Is August good for black bream in Perth?

It's the standout pre-spawn month for quality fish, with breeders staging before the spring spawn. Big breeding females stack in the upper reaches and deeper middle-river holes, in their best condition of the year. Many anglers run catch and release on the bigger breeders. Fish glacially slow retrieves on a stable warm run, and give it 48 hours after a cold front.

Can you catch mulloway in Perth in August?

Yes, if you've got the patience for a cold night soak. Mulloway hold in the deeper Swan holes through winter and a well-placed bait on the bottom overnight is realistic. The Narrows Bridge pylons, Point Walter sandbar edges and the deeper water around Mosman Bay all have form. Tide changes around the new and full moon are prime.

What's the easiest fish to catch in Perth in winter?

Australian herring. They don't care about cold or fronts and will hit a small strip of mulie under a float at almost any metro jetty or groyne. Rockingham Jetty is reliable all winter and Bicton Baths produces on a calm afternoon. It's the lowest-barrier fish in Perth and a great option to take the kids when the weather shuts everything else down.

Are there bag limits for cobbler in WA?

Yes. Estuary cobbler carry a minimum size and a daily bag limit in WA. Handle them carefully — the dorsal and pectoral spines pack a serious sting, so keep long-nose pliers and a damp towel handy. Check the current DPIRD recreational fishing rules for the exact size and bag before you keep any.

What’s Biting in Perth in August

Q: What's biting in Perth in August?

August is the standout pre-spawn month for black bream in the Swan and Canning — the big breeders are staging on their marks ahead of the spring spawn, and they're in their best condition of the year. Australian herring stay reliable through any weather, mulloway are a genuine night option off the Swan jetties, cobbler start winding up as the nights warm, and tarwhine fill out a mixed bag on the metro jetties. Sessions are short — pick a species, pick a window, commit.

August is deep winter tailing off, and you can feel it in the margins. The water’s still cold, the fronts still marching through, but somewhere mid-month Perth will cop a four-day run of sunshine that convinces half the city summer’s back. It isn’t. The daffodils have hit Coles and BOM is firing out warnings every second weekend. August does offer quality fish if you pick your window — bream are staging pre-spawn in peak condition, herring don’t care what month it is, and a mulloway off a Swan River jetty at night is still realistic. Just accept the sessions will be short and the weather ordinary.

Black Bream: Pre-Spawn Run on the Swan and Canning

If there’s one fish that makes August worth the cold hands, it’s black bream. This is the pre-spawn run on the Swan and Canning — the month when the big breeders are staging on their marks ahead of the spring spawn, and the quality of the fishing steps up with them. Big solid females are stacked in the upper reaches and on the deeper holes around the middle river, and the heaviest fish of the whole cycle come out this month. Thick-shouldered specimens that have been feeding since June and have now settled into the business end of things. Plenty of anglers run full catch and release through August on the bigger breeders — these are the fish carrying next year’s fishery, and DPIRD regs are worth a proper look before you head out.

Ashfield Flats is the standout — fish the snag lines and pontoon edges on a rising tide with small hardbodies or unweighted prawns, and be ready for the biggest bream you’ll tangle with all year. The Narrows Bridge stretch fishes well on the deeper drop-offs with slow-rolled soft plastics. Pick a day after a stable warm run if you can — two or three mild nights in a row can nudge the water temp up half a degree, and the bite on the staging fish noticeably lifts. After a cold front rolls through, give it 48 hours before bothering. Retrieves need to be glacial this month — pre-spawn fish aren’t chasing, they’re reacting, so if you think you’re fishing slow enough, fish slower again.

Australian Herring: The Weekend-Saver

When the forecast turns ugly and the wind shuts down everything else, Australian herring are still on the chew. They don’t care about fronts, they don’t care about cold, and they’ll happily hit a small strip of mulie under a float at almost any metro jetty or groyne. If the kids are climbing the walls because the hockey and netball carparks have turned into a pre-fishing warm-up routine, pack them up and go chase herring. It’s the lowest-barrier fish in Perth and it always delivers.

Rockingham Jetty is reliable all winter — Ammo Jetty is closed for its rebuild until around summer 2027 — and Bicton Baths on a calm arvo will produce too. Gang hooks, small float, strip of mulie, two metres deep. The better-quality herring tend to sit a bit below the surface schools, so don’t just fish right on top. A feed of herring fillets crumbed and pan-fried is one of the more underrated Perth Sunday nights.

Mulloway: Still Worth the Night Shift

August mulloway in the Swan are a genuine option if you’ve got the patience. The fish hold in the deeper holes through winter and the river has enough bait moving through that a well-placed bait on the bottom overnight is a realistic play. It’s not a fish-a-cast scenario — it’s a long soak in the cold with a thermos and the acceptance that you might blank. But the quality can be outstanding when it happens.

The Narrows Bridge pylons, Point Walter sandbar edges, and the deeper water around Mosman Bay all have form. Fresh mulie fillets or live herring on a running sinker rig, cast into the deeper channels, and wait. Tide changes around new and full moon are prime. Dress for it properly — the easterly after midnight in August will find every gap in your gear. The riverside foreshores empty out after dark, so the spots quieten right down once the daytime crowd packs up.

Cobbler: Winding Up as Nights Warm

Cobbler are one of the better-kept Perth secrets, and August is when they start to really come on as the nights warm a degree or two heading into spring. They’re an estuary and inshore fish, generally targeted after dark on soft bottoms — think the shallow flats and margins of the Swan lower reaches and the Peel-Harvey system. They feed on the bottom and they’ll take a well-presented bait fished patiently.

Mandurah Jetty and the flats either side of Dawesville Cut are worth a crack on a calm, mild evening. Prawns, mulie strips, or small live baits on a light running sinker rig. Be careful handling them — the spines on the dorsal and pectoral fins pack a serious sting, and no one’s Friday night improves with a trip to the GP. Long-nose pliers and a damp towel are standard kit. Size and bag limits apply, so DPIRD’s rec fishing guide is the go-to for current rules.

Tarwhine and Other By-Catch Worth Keeping

Working the jetties and rock walls through August, you’ll often run into tarwhine — bream’s coastal cousin, smaller on average but aggressive on light line. They school up around metro jetties and groynes and hit small baits and lightly weighted plastics.

Hillarys Boat Harbour and Palm Beach Jetty both produce them reliably. They fillet nicely for their size and are underrated eating. A bucket of mixed herring and tarwhine is a perfectly respectable winter result.

Looking Ahead: The Turn Toward Spring

Not quite yet, but the calendar is finally turning, and late August is when you start setting up for what’s coming. The squid switch back on around the metro jetties through September, the King George whiting drift back onto the grass beds, and the yellowfin flats fishery wakes up as the water warms. None of it has fired in August, but the last week of the month is when smart anglers re-spool the light gear and check their squid jigs. For Perth proper, you’re still a few weeks off the good stuff — but the worst of winter is behind you.

August isn’t the month you stack up big mixed bags — it’s the month you pick a species, pick a window, and commit. The weather will knock you around, the weekends will get blown out more often than not, and the sessions will be short. But the bream are in their best condition of the year, the herring will save any blank session, and a Swan River mulloway at 2am in August is a proper Perth fishing result. Check BiteCompass for the wind and tide windows before you lock anything in, and if late August throws a four-day calm run at you, drop everything. Those are the days you remember.