Metro

The fishing continues to shine

At the time of writing no significant rain has fallen in the Perth Metro area, meaning that the seasonal change we have all been expecting is still yet to happen. This is great for anglers as it provides lots of options for us all to go fishing. SWAN RIVER

Bream are always a popular bread and butter species in the Swan. They are a great target species for lure and bait anglers alike. Until any serious rain comes they will be widespread through the system (Canning Bridge up to Guildford). Bream love structure whether it is artificial in the form of bridges or jetties or natural structure, like timber or weed. This structure holds bait fish and the bream will be nearby to ambush them.

Soft plastics are a Young guns Ben and Blake Farnell can’t get enough of these fat tailor they caught casting stickbaits from the sand along Perth northern beaches.

Alex Franklin strikes gold with a horse of a Sean River bartail flathead going 51cm.

popular way to target them and as most of the fish in the popular areas have seen a few lures in recent times, it is well worth adding some scent to your lures. S-Factor, Gulp or any of the Pro Cure scents will do the job.

I expect that the excellent tailor fishing will also continue. The section of the river between East Fremantle and the Narrows Bridge always holds fish. Some of the better fishing is found in the deeper water off the flats in this area. Many anglers wade out (waist deep) on to the flats and target these fish using small metal lures or stickbaits.

With the weather cooling the flathead fishing will change. The flathead will move off the flats and into deeper water. With the abundance of toadfish around (they love destroying your soft plastics) it is better to fish with either hardbody lures or metal blades. Don’t forget though that if the toadies are active then there is every chance the flathead will be too.

Mulloway anglers are still being rewarded with some excellent captures. There are plenty of good fish being caught and this should continue in May. The area between the E-Sheds and Causeway is a great place to start.

In recent years May has been the month of big yellowfin whiting in the Swan. This is usually a nighttime adventure (less toadies to steal your baits), with fresh prawns or bloodworms your best bait options. Large shallow areas with deeper water nearby is what you are looking for when targeting them. ROCK WALLS

AND BEACHES

For those anglers fishing our local rock walls it is a tale of two stories. Fishing during the low light and night will produce the best fishing for species like tailor and the odd salmon, while fishing the tide changes during the day will provide the best fishing for herring, skippy and King George whiting. As always using berley is the key to consistent fishing.

The squid fishing will continue to be a highlight. The number of squid around may reduce, but the quality/ size of what is around, make them well worth targeting. Good areas to try are the South Fremantle and North Mole rock walls. Not much will change for our beach anglers. Herring,

whiting, tailor and mulloway will be the main targets. Hopefully we get a salmon run in the metro area this year to provide another option from the beach.

Fishing from our beaches using drones to drop baits to target snapper is becoming increasingly popular. The results have been exceptional with some really nice fish being caught. May is prime time for this style of fishing. INSHORE

Like the rock walls the inshore squid fishing will be excellent. Broken ground in 3-8m of what is what you are looking for. Search these areas by fanning casts all around the boat. Once you do find some squid, try and stay in that area as the squid tend to be hold up in groups, so where you find one, others are bound to be there.

King George whiting will also remain around in good numbers. They can become a little harder to find as the year progresses. Focus on the sand patches in 3-10m of water. You may need to filter through a few undesirables before the whiting take over. However, as we know they are well worth the effort.

Many more anglers will choose to fish at night. Setting up berley trails and targeting pinky snapper. The best areas to do this are where reefy structure exists. Other species you are likely to encounter when doing this are skippy (silver trevally) Hools Orifici is all smiles when it comes to posing with these 5-star fish, lovely King George whiting.

Gabe is all smiles with an absolutely ripper pink snapper.

Scott Bell with a big pink snapper caught using a pink 5” ZMan on board Jazz Charters.

Hools Orifici just can’t get enough of these tasty fish. He says drifting with fresh baits is the key to success.