Dart Fishing in WA: A Surf-Beach Guide

Q: What size do dart grow to?

WA common dart (Trachinotus botla) run to about 3kg, but most surf fish are 0.5–1.5kg. On 8lb line a 1kg dart fights like a fish twice its size.

If you’ve walked a northern WA beach at first light, cast a small metal into the wash, and had something hit it like a freight train and run line off an 8lb outfit, there’s a good chance it was a dart. They’re not the fish that gets the magazine covers — they’re the fish that quietly makes a session, the one that bends a light rod over while you’re standing in the foam waiting for something bigger.

This guide covers what dart are, where and when to find them in WA, the gear that actually works, and how to read a beach so you’re casting where the fish are instead of where they aren’t.

What Dart Are

The common dart (Trachinotus botla, also called the large-spot dart) is the species most WA beach anglers run into. It’s a compact, deep-bodied member of the pompano family — built like a miniature trevally, all shoulders and forked tail — and it pulls accordingly. They live in the white water, working gutters and sand spits where breaking surf exposes small crabs, worms and molluscs.

They’re not big. WA dart run to about 3kg at the top end, but most surf fish are 0.5–1.5kg. The point isn’t size — it’s that a 1kg fish on light line is genuinely good fun, and on the right beach you can catch a lot of them.

Where and When in WA

Dart range from around Bunbury north to the Kimberley, but they really hit their straps from Shark Bay upward. The surf beaches and sand spits around Denham, Coral Bay, Exmouth, Gnaraloo and the broader Pilbara coast are the strongholds, and up there they fish year-round.

South of Shark Bay they thin out into a warmer-months proposition. In the lower west, the Bunbury and South West beaches produce the odd dart through summer — not in the numbers you’ll find up north, but enough that a metro angler chasing whiting or tailor will occasionally find a dart on the end instead.

A rising tide flooding the gutters is prime, and the hour either side of high tide concentrates feeding fish. Early morning and late afternoon produce best, especially on a moderate, working swell rather than a flat or blown-out beach.

The Rules

For dart, the current DPIRD recreational limits are a bag limit of 8 per person per day and no minimum size. There’s no licence required for shore-based fishing in WA.

Regulations change, and they vary by bioregion, so confirm the current numbers on the DPIRD recreational bag and size limits page before you fill the esky. The fisheries officers who work the northern beaches are not interested in what the app said last season.

Best Dart Spots in WA

Dart are a beach fish first and foremost, so order your thinking around accessible surf with structure.

Denham and Shark Bay

The surf and sand-spit beaches around Denham mark the southern edge of reliable dart country. This is where the species shifts from “occasional summer surprise” to “fish you can target”. Work the gutters on a rising tide with light gear and small baits.

Coral Bay

Coral Bay gives you accessible beach and reef-edge water, and dart cruise the wash where the sand meets moving water. A small metal fan-cast across a gutter at first light is the call here.

Exmouth and Ningaloo

The beaches around Exmouth and out along the Ningaloo coast at Tantabiddi are dart country year-round. Plenty of defined gutters, plenty of bait getting churned out of the sand, and enough other surf species around that you rarely fish a dead session.

Gnaraloo and Quobba

The remote surf beaches at Gnaraloo and Quobba are classic Gascoyne dart water — defined gutters, moving water and very little pressure. Bring everything you need, because you won’t be ducking back to a servo.

Bunbury (the lower-west outlier)

For metro and South West anglers, Bunbury Back Beach is your best shot at a lower-west dart through summer. Don’t build a trip around it, but if the gutters are working and the water’s warm, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Gear That Works

Dart have modest mouths but pull hard, so the rule is light line, small terminals, and tackle that lets you feel the bite.

Bait setup

Line: 8–12lb mainline with a short 15lb leader. Drop to 8lb and they fight like miniature trevally.
Rig: a light running-sinker rig — a small ball or star sinker running to a swivel, then the leader.
Hooks: size 1 to 1/0 long-shank or circle. Keep them small to match the bait and the fish’s mouth.
Sinker: the lightest lead that’ll hold in the wash. Enough to keep contact, no more.

Lure setup

Metals: small slugs, 10–30g. The dart’s bread and butter — fan-cast and burn them back.
Soft plastics: small paddle-tails and grubs on a light jighead.
Surf poppers and bibless vibes also draw strikes in the white water.

Tie a small metal direct to a light spin outfit — 7ft, 2–4kg, 2500–3000 reel — and you’ve got the ideal dart-chasing rig. Same outfit covers herring and whiting if the dart go quiet.

Reading the Gutters

This is the whole game. A flat, featureless beach rarely holds dart; a beach with defined gutters and moving water nearly always does. Stand back from the water at low light and look for the darker channels running between the sand banks — those are the gutters, the highways the surf uses to wash food in and out.

Cast bait into the foamy water and let it tumble naturally, holding just enough lead to keep contact. Don’t anchor it dead on the bottom — dart want a bait moving the way the surf moves everything else. With lures, fan-cast small metals across the gutter and retrieve fast with the occasional pause; a dart will chase down a fleeing metal and crunch it on the drop.

Bites are sharp, and the fight is all runs and head-down power. Let a light drag do the work and don’t try to muscle them — that’s how you pull small hooks out of small mouths.

Tide and Timing

A rising tide flooding the gutters is the window you want, with the hour either side of high tide concentrating the feeding fish. Early morning and late afternoon produce the best of it.

Swell matters more than most people think. A moderate, working swell churns the sand and exposes the crabs and worms dart feed on; a flat beach gives them nothing to hunt, and a blown-out, sand-choked beach is just as dead. Check the swell and wind for your beach on BiteCompass before you commit to the drive — up here, the drive can be a long one.

Frequently Asked

Are dart good to eat?
Yes, when handled properly. Dart have firm white flesh that pan-fries or crumbs well, but they deteriorate fast in the sun — bleed and ice them the moment they hit the sand. Smaller and mid-sized fish are the best on the plate.

What’s the best bait for dart?
Beach worms and bloodworms are the standouts, with peeled prawns, pipis and small crab close behind. Dart feed on what the surf churns out of the sand, so natural beach baits fished in the white water out-fish almost everything else.

Where do you catch dart in WA?
The surf beaches and sand spits from Shark Bay north — Denham, Coral Bay, Exmouth, Gnaraloo and the Pilbara coast — are dart strongholds and fish year-round. South of there they thin out, with the odd summer fish on lower-west beaches around Bunbury.

What size do dart grow to?
WA common dart run to about 3kg, but most surf fish are 0.5–1.5kg. On 8lb line a 1kg dart fights like a fish twice its size.

Do I need a licence to fish for dart in WA?
No licence is needed for shore-based recreational fishing in WA. The bag limit is 8 dart per person per day with no minimum size, but always confirm the current rules with DPIRD before you keep a feed.

Dart are the surf-zone speedsters that make light-tackle beach fishing worth getting up for. Find a beach with working gutters, drop to 8lb line, and they’ll repay the effort. See the full dart species guide for rigs and handling, and if you’re already chasing tailor or herring off the same beaches, check the conditions for your spot on BiteCompass before you load the car.