Lots to do for land-based anglers

The south coast has been enjoying a mild autumn, with plenty of calm days and opportunities to go fishing.

There have been good numbers of salmon along the coast, with sizes up to around 7kg. Smaller schools have been spotted at local beaches like Salmon Beach and Fourth Beach.

The salmon are also being caught by anglers fishing 11 Mile off the reef and, further out of town, Roses and Munglinup to the west. To the east, there are plenty of fish at Alexander Bay and Thomas River. The salmon will continue to school as we head into winter and the water temperatures change. The best rig is still a standard paternoster with a pilchard on a gang, and a 3/0 circle hook below with a bit of squid on it. This lets you cover all your bases so you can still catch those fussy eaters.

If bait fishing isn’t for you, any shiny lure will work such as a Halco Twisty. Weights range from 30-70g depending on the rod you’re using.

There are good numbers of skippy being caught, with samples around that 4kg mark showing up. The best beaches have been Thomas River, Stockyards and 14 Mile. We are also seeing plenty of small bronzies being caught, with Roses and Munglinup beaches producing plenty of bronzies. Out to the east, Thomas River, Poison Creek and Israelite Bay have also been yielding bronzies.

There are still plenty of herring around, with local jetties yielding good numbers. Squid are starting to come back in as well, and there are plenty of garfish at night.

Bandy Creek Boat Harbour is still producing plenty of small King George whiting, smaller herring, flathead and the occasional bream and flounder.

The local lakes are still producing numerous bream up to 40cm. Rainfall events have increased the water levels, which has helped to improve the fishing.

When it comes to lure choice for the bream, soft plastics are still a standout. We like the Daiwa Bait Junkie 2.5” Minnow in any of the natural colours, rigged on a no 2 hook with a 1/16-1/12oz jighead. A lot of guys are using 4-6lb braid and 4lb leader, but you can still get them on 20lb if you’re rather fish heavier. It’s a trade-off; when you go really light you will lose the bigger fish, but you’ll catch more fish overall. Good leader choices include Black Magic Fluorocarbon and Daiwa J-Thread FC 4-10lb.

Moving on to fishing in the bay from a boat, you can get good catches of squid, plenty of sand whiting, and there are also snook and bluefin tuna coming through. Additionally, we are seeing the occasional in-close pink snapper, plenty of queen snapper, sweep and even