Mandurah

Good snapper in close

MANDURAH Jesse Choy

It’s not quite tailor time yet, but you can still enjoy good fishing for breadand-butter species down at Dawesville Cut, and other locations around town. At this time of year, it’s a bit easier to get out and target those fish, given that there’ll be a lot of seaweed around in other locations, especially if you’re fishing off the beach.

It’s also a good time to target pink snapper from the rocks, especially after stormy conditions. The swell dislodges crabs and other morsels, attracting predators in search of an easy feed. OFFSHORE

If you want to target pink snapper this month you shouldn’t need to go as far as you usually would. These fish can be encountered anywhere from the 3m mark all the way out to 60m+. If your target is dhufish, you’ll need to go a bit deeper, around the 20-60m mark.

Both species can be caught on a standard

Rods bent over all night, drones flying, tunes playing and great company.

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an open mind and keep moving around until you find a patch of them.

A feed of sand whiting is always an option at this time of the year. Drifting the shipping channel and Windmills using a feathered bait jig with the hooks baited will a little piece of either squid or prawn is the best way to go.

During and just after rough weather the pink snapper will venture to our shallower reef systems. Anchoring near these and berleying up a storm can produce some amazing fishing, particularly early and late in the day. Garden Island and Straggler reefs will be good starting points for those looking to get their snapper fix. OFFSHORE

AND BEYOND

The offshore fishing at this point of time is quite hard to predict. Poor weather has hindered the ability for anglers to get out and this trend looks like it may continue. Should there be a window of opportunity you can expect dhufish, pink snapper, breaksea cod and samsonfish to be on the menu.

Deep drop and pelagic fishing will also be quite limited. On the pelagic scene there have still been striped and blue tuna hanging around the back edge of the 5 Fathom Bank and Rottnest Island. Keep an eye for birds working if you are in this area, as more than likely you have stumbled upon some tuna in the area.

As far as deep dropping goes, try for eight bar cod in 150-300m or had deeper into the Rottnest Trench (300500m) and try for harpuka or blue eye trevalla.

Fishing always offers some opportunities, we just need to grab them and run with them. Enjoy your fishing in August and I will catch you next month. Rocks and weed beds are your nemesis when you drop out a long way. It can all go wrong quickly, but sometimes it can work in your favour. This fish bricked the author and ran him through the weed beds, providing a harsh, memorable fight all the way to the shore.

paternoster rig baited with some squid or octopus. You can also catch them on 3-5” plastics in white or nuclear chicken colours. If you are going deeper, try a larger 7” profile. Paddle tails work well in most conditions, however if there’s a fast current and you want to get your lure down fast, a shad tail is best because it creates less resistance in the water.

Slow pitch jigs are another option, with varying weights depending on the depth and drift.

When you’re chasing snapper and dhuies, you can also pick up skippy and samsonfish. You may also encounter a few King George whiting, particularly if you’re fishing in weedy areas that have a sand patch nearby and a bit of contour. KGW can be caught in a wide range of depths, from around 5m out to 30m.

Kingfish and samsonfish are another possible bycatch, especially if you’re fishing artificials or live bait. RIVERS

The rivers will be a good option this month, particularly in poor weather, because there’s a bit of protection from the elements. There’s a good mix of species, including black bream and mulloway, in both the Murray and Serpentine rivers. You’re better off focussing your efforts around mid to low stream, and as the weather fines up I recommend going a bit further up. This is because the bream and mulloway will be trying to get away from the competition, so they can have the baitfish schools to themselves.

If you’re using bait, I’d be using mullet cubes or prawns on a simple running sinker rig. If you’re using plastics I’d be rigging to the conditions; anywhere from 1/20oz up to 1/16oz is good. The best plastics are 2.5” grubs and 3” paddle tails that mimic local baitfish. Good colours include bloodworm and baitfish patterns with a bit of flash.

If you want to target mulloway specifically, you can use the same small plastics and hardbodies that you would for bream, you just need to go a bit heavier and deeper. This is because mulloway like to sit in holes in the deeper sections of the river. FRESHWATER

Fishing at the local dams will start to get better as the month progresses, aided by an increase in insect action as temperatures start rise.

Most of the redfin and trout caught lately have been taken by anglers fishing from a kayak or boat (on those waterways that allow boats). Fishing off the bank is usually less productive, because you are restricted to casting out from one location, whereas a boat or kayak lets you be mobile and track down the fish.

I suggest trolling as a good option, using a 3m diver such as an RMG Poltergeist. You ideally want to cover a depth of around 4m and keep the lure just above the weed. It’s a pretty handy and straightforward way to catch both redfin and trout. Alternatively, you might use your electronics to find a school, and drop a plastic or retrieve a lure through the fish.

Waroona Dam and Harvey Dam are good options, as they’re quite large dams and allow you to fish in a variety of ways. Both have a lot of structure, along with some open banks that hold fish if you want to fish less snaggy areas and lose less gear. These waterways are also good places to spend a day with the family.