Metro

The month of December always sees more people enjoying our waterways in the Perth metro area, and if everything continues as it has been, the fish are joining the festivities. SWAN RIVER

Anglers fishing the Swan River in December have a smorgasbord of options as far as species go, with tailor and bream sitting at the top of the list. Both species will be widespread throughout the system. Find a deep drop-off and a food source in the area between Bicton Baths and Causeway, and the tailor will be close by. Add a bit of structure, and the bream come into the equation as well.

As mentioned in last month’s report, the many flathead anglers in the metro area are enjoying the improved A lovely Swan River tailor caught on the new size Halco Slidog 85 stickbait. Dom Magoo from Dom’s Fishing Adventures getting amongst some great tailor flicking lures into shallow inshore reef.

Jaye Beard is no stranger to catching big yellowfin whiting.

flathead fishing and this will continue to be good all the way through to April. Find areas of shallow water that have some form of structure (weed, rock etc) and flick plastics, hardbody lures and even surface lures around the structure. Any flathead present is unlikely to be able to resist trying to eat your offering.

The mulloway are also now spread throughout the river. Wherever there is food and structure, you are likely to find them. Areas worth checking out are Blackwall Reach through to Mosman Bay, the Canning Bridge, Narrows and the Causeway. All have been producing some nice fish, and this should continue or even get better in December.

There will be plenty of people looking for a feed of early season crabs. The area between Clairmont and the Narrows bridge is a bit of a hot spot. If you find deeper sections of water and use fresh baits, you have a good chance of getting a few. ROCK WALLS

AND BEACHES

The main target species at present are King George whiting, skippy (silver trevally), herring and squid.

The Fremantle rock walls will be a very popular area to target them, with Hillarys another great area further north (an excellent early morning location). Tailor can also be caught from the walls. The Cottesloe rock wall is popular with tailor anglers as it has a reef within casting distance and the tailor like hanging around it.

Most beach anglers will be chasing either tailor

or small sharks. Casting small stickbaits and metal lures will be the undoing of plenty of tailor, while fresh or frozen baits will be your best options to catch a shark. Floreat, Trigg, Scarborough, Port and Leighton will all be worth a look.

Another tasty option from our beaches is sand whiting. There should be plenty around. Fish worm or prawn baits in the shallow gutters to get the best results. INSHORE

Like the rock walls, the key target species in our inshore areas will be squid, King George whiting, tailor, skippy and herring.

King George whiting and squid tend to hang around in

similar areas. 3-6m of water that has broken ground and sand patches is ideal. North of Windmills would be a great place to start exploring.

The other three species prefer reefy bottom. Areas like Mewstones, Stragglers

and the Rottnest reefs will be well worth a try. Lures are the best option for the tailor, while anchoring and setting up a berley trail, and then feeding fresh baits down it, will be the best way to catch a few skippy and herring. OFFSHORE

The world is your oyster once the demersal fishing ban finishes on 16 December. Many anglers have this date set in their calendar. There will be plenty of activity on the water, with dhufish, baldchin groper, pinkies, Breaksea cod and many more species on offer. It also means deep drop fishing is back on the cards, and species like hapuka, blue-eye trevalla and bass grouper will be popular targets for anglers doing this type of fishing.

Until 16 December, the main focus will be on species like yellowtail kingfish, southern bluefin tuna and samsonfish. There have been good numbers of kingfish at the west end of Rottnest Island, and the tuna have also been there and behind the 5-fathom bank. Birds and bait are the tell-tale sign that these fish are in the area, so keep your eyes open for them.

Samsons tend to hold around structure (barges and wrecks in particular) and are great fun to target with jigs. However, they are not always easy to subdue. My best advice is to wind fast and take lots of

jigs with you.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everybody a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope your wishes come true and that you have a chance to wet a line. Catch you next month.

Mr P Willy reminding the boys how it’s done when it comes to posing with a monster! This fish was caught in shallow water while chasing tailor.

Max Sampson is one of the most consistent Perth anglers when it comes to finding river monsters. This one was caught near Canning Bridge.

Max Sampson with a lovely yellowtail kingfish. There’s nothing this guy can’t catch, he’s everywhere.