South West Life

With an estimated 400,000 recreational fishers in Western Australia, it's clear that fishing is a popular past-time for many people.

Whether it's to catch a feed, teach/entertain the kids, enjoy solitude for a couple of hours, marvel at the scenery, or experience the adrenalin rush, the joy of fishing appeals to a lot of people on one level or another.

But the biggest complaint? "I never catch anything". Why is that the professionals and some others always seem to catch something, but you don't?

If you walk down to your nearest body of water and throw a line in, you may get lucky and catch something. But it rarely works like that. Your chances of catching anything are greatly increased if you know what's in the water, what/when/where it likes to eat, how it behaves, and what kind of equipment you need to bring it to shore.

Sometimes the difference between success and failure is knowing when to fish for what. In many areas of the south west there are lots of types of fish that are only seen in a few months of the year. Luckily, each fish has it's season, so there is usally something in the water all year round, but the trick is to know what's in the water at what time of year. There isn't enough room to list them all here, so the best thing to do is either buy a book or magazine, check out websites such as www.fishingwa.com, or talk to the locals and professionals.

What I can say about seasons though is that many people assume that summer is the only time to fish. Summer does produce large numbers of your "bread and butter" fish such as herring and whiting, but it's winter that often brings in some of the larger fish like mulloway, salmon, and pink snapper.

That said, it's true that if you had to specify a peak fishing period, it would usually be the warmer months between October and April (that's when the weather is best too).

The south west contains the whole range of fishing experiences - off rocks, off the beach, from a jetty, from a boat, or in fresh water rivers. Each type of fishing will require different fishing gear and usually offer different types of fish.

Some of the fishing hotspots in the south west include:

• 'The Cut' in Bunbury - this is certainly a very popular spot, but I've never had much luck there myself. But going by it's constant popularity, it must be good
  
  
• Busselton Jetty - you can't go wrong here. The jetty is 2km long, meaning that there's a whole range of fishing experiences available at all times of the year
  
  
• Dunsborough rocks - the series of sheltered coves and bays west of Dunsborough provide a lot of different fishing opportunities, including the famous "Salmon run" between March and May each year
  
  
• Harvey Dam, Pemberton, and inland fresh water rivers - the rivers of the south west let you go after the clever and elusive trout. Remember that you need a license to fish for trout
  
  
• Augusta - there's something for everyone around Augusta, with so many different types of fishing available

What do you need to go fishing? Well, that's completely determined by where you'll be fishing and what you're trying to catch. The gear you need from a boat is different to what you need from the beach, which is different again to what you need in the fresh-water rivers. If you haven't fished before, perhaps you should start by deciding where you want to go fishing, and then head down to your local sports store and talk to someone who knows what they're talking about, and let them tell you what you'll need.

The bait you want (or lures) is also determined by what you're trying to catch. But if you're just heading down for a bit of fun from the beach or jetty, then prawns or pilchards will usually get you some interest.

A final word - you should seriously consider fishing charters, or at least talk to the locals about local fishing conditions. Why spend all day potentially wasting your time in the wrong spot, when you could have fished on the other side of the bay and been very successful. Charters in particular are a great way to save time and be taken out to where the fish are biting. Remember, these people do it for a living.