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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 30 general entries.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Fishing in Australia
| One of the most notorious of the fish that haunt the South Australian coast has become so rare it has been placed on the endangered list and it is now illegal to catch them. Dangerous Reef near Port Lincoln is one of the few places where these fish congregate, no doubt due to the presence of seal colonies. I'm sure you getting the idea, what kind of fish can you no longer catch, but it can catch you? | Angling in South Australia
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Great White Shark. Ah yes, Carcharodon carcharias (another cool name). Hardly seems fair that the Great White can still pluck humans out of the water but not the other way around! You are permitted to dive with the sharks however and a number of dive companies organise such activities. The west coast of South Australia is an area of the state where you are most likely to bump into a Great White. Indeed, locals are concerned that the increase in fish farms and aquaculture in the region is bringing more sharks to the area. In the past Abalone divers, surfers and swimmers have all been taken by the Great White.
| Australia's biggest lake is Lake Eyre in the north of the state. What would you need to fish on Lake Eyre? | Angling in South Australia
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A Miracle, Lake Eyre is a saltpan. The lowest point of the lake is some 15 meters below sea level and is covered in a salty crust up to 40-50 centimeters thick, not good fishing conditions. The hardy Lake Eyre Hardyhead (Craterocephalus eyresii) has the greatest tolerance to salinity of any Australian fish yet it is estimated 20 million of the fish died when the lake last filled. The Hardyhead is believed to survive by "leapfrogging" from one semi permanent waterhole to another.
| You find yourself on a charter boat leaving the city of Whyalla, the skipper tells you they're after some "big reds". What fish are you looking for? | Angling in South Australia
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Snapper. Whyalla, nestled high up on Spencer Gulf has a deserved reputation as a hot spot for the Red Snapper (Chrysophrys auatus). The Snapper lives for quite some time and can grow to be quite the challenge to catch growing to 20 kilograms. Older fish grow a distinctive lump on their foreheads. The Snapper is delicious eating fish and can frequently be found cooking whole at barbeques.
| Back into the freshwater of South Australia, rivers, creeks, even farm dams the site of an unusual ritual involving a piece of string. The angler, frequently, young children, slowly pull the string in toward the bank hopefully revealing a rotting piece of meat and a stubborn creature attached to it. What is this creature? | Angling in South Australia
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Yabbie. The Australian Yabbie's scientific name is Cherax Destructor, which frankly is just plain cool. Anyway, the Yabbie plays an important part in many an Australian childhood. Going down to the local creek on weekends to catch them, keep them in a small container for a few days, and well watch them die. Similar to the Yabbie but larger are the Murray Cray and the Marron from Western Australia.
| During the summer months you will find many folk wading through the shallows of such places as Port Parham and Saint Kilda on St Vincent's Gulf. They search for a delicious type of seafood. What are they looking for? | Angling in South Australia
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Blue Swimmer Crab. Portunus pelagicus is enthusiastically pursued in the warmer months when they enter shallow waters to spawn. The two most popular ways to catch the Blue Swimmer is with baited drop nets, or by wading through the shallows with a rake, dislodging them from their hiding places under the sand. The first rule of catching Blue Swimmers is to check the underside; females laden with eggs must be released, as must undersized specimens. The remainder can be boiled up and devoured.
| In winter when a sou'wester blows like a gale against the southern suburbs of Adelaide you'll find the long jetty at Port Noarlunga jam packed with hardy fishermen. They are prepared to brave the elements because they know that when conditions are right a much sought after fish takes refuge behind the Noarlunga reef, and when the packed school of fish is hungry it's each man for himself, and the fishing is as good as it gets. What fish brings anglers to the Port Noarlunga jetty in the midst of a storm? | Angling in South Australia
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Australian Salmon. The Australian Salmon is not related to the Salmon or Herring of the northern hemisphere and gets its name from its similar appearance. The Australian Salmon is famous for its hard fighting qualities rather than it's flavour. In the 1980s the end of the Port Noarlunga jetty broke off during a fierce storm, fortunately as the Salmon weren't biting, there were no casualties!
| Just off the coast of much of South Australia anglers can catch arguably Australia's finest eating fish. Many anglers venture out in little boats to catch this prized delicacy. Which of the Whiting family is most sought after? | Angling in South Australia
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King George Whiting. The King George Whiting can be found right through southern Australia, the 'KG' can grow up to 2 kilograms and is likely to take any number of baits on light fishing gear.
| Australia's greatest river the Murray passes through South Australia. Once a mighty free flowing river the annual ebb and flow of the Murray is now held in check by a series of locks. This has had a detrimental effect on the lord of the river, its biggest fish. What is it? | Angling in South Australia
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Murray Cod. Restrictions of water flow throughout the Murray- Darling river system have restricted the mating and movement of Macullochella peelii peelii reducing its numbers dramatically. The Murray Cod once grew to lengths of up to 1.8 meters and weighed in at over 100 kilograms.
| The town of Port Lincoln on the tip of South Australia's Eyre Peninsula is famous for its fishing. For decades its fishing boats have ventured out to catch one special fish, which one? | Angling in South Australia
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Tuna. Moving from fishing fleets to fishing farms, the Port Lincoln region is developing a lucrative aquaculture industry. Its most famous fisherman is Dean Lukin, winner of weightlifting gold at the 1984 Olympic games. He owed his great strength, he claimed, to years of backbreaking work on his family's fishing boats, hauling in the giant Blue fin Tuna.
Mussel. Mussel is one of, if not the best bait for whiting. The cray would be too big for the whiting to inhale/swallow, the tuna fillet would also be too big, whereas the maggots are an OK bait but not as good as mussel.
| When a Southern black bream grows in excess of around a kilogram(40 cm), what distinct characteristic does it get that the little ones don't have? | Fishing in Victoria, Australia
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Dark blue nose. It gets a dark blue nose, many fisherman when they are asked what they caught, might say a few 'blue noses'. By this they mean big blue nosed bream. The other characteristics I just made up.
Northern-pacific sea stars. These came to Victoria in the ballast water of container ships. When the ships release the water, because the bay is so shallow, the starfish get released and they have bred and expanded very quickly. As they have no natural predators they are free to do as they wish.
| If you saw a few fisherman fishing the Barwon River at midnight in small aluminium boats or kayaks (canoes), what would they most likely be fishing for? | Fishing in Victoria, Australia
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Mulloway. The Barwon river is one of the top mulloway producing rivers in Victoria. Mulloway in excess of 30kg have been caught here, usually at night. Stingray and skate are also caught in there but no-one targets them. Elephant fish are also a by-catch in here.
2. A normal shark has five gills, whereas the seven-gilled shark has seven(duh). eg. 7-5=2, thus the answer is 2.
Flathead. Many large flathead have come from Mallacoota, and Fred Bayes, one of Victoria's and even Australia's most renowned flathead fisherman catches all his big flathead from here.
Below the mouth. The southern sea garfish has the beak below its mouth, and it is almost identical to the eastern sea garfish, the only thing that separates them is the distribution. Marlin have a similar appearance to the garfish, although the marlin has his beak on the top, and they grow substantially bigger.
A sandbar. The entrance to Port Albert has a big sandbar there. It can be very dangerous in rough conditions. The sandbar extends for approximately 4km out of the entrance and can provide some great fishing on the edge. In the rough weather though boats can be easily led to their doom here.
September. The divers usually spot snapper entering the bay in September, but the full run of snapper doesn't usually happen until October/November.
Bream. Bream is the only one of these you will catch here. Carp is a freshwater fish, and barracouta would not come into an estuary like this. Sturgeon are ranged widely throughout the Mississippi River, the Great Lakes and the Hudson River. They aren't even found in Australia.
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