All Articles

How this archive is organised

This page is the master index for Australian Fish Species. Everything published here is grouped into five practical buckets: species guides, techniques and tackle, destinations by state and region, rules and regulations explainers, and safety and conservation. If you are new to the site, start with a species guide for the fish you want to target, then read the matching technique and destination material so the rig, bait and timing suit the water you are actually fishing.

Written from a Sydney base but covering the whole country, all articles use Australian English, metric measurements, Southern Hemisphere seasons and the species names anglers use locally. Questions, corrections or requests for new topics can go to [email protected] or +61295585271 during Mon–Fri: 09:00 – 17:00 (AEST).

Species identification and biology

Each species guide follows the same structure: reliable identification features, similar-looking species that cause mix-ups, growth and spawning behaviour, preferred habitat and depth, seasonal movements, and the feeding patterns that decide when you should be on the water.

• Estuary and inshore: bream, dusky and sand flathead, whiting, mangrove jack, mulloway.
• Reef and offshore: snapper, coral trout, kingfish, Spanish mackerel, tuna and marlin.
• Surf and rock: tailor, Australian salmon, plus the by-catch you can expect alongside them.
• Freshwater: barramundi, Murray cod, golden perch, Australian bass and trout.

Reading a species page well

Note the size and habitat details first. A fish holding on structure in two metres of estuary water wants a very different presentation to the same species sitting in twenty metres over reef, and most wasted sessions come from applying an offshore approach in shallow water or vice versa.

Techniques, rigs, baits and lures

Technique articles cover the mechanics: knots and leader choice, running sinker and paternoster rigs, unweighted baits in shallow flats, soft plastic and hardbody lure selection, jigging, trolling and live baiting for game species. Tackle notes explain rod length, line class and drag settings in plain terms so you can match gear to target rather than buying by brand.

1. Pick the target species and the water type.
2. Match the rig to current strength and bottom structure.
3. Choose bait or lure based on what the fish are actually eating that season.
4. Fish the tide, moon and weather window instead of a convenient hour.

Tides, moon phases and weather windows

Feeding window articles explain how tidal flow, moon phase, barometric trends, water temperature and wind direction stack together. The practical takeaway repeated across these pages: movement of water usually matters more than the exact time on the clock, and a modest tide with clean water beats a big tide with dirty run-off.

Destinations by state and region

Destination content is filed under NSW, QLD, VIC, SA, WA, TAS, NT and the Murray-Darling Basin, with regional breakdowns for estuary systems, beaches, rock platforms, impoundments, rivers and offshore grounds. Each entry describes access, likely species by season and the conditions that make a spot safe or unsafe to fish.

Rules, bag limits and closures

Regulatory articles explain how the rules work: legal length measurement, bag and possession limits, boat limits, closed seasons, protected species and gear restrictions. Limits differ between states and territories and change over time, so every one of these pages tells you to confirm current numbers with the relevant state or territory fisheries authority before you keep a fish.

Safety and conservation

Safety topics include rock fishing risk and lifejacket use, coastal bar crossings, reading marine forecasts, sun and heat management, and trip planning with someone ashore. Conservation topics cover catch and release handling, barotrauma and release weights for deep-water fish, habitat and seagrass protection, and responsible bait collection. Treat both as core skills, not optional extras.

Return to the Australian Fish Species home page for the latest additions to this archive.