The Great Leatherjacket Plague

[Cameron]

Once again I copped a hiding from the leatherjackets off Broken Bay last weekend. Nothing that I dropped over was safe from them. They were taking bait, hooks and biting off sinkers, often well back up the line. I am really interested in understanding what causes such a huge concentration of fish in one place at approximately the same time each year. Then again, maybe these holy terrors are rampant right up and down the coast at the moment. Can anyone throw any light on the science behind this phenomena? Do we have any marine biologists in our ranks?

Knowing why it happens won't stop me using appalling language when it happens again as it surely will at some stage, but at least my curiousity will be satisfied

[PM79]

I've always just notched it up to the fact that the pro's haven't been able to trap them for a while and that people are throwing them back when caught because more and more anglers are targeting specific species.

I;ve been throwing back any and all jackets over the last few years, I'm sick of eating them.

Edited September 1, 2008 by reLapse

[PM79]

Swansea Channel has been full of jackets for a long time.

[Kit]

Been a keen deepsea fisho all my life and i have noticed that these pests are all over the coast. From bermagui to crowdy head they have plagued me for the last 6 years. Must have something to do with global warming.[ I have also noticed they are only on sandy bottoms. Also caught them in sydney harbor an swansea channel.

hehehe funny post scrubworm!!

Edited September 1, 2008 by Kit