Mandurah

Whet the winter appetite

MANDURAH Jesse Choy

May is a good time to fish, before we properly start to see winter doing its thing. Various sorts of fishing can become quite difficult as a result of the shift in weather, but the results can be quite rewarding if you are willing to persist for potential results. the fish tend to become a bit more susceptible to capture and anglers will find themselves catching fish on a larger variety of presentations.

Land-based pink snapper are a great option if you are willing to stick it out in some of the rougher conditions, as the fish come inshore to gorge on easy pickings that fall from rocks and also food that is brought to the top be quite persistent and put in a number of casts over a wide area to get your hands on a couple.

The estuary can be quiet around this time of the year due to the shallow water and cold weather bringing about a quick change in our estuarine species as well as their habits. Although numbers are starting to thin out as time passes, crabs and whiting can still be found in

Heading up the river is a great option this time of the year, with protected sections of water allowing you to fish even when conditions are far from ideal elsewhere. Black bream will start to fire right up, being less hesitant to leave their homes to feed and roam in the dirty water. The odd mulloway can also be caught up both the rivers, though larger specimen and numbers can be quite inconsistent. Using bait or lures will come down to anglers choice, though both will produce well dependent on what you feel like doing.

On the beaches, there is still some good sized tailor getting around, with plenty of school sharks and the odd mulloway also getting caught. If you are chasing an abundance of fun, you will find that many of the local beaches have a good supply of herring and whiting getting around too. Expect beaches to become increasingly difficult to fish, due to larger swells and

Some chunky black bream can be caught up the systems and they are more than willing to smash some lures.

Heading to the openings near the ocean, we can expect salmon to start showing up around this time, with quality as well as numbers steadily improving as time passes. Whether you are chasing some salmon for sport or a feed, it is best to target these fish around a change of light with casting metals, soft plastics and fresh bait being ideal for fish that are ahead of the larger schools. As competition with other schooling fish increases, of sand layers during the turbulent weather. If chasing these fish, a good berley trail will go a long way and be sure to use freshly caught baits to give the best chance at landing a fish.

If fishing for the smaller species, try from the estuary side rocks as it is generally ideal for producing a feed of whiting and herring. Some good squid will be making their way around the channel openings on a tide change, but you will often need to patches around the estuary. If you are struggling to fish or crab the estuary with luck, your best option is to remain mobile, seek a different area that you can work thoroughly and hopefully results will differ or point you in a better direction. If spinning lures like small metals, hard bodies or surface presentations, you are always in with a great chance of coming across an abundance of herring or the odd resident salmon trout. Michael is no stranger to casting up some good quality fish.

seaweed being pushed in with early winter conditions. Checking out your potential fishing spots in the daylight prior to starting your night session can make all the difference and will often be very beneficial to finding a weed free zone that produces well. If you are able to find a good patch of ground to fish that is relatively free of weed, it can be worth getting a good burley trail going and trying your luck at getting stuck into some foraging pink snapper.

Mulloway can be hard to find from the beaches, but they are so rewarding once you successfully land a good sized one.

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and tailor. Samsonfish can be a common by-catch as they love hanging around the skippy schools. Areas like Fish Rock and Mewstones are great places to start.

The sand whiting fishing will also continue to be good. Your best option to get a feed of these lovely fish is to drift the edges of the shipping channel until you find them. It is not uncommon for every rod in the water to go off when you do. It can be great fun.

Dom Magoo with a lovely little yellowtail king caught on his whiting and squid grounds. Maybe life is like a box of chocolates.

OFFSHORE

All of our demersal species are on offer in May. By far the most popular method to target them is using soft plastics. 5-7” lures in various shapes and colours will work. The key in most cases is to use enough weight to get down to the fish, but not that much that it crashes to the bottom. Many of the species will eat your plastic on the drop.

The exception can be the dhufish, most anglers target them using plastics at the larger end of the scale (preferably a paddle-tail style) and heavier weights to get down to the fish quickly. 30-50m of water is the key to any of your demersal fishing in May.

The yellowtail kingfish fishing this year has been excellent. The northern side of Rottnest Island (south west end) near the sanctuary zone has been the hotspot. Some good samsons have been caught as by-catch, by anglers chasing the kings.

There should still be a few southern bluefin tuna about, with the occasional yellowfin tuna. This will drop off as the month progresses.

As always there is deep drop fishing available. There are plenty of quality fish to be caught in 200-500m, it is just a matter of having a weather window and the gear to get out and do it.

May is generally the month where seasonal fishing transitions take place. This is generally triggered by cooler temperatures and wet weather. Until this happens, metro anglers still have plenty of fishing options available to them throughout our waterways, so why not go out and take advantage of it.

I will catch you next month.