Tag: dolphinfish

World-record breaking cobia and a magic marlin run – marine heatwave powers up Perth pelagics

WA is riding a marine heatwave with ocean temperatures 2–3°C above average, sparking both challenges and incredible fishing opportunities.  

Experts warn of risks like fish kills and coral bleaching and Recfishwest is calling for more focus and investment on resilience-building measures to offset some of the impacts and protect our marine ecosystems. Investments into measures such as artificial reefs, seagrass re-seeding, and other habitat enhancement will build resilience against future heatwave events – read more here. 

The good news is the warmer waters have are also delivering a pelagic fishing bonanza, especially in the metro region.

Cobia cracker

Perhaps one of the most eye-catching examples of this hot pelagic metro action that recently sent social media into overdrive is the record-breaking 79.6kg cobia caught south of Rottnest aboard Jazz Charters, shattering the previous world record by nearly 20kg.  

This 79.6kg All-Time World Record cobia landed off Rottnest aboard Jazz Charters will be very hard to beat!

While cobia do show up in the metro from time to time, to have a record-breaking fish caught on the doorstep of WA’s capital city will go down in history, and this impressive capture will take a lot to be beaten – even from further north where they are more prevalent.  

There’s been a range of unexpected sightings and encounters on the back of the heatwave – manta rays have been spotted cruising through Cockburn Sound, a whale shark encountered off Two Rocks, a pod of sailfish was seen off Fremantle, and a dolphinfish was seen beaching itself in Esperance.  

The warm waters, pushed south by a strengthening Leeuwin Current, have delivered a pelagic season reminiscent of the incredible fishing seen during the 2011 heatwave and the chance to have a crack at these fast growing and sustainable targets has never been better. 

Reports of mackerel patrolling the inshore reefs, bonito showing up at the groynes and jetties, and marlin, wahoo and yellowfin tuna wide of Rottnest, highlight just how special this season is for Perth anglers. 

The Rottnest Trench has been firing, with blue, black, and striped marlin appearing in numbers rarely seen in local waters, with 66 marlin seen over two days of fishing during the Perth Game Fishing Marlin Cup on February 15-16. Even more astonishing has been the arrival of black marlin in the shallows, with one being seen in just seven metres of water behind Garden Island and another caught by Gametime Charters while tuna fishing on the 30m contour near Rottnest. 

Stacks of macks  

Mackerel action has been heating up with Spanish, school, and shark mackerel being caught on the inshore reefs and near the islands. There has even been reports of mackerel as far south as Albany!  

The @sendnbend_sportfishing crew enjoyed “one of our best ever metro pelagic sessions” earlier this week, landing two solid Spanish mackerel, along with a a cracker of a yellowtail kingfish and longtail tuna in a day’s work!

Bonito have made a long-awaited return to the Perth jetties and rock walls after several sparse years, providing land-based fishers with an exciting light-tackle pelagic fix. Their arrival has been a welcome surprise for the die-hard land-based guys, offering great sport for those willing to put the time in casting lures from shore. 

To add to the impressive captures over the last few weeks, Gametime Charters caught a hefty 39.5kg yellowfin tuna west of Rottnest, reinforcing just how exceptional the fishing has been this season. 

As the Leeuwin Current continues to strengthen into March, the exceptional fishing opportunities are only set to improve in the southern half of state. Pelagic species will likely remain active along the metro coastline, with mackerel, tuna, and billfish to continue thrilling anglers for months to come. If water temperatures remain above 22°C, anglers will have a great chance at encountering these prized species right up until the first winter cold fronts cool things down. 

And let’s all play our part tracking the impacts of the marine heatwave by reporting any unsual captures to Red Map. Download the app on Google Play or the App store.

Get on a troll for pelagics 

That means if you’ve never had a crack at trolling or casting lures for pelagics – now’s the perfect time to give it a crack.  

Not only is it great fun and a relatively easy way to fish once you’ve mastered the basics – come the demersal season reopening in autumn, it’s a great way to mix up your catch targeting fast growing pelagics and potentially taking a bit of pressure off slow-growing demersals like dhufish and pink snapper.  

Click here to see Chris Tanti’s top trolling for tuna tips.  

New FADs season launched: 30 devices with some cutting-edge tech

Recfishwest is excited to announce the launch of this summer’s new Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) season, with 30 devices being deployed across the southern half of WA in the coming weeks.  

This year’s rollout also includes innovative fish-monitoring technology that will be trialled for the first time in Australia. Check it out in the video below! 

Ten FADs are already in position off the north metro coast, behind Rottnest, and off Rockingham and Mandurah, ready for action.

An additional 20 FADs, stretching from Steep Point to Albany, will be deployed by the end of November, setting the stage for another fantastic summer of pelagic fishing for dolphinfish, tuna, billfish and the like.  

CHECK OUT OUR FADS WEBSITE PAGE FOR THE FADS’ CURRENT STATUS AND COORDINATES  

Sounding out an even better future for FADs

At the season launch at Hillarys, Minister for Fisheries Don Punch joined Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland to unveil the sonar technology that will be trialled on FADs this summer. 

These buoys will provide 24/7 live data on the number and size of fish gathering around the devices, offering valuable insights into the behavior of pelagic species and supporting the continuous improvement of sportfishing opportunities on the FADs. 

The new Satlink SLX+ sounders being trialled will deploy a 35-degree beam and provide 24/7 information on the biomass of fish aggregating within 10 depth intervals (down to 115m depth).  

To save bandwidth, data from the sounder will be streamed hourly, with five-minute intervals captured from an hour before to an hour after sunrise, a key period for pelagic fishing.  

This will help DPIRD assess fish abundance under the FADs and correlate it with factors like temperature and depth.  

The data will potentially help refine future FAD placements and deployment timing.

Ongoing evolution

CEO Dr Andrew Rowland said, “It’s great to see the Government backing in this program, which began almost 30 years ago with the Perth Game Fishing Club and has since evolved through Recfishwest’s successful Statewide FADs trial.  

“We welcome DPIRD trialling these sonar buoys on six of the locations from the Abrolhos through to Albany to help better understand what fish are turning up and at what time of year.” 

“We look forward to more innovation of this kind supporting better recfishing. 

On behalf of the cast of thousands, Recfishwest will continue to keep all fishers up to date with all FADs developments.  

The FADs have produced some beautiful captures over the years for both both fishers and spearfishers, with dolphinfish a commonly encountered species at the devices. Images: Beau Suladra and Spearwest.

Enhanced sport fishing opportunities for Dampier and Point Samson with four FADs deployed for the first time!

Pilbara boat fishers off Dampier and Point Samson now have enhanced sportfishing options available to them, with four Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) deployed off the Pilbara towns for the first time in WA’s history.

The latest FADs deployments include one device approximately 40km (22 nautical miles) north, north-west off Point Samson in a depth of 37m, with the other three FADs deployed around 50km (27 nautical miles) north-west of Dampier in depths of 40-46m.

GET THE NEW DAMPIER AND POINT SAMSON FADS COORDINATES HERE! 

The devices have been deployed off Dampier to attract mainly black marlin, sailfish and wahoo, while the Point Samson FAD is expected to attract the same species for sportfishers with dolphinfish also a welcome possibility.

Vince Amico from Adventure Sports in Karratha said the deployment location of the three Dampier FADs – coordinated by Recfishwest and DPIRD – are bang on the money for attracting larger pelagic predators in the coming weeks.

“Given their depths and the water temperatures, I think they will fire up brilliantly for pelagics and both Recfishwest and DPIRD have done a great job on researching where to put them to the greatest benefit of the community,” said Vince.

“These FADs are on the way to most of the trolling or bottom bouncing spots for locals and are relatively close together, so they have the option of fishing all FADs within one session which will help them save on fuel.

“The best tip I can give to anglers heading out there is make sure you are courteous to others and don’t anchor up directly on the FADs. It’s a first in, best dressed scenario, so if you turn up to fish a FAD and it’s already quite busy, there are thankfully other FADs close by.”

For tips on how to fish the FADs and FADS fishing etiquette, click here.

It is another feather in the cap of the State-wide FADs program, which is being run by DPIRD in partnership with Recfishwest.

Marlin, sailfish and wahoo catches could be a common occurrence next to the four FADs recently deployed off Dampier and Point Samson in our State’s Pilbara region, with three devices in the drink off Dampier and one device positioned north of Point Samson. Photo credit: Marco Fraschetti.

“FADs being deployed off this northern stretch of the WA coast for the first time is a big win for the Dampier and Pilbara region fishing community and it’s going to be exciting to see how catches coming off these FADs compare to other parts of the State where the devices have been rolled out,” said Recfishwest Operations Lead Matt Gillett.

With the State Government committed to funding a full-time and State-wide FADs program for at least the next three years, Recfishwest is hoping to develop more new sustainable fishing opportunities like these that can provide great fishing opportunities and better value to the WA fishing community.

Want to know more about FADs and their coordinates? Check out the Recfishwest FADs webpage.

The newly deployed FADs could fire up quickly for attracting larger sportfish, making them a potential hotspot for competitors in King Bay Game Fishing Club’s Dampier Classic between 18-21 August. Right photo credit: Marco Fraschetti.

Jurien Bay FADs fire up, bringing great new fishing options to the Mid-West

The sportfishing action in Jurien Bay has cranked up since the deployment of four FADs off the coastline! 

It is great to see fishers reap the benefits of catches from FADs across WA, with Recfishwest and local fishing community members pushing hard since 2019 to cement a fully established State-wide FADS program.  

Now thanks to all that effort, the State Government has committed to funding and coordinating the program in future from June of this year – a fantastic result for WA boat fishers with another great alternative to purely fishing for demersals, which will also have flow-on sustainability benefits. 

Along with the numbers of catches of sportfish improving – the sizes of some of the fish has been particularly impressive, with a few thumping dolphinfish caught recently on the Jurien FADs. 

One of those brutes, a 19kg dolphinfish landed by Daniel Woodman pictured below, was just one of multiple catches during his recent fishing trip with the Dawesville man making the 300km journey north just to have a crack at the Jurien Bay FADs.  

Daniel Woodman’s bull of a dolphinfish landed from one of the Jurien Bay FADs came in at a whopping 19kg, which is one of the biggest we’ve seen landed in WA and came close to the Australian record of 22kg.

“The day started at 4am when we left the marina and steamed out to FADs number 3 and 4 out from Jurien Bay. It wasn’t long before we were watching the sun rise out from the back of our boat named Goodtimes and the FAD came into view,” said Daniel. 

“We fished a mixture of gear and had a Nomad deep diver in close with a couple of large Pakula skirts trolled out the back.  

“In all, it was an amazing time catching dollies, tuna and wahoo next to the FADs. Living in Dawesville, I’m looking forward to getting out to the recently deployed FADs off Mandurah to see what we can catch on ‘home turf’!”  

Daniel had a few good tips to help other fishers increase their hook-ups out on the FADs .  

“As for the gear used in trolling and flicking lures around, any simple mid to heavy rod and reel that can handle bottom bouncing is more than sufficient. We were also using a homemade teaser setup with a mixture of pushers and birds on a daisy chain.” added Daniel.  

Some of the kind of gear that works well out on the FADs include skirts and stickbaits like the ones above produced by FADs photo comp supporter Richter Lures.

More fishers, more catches brings benefits for Jurien

Not only have the FADs attracted more fish, they’ve also attracted more fishers to Jurien Bay, all of whom spend money in the coastal town.  

Owner of Jurien Bay Seasports and Tackle, Shane Younger, said it has led to more boat fishers venturing into his store intent on spending their bucks on lures to fish the FADs. 

“After all the hard work it’s great to have got the FADs in for fishing in Jurien and we’re looking forward to seeing them go in earlier next year so we can reap the full benefits,” said Shane. “It’s certainly helped bring in more visitors to the shop and to town – and it all helps for a community like ours.”  

The Perth Game Fishing Club also held its recent fishing classic competition in Jurien Bay, with a huge majority of the contestants making their way out to the FADs to battle it out with some solid specimens landed.  

Talented Salty Bones artist Adam Ashdown’s visit out to the Jurien Bay FADs during the recent Perth Game Fishing Classic competition paid dividends, with this nice yellowfin tuna engulfing his lure.

Recfishwest is proud that the FADs we have deployed over the last four years have provided such exciting and memorable fishing experiences for so many, with the deployments and catches set to only increase in the future. 

“It has been a journey to get to this stage but all of the hard work and support we have had from so many in the fishing community and fishing clubs like Perth Game Fishing Club has paid off now that we have a fully established FADs program backed by the State Government moving forward,” said Recfishwest Operations Lead Matt Gillett.  

“We’re looking forward to seeing how DPIRD will continue to develop and coordinate the FADs program in the northern parts of the State during the winter months.”  

Want to have a crack at fishing any of the FADs currently deployed across WA? Find all of WA’s FADs coordinates here!  

Want to see the ten winners of our recent two-month long State-wide FADs photo competition? Check out the awesome FADs snaps on the Recfishwest Instagram page!

Metro FADs in position and ready for great sportfishing action this summer and autumn!

Recfishwest is pleased to announce all of the metro Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) have now been deployed and are in position ready to fish providing great pelagic sportfishing options for this summer and autumn.   

This means there are now eight more FADs deployed in the metro region in addition to the six existing Perth Game Fishing Club (PGFC) devices west of Rottnest.  

With 14 metro-based FADs now deployed in Perth waters, expect to see a lot more sportfishing action with great species such as dolphinfish bending your rods! Photo credit: Marco Fraschetti.

CHECK OUT ALL THE METRO FADS LOCATIONS HERE  

The latest deployment includes six devices approximately 30 nautical miles off the metro coast from between Rottnest and Two Rocks in water depths of between 130-350m.   

In addition, the Mangles Bay Fishing Club FAD and Compleat Angler Rockingham FAD are now in position and ready for action. 

As we recently reported following the Cape Naturaliste FADs deployment in January, we’ve been working hard since late December to get the metro devices out ever since the State Government finally committed to fund a fully established State-wide FADs program going forward.  

Read Fisheries Minister Don Punch’s FADs program launch media release here 

Of course, we would have liked to have been in a position to deploy the metro FADs sooner, but from all reports from keen FADs anglers like Tackle West’s Luke Ryan, action on the PGFC FADs has just started to heat up – check out his recent video of an epic dolphin fishing session on the YouTube link below!      

Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland said, “We’re really pleased we’ve been able to deploy FADs in the metro in time for late summer and autumn – we know from the wealth of positive feedback we received from the three-year pilot program we ran how popular these devices are with metro-based fishers.  

“The metro devices are a key component for State-wide FADs program which we now have an ongoing funding commitment from the State Government to support, which is a first for WA. 

“The FADs provide a great sport-fishing option for fast-growing abundant pelagic fish and we want to work with the Government to develop more new sustainable fishing opportunities like these that can spread fishing effort and provide real value to the WA fishing community.”  

FADs are still planned for Albany and Geraldton and for the first time off Mandurah and Jurien Bay.    

Recfishwest is also in talks with the Government over the FAD program rollout for the northern parts of the State.   

We will continue to work hard to get the remaining FADs in the water at all locations – stay tuned to all our channels for updates.   

FANCY GIVING THE FADS A GO? Check out our How to fish the FADs guide here  

Hard-fighting sportfish such as dolphinfish and various tuna species love to congregate around the FADs, make sure you send us your snaps of your catches if you pay the metro FADs a visit!

Expect Exmouth FADs to fire fast!

Some positive news for fishers in or heading to Exmouth – we were delighted to deploy three new FADs off Exmouth as part of our ongoing three-year trial Statewide FADs program launched in November.

Despite all the challenges of the current time, we continue on our mission of making the fishing experience even better in WA and were able to deploy the devices in time for the start of the Gamex tournament last week.

Nat Hutley with one of the first dolphinfish caught of the Exmouth FADs!

Three FADs went in west and north-west of Tantabiddi on Saturday and given how highly productive these tropical waters are, we have not been surprised to already hear of dolphinfish and tuna to be turning up on them within days of deployment.

CLICK HERE FOR THE EXMOUTH FADS COORDINATES

Exmouth FAD deployment underway

Consulting with the community

As with all the FADs in the statewide program, the locations of the Exmouth FADs was determined in close consultation with local community fishing experts and we hope they create some great new fishing opportunities for local and visiting fishers soon.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE FADS TRIAL HERE

The FADs trial is getting really exciting now as we begin to move into relatively unchartered waters in the FADs space, if you’ll forgive the pun.

This is what makes the three-year trial such a compelling program – with dolphinfish and tuna already being found on the Exmouth FADs, potentially you can find yourself out there hooking up to a plethora of awesome sportfish such as wahoo, as well as billfish of all kinds.

On the other hand, it maybe that some of the FADs we are deploying around the State might not fire up as we’d anticipated – this is the nature of the trial.

Trials and tribulations of running the FADs program

Clay Lewis with a beautiful dolphinfish caught on the metro FADs

We’ve already had a couple of FADs in Albany and the metro get battered off their moorings by high swell conditions and we’ve replaced one and looking at replacing the others as soon as possible.

We’re also looking at ways we can strengthen the FADs moorings for future deployments.

It’s all part of the trial which has pre-determined objectives against which we are monitoring the trial’s success.

It’s a responsibility we take very seriously as part of our mission to create great fishing experiences for the WA community and to ensure that your licence fees are effectively reinvested to make fishing better.

With Broome and Geraldton FADs to come, we are confident that the trial is going to provide even more exciting fishing opportunities – as well as provide an opportunity for us to learn how to best establish a permanent statewide FADs program into the future.

You can help us throughout this trial over the next couple of years by telling us about your experiences of fishing the FADs and sending us your FADs fishing pics. So, drop us a line and enter our FADs fishing photo comp for the chance to win a Shimano Stella SW500XG – click here for more details.