Fishing WA-Kimberley Hotspots
Fishing in WA is incredibly diverse and rich with hundreds of opportunities over the 20 000 klm of coastline. Not to mention the multitude of rivers and streams. What follows is a list of some of the more popular and productive fishing hotspots in Western Australia.
Ord River
Running for 650 klm the Ord River drains a massive area of the Eastern Kimberley into Cambridge Gulf at Wyndham on the coast. This river is known for Barramundi fishing from Lake Argyle to the sea and large crocodiles in the lower reaches. The huge Lake Argyle now straddles the catchment providing water for the Kununurra irrigation area and there is now a constant flow down the Ord all year. The best of Kimberley rivers barra fishing is below the diversion dam wall at Kununurra all the way to Wyndham. The best time of year for barra fishing here is March to May and September to December and also June through August in the lower reaches.
Fitzroy River
Flowing in a westerly direction for over 700 klm, the Kimberley’s Fitzroy River suffers massive flooding every wet season from Christmas to March or April. Barramundi Fishing after this flood is excellent until the river stops flowing around July or August, depending on the severity of the floods. Barramundi can still be caught in isolated pools and billabongs until the next flood.
Kimberley Coast Fishing
The isolated and remote coastline north and east of Derby is absolutely spectacular, to say the least. It holds a myriad of untouched fishing opportunities from rivers, gorges and creeks to estuaries, beaches, reefs and deep water. You will need a boat as the Kimberley Coast is very inaccessible. There are a number of live aboard vessels cruising the coast from May to November.
Derby
Derby sits on King Sound on the Kimberley’s west coast. The sound is known for its huge tides of up to 12 meters, large barramundi and massive crocodiles.
The large sound is surrounded by creeks and estuaries, boarded by mangrove swamps and full of mud flats. This makes it excellent for barra fishing and mudcrabs but difficult to navigate. A large well equipped boat is required here or you can fish of the wharf in Derby at high tide.
Broome Fishing
The picturesque tourist town of Broome sits on a peninsula between the idyllic Cable Beach and the shallow flats of Roebuck Bay. Great fishing for barramundi, mud crabs and other estuary species is found in the bay and excellent reef systems off shore present great opportunity for reef species such as coral trout, emperor and many others. Broome has a well established game fishery with sailfish, mackerel, wahoo, marlin and others offshore between April to October or November.
