Mandurah

Magnificent March in Mandurah

MANDURAH Jesse Choy

March is a great month to get out around Mandurah, as the options are endless and most anglers can find a way to keep themselves entertained. The warmer weather begins to slowly fall away, making days on the water more comfortable and allowing us to stay out there that much longer.

Crabbing is still proving to be productive, with

Black bream are abundant up both of the river systems at this time of the year, sometimes you just need to change lures a few times before you find what they like.

From page 118 Land/beach caught dhufish has to be at the top of the list of many shore-based anglers

scoopers and drop netters finding some success throughout much of the estuary. Although results can vary, reports also indicate that there are quite a few blue swimmers up the rivers and you can always have a bit of a fish whilst waiting for your pots to soak. Much like the earlier part of the season, those targeting blue swimmers have been finding that there are still quite a few smaller specimens around and that you need to work at times to reach those bigger models.

Yellowfin are still very much around, with plenty of anglers still targeting fish on top water and sub surface presentations. If you are thinking about anchoring around the flats on your boat, a lightly weighted presentation with a small chunk of bloodworm will do wonders. If chasing whiting in the estuary, finding some nice sandy ground surrounded with weed patches is ideal, and be sure to also try targeting areas with drop-offs or channels running through them, as they will produce quite well.

If you are seeking a spot of relaxing yet productive fishing, it is well worth heading up the rivers and seeing if you can put yourself onto some fun. If chasing

bream on lures, natural coloured soft plastics with a grub or paddle-tail will produce well. When fishing hardbodies, shallow running options are always favourable, though some of your deep diving options like spikes or dunks will produce well when fished in a deepwater application. Black bream are well spread throughout our systems, with mid-stream being a great starting point and a likely producer. Be sure to move around if you are struggling to find fish, try to focus fishing first thing in the morning prior to mid day, or the few hours before sun down as fish can be shut down during the days and reject even the most well presented bait or lure.

At this time of the year, beach fishing is still a great option for those looking to wet a line. There is still good numbers of tailor around, although compared to previous months you will find that it can be a bit harder to find numbers of quality fish and doing so may require a bit more work. With that being said, plenty of herring or sand whiting are still around and willing to go for simply presented baits like prawn or squid.

With the warmer weather tapering off, our fishing targeting options shift further away from warm water species and more towards species that prefer cooler, more turbulent waters. For those setting out larger baits, local fishers report that there is still some good sized mulloway being casted up, also some big pink snapper and the odd dhufish being droned up off the local beaches.

If you are going to head offshore the 20-60m mark is ideal and will produce a great variety of fish provided you are on the right ground or one that the species prefers. Anglers are reporting that there is plenty of dhufish, breaksea, pink snapper, bald-chin and a few good kingfish getting around.

Plastics, metal jigs and the old trusty paternoster are doing a lot of damage for those catching great fish, though it seems equally as important to put yourself onto the fish with your electronics. If fishing a bit deeper, anglers are using more durable baits like octopus or fresh squid which can deal with the pickers for longer durations and allow the bigger fish to get a look in at the bait before its completely stripped. In shallower waters, drifting lightly weighted baits like scalies or mullet fillets in 5-20m will yield good results.

It’s a nice little bonus to a day’s demersal fishing.

Dhufish are another popular demersal species at this time of the year. Some BIG specimens have been caught and this should continue. The northern side of Rottnest is always a good place to start you quest for this species.

By far the most reported fishing on our offshore grounds has been the fishing around the FADs. They can be very popular places for local anglers to concentrate their efforts. Dolphinfish (mahimahi), wahoo and Spanish mackerel tend to be the main species associated with the FADs. Live baits are the most popular option to target them, however cast stickbaits or even trolling can be effective at times.

Deep dropping continues to go from strength to strength. Weather permitting, dropping a line in 200-500m of water can produce fish like greyband cod, hapuka, blue-eye trevalla and more. All are fabulous table fish.

There you have it – another month with plenty of fishing options for you. Everywhere seems to be firing, so why not get out there and give it a try? Catch you next month. Sometimes you cannot help but be plagued by flathead when heading offshore, with them often smashing lures almost their own size.

Plenty of great fish are getting around, with decent pink snapper like this one available to both land and boat based anglers.