Mandurah

MANDURAH Jesse Choy

In October there is a lot to do in terms of fishing locally, and fine weather and beautiful temperatures tuna are definitely around, and there is a chance of a few stray Spaniards showing up too. When chasing pelagic fish locally, a shallow diving lure or a small skirt will interest fish, even when they are fussy and not as willing and meeting the size profile of the baitfish will dramatically enhance your odds if there is some hungry fish in the area.

Estuary fishing action is starting to pick up, with plenty of herring, salmon trout and yellowfin whiting starting

Black bream are a lot of fun, especially when you are in a boat and able to access a range of different areas. Often once you find these smaller ‘soapies’, you will find the larger model mulloway nearby, so it pays to keep on plugging!

Chunky pink snapper can be found in quite shallow water, so don’t discount unweighted baits drifted back slowly!

definitely aid in motivating many to set out on a mission.

With less rain posing an obstacle to our favourite outdoor activity, boating, beach and inshore fishing are all a viable option for anglers around Mandurah.

Boat anglers will be keen to make the most of the first section of the month, with the demersal ban taking place from 15 October. That being noted, dhufish are worth targeting out to 60m and pink snapper are prolific in waters from 5-40m. If chasing demersal finfish on baits, well presented squid or octopus will not go astray, though fish baits can and will produce well too.

Be sure to keep an eye out for surfacing bait balls when heading out to your bottom fishing spots, as schooling to take offerings. Though you can run bigger presentations to target these fish, a lot of these pelagics are typically chasing quite small baitfish to get around. If fishing for variety, lures are a great option and will allow you to cover ground to find fish that are willing to feed.

Yellowfin whiting fishing will only improve as the warmer temperatures become more prevalent, though it is worthwhile targeting these fish from now until the warmer weather subsides in a few months.

Fishing up both rivers will yield results, with mid-stream being a good general starting option to begin your hunt. If fishing mid-stream is producing no results, covering ground in a different direction will be the key and will tell you if you are heading towards or away from the numbers of fish. Though moving can be difficult when fishing landbased, one move can often be the difference between catching fish or not.

Prospecting the inland bodies of water is a great option if you are looking for some serenity and a good chance at catching some freshwater fish. The dams are a good pick, as the trout are beginning to show themselves on the surface, which can make targeting them a lot easier.

Redfin are proving prolific. As usual, the presentations for freshwater fishing are not complicated and a brightly-coloured spinner or diving minnow will turn up plenty of fish.

Expect the local beaches to have residual patches of seaweed washing around with the tides, though the water will have some good quality fish if you are able to get past or around it. Though scarce in numbers, there is some good size mulloway and pink snapper lurking around, but they may take some convincing.

If you are after a bit of fun on one of the local beaches, there is also good numbers of herring, sand whiting and tarwhine getting around. For these smaller fish, small cubes of prawn or squid will work well when paired with lightly-weighted sinkers and smaller hooks.

If you are looking to chase some bigger specimens, set baiting with a whole fish like herring, mullet or whiting will work well and can always be turned into a fillet or butterfly bait if you need to mix things up.