Are tailor still running in Perth in May 2026?

Yes — May is the peak month for size in the Perth metro tailor run. Schools are smaller and harder to find than in March, but the fish that are still pushing through tend to be bigger greenbacks. Fish dawn or dusk on a moving tide and don't drive past a beach with bait spraying.

What's the bag limit for tailor in WA?

Bag limit is 8 tailor per person per day, and only 2 of those can be over 50cm. Minimum size is 30cm. Always confirm current rules with DPIRD before keeping a feed.

What gear do I need for tailor at North Mole or Trigg?

A 9–12ft surf or rock rod rated 4–8kg, a 4000–5000 reel, 20–30lb braid and a 30–40lb mono leader. Carry both ganged hook rigs (three 4/0s for whole pilchards) and a small kit of 30–60g metals like a Halco Twisty for casting.

Why are bigger tailor caught in May than in March?

Early-run fish are usually pack-feeding choppers in the 1–2kg range. By May the smaller schools have moved on and the fish that remain are older, larger greenbacks that hunt alone or in small pods. Bites are fewer but average size jumps.

What's the best bait for tailor on the rocks?

Whole pilchards (mulies) on three ganged 4/0 hooks are the proven option. Garfish run a close second when you want a tougher bait that won't shred in a strong wash. A live herring drifted under a float is the standout when conditions allow.

Is dusk really better than dawn for tailor in May?

It depends on the spot, but for most metro rock walls and beaches the run-out tide into dusk produces more consistent fish. Dawn bites are sharper and often shorter; dusk bites tend to draw out for an hour or two if the water is moving and the wash is alive.

Perth Tailor Run 2026: How to Fish the Peak

If you’re reading this in early May 2026, you are in the back half of the Perth tailor run and the front half of the best fortnight for size all year. The big schools that hammered the metro beaches through March have thinned out. The fish that remain are the keepers — older, bigger greenbacks that don’t show up in numbers but show up. This is not a beginner’s window. It is the month locals quietly book leave for.

The autumn run has been pushing south down the WA coast since late summer, with the front of the run hitting Perth around the second week of March. By early May the chopper-school carnage of the early run is over. What you are fishing for now is fewer bites, bigger fish, and a much shorter window per session.

Where the run sits right now

Reports through late April had tailor still firing along the northern metro — Mindarie, Trigg, Scarborough — and showing well off both Fremantle moles. Cockburn Sound and the southern beaches are patchy but worth a look on the right swell. As cold fronts roll through in May the bite resets every few days; one front can shut a beach down for forty-eight hours, and the first session after the swell drops back to 1.5m is often the standout.

Treat each session as its own thing. Don’t chase yesterday’s fish if the conditions have flipped. Watch the BiteCompass forecast for swell easing into a high tide change at dawn or dusk, and pick a beach that points into the wind so the wash is alive.

The bag and size you need to know

Before you fill a chilly bin, confirm the current numbers with DPIRD. At the time of writing the tailor bag limit is 8 fish per person per day and only 2 of those can be over 50cm. Minimum size is 30cm. Fisheries officers walk the beaches during the run and the moles are not the place to test what you can get away with. Bring a brag mat, measure on the wet sand or rocks, and put back anything borderline.

The four spots that matter in May

These are not the only Perth tailor marks. They are the ones with the right combination of depth, structure and wash to keep fish around in late autumn.

North Mole, Fremantle — the iconic metro tailor spot and the one most likely to produce a fish over 50cm in May. The ocean side puts you over deep water with constant current along the wall. Walk to the productive ledges roughly two-thirds of the way out, fish the run-out into dusk, and don’t crowd anglers who got there first. When the swell pushes past 2m the ocean side washes out — switch to South Mole opposite or get off the rocks.

South Mole, Fremantle — the calmer harbour-side fallback when North Mole’s ocean face is unfishable. Smaller average size than North Mole but more consistent through marginal swell. The mouth-end of the wall is where you want to be on a run-out tide.

Ammo Jetty, Coogee — a softer option that produces tailor most autumns even though it’s better known as a herring-and-squid spot. You’re after the fish that follow herring schools in. Bag a couple early on a sabiki, slow-drift a live herring under a float near the jetty lights once it’s dark, and be patient.

Trigg Beach — the standout northern surf option through May. Big sand gutters and reef edges, plenty of wash, and a car park that fills with surf-rod regulars at first light for a reason. Cast a 40–55g Halco Twisty or a ganged mulie into the white water on a rising dawn tide. Keep moving — if the gutter you’re on hasn’t produced in twenty minutes, the next one along might.

Gear that earns its spot in the rod tube

Tailor are not particularly hard to hook but they are easy to lose. Sharp teeth shred mono leaders and small hooks straighten in seconds.

Rod: 9–12ft surf or rock rod rated 4–8kg. The longer rod is overkill for the fish, but you need the distance to reach beyond the first breaker.
Reel: 4000–5000 size loaded with 20–30lb braid.
Leader: 30–40lb fluorocarbon or hard mono. Wire trace if you keep losing fish to bite-offs.
Bait rig: three 4/0 ganged hooks for whole pilchards or garfish. Replace the rig if the hook points lose any colour — tailor stay on a sharp hook, they fall off a dull one.
Lures: Halco Twisty or Halco Slidog in 30–60g, chrome and blue-and-silver patterns. A handful of large soft plastics for slower retrieves on calm evenings.
Net or gaff: if you’re on a high jetty or rock ledge, you’ll need one. Don’t lift fish over 2kg on the leader.

Tide, light and wash — the three things that matter

Light and tide overlap; the trick is finding sessions where they line up. The sweet spot is a tide change at first light or last light on a beach or wall that has live wash.

Most metro beaches fish best on the last two hours of a run-out into dusk and the first hour of the run-in after dark. Ledges and walls fish more on the change itself than on the run, because moving water concentrates the bait against the structure.

Cold fronts shut things down, but the day after a front is often the standout. Watch the swell easing back through 1.5m and pick the first dawn or dusk inside that window. Don’t fish a beach that’s washed out — the fish are not where the foam is six metres deep.

What to do if your spot is dead

Two sessions of nothing on the same mark in late autumn means the school has moved. Don’t burn a third session there out of stubbornness. Drive twenty minutes north or south and the next beach over might be on. Tailor schools follow bait, and bait moves with wind, swell and water clarity in ways no forecast can fully predict.

If you’ve fished the moles and the beaches and come up empty, switch species. Mulloway feed the same water at night, and an after-dark session on the harbour side at North Mole on a whole mulie or live herring is a credible Plan B.

The honest summary

May is not the easiest month of the run but it’s the best month for a fish to remember. Rig discipline, bait quality and condition-picking matter more now than they did in March, when you could turn up at Trigg with a rod and a packet of frozen pilchards and probably catch something. By the back end of the autumn run, the fish that haven’t moved on are the ones who survived everyone else’s mistakes. Bring better gear, fish smaller windows, and stay mobile.

For live conditions on the spots in this guide, pull the forecast on BiteCompass before you commit to a beach.