Types of Fish Caught
Rock fishing takes you where the action is. You are not only right on
top of the rocks, you are on top of the fishing. From one end of
Australia to the other you can find enough species of fish while fishing
the rocky shores to keep you busy for a very long time and never get
bored. Everything is available to you from Bream to Barracuda. This is
because the pounding waves dislodge vegetation and crustaceans that
attract a wide variety of fish.
Common Rock Fishing Species
Luderick
Luderick is a real favorite with rock fishermen, especially along the
east coast of Australia in the autumn and winter months. These must be
fished with light tackle and that often results in a memorable rock
fishing battle. Typical bait would be cabbage, which is natural
vegetation that the Luderick feed on. The cabbage is usually wrapped on
a hook to create streamers that attract the fish.
Drummer
The cabbage bait mentioned above will sometimes be taken by Drummer.
However, they are very tough to catch on light tackle and you will most
likely be broken off. They tend to live in the same all their lives and
are very familiar with the caves, nooks and crannies and once they take
your bait, will go there. It’s almost impossible to get them out with
light gear. You must use very heavy tackle for these fish. They can also
be caught on live prawns, crabs, raw meat and even bread fished under
bobby corks.
Groper
The Groper is another partaker of crabs and shellfish, and like the
Drummer, are cave dwellers and require strong tackle to tackle. A good
way to attract them is with a berley of broken up crabs and chopped
shellfish and starfish in a mix of red weed.
NOTE: Berley, like chum, is a mixture used as a fish attractant in
rock-fishing. Don’t throw it into fast moving waters, but waters where
it will stay around awhile.
Bream
If nothing else is working, you should certainly be able to catch
bream, which hang out along the edge of the rocks searching for food.
They like to eat almost anything including small fish, shellfish and
worms. Good baits include strips of other fish, bacon rinds, dog food,
and bread and cheese mixtures. Basically, just take the garbage can with
you when you go and try anything because it will likely work if you can
make it stay on a hook. Bream can be caught on lighter gear.
Tailor
Another very popular species in rock fishing, the Tailor is often
fished for with surface spinners, which these days are usually not real
spinners. Years ago actual spinners were used, but most of the recent
lures used in rock fishing for Tailor do not have a spinning mechanism.
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