WA report #1 - 4th February 2007

[adidaspeteman]

Hey there ActiveAngler readers,

I have been given the privilege to bring to you the latest in what’s going on here from the West Coast, which I am happy to share with you regularly. Let me just briefly introduce myself. I am a Bream on lures self-confessed addict/junkie. My main love is to wade up to my waist and cast lures at Black Bream as the sunrises or sets. I have fished for many species ranging from Australian Salmon from Esperance on the South Coast to Mulloway and Tailor at Kalbarri in the Midwest and this will be the area range I will report on.

The big media hype at the moment concerning the Canning river system is the reported sightings of a shark. The first report was early last week with what is believed to be a six to eight foot bull shark eating a pelican not far from Riverton Bridge. Then not soon after a kayaker near Shelley boathouse spotted it again and the third sighting was a shark eating a shagg of a buoy. The Swan and Canning rivers are well known by anglers to contain a small population of the nicknamed Swan river whaler’s.

The Canning and Swan rivers have been producing the occasional bigger Black Bream around the high tides on the flats but most have moved into the upper reaches of both systems. The warm sunny days spell Flathead so get out there and chuck something with a bit of shine along the edges of weed, rubble and drop-offs with the best time being when the sun is high in the sky. Some great news is that a couple of Giant Herring have come from Perth estuarine waters with live baiting being the key method of choice.

With the warm summer period the aggregations of Samson fish are in full swing with many charters and big boats heading towards the deep water’s off Rottenest to flex their jigging guns.

Divers in between Capes Leeuwin and Naturalist have reported seeing schools of Salmon moving North and the bulk of the migration shouldn’t be far behind. This is positive news for the greatly anticipated run which last year was rated the best in a few decades. I can’t wait to stress the bream gear on some 6kg Salmon on lures.

cheers

Pete