All Topics

How this archive is organised

Australian Fish Species groups its writing into five broad families: species knowledge, water and weather, gear and technique, places to fish, and the rules and safety side of the sport. If you are new to the site, start with the family that matches your next session rather than reading front to back. Most anglers working out of Sydney move between estuary, beach and offshore topics through the year, so the cross-references at the foot of each guide matter as much as the guide itself.

Species identification and biology

Each species guide covers the features that separate lookalikes, typical size ranges in metric units, spawning timing in Southern Hemisphere seasons, and the diet that shapes bait and lure choice.

• Estuary and inshore: bream, dusky and bar-tail flathead, whiting, mangrove jack, mulloway, Australian bass.
• Reef and offshore: snapper, coral trout, kingfish, Spanish mackerel, tuna, marlin.
• Surf and rock: tailor, Australian salmon, bream off the wash, mulloway from the beach.
• Freshwater: Murray cod, golden perch, trout, barramundi in northern systems.

Habitat, tide, moon and weather

Feeding windows are the practical heart of the site. Topics here explain how a run-out tide concentrates prawns over a sand flat, why the hour either side of a tide change often out-fishes a whole slack period, how new and full moon phases lift night activity, and how a barometer drop or a warm current push changes where fish sit. Water temperature bands, structure types and light levels all get their own explanations so you can read an unfamiliar system quickly.

Techniques, rigs, baits and lures

Rig pages give component detail: leader lengths and breaking strains, hook patterns and sizes, sinker weights matched to current, and knots that hold under load. You will find running sinker and paternoster rigs, unweighted baits for wary bream, soft plastic and vibe presentations for flathead and cod, trolling layouts for mackerel and tuna, live baiting for kingfish and mulloway, plus fly and lure work for trout.

1. Match line class and drag to the structure, not just the fish.
2. Choose bait presentation for the current speed first, then the species.
3. Keep terminal tackle as light as conditions allow.

Destinations by state and region

Destination content is filed under NSW, QLD, VIC, SA, WA, TAS, NT and the Murray-Darling Basin, then broken into regions and water types: estuaries and their bars, ocean beaches, rock ledges, inshore reef, offshore grounds and inland rivers and impoundments. Each region page notes seasonal patterns and access considerations rather than exact hot spots.

Rules, safety and conservation

Bag limits, size limits and seasonal closures differ by state and change over time. Our regulatory articles explain how the rules are structured, what terms like slot limit and possession limit mean, and how to check the current figures with the relevant state or territory fisheries authority before you fish. Safety and conservation topics sit alongside them: rock fishing risk and life jackets, bar crossings, reading marine forecasts, catch and release handling, barotrauma release weights, and habitat protection for seagrass, snags and mangroves.

Finding what you need

Return to the Australian Fish Species home page for the latest guides, or contact us at [email protected] or +61295585271 during Mon–Fri: 09:00 – 17:00 (AEST) if you cannot find a topic. Suggestions for new species or region coverage are welcome.