Hairtail

[youngy]

Hi Guys, i wasn't going to put this up because it is a month old and has been on one of my local fishing websites so some of you might have seen it, but i see there are members from NSW on this site who may be able to help with information on this species as this is what i am after.

When i first started fishing seriously about 18 years ago these fish turned up for a while and then dissapeared, well i don't really think they disappeared more like wiped out.

They seem to have made a reappearance on the Gold Coast and we have caught 6 in the past few weeks on hard bodied lures with the water temp at 25 degrees plus.

The last time they were here it was in winter as i remember and i thought they must have been a cold water fish, does anyone from down that way know if this is normal. cheers wayne.

[dambuster]

What sort of tail do they have? Sorta looks a bit like a pike eel but the ones i've caught havent got that colouring.

[blue_mako]

Never caught one myself. Which area of the Gold Coast? I heard and saw pics of two I think it was about a year or so ago from North Gold Coast area.

From everything I've read about them they are like you say, there in numbers one minute and gone the next. From memory there range spreads from Victoria or maybe Southern New South Wales somewhere right up to around the Sunshine Coast. More so in the Southern area of Australia though.

I guess it's like some tropical species such as Giant Herring and Tarpon. Thick in areas up North but fairly elusive in the South.

Awesome catch and great colours. Something about them makes them look like they'd have the intelligence of a Pike or Barracuda? Haha. Definitely would be stoked to land one though. Any pics of the others?

Are they a jumping species like a Giant Herring? Or more like a Pike Eel? Fast runs?

Troy

[youngy]

Hi Guys, Dambuster i guess they do look a bit similar to a pike eel but these fish are chrome in colour and you would never mistake one for the other, have enclosed a photo of the first one a mate caught about 6 weeks ago.

Troy, yes mate from the Broadwater, after what happened to them last time they were here i am reluctant to be more specific.

No mate they don't jump and act more like a huge eel than a giant herring, they can actually swim backwards which makes it interesting trying to get them in landing net. cheers wayne

[Mick Baker]

Hi there,I have not actually fished for hairtail but caught one about 15 km out to sea once.They turn up regularly in the Hawksebury R. and its various arms in winter and are caught on live yellowtail or pilchard baits.A short wire trace is usually used and it is a good idea to keep fingers well away from their teeth.The silver sheen can be wiped off and no scaling is necessary.Cut crossways into steaks they make good eating.Not much seems to be known about them - they seem to appear from nowhere for a short time and then disappear just as quickly.Large numbers can be caught when they are about and they grow to about 2 m in length.I believe they swim vertically at times.I have heard of them appearing in Newcastle Harbour and saw some at Yamba on the north coast of N.S.W in 1960.Regular hawkesbury fishers should be able to give you more details.
Cheers,Mick

[ZacLH]

Thats a nice Hairtail< they show up as vertical bars on your sounder if u have one, thats also how they swim. Mick is spot on with everything, i have also seen a picture on one caught in cairns, very weird fish, worth investigating.

[gecko]

My only one was caught in winter on mullet strip around Nth Gold Coast. I was so unsure about him, I didnt even bring him in the boat....and yes, he swam backwards.

If you want NSW info, try fishnet.com.au youngy, thats where all the nsw guys hang out.

Andrew

[Dusty74]

I can confirm one being caught in Cairns, I got one a while back jigging SP in holes around Trinity Inlet. I think they must be a sub species though because everything I've ever heard about Hairtail points towards being a cold water fish. The one I caught was in 30deg C.

[goob]

we used to catch them in the hawkesbury every winter, haven't fished for them in a while though, they got a lot of pressure for a while there and didn't turn up at all a couple years in a row, so we turned to other fish. we only ever chased them in winter, they'd turn up about an hour and a half after sunset, used a short wire trace and live yellowtail for bait with a glow stick above it on the trace, suspended under a float at the depth you see the fish on the sounder. they're not that difficult to hook but they fight bloody hard and pull hooks fairly easy if you try to muscle them in. best bet is a deep bay with plenty of weed on the bottom we found, waratah bay in the hawlesbury was our favourite for hairtailin. as said above they are buggers to land but great eatin when you cut them into steaks. if you find them regularly, keep it quiet or every man and his dog will be there with a bait in the water and you won't see them again.
cheers

[Mick Baker]

Hi there, Found a little info in a book called Australian and New Zealand Fishing edited by Jack Pollard -
"A fascinating sportfish of the family Trichiuroidei,related to the barracoutas and the frost fish. The hairtail family appear to be represented in Australia by one genus and three species: the Australian hairtail; Trichiurus coxll found in N.S.W. and W.A; the northern hairtail, Trichiurus haumela found in Qld; and the spiny hairtail, Trichiurus savala found in Qld, N.T. and W.A. They are not peculiar to Australia,ranging from the seas of India through the East Indies and to Japan, where they are fished for in the deep waters of Tokyo Bay and in the Osaka area.Hairtail are first rate food fish.
Hairtail grow to a length of 7 1/2 feet and approximately 12 pounds, but are usually from 3 feet to 5 feet, averaging about 3/4 pounds to the foot.The Australian hairtail is a very silvery fish with a highly compressed, scaleless body, tapering to a threadlike tail. ............
Very little is known about the growth rate or the breeding habits of the hairtail."

Hope this helps.There is a fair bit more in the above mentioned book if you need more details on the fish and methods of fishing for them.
Cheers,Mick