Salmon’s Gone, What’s Biting Perth in July 2026?

Six species do the heavy lifting through Perth’s winter. None of them are as glamorous as a 4kg salmon but most of them are better eating, and a couple punch well above their weight on light tackle.

King George whiting — the winter headliner. KGs feed over sand near seagrass in sheltered water through the cold months, with the standout fishing concentrated around Cockburn Sound and the lee bays of Rottnest. Bag is 12 per day, minimum 28cm. Fresh pipis or tube worms on a #4–6 long-shank hook, light line, patience.

Southern calamari — the new season ramps up in August, peaks around October and November, and runs through to February. Through July you’re in the front edge — the odd squid is showing up on metro jetties at dusk but the consistent fishing is still a few weeks away. Worth a try at Rockingham Jetty or Coogee Beach on a calm evening; not worth a special trip yet. Pink and natural-pattern jigs in 2.5–3.0 size, slow lift-and-drop retrieve, fish the change of light.

Mulloway — the trophy fish that rewards staying out late in winter. Mulloway hold around deep rock walls, harbour breakwaters and Swan River channels through the cold months and feed best on calm, dark, moving-water nights. Whole mulies, fresh squid heads, or a live herring on a single 6/0 hook tied to 30–40lb leader.

Australian herring — bread-and-butter species that bites year-round but schools up around metro jetties more thickly through winter. Light gear, small hooks, a float rig drifted past pylons. The fish that gets kids hooked, and excellent live bait for tailor and mulloway.

Pink snapper — the bonus winter target from the rocks. Land-based pink snapper are caught from deep metro rock walls in winter — the documented spots are North Mole, South Mole and the Dawesville Cut walls — but they’re a bonus rather than a target. Bag is 2, minimum 50cm south of Lancelin, and Cockburn Sound and Warnbro Sound have their own seasonal closure for spawning fish from 1 August to 31 January. The 9-foot surf rod that’s missing the salmon gets put back to work on a running sinker rig with a whole mulie, fresh squid head or octopus.

Tailor — the holdouts. The autumn run is finished but resident fish hold around the Fremantle moles and a handful of the deeper rock walls through winter. They’re a bonus, not a target — fish for something else and accept a tailor if it eats.

Pick the species, then pick the spot. The same handful of locations carry most of the winter calendar.

North Mole, Fremantle — the only Perth spot that credibly delivers four of the six winter species in a single session. Mulloway after dark from the harbour side on a whole mulie, the resident tailor when the wash is alive on the ocean face, herring through the day, and the inconsistent-but-real chance at a pink snapper off the deeper ledges. Watch the swell — when it pushes past 2m the ocean side is unfishable.

Mangles Bay, Cockburn Sound — the most reliable metro KG mark through winter. Sandy bottom near seagrass in protected water. Mid-morning on a rising tide on a flat day, fresh pipis on a long-shank hook.

Rockingham Jetty, Cockburn Sound — the soft-option jetty that fishes through every winter, and the natural stand-in now that Ammo Jetty at Woodman Point is closed for its rebuild until around summer 2027. Herring all session, KGs in the shallows on a high tide, the occasional after-dark mulloway, and a chance at the first squid of the new season toward the back end of July. Bring a torch and a chair.

Hillarys Boat Harbour — the family-friendly winter spot. Herring, skippy and the odd KG inside the marina, with squid showing again from August. Lights, easy parking, and shelter from the southerly that shuts the open coast down in July.

Cottesloe Groyne — a credible winter rock-wall option for the resident tailor and an after-dark mulloway shot on the right night. Calmer than the Fremantle moles in similar conditions; better when North Mole is washed out.

Rottnest Island — the ferry-and-bike option for serious KG sessions. The north-side bays — Geordie Bay, Longreach Bay — and the inner east coast around Thomson Bay sit in the lee of the prevailing winter southerly and hold fish through winter. You’ll have the spot to yourself in July. Worth the trip if the metro coast is wind-blasted for a week.

Most of the winter calendar runs on light tackle, with one heavier outfit for after-dark mulloway and pink snapper sessions.

You don’t need a third outfit. If you’re catching squid on light line and a mulloway-sized fish picks up the bait, that’s the price of light gear. Most July sessions don’t need it.

Winter conditions in Perth are about wind first, swell second, tide third. A 25-knot southerly will shut down the open coast for a day, and there’s no point fishing into it. Watch the forecast for the calm window after a front clears — usually a 24–48 hour band of light easterlies, dropping swell, and clean water.

For KGs, squid and herring, mid-morning to early afternoon on a flat, clear day on a rising tide is the standard window. For mulloway and pink snapper, the change of tide after dark on a calm night is when you want to be on the rocks.

July is also one of the shortest-daylight months of the year. Plan accordingly — you can fish a full sunset session and still be home for dinner.

It’s worth knowing what to skip so you don’t waste a Saturday.

• Salmon — gone. Stragglers possible in early July, no real numbers.
• Summer demersal species — most boat-based demersal fishing is shut down through the recovery closure (check current DPIRD rules; the 2027 reopening is a moving target). Plan around shore-based species.
• Beach surf species in numbers — the wash species (tailor, herring, salmon, tarwhine) thin out through winter. The Fremantle moles still produce; the open beaches mostly don’t.
• Bream in the upper Swan — patchy in cold water. Better through spring.

July looks empty if you measure it against the autumn run. It isn’t — it’s just quieter, lighter, and slower-paced. A good winter session is a feed of KGs, a couple of squid for the freezer and a chance at a mulloway after dark. None of it makes the front page of a fishing magazine. All of it makes a good dinner.

For live wind, swell and tide on the spots in this guide, pull the forecast on BiteCompass before you commit.