A family-oriented fly-fishing club covering the Port Macquarie Hastings region, NSW.
Galaxias, commonly known as galaxids, are small, delicate freshwater fish endemic to Australia. Renowned for their slender bodies and adaptability to various aquatic environments, these species play a crucial role in maintaining the ecological balance of their habitats. Among the galaxids, the Common Galaxias (Galaxias maculatus) and the Yalmy Galaxias (Galaxias sp. Read More »
In a recent Facebook post someone in the Northern NSW Trout Fishing group (quite an interesting group) said they had caught a fish (see below) and were unsure what it was, and so posted that photo. They soon received a number of replies indicating it was a River Blackfish. Read More »
Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson), also known as Narrow-barred mackerel, are a highly prized sport fish on light tackle. Spaniards are a pelagic species that frequent reef habitats between deeper oceanic waters and the mainland. Fast swimmers and predatory in nature, they make scorching high-speed runs when hooked and often display impressive aerobatics. Read More »
According to both the Australian Museum and Wikipedia the Silver Drummer grows to about 80cm in length and a maximum weight of 1.1kg, however a Queensland spear-fisherman has officially recorded a 6.8 kg specimen. There are also several photographs on the internet of fish approaching 7kg and these are clearly silver drummer and cannot be confused with the much larger black drummer. Read More »
Also known as the Giant Barracuda and Small-eyed Barracuda, the Great Barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) is present in tropical to warm temperate waters, in subtropical parts of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans, from mangrove areas to deep reef.
Australian Museum’s Atlas of Living Australia reports sightings as far south as South West Rocks. Read More »
The Mulloway is the common name for Argyrosomus japonicus (previously called Argyrosomus hololepidotus), which are found in coastal waters from Rockhampton in Queensland to North West Cape, Western Australia (excluding Tasmania). In the tropical north it is replaced by the Black Jewfish Protonibea diacanthus. Read More »
There are a large number of gudgeon species native to Australia however by eliminating those found only in the tropics and those limited to altitudes below 700 metres (Dunmore is above 1300 metres) left us with only six species. The records of sightings in the “Atlas of Living Australia” decreased this number to two, being the the western carp gudgeon (Hypseleotris klunzingeri) and the flathead Gudgeon (Philypnodon grandiceps)
Both are fairly similar in general appearance, being small and laterally compressed with two separate and distinct dorsal fins and a truncate to slightly rounded tail. Read More »
I first came across the Blue Bastard in the Gulf of Carpenteria. It was a fairly common catch on bait and was then known as “Slatey Bream” because of their colour which was thought to be slightly bluer if they inhabited shallower water. Read More »
The Long-Toms belong to the needle fish family, the same family as garfish and flying fish.
They are long, slender fish that can skip over the water for long distances. The Stout Long-Tom is the member of the species found in our local estuaries. Read More »
The common coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus), is more correctly known as the leopard coral grouper, also leopard coral trout, blue-dotted coral grouper or spotted coral grouper. In Australia it is found at Beacon Island in Western Australia, the Ashmore and Cartier Islands in the Timor Sea, around the tropical north coast as far south as Sydney. Read More »