Green Head / Leeman (Dynamite Bay & Jetties)

Green Head and Leeman are the crayfishing towns on the quiet stretch of Indian Ocean Drive between Jurien Bay and Dongara, about three hours north of Perth. Dynamite Bay — a near-circular pocket of white sand ringed by low cliffs — is the postcard, and the shallow limestone-reef lagoon running the whole coast here marks the northern end of the Jurien Bay Marine Park. The shore fishing is honest rather than heroic: herring, tailor, whiting and squid from the bays, jetties and reef points, with the serious dhufish-and-snapper business happening from boats out wide. What the towns offer is uncrowded water, a jetty each, and enough sheltered corners that something is nearly always fishable.

Pick your bay by the wind and the weed — that's the local method. Dynamite Bay and South Bay are the sheltered light-gear water for herring and whiting, with steady berley doing most of the recruiting. Point Louise is the exposed reef corner where the tailor come through the wash at dawn and dusk. The recreational jetty at Anchorage Bay gives a set-and-forget platform for herring, squid and whiting, and Leeman's Main Jetty off Thomas Street covers the same brief fifteen minutes north. Squid jigs worked over the seagrass between the reef produce year-round, and a bigger bait soaked off the beach after dark is the mulloway lottery ticket.

Herring are the reliable core in every bay, tailor run the reef edges and wash best in autumn, and sand whiting work the lagoon sand through the warmer months with yellowfin whiting in the calmest corners. Southern calamari hold over the seagrass all year, skippy patrol the deeper reef holes, and the occasional mulloway comes off the beaches at night. Pink snapper and baldchin groper are caught in numbers here — from boats; from shore, treat them as a rumour. The crayfish that built both towns are a pot-and-diving fishery, not a line one.

The weed is the daily reality — after a blow it stacks into the bays, and the answer is the local one: fish 'Inside South' or whichever corner the swell direction spares. Dynamite Bay doubles as the town swimming hole, so fish it at dawn before the snorkellers arrive and everyone stays friends. Australian sea lions haul out along this coast and the rules are specific — keep 10m away on land and 50m in the water, and don't test them in breeding season; they bite. The marine park's sanctuary zones sit offshore around the islands and reefs, but zone boundaries are marked on-site — read the yellow signs before fishing somewhere new.

Both towns sit just off Indian Ocean Drive — Green Head is 30km north of Jurien Bay, with Leeman another 15 minutes up the road. Dynamite Bay has a car park and toilet block a short flat walk from the sand, and Anchorage Bay holds the recreational jetty and fish-cleaning station. Boat ramps run off Ocean View Drive at South Bay and Johns Street; Leeman adds three more launching points, with the Thomas Street Main Jetty the one to fish land-based. Services are small-town basics — sort specialised tackle and bulk bait in Jurien Bay or before leaving Perth. The sealed access and short walks make the bays an easy outing with kids.

The lagoon is shallow, sandy and warmed by the Leeuwin Current, which keeps the water mild and occasionally posts a tropical stray down the coast in summer. The bays are sheltered in most winds; Point Louise takes the swell and is the spot that turns on when there's white water working the reef. Weed is the limiting factor after any decent blow — give it a couple of days or hunt the protected corners. Clear, calm days favour the squid and whiting; low light and a bit of wash favour everything else.

Sea lions are the local wildcard — they haul out on beaches and rocks, they're unpredictable in breeding season, and DBCA's distances (10m on land, 50m in the water) exist because they've bitten people. Point Louise's limestone reef is slippery and takes swell; watch a few sets before committing and stay off it in heavy sea. Check SharkSmart before a session and keep fish frames out of the shallows. Sanctuary zones in the marine park are no-take — fishing one earns a fine, so read the zone signage, especially near the offshore islands. Jurien Bay Sea Rescue covers this coast if things go properly wrong.

Yes. Green Head sits at the northern boundary of the Jurien Bay Marine Park, and shore fishing is permitted in the general-use zones that cover the town bays. The no-take sanctuary zones sit offshore around the islands and reef systems. Zone boundaries are marked with on-site signage — check the signs before fishing an unfamiliar stretch.

No — the marine park runs from Wedge Island north to Green Head, so Leeman sits outside it entirely. Normal statewide DPIRD rules still apply there: bag and size limits are unchanged, there's just no marine-park zoning to navigate. The Thomas Street Main Jetty is the easiest land-based platform in town.

Herring, whiting and the odd tailor — it fishes okay rather than spectacularly, and it doubles as the town swimming spot, so early sessions work best. The sheltered sand suits light gear and a bit of berley. For better tailor odds, walk to Point Louise where the reef and wash concentrate the fish at dawn and dusk.

Point Louise is the tailor corner — it's the main surf break, and the reef edge and white water hold fish at dawn and dusk, best through autumn. South Bay produces too, especially when weed pushes anglers off the exposed water. Ganged mulies or a 30–45g metal cast into the wash covers it.

They're wild, unpredictable in breeding season, and have been known to bite, so treat them with distance rather than a camera lens. DBCA's rules require keeping 10m away on land and 50m in the water. Colonies breed on the islands offshore — Fisherman Islands and Buller Island — and animals regularly haul out on the town beaches.