WA Salmon Season Guide (March-May)

The WA salmon run is autumn’s headline act. Schools start pushing up the south coast from late February, work their way north along the cape and into the metro through March, and by mid-April the Perth beaches are usually the place to be. March through May is the most reliable window of aggressive, accessible fish that Perth offers all year — and once you’ve had a 4-kilo salmon smash a metal in the wash, you’ll understand why people take annual leave for it.

This guide maps the run: where the fish turn up, when each stretch of coast fires, and how to be holding a bent rod when they swim past your feet. Bookmark it before the season and you’ll be ready when the first schools hit.

How to Track the Schools

The most reliable way to know if the salmon have reached your local beach is to watch the volunteer-run Salmon School Tracker WA — anglers and spotters post live sightings up and down the coast. It’s the closest thing WA has to salmon radar, and it runs hot daily once the run is underway.

Rough seasonal progression — the run forms on the south coast first and tracks west around the capes, then north up the west coast:

  • Late summer – early autumn: Schools build first along the south coast — Esperance and Albany (Cheynes Beach, Nanarup, Salmon Holes). This is the fish’s home ground and where the run starts.
  • Late February – March: The run tracks west and the first schools reach Augusta and Flinders Bay, pushing into the Margaret River beaches.
  • Mid-to-late March: Cape Naturaliste (Bunker Bay, Eagle Bay, Castle Rock) starts firing.
  • Late March – April: Schools are established on Perth beaches and reefs. This is your peak metro window, and it lines up with the April school holidays — meaning crowds.
  • May: Numbers thin out, but the fish that remain tend to be larger and pickier.

WA Salmon Rules (the short version)

Before you fill an esky: the bag limit is 4 salmon per person per day, and the minimum size is 300mm (30cm). Fisheries officers work the beaches during the run, and ignoring either rule is a fineable offence. Always double-check the current DPIRD recreational fishing rules if it’s been a while.

Best Salmon Spots Around Perth

Recfishwest’s consistent message for this species: you’ll catch more salmon off the beach than you will off the rocks, and it’s safer. Start with the surf spots.

Trigg and Scarborough Reefs

Closest to Perth and highly productive once schools arrive on the metro coast. Salmon come up onto the shallower reef structures to feed, smashing baitfish in the wash. Early morning light and slack tide are prime, and a fresh south-westerly that pushes bait onto the reef is the forecast you want. Check the Trigg Beach and Scarborough Beach forecasts on BiteCompass before the alarm goes off — wind and swell decide whether these fire.

Rottnest Island

A premium salmon destination that requires a ferry and preparation. The reefs around the island hold fish in significant numbers, particularly the western and northern edges — Parker Point and the structures off Narrow Neck are known producers. Less pressure than the metro coast, and Rottnest salmon grow quickly on good feed. Check the Rottnest Island forecast before buying the ferry ticket.

Fremantle Area

The deeper water around Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour and the mole approaches can hold salmon where current pushes bait. Less documented than the reefs, but worth exploring when the main marks are shoulder-to-shoulder.

Point Peron (rock fishing — go careful)

Point Peron is a genuine salmon magnet — deep water, structure, and the right current combine into textbook hunting ground. But the rocks here wash over without warning, and salmon season draws inexperienced anglers onto wet ledges. If you’re not confident reading swell, fish one of the beach options instead. If you do go: wear a lifejacket (Recfishwest runs free loan programs at participating WA tackle stores), time your visit for smaller swell, and work surface lures and small soft plastics around the gutters at first light. See the Point Peron forecast before committing.

Worth the Drive South

If you want something closer to a guarantee, point the car south. These beaches see salmon before Perth does and keep producing after the metro schools thin out:

  • Cape Naturaliste (Bunker Bay, Eagle Bay, Castle Rock) — classic southwest salmon country from mid-March.
  • Hamelin Bay — less crowded than the Margaret River beaches and reliable through the run.
  • Augusta — the first Perth-accessible salmon of the year show up around Flinders Bay.
  • Albany — Cheynes Beach, Nanarup, and Salmon Holes are on every serious chaser’s list. This is the fish’s home ground.

Gear That Actually Works

Beach / surf setup

  • Rod: 10–12ft surf rod. Overkill for the fish, but you need the distance to reach beyond the first breaker.
  • Reel: 4000–6000 spinning reel with a smooth drag — salmon run hard the first few seconds of a fight and a sticky drag costs you fish.
  • Line: 30lb braid with a 40lb fluorocarbon leader.

Rock / reef setup

  • Rod: 7–8ft medium-heavy spin rod rated 4–8kg. Easier to work topwater and cast metals around structure.
  • Reel: 4000 size is plenty.
  • Line: 20–30lb braid, 30lb leader.

Lures

  • Halco Twisty 40–55g — the classic. If you only carry one lure, carry this.
  • Metal slices (Spanyid Raider, Gillies Baitfish) for maximum distance off the beach.
  • Richter plugs and other surface lures — deadly when fish are up high chasing bait.
  • Paddle-tail soft plastics on a 20–40g jighead if they’re fussy.
  • Ganged pilchards on three 4/0 hooks — the bait option when nothing else is producing.

Timing and Conditions

Dawn and dusk are the prime windows — salmon are visual, aggressive hunters and low light lines up with bait-school movement into the shallows. Overcast days extend the bite well into mid-morning.

Tide: slack tide into the push of an incoming tide. The current change triggers feeding. Mid-tide sessions can still hold up if there’s swell concentrating bait.

Conditions to watch on BiteCompass: moderate south-westerly swell, light winds under 15 knots, and cooler ocean temperatures. When you see birds working bait over the wash, cast into the action — you’ve got minutes, not hours.

Frequently Asked

Are the salmon running yet?
The Perth window runs March to May, peaking from late March through April when schools establish along the metro beaches and reefs — that peak lines up with the April school holidays. Outside those months the run has either not arrived or has thinned out, so check the Salmon School Tracker WA Facebook page for the latest sightings before you commit, then watch your local forecast on BiteCompass.

Are WA salmon good to eat?
Strong-flavoured and oily. Most people find them too rich fresh, but they smoke beautifully, make excellent bait for mulloway and crabs, and a properly bled, iced fish straight onto the barbecue with lemon is better than the internet suggests.

How big do WA salmon get?
Typically 2–5kg, with fish to 8–9kg at the top end. Anything over 6kg is a good one.

Do I need a fishing licence for salmon in WA?
Not for shore-based recreational fishing in WA. But the bag limit of 4 salmon per person per day and the 300mm minimum size still apply. Boat-based fishing requires a Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence.

What’s the difference between Australian salmon and Atlantic salmon?
They’re unrelated species. Australian salmon (Arripis truttaceus) is a native perciform — a hard-fighting, surf-schooling predator. It was named ‘salmon’ by colonial-era settlers based on appearance, not biology.

WA salmon season is a rare window of reliable shore-based action — aggressive fish, accessible from the beach, in strong numbers when the schools are running. See the full Australian Salmon species guide for rigs and handling details, check your spot’s conditions on BiteCompass, and don’t let the March-to-May window close without getting out at least once.