Mahi mahi, dolphin fish or dorado - it doesn’t matter what you call them - these striking and hard fighting fish are well-loved and widely chased around the world, and it’s not hard to see why!Â
Squid are becoming an increasingly popular target species all over the country, with several species available. One species that often fails to get a good mention is the tropical northern variety, the tiger squid, or bigfin reef squid.Â
Luderick or blackfish have somewhat of a cult following in their home waters, which extend from southern Queensland and right through the NSW coast to Victoria, and some parts of Tasmania. There is something about the peculiar techniques used to catch them that endears them to their most loyal followers.
Trout, both brown and rainbow, are often associated with old men in Tweed jackets smoking wooden pipes and casting fly gear more expensive than the family car. Sure, in some parts of the world this is still true, and you may be forgiven for thinking this is the only way to catch trout in streams.Â
We all know bull sharks live in our rivers, and in fact, pretty much every river system from Sydney in the east, all access the top of the country and down to about Perth in Western Australia has a population of juvenile bull sharks.Â
The nice thing about bass fishing in stocked impoundments is that we don’t have to stop fishing for them during the cooler months. While these fish still get the urge to breed, they’re inability to access saltwater means they can’t successfully complete their life cycle.Â
Garfish are a very available means of bait, food and fun, especially for kids. They’re forgiving nature and shear abundance makes them a very useful species, whether you’re looking for large baits for big fish, a few butterflied fillets for the table, or a little bit of fun for younger anglers
While urban development has been detrimental to many aquatic species, mangrove jack seem to have thrived in these concrete jungles. Artificial structures such as bridges, pontoons, retaining walls and even sunken vehicles have provided our resident red dogs with places to ambush their prey, and in the last 20 years, fishing in these urban jungles has become very popular.
For saltwater anglers who love a bit of a sporting challenge, it’s hard to go past longtail tuna. Their long, sizzling runs and tendency to be a bit finicky with what they will eat attracts skillful anglers, and their habit of coming into sheltered waters to feed means they are accessible even to small boat anglers, and sometimes even land-based anglers!
Barramundi are arguably the most sought after sportfish in the northern end of Australia, and seems that everything about them is tailor made for anglers. Their hard-hitting nature, aerial displays and potential to grow to truly jurassic sizes endears them widely to not only Australian anglers, but also those overseas who visit our shores to tangle with these fish.
Everywhere in Australia there are certain ‘seasons’ that get local anglers excited. In the South West coast of the country - a part of the world where the fishing calendar is dotted by these seasons - there is one of the most impressive migrations in the country.
Most seasoned lure anglers would agree that fishing with topwater presentations is by far the most exciting way to fish, and this also extends to bream. Watching a dozen or so contentious bream shoulder one another as they chase down your lure is as good as it gets for any bream tragic. The tell-tale ‘kissing’ sound as they attempt to slurp their next meal off the top is enough to get hairs standing on end and nerve endings tingling.