Category Archives: Fishing Tips

Fishing tackle for Tasmanian waters

Coastal landbased fishing, inshore boat fishing and trout fishing in Tasmania generally requires only light gear.

For chasing freshwater trout and wary sea runners in clear, shallow water, a 3kg spin outfit is ideal. See eBay listings here.

A 6kg spin outfit is popular for general estuary and light boat fishing in Tasmania. See eBay listings here.

The above light outfit can be used on shallow, low-energy beaches to catch cocky salmon and yelloweye mullet, but a dedicated light surf rod is better for this purpose.

A reasonably heavy surf rod combo is required for Tasmanian West Coast salmon fishing, see eBay listings here. Elsewhere in Tasmania, a light surf rod with around 6kg line is better suited to the species and fishing conditions likely to be encountered.

For offshore boat fishing, a rod/reel combo loaded with 15kg to 30kg line is ideal for general reef fishing, and can also be used to cast lures to pelagic fish such as bluefin tuna, albacore and kingfish. See eBay listing here. Rods around 7′ long are ideal for boat fishing. Many Tasmanian fishos use rod combos with overhead reels to troll for bluefin tuna, and with big tuna around 30kg line is not out of place.

There are many lures suitable for chasing trout, but a proven local favourite is the Tassie Devil. See eBay listings here.

Another proven favourite is the Rapala Trout 3cm minnow. See eBay listings for this and similar lures here.

Fly fishing combos, complete with rod, reel, tapered leaders, flyline and flies, are available in various sizes. A 3-weight is OK for small rivers while a 6-weight is better for lakes. See eBay listings here.

Good-quality tapered leaders are important when fishing with light line. See eBay listings here. These are an item where it might pay to invest in a quality brand.

Carry an assortment of flies suited to Tasmanian fishing. See eBay listings here.

Tasmanian waters are cold, and a good set of waders are essential if you are going in the water. Choose warmer neoprene rather than the colder PVC. See eBay wader listings here.

Metal slice lures work well on Tasmania’s salmon, silver trevally, flathead and barracoutta. See eBay listings here.

Use larger metal slice lures on high-energy beaches where big salmon are expected.

Soft plastic grubs work well on bream, cocky salmon, escaped Atlantic salmon and freshwater redfin and trout. See eBay listing here.

Soft plastic paddle tail lures are popular and effective lures in the smaller sizes, see eBay listings here.

Weighted jig heads are needed to rig most soft plastic paddle tail lures, although some have the jig head built in. See eBay listings here. It pays to use the lightest jig head possible, and light resin jig heads allow an angler to present a more realistic suspending lure action.

Squidding is popular in Tasmania, with large calamari squid and smaller arrow squid both being abundant. Unbaited squid jigs such as these work well on both types of squid, see listings here.

Baited ‘spike jigs’ work well on large calamari squid. These jigs are cast under a float and left out until a squid takes the bait. Bait the jig with a small fish such as tommy ruff or mullet. These large baited jigs look clumsy compared with the smaller jigs more commonly seen, but they are effective … see listings here. The barbed version is even better if you can find them for sale.

Smaller squid can be targeted with baited spike jigs such as these … see eBay listings here.

The secret for successful squid fishing is to fish dusk, darkness and dawn, when the water is clear. Summer is usually best.

Floats are useful for suspending a bait, and work well when fishing for some Tasmanian species. The polystyrene floats in the following listing are slid onto the line and a stopper is placed above the float to set the depth fished. See eBay listing here.

Star sinkers or snapper leads are generally used on a paternoster rig for surf and boat fishing. For most other fishing, ball sinkers are used, as part of a running sinker rig where the sinker slides along the line, allowing a fish to easily run with a baited hook. See eBay listings for ball sinkers here, see listings for star sinkers here and for snapper leads here.

Hooks in mixed sizes are needed. Suggest 4# to #8 for whiting, mullet and snotties, 10# to #12 for garfish, 1/0 for bream, and 4/0 for salmon and flathead. See eBay listing here.

Flounder spearing is popular in Tasmania. A submerged light is generally used to find the fish, see eBay listing here.

Worms are an excellent bait for trout, see worm farm listings on eBay here.

Other items you may need are wire trace to stop toothy ish such as barracoutta or sharks biting through your line, see eBay listings here, swivels to stop line twist when using spinning lures here, a filleting knife to clean your fish here, a burley bucket to attract fish to your area here, a waterproof torch here, a sharpening stone for knives and hooks here, bait jigs to catch baitfish such as slimy mackerel and snotties here, a sharpening stone for knives and hooks here, and of course a tackle box here.

Lastly, if don’t want to use traditional smelly baits, you can try a commercial bait product such as this.

Back to the NSW/ACT Fishing Map
Back to the NT Fishing Map
Back to the Queensland Fishing Map
Back to the SA Fishing Map
Back to the Tasmanian Fishing Map
Back to the Victorian Fishing Map
Back to the WA Fishing Map

Email corrections, additions, pictures or video here.

Fishing tackle for southern WA waters

Southern WA offers a range of great fishing experiences, and you’ll need more than one rod-reel combo to enjoy it all.

That said, a lot of fishing can be done with a light spin outfit.

A 6kg spin outfit is the ideal all-rounder for WA’s temperate estuaries and sheltered waters, chasing bream, flathead, herring, small salmon, skippy and whiting. See some eBay listings here.

For chasing wary bream and whiting in clear water, such as the Swan River, a 3kg spin outfit is ideal for estuary whiting, bream and bass. See eBay listing here.

A heavy-duty surf rod is needed for surf mulloway, snapper and gummy shark fishing, see eBay listings here. A lighter surf rod can be used for tailor, salmon, skippy, herring and the like.

For boat fishing, a shorter, stouter rod/spinning reel combo loaded with 10kg line is ideal for general reef fishing in water to around 20m deep, and can also be used to cast lures to pelagic fish. See eBay listing here. Rods around 7′ long are ideal for boat fishing.

Metal slice lures are ideal for tailor, kingfish and salmon in the surf and off the rocks. See eBay listings here.

Soft plastic paddle tail lures are popular and effective all-round lures in estuaries, on the reefs and in stocked dams. They can be cast or jigged up and down. See eBay listings here.

Weighted jig heads are needed to rig most soft plastic paddle tail lures, although some have the jig head built in. See eBay listings here. It pays to use the lightest jig head possible, and light resin jig heads allow an angler to present a more realistic suspending lure action.

Sabiki bait jigs are great for catching WA herring, yakkas and slimy mackerel, buy them on eBay here. Remove droppers if required to stay legally compliant, cutting a complete rig in half will usually make two legal sets.

For WA squidding, standard unbaited squid jigs such as these are effective, see listings here.

Baited ‘spike jigs’ work well on large calamari squid. These jigs are cast under a float and left out until a squid takes the bait. Bait the jig with a small fish such as tommy ruff or mullet. These large baited jigs look clumsy compared with the smaller jigs more commonly seen, but they are effective … see listings here. The barbed version is even better if you can find them for sale.

Smaller squid can be targeted with baited spike jigs such as these … see eBay listings here.

The secret for successful squid fishing is to fish dusk, darkness and dawn, when the water is clear. Summer is usually best.

Star sinkers or snapper leads are generally used on a paternoster rig for surf and boat fishing. For most other fishing, ball sinkers are used, as part of a running sinker rig where the sinker slides along the line, allowing a fish to easily run with a baited hook. See eBay listings for ball sinkers here, see listings for star sinkers here and for snapper leads here.

Hooks in mixed sizes (suggest 1# or #2 for whiting, 6# or #8 for garfish, 4/0 for tailor, salmon and flathead, 11/0 for large mulloway). Listings on eBay here.

Ganged hooks (joined chains of hooks) are used when fishing pilchard or garfish baits for salmon, tailor and mackerel. Listings on eBay here.

Shrimp and yabbies are great baits for freshwater fishing. Strict regulations apply to the type of gear used in WA to catch freshwater crayfish, see marron regulations. Ebay sellers have a variety of yabby and shrimp traps, be sure to buy one that complies with local regulations.

Worms are an excellent bait for freshwater fishing, see worm farm listings on eBay here.

Other items you may need are wire trace to stop fish such as mackerel or sharks biting through your line, see eBay listings here, swivels to stop line twist when using spinning lures here, a filleting knife to clean your fish here, a burley bucket to attract fish to your area here, a waterproof torch here, a sharpening stone for knives and hooks here, bait jigs to catch baitfish such as herring or slimy mackerel for bait here, a sharpening stone for knives and hooks here, and of course a tackle box here.

Lastly, if don’t want to use traditional smelly baits, you can try a commercial bait product such as this.

Back to the NSW/ACT Fishing Map
Back to the NT Fishing Map
Back to the Queensland Fishing Map
Back to the SA Fishing Map
Back to the Tasmanian Fishing Map
Back to the Victorian Fishing Map
Back to the WA Fishing Map

Email corrections, additions, pictures or video here.

Fishing tackle for surf beaches

Australia’s surf beaches provide a great fishing experience, but you need the right gear to enjoy this style of fishing.

Large Alvey sidecast reels were traditionally used for surf fishing because sand didn’t hurt them. There isn’t much that can go wrong with these reels, but they somehow fell out of favour.

A secondhand Alvey can be a good buy if you can find one, but be sure the lip of the spool is not chipped or rough as this will damage the line.

See eBay Alvey listings here.

Note that sidecast reels work best with a rod that has the reel mount at the bottom (butt) of the rod. These rods are often a single piece and up to 4.6m or so long, making them somewhat of a specialist item.

Otherwise, 10kg surf combos are a good all-round outfit for most surf fishing. See listings here.

A heavier combo is better for surf mulloway, snapper and shark fishing, see listings here.

Metal slice lures are ideal for catching tailor and salmon in the surf, and will also take herring (tommy ruffs), trevally, bream, kingfish and flathead. There are many types but the simple chrome styles are as good as any. See eBay listing here.

Ganged hooks in 6/0 size are perfect for chucking pilchard or garfish baits. See eBay listing here.

Star sinkers or snapper leads are generally used on a paternoster rig for surf and boat fishing. For most other fishing, ball sinkers are used, as part of a running sinker rig where the sinker slides along the line, allowing a fish to easily run with a baited hook. See eBay listings for ball sinkers here, see listings for star sinkers here and for snapper leads here.

Check out Parsun outboards on eBay