Cockburn Sound and Warnbro Sound Fishing

12/04/2024

SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY / WARNBRO SOUND
Boats: Demersal catches have been excellent with Garden Island and the back of Five-Fathom Bank producing dhufish, pink snapper and baldchin groper. Cockburn Sound has fished well for pink snapper too, with good catches coming from the D9 wreck, in front of Garden Island and at Sulphur Rock. Squid fishing has picked up with the 4-5m depths in Cockburn and Warnbro sounds fishing well. Both Sounds have fished well for herring, King George and sand whiting, as did Mangles Bay, while sand whiting catches have been great on the edge of the shipping channel despite mulloway catches slowing down. Exposed reefs such as Stragglers and Mewstones produced tailor around the kilo mark and small yellowtail kingfish have often shown up as well. Tailor and salmon have been caught out the back of Point Peron and in the Sounds at times, with the fish often schooling together so keep an eye out for them or diving birds. This weekend is looking very inviting if you wish to send it out wide in the boat.

Land-based: The beaches have continued to fish well for tailor with Port Kennedy, Long Point and Secret Harbour the pick of them. Mulloway action from the beaches slowed a tad, but in the daytime herring and sand whiting have been caught in good numbers. Long Point saw a few flathead and the Penguin Island spit has yielded whiting, flathead and the odd flounder. Scaly mackerel and herring have been the main catches at the Ammo Jetty, although the odd bonito has turned up on some mornings. Palm Beach Jetty has been producing plenty of good-sized chopper tailor in the evenings. The better squidding spots have been Woodman Point and Point Peron. Looks great for land-based fishing this weekend too, the easterly should be stronger on Saturday if you need some casting assistance off the beach.

These great fishing tips were provided by the friendly team at Compleat Angler & Camping World in Rockingham, so make sure you chat to their experienced crew in store and stock up before heading out!

09/02/2024

SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY / WARNBRO SOUND

Boats: A couple of Spanish mackerel hook-ups in Cockburn Sound created excitement this past week with a 17.5kg model landed over the weekend. Tuna have been heavily targeted with good catches reported straight off the Five-Fathom Bank in 30-50m depths. The tuna have favoured trolled lures such as Richter Jelly Babes and Nomad DTX Minnows. Squid activity has slowed with deeper depths the best bet as they don't tend to linger around the warmer waters in the shallows. Mangles Bay and Cockburn Sound have offered King George and sand whiting, while the inside of Garden Island produced squid, herring, sand whiting and a few tailor.

Land-based: Madora Bay, Secret Harbour, Port Kennedy and Kwinana beaches have continued to produce good catches of tailor in the evenings and school mulloway have been in the mix as well. Good catches of yellowfin whiting came from the beach near the grain terminal on the warmer mornings when conditions were calm. Tailor have been on the chew at Long Point with herring, flathead and flounder among the bycatch. The Penguin Island spit has produced sand whiting, herring, flathead and the odd King George whiting. Rockingham and Palm beach jetties have offered chopper tailor and small mulloway in the evenings and herring and squid throughout the day, while the Ammo Jetty and Woodman Point have held a few small tailor, herring and skippy. Point Peron was still fishing reasonably well for squid but it pays to move around and cast at different patches until you find them.

These great fishing tips were provided by the friendly team at Compleat Angler & Camping World in Rockingham, so make sure you chat to their experienced crew in store and stock up before heading out!

05/01/2024

SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY / WARNBRO SOUND
Offshore fishing has really fired up with dhufish and breaksea cod in 50m depths at Seahorse Reef and at the back of Garden Island, while closer in pink snapper and baldchin groper have been caught in depths of only 10-20m. Pink snapper have also been in big numbers on the Five-Fathom Bank along with chunky skippy. Pelagic action has been red-hot too with dolphinfish, tuna and wahoo taking skirted lures on the 60m line, but it's a wise idea to have a troll any time you decide to move around and keep the lures or skirts in the back of the bubbles generated from the boat, rather than way out the back in clear water. Crayfishers have been targeting big reds in 40m depths with good results, while squid activity has slowed but a few have come from the sheltered waters of Warnbro and Cockburn Sounds and inside of Garden Island. As for land-based fishing, tailor have been in good numbers from Madora Bay right up to Warnbro with school mulloway and a few bigger fish on the southern beaches. Big flathead have also been caught, especially around Long Point. Rockingham and Palm Beach jetties were fishing well for herring and chopper tailor and Woodman Point and the Ammo Jetty have offered the same. Good numbers of scaly mackerel were schooling around the Ammo Jetty so having a big rod out for mulloway could be worthwhile. The best land-based squidding has been at Point Peron. If you're thinking of wetting a line over the next few days on the boat or off the land, the mornings should be a glass off with gentle easterlies.

These great fishing tips were provided by the friendly team at Compleat Angler & Camping World in Rockingham, so make sure you chat to their experienced crew in store and stock up before heading out!

06/10/2023

SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY / WARNBRO SOUND
Pink snapper and dhufish have been abundant in the 40m depths with some decent breaksea cod among them. The better spots have been behind Five-Fathom Bank and Garden Island. Inside of Five-Fathom and in Mangles Bay there have been good numbers of King George whiting, with lots of sand whiting on the same ground. Squid have been plentiful in Mangles Bay and in Cockburn and Warnbro Sounds and the rough weather and dirty water hasn’t slowed them down. There were also decent squid, a few tarwhine and sand whiting caught out from grain terminal. Chunky tailor around the kilo mark have been active around the exposed reefs at Mewstones, Stragglers and Rowboat Reef. As for land-based fishing around town, Secret Harbour to Madora Bay saw pink snapper and big greenback tailor in the 50-60cm range in good numbers, along with herring and sand whiting when conditions were calm. Rockingham and Palm Beach jetties held herring, sand whiting and a few squid as did the Coogee Marina. Chopper tailor have boosted herring and squid catches at the Ammo Jetty and Woodman Point, while Long Point held chopper tailor, herring, sand whiting and the occasional King George whiting. Flathead and flounder have also started to show up there on the warmer days. It's looking peachy across this entire weekend for both boat and land-based fishing forecasts, so enjoy yourself if you decide to wet a line. Big thanks to Compleat Angler Rockingham for their tips!

29/09/2023

SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY / WARNBRO SOUND
With Cockburn and Warnbro Sound closed to pink snapper fishing, boaties have instead headed out to Five-Fathom Bank and at the back of Garden Island where they have done well in a range of depths from 30m to 90m. Dhufish catches out that way have been very good too, with a couple of fish around the 18kg mark taken in 40-50m depths and decent breaksea cod among the bycatch. A few tuna have been in these depths as well. Dirty water in Cockburn Sound hasn’t made the squid any less aggressive and they have been caught pretty much everywhere. Where there has been broken ground, King George whiting catches have also added to the bag. Mangles Bay fished well for sand and King George whiting and also squid. Kayak fishers fishing near the old power station in Coogee did reasonably well on squid, with smaller squid jigs (2.5 size) in blue achieving good catches. Tomorrow is probably your best bet for a duck out in the boats given the rougher weather settles in between Sunday and Tuesday. As for land-based fishing, tailor up to 60cm have been taken on bait and lures at Secret Harbour and Port Kennedy beaches, which have also fished well for sand whiting and herring. Woodman Point fished very well and along with the usual fare of herring, chopper tailor and squid, chunky sand whiting between 30-35cm were added to the mix. The Ammo Jetty had similar species, while chopper tailor, herring and squid have come from Rockingham and Palm Beach jetties. Squid catches have been good from the rocks at Point Peron and at Long Point the odd flathead and flounder have begun to show up along with chopper tailor, herring and sand whiting. Big thanks to Compleat Angler Rockingham for their tips!

27/09/2023

Shout out to my newest followers! Excited to have you onboard!

Jake Boulton, Stephen Paszko, Patrick Walley, Albert Warny, Michael Lewis, Ryan Brown

11/08/2023

SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY / WARNBRO SOUND
Garden Island, Cockburn and Warnbro sounds and Mangles Bay have fished well for King George whiting. Depth hasn’t really been a factor as it’s more of a case of finding broken ground. Quite a few sand whiting have been among the bycatches and they have also been caught right in close. Five-Fathom Bank held plenty of solid skippy with good use of burley the key to a hot bite, while squid catches in the Sounds and in Mangles Bay have been solid. Good numbers of tailor have been around the exposed offshore reefs and tuna have been plentiful behind Garden Island in 30-40m depths. The 60m depths behind Garden Island and near Rottnest Island have also held good numbers of amberjack. For land-based fishers sand whiting catches have been good with Long Point and Secret Harbour among the better spots. Long Point has also fished well for herring and small chopper tailor, while tailor catches have improved at Port Kennedy and Secret Harbour beaches. A bit of exploring is needed at these beaches however as w**d has been a problem at times. Rockingham and Palm Beach jetties held herring and scaly mackerel. Squid and herring have been rewarding fishers at most of the rock walls and jetties, including the Ammo Jetty and Woodman Point. Enjoy those great conditions this weekend and big thanks to Compleat Angler Rockingham for their tips!

07/08/2023

30/06/2023

SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY / WARNBRO SOUND
The Five Fathom Bank continues to fish well for pink snapper and skippy, while King George and sand whiting catches have been good in Mangles Bay. Squid have fired this week with Mangles Bay and Parmelia Bank fishing well as are the waters off Safety Bay, where kayak anglers are doing really well. Out the back of Garden Island there have been big pink snapper and the odd dhufish caught. As usual herring are plentiful right throughout Cockburn and Warnbro sounds and exposed areas of offshore reef around Garden Island have fished well for tailor. If you're wanting to go for squid in Cockburn Sound (one of the best squidding spots in Australia), look for the patchy ground of w**d and sand around 3-4km offshore in depths of around 3-10m. Drifting in these depths while working a few jigs aggressively on the side of the boat opposite to the direction you are drifting in the clear water usually produces the goods. For land-based fishers, Woodman Point has again been reliable for herring and squid, with the odd pink snapper also a chance, but it also produced King George whiting up to 36cm this week. Squid and plenty of herring have come from the Ammo Jetty, while Long Point and the Penguin Island Spit have produced herring and sand whiting along with the odd flathead and King George whiting. Secret Harbour and Port Kennedy beaches produced lots of herring and a few tailor, while fishing for mulloway should improve there over the next week. Rockingham and Palm beach jetties have been quiet, but herring and squid are always a chance there. This evening through to midday Sunday are looking best before the storm front urns up. Big thanks to Compleat Angler Rockingham for their great tips!

05/05/2023

SECRET HARBOUR / PORT KENNEDY / ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY / WARNBRO SOUND
Those heading out wide have done well on dhufish up to 18kg in the 60m depths along with plenty of pink snapper and breaksea cod, while inshore pink snapper have been plentiful at the back of the Five-Fathom Bank in depths around 10m, with some nice skippy among them. Best results for inshore pink snapper have come from anchoring and using burley. Further offshore, anglers trolling skirted lures in the 40m depths have been catching yellowfin tuna nudging 30kg. At Windmills and around Garden Island, King George whiting have been in good numbers although the sizes are nothing special. Inside of Garden Island squid fishing has been good around the w**d banks, while herring and sand whiting have also been plentiful there. Anglers throwing lures or unweighted mulies into the white-water around Mewstones and Stragglers have been landing chunky tailor.

For land-based fishers, good mulloway have been taken from beaches around Secret Harbour and Port Kennedy along with plenty of herring and a few whiting. Squid have been plentiful with better spots being the rocks around Point Peron, Woodman Point, the Ammo Jetty, Jervoise Bay and the Port Kennedy boat ramp. They have also been caught at Rockingham and Palm Beach jetties too, along with few herring. Mullet have also been taken from these jetties by patient anglers using very small hooks and bread for bait. Long Point and the Penguin Island spit have been fishing well for herring and sand whiting. Big thanks to Compleat Angler Rockingham for their great tips.

Thank you Recfishwest for this week's report