Pink Snapper

Chrysophrys auratus

Much sought after bottom species. Grows to about 10kg in Kalbarri waters. More common in winter over reef structure when they move inshore. Minimum size 410mm in Kalbarri & 2 per angler. Boat limit applies.

Red emperor

Lutjanus sebae

Not often caught in Kalbarri waters but found over soft corals in 45m or more. Minimum size 410mm and 2 per angler. Boat limit applies.

Red-throat emperor

Sweetlip emperor or Lethrinus miniatus

One of the common nor'west snappers, caught on most reef edges. Great eating, but don't grow much bigger than this in Kalbarri. Minimum size 280mm Max 4 per person. Boat limit applies.

Baldchin Groper

Choerodon rubescens

Hard fighting and top quality table fish. Grows to about 8kgs in Kalbarri waters. Found over coral outcrops. Minimum size 400mm & 4 per angler. Boat limit applies.

Coral Trout

Plectropomus leopardus

Uncomon catch, a bonus when hooked, five star eating. Minimum size limit 450mm & 1 per angler. Boat limit applies

Dhufish

Glaucosoma hebraicum

Everyone wants to catch one. Grows to around 15kgs in Kalbarri waters. Caught over rock and reef. Schools up in shallow water to spawn in June/July when many are caught. Minimum size 500mm & 2 per angler. Boat limit applies.

Spangled Emperor

Lethrinus nebulosus

Not very common in Kalbarri but great to catch. Same habits & locations as pink snapper. Min. size 410mm & 4 per person. Boat limit applies.

Skippy

Silver Trevally or Pseudocaranx denyex

These great little fighters are very common in winter over good reef structure. They grow to quite respectable sizes in Kalbarri and are good eating. Min. size 250mm max 8 per person.

Brassy trevally

Carnnx papuensis

Very uncommon catch. First seen in Kalbarri that I can recall. It was swimming with a golden trevally. This is a big one of the species. No min. size.

Gold-Spot Trevally

Carangoides Fulvoguttatus

Similer habits and characteristics as the more common golden trevally.

Golden trevally

Gnathanodon speciosus

An uncommon catch in Kalbarri usually around August to October. Very tough fighters inhabiting good reef structure. No min. size limit max. 2 per person.

Pennantfish

Alectis ciliaris

Very unusual for the Midwest region. Only one caught on my boats. This is a juvinile and it will loose it's long fins when it matures. One of the trevally species

Amberjack

Seriola dumerili

Fairly common catch, usually miss identified as a samson fish. Caught often on lures. Very tough fighters. poor eating. Minimum size 600mm & 2 per angler. Boat limit applies

Samson Fish

Seriola hippos

Great fun to catch but best returned as poor quality eating. Minimum size 600mm & 2 per angler. Boat limit applies.

Yellowtail Kingfish

Seriola lalandi valenciennes

Caught fairly often taking lures set for mackerel and sometimes from the bottom on baits. Min. size 600mm & 2 per angler. Boat limit applies.

Esturay Cod

Epinephelus coioides

Small ones are common but big ones are hard to get up from the bottom. Min. size limit 400mm. Maximum size 1000mm or 30kgs. 2 per angler. Boat limit applies.

Rankin Cod

Epinephelus multinotatus

Real name white-blotched rockcod, but better known as rankin cod. A great catch over good reef country, with some fish up to 9kgs. Very good eating & unfortunatly not very common in Kalbarri. Bag limit 2 fish no size limit. Boat limit applies.

Breaksea Cod

Epinephelides arnatus

A common fish caught on all the reef systems around Kalbarri. Also know as black arse cod because of the black marking on anal vent. Good eating. Min. size 300mm and max. 4 per person. Boat limit applies.

Black-Tipped Cod

Epinephelus fasciatus

Common catch over reefy ground. Usually caught when the fishing has shut down. Grows to about 300mm, hardly worth keeping, best released

Chinaman Fish

Symphorus nematophorus

Not a comon catch, but welcome then when caught. Hard fighters and found over reef structure.

Coral Cod

Cephalopholis miniata

Looks alot like a coral trout but does not grow as big. Very pretty fish not often caught. No size limit but best let go.

Tomato Rockcod

Cephalopholis sonnerati

Incidental catch, caught while fishing for more common species. Bigger specimens worth keeping.

Coronation Trout

Variola louti

A very pretty fish, but not much fight when pulled up from their favoured deep water reef areas over 35m

Blue-Barred Parrotfish

Scarus ghobban

A very local resident fish, caught mainly on reef with little fishing pressure. Easily fished out and not common. This one is a female.

Painted Sweetlips

Diagramma labiosum

Fairly common catch, pull like hell. poor eating quality especially when they get into this size range, Min. size 300mm.

Gold Spotted sweetlips

Plectorhinchus flavomaculatus

A common catch, not worth keeping due to poor eating quality. Min. size 300mm.

Mulloway

Argyrosomus hololepidotus

Caught mainly at night, evening or morning from shore. Occasional fish caught from boats on reef structure during the day. Minimum size 500mm & 2 per angler.

Mangrove Jacks

Lutjanus argentimaculatus

Like structure around the jetties and well up river. Fillet, prawn & live baits. Minimum size 300mm & 2 per angler.

Tailor

Pomatomus saltatrix

Jumbo tailor abound in Kalbarri. Fish the white water around reef breaks. Best times - early morning & late evening. Min. size 300mm & 8 per angler with max 2 fish over 600mm.

Giant Threadfin

Eleutheronema tetradactylum

Commonly caught in tidal estuary and mangrove mudflats locations. Great fighting fish changing direction quickly. Bait and lures both work on this fish. Size and bag limits apply.

Blue-Spotted Emperor

Lethrinus choeorhynchus

One of the many nor'west snapper that are abundant in the North West of Western Australia. Easily caught on any bait and usually a by catch while fishing for larger species.

Threadfin Emperor

Lethrinus genivittatus

Very common over sand and weed bottoms near reef. Grows to about 250mm, so not a target species.

Long-Spined Snapper

Argyrops spinifer

Rarely caught but of interest. Has a very long red spine in the top dorsal fin. Best released.

Sweet-Lip Emperor

Lethrinus sp.

Another of the many difficult nor'west snapper to identify. Probabaly a Variation of minatus

Sweet-Lip Emperor Sp.

Lethrinus sp.

Another variation of the minatus species.

Black Bream

Acanthopagrus butcheri

The most targeted and common in the river estuary and right up river. Prawn baits soft plastics and small minow lures. Minimum size 250mm Max 4 fish.

Tarwhine

Rhabdosargus sarba

Some times called silver bream. Inhabits coral reefs in shallow water up to 25m. Juviniles found in the estuary. Bites and fights like a snapper. Min. size 250mm & 12 per angler.

Spotted Javelinfish

pomadasys kaakan

Not often caught but takes baits set for black bream in the river. Southern range for this warm water fish. Min. size 300mm.

Bar-Tailed Flathead

Platycephalus endrachtensis

Small specimens are abundant over sand, but larger specimens like this one are found close to reef. Usually a bycatch but good eating. Minimum size 300 & 8 per person.

Yellow- Finned Whiting

Sillago schomburgkii

Bread & butter fish sought after in the river and from the ocean beaches where most of the larger specimens come from. Caught on small fillets, prawns and blood worms. No min. size limit and 12 per angler.

Broad-Barred Spanish Mackerel

Scomberomoruc semifasciatus

Uncommon, caught occasionally trolling. This is a National & State junior 6kg line class record at 9.5kgs. Minimum size 750mm & 2 per angler. Boat limit applies.

Narrow-barred spanish mackerel

Scomberomorus commerson

Most common mackerel caught. Mainly caught trolling lures and baits, but also on drifted and set baits. Jan - July in Kalbarri only. Minimum size 900mm & 2 per angler. Boat limit applies.

Australian Spotted Mackerel

Scomberomorus munroi

Caught occasionally while trolling for narrow-barred mackerel usually January & February in Kalbarri. Minimum size 500mm Max 4 per angler.

Shark Mackerel

Grammatorcynus bicarinatus

Uncommon, sometimes caught in Jan/Feb in Kalbarri. Minumum size 500mm & 2 per angler. Boat limit applies.

Black Marlin

Makaira indica

A lucky few hook up to these game fish but are far too rare around Kalbarri. No size limit. 1 per angler.

Indio-Pacific Sailfish

Istiophorus platypterus

A much sorte ofter game fish. Caught in accessable areas mainly north of Carnarvon and along it's favoured haunts offshore from the Ningaloo Reef. Favoured depth range from 30m to 50mm. Nearly every fish hooked is released.

Wahoo

Acanthocybium solandri

Similar to the mackerel species but found in deeper water, 50m to 100m. Sorte after for it's great fast swiming and hard fighting characteristics when hooked. Size limit 900mm and 2 per person, boat limits apply.

Dolphinfish (Mahi mahi)

Coryphaena hippurus

Exciting fish to catch, but not often caught. Leaps from the water frequently. Good eating fresh. Min. size 500mm & 2 per angler. Boat limit applies.

Giant Seapike

Sphyraena jello

These strange fish smash poppers and bait, but are a bit lame and come to the boat easily when hooked.

Cobia

Rachycentron canadus

A game fish taking lures but often caught on the bottom. Size limit 750mm & 2 per angler. Boat limit applies.

Yellow-fin tuna

Thunnus alalunga

Most common tuna. Very strong fighters. A challenge on any tackle. Caught mainly on lures set for mackerel and tend to come from 25m deep or more areas. No size limit & 2 per angler. Boat limit applies.

Northerm Long-tail Tuna

Thunnus tonggol

Similar to yellow-fin but longer and thinner and not as common. Same habits. No size limit & 8 per angler. Boat limit applies.

Skipjack tuna

Kalsuwonis pelamis

A very fast swiming tuna that changes direction quickly when hooked. Great little fighters caught mainly from February to May. Does not grow very big in Kalbarri with a 5kg fish the upper limit. No size limit, max 8 per angler.

Mackerel Tuna

Euthynnus affinis

Not a very common tuna for this area. Identified by the stripes on the back and 3 small dots on the belly. Grows to around 15kg taking lures and chrome slices cast to working schools. No size limit, 8 per angler.s

Whaler Shark

Carcharhinus species

Sharks are hard to identify, and are not usually kept by anglers. Big sharks have a build up of heavy metals so any fish over 1.5m is a health risk to eat. They are frequently caught from the bottom as a by catch and usually bite through the line before being brought to the boat. They are also known to take lures and sometimes hooked fish. Size limits apply and 2 per angler. Boat limit applies.

Smooth Hammerhead Shark

Sphyrna sygaena

Makes it'self known by snooping around boats and then easily caught by tossing a bait to it. Fights well when it finds out that it is hooked!

Grey Nurse Shark

Carcharais taurus

One of the protected shark species. Fairly common over good reef areas on the west coast, but threatened from over fishing on the east coast. A prohibited species.

Shortfin Mako Shark

Isurus Oxyrinchus

Snoops around boats looking for an easy feed. Takes hooked fish from anglers. One of the great sport fishing sharks due to it's explosive jumps and powerful runs.

Sandbar Shark

Carcharinus plumbeus

Similar to the whalers, taking baits set for demersal fish. Puts up quite a fair account of itself.

Wiskery Shark

Furgaleus macki

Incidental bycatch caught on the bottom. One of the better eating shark species.

Pencil Shark

Hypogaleus hyugaenis

Northern most range for this species. Sometimes misidentified as a gummy shark. Caught as a bycatch over reef areas. Grows to about 1.5m and has small fine teeth. Thrashes around alot when landed.

Giant Shovelnose Ray

Rhinobatos typus

A big fish caught from the beaches along the "Coral Coast" mainly at night. Difficult to land due to it's never give up attitude and relative large size.

Banded Wobbegong

Orectolobus ornatus

Quite a common catch over reef areas. Feels like a heavy weight when pulling it up to the surface. Very little edible flesh on a fish this size, so best released. Can grow to 3 metres in length.

Black Stingray

Dasyatis thetidis

Caught infrequently and very hard to stop and bring up from the bottom. Will not give up! Has poisonous spines at the base of it's tail. Grows to 65kgs and 1800mm dia. disc.

Striped Stingaree

Trygonoplera ovalis

Small ray caught infrequently, spine on tail venomous so handle with care and return to the depths.

Woodward's Reef Eel

Gymnothorax woodwardi

Small specimens are caught over reef areas, tangling and knotting themselves around fishing lines. Bite is painfull and has anticoagulant properties, stay clear.

Southern Drummer

Kyphosus bigibbus

Also known as a silver drummer, is an uncommon catch as it usually feeds on weed like a buff bream. Puts up a great fight but dissapointing as they are inedible.

Western Red Scorpion Cod

Scorpaena sumptuosa

Caught over reefs & can be a nuisance. One of the gurnard species. Do not touch these as the fin spikes are poisonous.

Catfish

Arius thalassinus

Unusual catch, occasional specimens take bait while fishing for reef fish. Grows to around 600mm here but much bigger further north. Saltwater caught fish can be eaten & said to be good.

Blackspot goatfish

Parupeneus spilurus

Incidental catch over reef and sand. This is about as big as they get.

Yellow-Striped Goatfish

Parupeneus chrysopleuron

An incidental bycatch caught over sand and weed bottoms. A small fish not usually targetet. Max. size around 300mm.

Stripey Seaperch

Lutjanus carponotatus

Another uncommon catch, this one took a bait set for snapper on good reef structure in 25m of water. Min. size 300mm & 2 per person.

Gold-spot Pigfish

Bodianus perditio

Occasionally caught and looks a bit like a wrasse. They don't grow much bigger than this and best released.

Sand Bass

Psammoperca waigiensis

Not a comon catch. Inhabits reef with weed. Colour is varable from silver to dark brown.

Black Damsel Fish

Neoglyphidodon nigroris

One of the many coral reef fish. An incidental catch that should never be kept. Always return them to the water.

Dottyback

Ogilbyina species

Small wrasse type fish, very colourfull, not often caught due to it's small size.

Smudgespot spinefoot

Siganus canaliculatus

Also known as "Happy Moments" due to it's poisonous spines. Anglers that get spiked experience a surge of euphoria a few seconds before the pain sets in. Caught occasionally in the winter months. Probabally more common than thought as they have a small mouth so do not get hooked easily.

Sergeant Baker

Aulopus purpurlissatus

Sometimes prolific over reef & coral. Agressive preditor but only growing to about 400mm here. Best cut up for bait immediatly to catch dhuefish.

Nor'west Blowie

Silver toadfish or Lagocephalus scleratus

Common puffer fish. don't eat these they are poisonous.

Unicorn Leatherjacket

Aluterus monoceros

This is the only one of this species caught from my boats, quite weird looking.

Leatherjacket

One of the 60 odd species of leatherjacket that vary from location to location. Not often caught due to their small mouths.

Western Blue Devil

Paraplesiops meleagris

Common by catch over reef and coral. Small size means it is not worth keeping and should be let go. max. size about 250mm.

Western King Wrasse

Coris auricularis

Very common over reef and coral but due to it's small size not often caught. Grows to a max size of about 300mm

Black-striped wrasse

Coris pictoides

A small wrasse not often caught due to it's small size. Grows to 300mm, best returned.

Wrasse

Halichoeres species

One of the many wrasse caught that defy identification by the lay person.

Brown Spotted Wrasse

Notolabrus parilus

Another dificult fish to identify. colour varies considerably with most wrasse species.

Western Frogfish

Batrachomoeus occidentalis

Unusual catch over reef country. Has poisonous spines so keep clear. Grows to about 200mm

Large-scaled Grinner

Saurida undosquamis

Quite a few are caught over reef structure. Identified by their huge mouth for their body size. Must be an awsome predator, but do not grow much bigger than this.

Blue Swimmer Crab

Portunus pelagicus

The most common type of crab in the river system. Caught with drop nets and scooping from the estuary mouth right up to the end of the tidal influence. min. size 127mm, bag limit 20 and boat limit 40.

Mud Crab

Scylla spp.

Caught in drop-nets anywhere in the river. Mainly Jan - June. Minimum size 150mm.

West Australian Rock Lobster

Panulirus & Jasus spp.

Sometimes call a crayfish and is the main commercial catch out from Kalbarri. Recreational fishers catch them in pots or by diving. A recreational license is required and bag and size limits apply, Very good eating and easy to catch early December to Early January during the "Run of the Whites"

Cuttlefish

Cephalopoda sepia apama

Sometimes gets tangled and hooked on bait. Can get much bigger than this. Be carefull they can squirt vast amounts of black ink making a mess of the boat.

Flappy Snake Eel

Phyllophichthus xenodontus

A strange one caught at night in the estuary.

Freshwater eel

Caught in the Murchison River at night. Only one ever caught that I know of.

Roe's Abalone

Haliotis roei

These tasty shellfish are found on most reef edges around Kalbarri. Usually just out of reach in the surf zone. Collecting them can be risky and a low swell and low tide is best. W.A. Fisheries licence is required and 20 per person max. Season opens 1st October to 15th May, from the Greenough River, north to the Northern Territory border.