Hunter Hairtail

[DrRaymondSnapper]

A friend [ part -time fisherman ] recently showed me a few photos on his phone that included a couple of plastic crates filled with Hairtail that had been caught in Newcastle Harbour last week.  I was not aware that Newcastle was a Hairtail hotspot. Has anyone else had any experience catching Hairtail in the Hunter region ? 

[Little_Flatty]

I believe it is a thing: Throwback Thursday: Hairtail caught in big numbers in Newcastle harbour | Photos | Newcastle Herald | Newcastle, NSW

Not sure how reliable they are, but if you're in the Lake Macquarie area, it's always worth a try!

[wazatherfisherman]

On 7/9/2022 at 5:59 PM, DrRaymondSnapper said:

A friend [ part -time fisherman ] recently showed me a few photos on his phone that included a couple of plastic crates filled with Hairtail that had been caught in Newcastle Harbour last week.  I was not aware that Newcastle was a Hairtail hotspot. Has anyone else had any experience catching Hairtail in the Hunter region ? 

They've been catching them in that area for more than 30years- often more plentiful than Cowan. It's the most reliable shore based spot for them these days and can accommodate heaps of fishers.

Years ago, while visiting a friend in Stockton, he suggested we just go for a walk along Stockton Wall. There were so many Hairtail being caught that the locals were complaining they had no chance of getting a Mulloway on live bait because the Hairtail were so thick they beat everything else to the bait. They were getting them on both the beach side and river side of the wall.

This year they started getting them there in Feb and tons were caught along the wharves, many on lures but mostly on Pilchards fished under a bobby cork. I have friends that went up a few times and caught plenty although the size was a bit down on past seasons

[DrRaymondSnapper]

That`s amazing to hear about the Hairtail in Newcastle Harbour.  The only reporting about them seems to be from the Hawkesbury only.  Do they get them from any specific harbour location and are they resident or move in from elsewhere at certain times of the year ? I thought that they required deep water in the Hawkesbury system . I guess that there must be a few locations in the harbour that fit.

[wazatherfisherman]

2 hours ago, DrRaymondSnapper said:

That`s amazing to hear about the Hairtail in Newcastle Harbour.  The only reporting about them seems to be from the Hawkesbury only.  Do they get them from any specific harbour location and are they resident or move in from elsewhere at certain times of the year ? I thought that they required deep water in the Hawkesbury system . I guess that there must be a few locations in the harbour that fit.

They mainly fish for them in Throsby Creek and all along Foreshore Footpath from the shore. It was all over the social media pages earlier this year that they were being caught in good numbers this year but there wasn't much size to the majority of them.

During the 70's and early 80's they were abundant in Sydney Harbour and were caught as far up as Iron Cove when the water was clear and most of the lower harbour spots would have them turn up as they roved around. When I was 17 (60 now) we used to fish for them off Clifton Gardens Wharf at night, where they would come in towards high tide. The deep water out off Clifton Gardens Naval Base saw big schools of them sit throughout the day and we had some great catches during daylight hours, however when darkness fell they seemed to leave the deep and move around.

Newcastle Harbour has probably been a better spot though the last few years, as they been there in big numbers. Plenty were caught in Cowan this year also and there were plenty of better sized fish caught there.

They can turn up almost anywhere, Coffs Harbour saw them literally 'invade' one year and tons were caught there and they regularly catch them in places like Cairns Harbour in the north to Port Kembla in the south. 

Have always been one of my favourite fish to catch and eat

[DrRaymondSnapper]

Thanks Waza ,  that`s very interesting. I`ve never caught one myself but I may have to give it some attention since its local and I have the time since all our beaches have been washed away.

[frankS]

As Wazza said they were pretty common catch in Newcastle back in the days.

Before the container wall in Botany Bay was built it was a hot spot for Hairtail and the occasional small Yellowfin Tuna was a by catch there, since the wall has gone up it has become the number 1 spot for Kingfish and Trevally , haven't caught a Hairtail there for many years now.

Frank

[DrRaymondSnapper]

Thanks frankS , you learn something new every day.