are quite an easy species to catch if you know how to.
Click on the article link below for the best tips on how to catch a marron once the season opens and you can purchase a marron licence here.
