Perth, Western Australia, has a diverse marine habitat which provides an opportunity for anglers of varying skill and knowledge to have a great time fishing off our shores. Once basic safety regulations are adhered to, it is easy to launch from one of the many harbours or boat ramps and head out to fishy waters.

Small vessels under 15 foot are able to go miles out to sea on calm days but must be wary of the strong winds that often blow up and make uncomfortable and slow trips home. The fishing grounds off Perth have been heavily impacted upon recently by the increase in boating population and developments of fish finding technology.

The government has size and bag limits which must be adhered to and there are regular and random inspections from fisheries officers to ensure laws aren't being broken. The Perth coastline stretches from Rockingham to Two Rocks and such iconic places such as Rottnest host a variety of fishing possibilities. Off the shores around Rottnest you can catch salmon, herring, squid, buff bream, yellow tail kings and a wide array of species depending upon bait and the time of year.

3 miles out from Swanbourne north runs a healthy reef system which has large king george whiting, samsonfish, pink snapper, dhufish, skippy, cuttlefish, herring, bonito, spanish mackeral, sharks, pike, snook, fox fish and assorted reef fish that are best caught on fresh squid, mulie or octopus and lures for the surface fish. It really depends on the season and the water temperature for the pelagic action, even thou bonito seem to be a year round capture. The reef varies from 25 meters up to 7 meters, in the searching we have done, and there are great nuggety features which make life very difficult when trying to stop the varying sizes of samsonfish that populate the reef. With a little bit of berley and a decent spot to fish on, it normally doesn't take long before there is some interest from the depths. I can't say there has been too many days where the fish have been totally shut down out there, but it does happen and nothing with fishing is gauranteed. If the weather looks like it may be blowing up, or the trip out wide isn't worth it, then the 3 mile is a great place for a short trip and often produces a good feed of fish or a great way to kill an afternoon.

The waters around Perth are picturesque and are relatively free of pollution which makes it an ideal place for the person who loves their aquatic activities.