Metro

METRO

Jacob

Crispe As any Perth Metro angler would be aware of, a wet winter has reduced our fishing options a little as the Swan River looks more like a chocolate milkshake than the pristine waterway that we are used to. The upside of this is that flushes of the system always help the fishery long term and as the waterway clears the fishing can be magnificent. SWAN RIVER

The main focus of the fishing in the Swan at the Jarrad Prieto says he had some seriously sore arms after the fight with this beast sambo!

Jarrad Prieto, Joel Dinning and Marcus Hill showing us what a session on the pinks from local Perth rock walls can look like when you persist. The fish measured 67, 80 and 85cm and were caught on local herring.

moment is in the lower reaches of the system. Many of the baitfish and predators have been pushed there by the freshwater from the persistent rain we have had.

Black bream can always be found in the Swan, and the areas to search in the lower reaches are around the Narrows Bridge, The Causeway and the various yacht clubs based in this area. The structure in these areas provides cover for the bream and the food that they eat.

The mulloway fishing should improve as September progresses. Again, focus your efforts in the lower reaches of the system. The E-Sheds, North and South Mole will be good places to try.

Blue swimmer crabs will also be on the move with the fresh in the system. Deeper water areas like East Fremantle, Bicton Baths and Blackwall Reach will be your best options for a feed of crab.

ROCK WALLS

AND BEACHES

The beach fishing in the Metro area has been the highlight in recent times and this should continue this month. Sunrise and sunset are the prime times to fish. Take your time to find a good gutter at your chosen location, set up a berley bag and tailor should be on offer in most areas. Port Beach, City Beach and Floriat Drain will be good

starting points.

For those prepared to fish into the night, mulloway and various small sharks will be around in good numbers. Fresh baits are always best, but if you can’t get your hands on that, grab a bag of scalies from your local tackle store.

The water around our rock walls is pretty dirty at present, making the fishing tougher than usual. When the water starts to clear the fishing will improve quickly, with fish like tailor, snapper, squid, King George whiting, skippy and herring all on offer.

Like the beaches the best fishing is in the low light periods. Not only will it give you more chance of catching a feed a fish, but fishing during these periods sees less numbers

of the pesky toadfish that are the bane of every rock wall angler. INSHORE

As the month progresses the numbers of King George whiting should increase on our inshore grounds. Areas like Middle Ground, Success Bank and Stragglers will be good places to explore. There should be plenty of squid and skippy in the same areas as well. Head to areas like Mewstones for tailor and some better quality skippy. The key to all these areas it to get there early because the key bite period is at first light and before.

Cockburn Sound is closed for pink snapper fishing from 1 September through to 31 January (please check Fisheries rules and regulations), but there are plenty of options outside of this area to get your snapper fix. There’s plenty of good ground on the Northern side of Rottnest and off Cottesloe that holds plenty of snapper. In fact, anywhere in the area from Point Peron to Mindarie can yield good catches; look for broken ground in 12-50m of water and you are likely to find some snapper.

Other common catches at this time of the year are dhufish and baldchin groper, with the occasional Breaksea cod and harlequin mixed in with them. Most will be found in 30-40m of water. The bonus when fishing these areas is that some oversize King George whiting have been caught (50cm+) as bycatch.

If you want to get your arms stretched there are still

Farshad Monshizadeh with a spectacular looking mulloway from the surf. Kristian Hardie is one man who does not disappoint when it comes to producing monsters from the deep, with a massive blue-eye trevalla.

Mark Derwin with great shot of a 5-star wild card, balchin groper. These fish have to be one of the most welcome captures in these waters!