When is the best time to catch skippy around Perth?

Skippy bite year-round but school up tightest around structure in the cooler months, roughly May to September. On any given day, the hour either side of a tide change is prime, and early morning or late afternoon beats the middle of the day.

Trevally Fishing Perth: Catching Skippy in WA

Q: Are trevally good to eat?

Yes — silver trevally (skippy) have firm, white flesh that crumbs and fries well. Bleed and ice them straight away, because the flesh softens quickly if left in a warm bucket. Smaller fish around 400–600g are usually better on the plate than the bigger ones.

Q: What's the difference between trevally and giant trevally?

They're different fish. The 'skippy' Perth land-based anglers catch is silver/skipjack trevally (Pseudocaranx georgianus) — a 400g–3kg inshore schooling fish caught on light tackle year-round. Giant trevally (Caranx ignobilis) is a tropical sportfish reaching 50kg-plus, found in WA's north, that needs heavy gear and is rarely caught around Perth.

Q: What size and bag limit apply to trevally in WA?

Silver/skipjack trevally have a minimum size of 250mm and an individual daily bag limit of 8, counting toward the statewide nearshore/estuarine finfish total of 16 fish per day. Always confirm current numbers on the DPIRD website before you fish.

Q: What's the best bait for trevally?

Small, fresh baits fished light: whitebait, mulie (pilchard) strips, prawn pieces and squid. A steady trickle of berley — pollard or mashed mulie — does more to fire up a skippy school than any single bait, so keep it going.

Ask a Perth land-based angler about trevally and they won’t picture a 40-kilo brute crashing a popper off a tropical flat. They’ll picture a skippy — a palm-sized silver fish that schools around jetty pylons, hits a small metal on the drop, and fights well above its weight on 4lb line. It’s one of the best-value light-tackle fish in the metro, available all year, and a kid who’s bored of herring will happily swap up to a skippy that actually bends the rod.

This guide is about that fish — the common inshore trevally Perth anglers catch from jetties, groynes, beaches and the Swan — not the northern giant trevally on the magazine covers.

What It Is, and How to Tell It Apart

The fish we call “skippy” in WA is the silver trevally, also sold as skipjack trevally — Pseudocaranx georgianus. It’s a deep, silver fish with a yellowish lateral stripe, a small dark spot on the gill cover, and a forked tail built for short, hard runs. Most metro fish run 400–800g; a good one is over 1kg, and they top out around 3kg.

It is not the same animal as the giant trevally (Caranx ignobilis), the tropical bruiser that reaches 50kg-plus in WA’s north and is a dedicated heavy-tackle sportfish. The two share a family and a name and almost nothing else — you won’t catch a GT off a Swan River jetty. If the northern giant is what you’re after, that’s a different trip; see the giant trevally species guide. Everything below is skippy.

Where and When Around Perth

Skippy love structure: jetty pylons, rock walls, groynes, harbour moles and the deeper holes of the Swan estuary. Anywhere there’s current pushing past hard structure and a bit of berley to hold them, a school turns up.

They bite year-round, but the run tightens up in the cooler months — roughly May through September — when fish school hard around inshore reef and structure. Summer still produces, especially early and late. On any tide, the hour either side of the change is the window.

The Rules (check DPIRD)

For silver/skipjack trevally the minimum size is 250mm and the individual daily bag limit is 8, counting toward the statewide nearshore/estuarine finfish total of 16 fish per person per day. Those numbers share the mixed bag with herring, whiting and tailor, so a mixed feed adds up faster than you’d think. Rules get reviewed — always confirm the current limits on the DPIRD recreational fishing rules page before you keep a fish.

Best Skippy Spots in the Metro

Ammo Jetty (Woodman Point)

The classic. Sheltered Cockburn Sound water, shallow weed and sand, and pylons that hold bait — skippy school through here, often mixed in with the herring. Fish tight to the structure with light gear and keep a berley trail going. See the Ammo Jetty forecast before you walk in.

Woodman Point Jetty

Right next door and on the same protected water. Deeper at the end than Ammo, which can hold better fish when the school sits off the structure. Good walk-in option when Ammo is shoulder-to-shoulder — check Woodman Point Jetty.

North Mole (Fremantle)

Deep water, heavy structure and constant current at the harbour mouth make the North Mole a genuine skippy producer, and the fish here tend to run bigger than the inner-estuary average. It’s exposed rock, so pick a calm forecast and watch the swell.

Mosman Bay Jetty (Swan River)

For skippy without leaving the river, the deep hole off Mosman Bay Jetty is one of the most reliable estuary spots. Light float gear and berley, fished on the tide change, is the standard approach.

Point Walter

The sandbar, drop-off and jetty at Point Walter hold skippy along with bream and tailor. Fish the deeper water off the bar edge and let a berley trail drift back to you.

Hillarys Boat Harbour

The pylons and walls inside Hillarys Boat Harbour hold skippy year-round — a sheltered, accessible family option that stays fishable when it’s blowing outside.

Gear That Works

Keep it light — that’s the whole point.

Rod and reel: a 6–7ft rod rated 2–4kg with a 2500 reel. Step down to genuinely light line for more bites — 3–6lb is the sweet spot, and skippy get line-shy in clear water.
Float rig: a small running float to a size 4–6 long-shank hook, drifted past the pylons with the current, is the classic skippy bait rig.
Paternoster: a light two-dropper with a small ball sinker works the bottom near the pylons when fish sit deep.
Bait: whitebait, mulie (pilchard) strips, prawn pieces and squid — small and fresh beats big and stale.
Lures: small metal slices (10–20g), micro jigs and 2–3 inch soft plastics on a light jighead. Cast tight to structure with a slow twitch; skippy often hit on the drop.
Berley: the real secret. A steady trickle of pollard or mashed mulie draws the school in and holds it under your float. No berley, half the fish.

Timing and Conditions

Fish the tide change — the hour either side is when the current shifts and the school switches on. Early morning and late afternoon beat the middle of the day. Clean water with a bit of current movement is what you want; dead-still, dirty water switches them off. Check tide, wind and the solunar bite window for your spot on BiteCompass and time your session around the change.

Frequently Asked

Are trevally good to eat?
Yes — firm white flesh that crumbs and fries well. Bleed and ice them straight away, because the flesh softens quickly in a warm bucket. Fish around 400–600g eat better than the big ones.

What’s the difference between trevally and giant trevally?
Different fish. The skippy Perth anglers catch is silver/skipjack trevally (Pseudocaranx georgianus) — a 400g–3kg inshore schooler on light tackle. Giant trevally (Caranx ignobilis) is a tropical sportfish reaching 50kg-plus in WA’s north, needing heavy gear and rarely caught near Perth.

What size and bag limit apply to trevally in WA?
Minimum size 250mm, individual daily bag limit 8, counting toward the statewide nearshore/estuarine finfish total of 16 per day. Confirm current numbers on DPIRD first.

When is the best time to catch skippy?
Year-round, but tightest around structure from roughly May to September. On the day, fish the hour either side of a tide change, early or late.

What’s the best bait for trevally?
Small, fresh baits — whitebait, mulie strips, prawn and squid — fished light, with a constant berley trail.

Skippy bridge the gap between herring and the serious stuff — accessible, abundant, and a genuine fight on light gear. For rigs, handling and seasons, the skipjack trevally species guide has the detail, and before you head down, check wind, tide and the bite window on BiteCompass so you’re on the structure when the school swims past.