Also known as
- Threadfin Salmon US
- Blind Salmon US
- Gold Threadfin US
- Burnett Salmon US
- Blink Tassel-fish US
Identification
Robust elongate estuarine predator with torpedo build adapted for turbid water. Strong dogged resistance and explosive head shakes — structure-bound runs that test 8-15kg tackle. Sex-changing — largest individuals are always females.
- Silver-grey body without spots or stripes
- Long thread-like side fin filaments extending well beyond the body
- Concave head profile in adults with a pointed snout
- Two separate back fins with the second spine notably thicker than the others
Where it holds
- Estuaries
- Mangroves
- Inshore
Behaviour
A bottom-feeding estuarine predator that uses long sensory pectoral filaments to detect prey in turbid water — a major sensory advantage over sight-dependent competitors in muddy systems. Diet centres on small baitfish (mullet, herring) and prawns. Activity is overwhelmingly tide-driven — fish push onto sand and mud flats on the rising tide and pull back into channels on the drop. A sex-changing protandrous hermaphrodite (male first, female later); the largest individuals are always females.
Diet: Baitfish, Prawns, Mullet, Herring, Small Crustaceans
How it's caught
Line Fishing
Spinning
The dominant modern method since the soft-plastics revolution transformed Northern Australian estuary fishing. Cast 4-5 inch paddle-tail and prawn-imitation soft plastics on 1/4-1/2oz jigheads, vibration baits, and small swimbaits onto mud flats and along channel edges where dirty water meets clearer water. Work them with a slow lift-pause-lift retrieve mimicking fleeing prawns or fleeing baitfish. Time the session to the rising tide — fish push up onto flats with the water.
Live Lining
The dominant live-bait method and the way most trophy-class fish come. A live mullet, herring, or banana prawn on a 6/0-8/0 wide-gape circle hook with a small running sinker, drifted through tidal creek mouths, mangrove-channel edges, and shallow holes on the rising tide. Live banana prawns are deadly during the prawn-run window. 60-100lb fluorocarbon trace handles teeth and the abrasive structure.
Jigging
Vertical-jig metal vibes and weighted soft plastics in deeper channels, holes, and cut-off pools at the bottom of the tide when fish drop back from the flats. Drop to bottom, sharp lift to 1-2m off, controlled flutter back down. Often produces multiple fish from a single school stacked in a deep hole.
Bottom Fishing
Half-pilchard, fresh-cut mullet, or whole bait prawn on a 6/0-7/0 hook with a small running sinker, fished tight to bottom along channel drop-offs and in deeper holes during the bottom of the tide. Light enough lead to maintain natural movement; pre-baiting with prawn shells and mullet frames brings fish onto the spot.
