INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY CATCH PRO TEAM MEMBER, TIM MITCHELL

Fishing has been very good over the past month as the weather has been heating up.

Samsonfish

Samsonfish have been the main target fish and have been very plentiful, ranging in size from 15kg to 40kg. These Southern Sports Fish have been taking the Double Trouble, Joker and Long John Slider in Silver, Orange and Pink.

Speed Jigging has been the winning technique for Samsonfish, with 1-2 second pauses after approximately 10 fast jig/winds. The fish will often take the jig on the pause. The key to this technique is to make the jig look like a bait fish which is trying to escape and is injured. Picturing this helps with creating the action.

Nannygai, Queen Snapper and Cod

The Nannygai, Queen Snapper, and Cods are also biting quite well, with the Boss and Beta Bug being the go-to jigs for this variety of fish. Depth contours from 20-50 meters have been the range where we have been targeting from the boat. Mainly fishing offshore of Esperance and Albany in Western Australia.

For Nannygai and Cods, slow pitch jigging is the way to go. Having assist hooks with a skirt while slow jigging gives the fish something to target when attacking the jig, creating a higher hookup rate. Tim’s technique is to get the jig to the bottom, then lift and wind aggressively 2 to 3 times to gain attention. Then slow lift and fall of the rod to give an injured look to the jig. Be ready for the bite and set the hook when the fish is felt with a hard lift of the rod followed by fast winding. Once the fish is off the bottom, keep constant tension to keep the hook set.

Fish that haven’t been biting are Kingfish and Pink Snapper, which will start firing up around December/January.

Favourite Gear

Tim’s favourite jig is currently the 100g Silver Long John Slider with the beta big assist hooks. Everything loves this jig and Tim will mourn the day he loses this! As this jig is double action, rigging it from the eye end makes it a speed jig for Samsonfish and from the tail end makes it a slow pitch jig. If you are only going to use one jig, use this one!

Time of day and tide doesn’t affect South West WA fishing in open water very much. They mainly base their trips around the wind and swell.