Unnaturally Occuring Fish. Sydney

[Yowie]

13 hours ago, campr said:

My most unusual out of place catch was quite a few years ago winning the estuary division of Narooma ANSA comp with a 2kg Cobia on 2kg line.  I often hear of the odd one in Port Hacking but very unusual getting a Cobe so far south.

I've pulled 2 small Cobia from the Hacking, and dropped a nice one when it spat the hook. Have also seen 2 nice ones pulled out near Lilli Pilli.

[Blackfish]

Another one I've seen captured in Sydney is a Purple Wrasse which is most probably  a released one.

[James Clain]

2 hours ago, Yowie said:

I've pulled 2 small Cobia from the Hacking, and dropped a nice one when it spat the hook. Have also seen 2 nice ones pulled out near Lilli Pilli.

There are a few good online articles about Sdney Cobia. when the large migration of bull sharks occur in January the Cobia turn up. Most are really small but there are a few larger ones. Although I have never caught one they are something I would hope to catch!

[James Clain]

16 hours ago, campr said:

My most unusual out of place catch was quite a few years ago winning the estuary division of Narooma ANSA comp with a 2kg Cobia on 2kg line.  I often hear of the odd one in Port Hacking but very unusual getting a Cobe so far south.

You would have had a Bull Shark or other large tropical predator swim past your bait. Then the small tailing Cobia would have pIcked it up.

[PaddyT]

5 hours ago, Blackfish said:

Geeez, that is a long way up.

Hope this will be a common acurance in the future for you up there.

Im old enough to remember the very good spring runs of big mack tuna that we used to get in Broken Bay and Port Stephens- my first decent tuna was an 18lb mack tuna on 6lb line- I was 16 (Sept 1984)and if id been an GFAA it would of been a junior world record (ah well), i hooked that inside Flint and Steel and landed it 45 minutes later outside Lion Island.  The spring runs havent happened for many years , some older guys than me reckoned they would push up as far as the railway bridge if the water was clear (no floods). The spring run at PS lasted a few more years but for whatever reason it doesnt happen anymore- and its not due to a shortage of mack tuna- they are still in plague proportions just a little bit further north- when i lived in SE QLd  we called them scungies and spent hours trying to avoid them.

[Scratchie]

17 minutes ago, PaddyT said:

Im old enough to remember the very good spring runs of big mack tuna that we used to get in Broken Bay and Port Stephens- my first decent tuna was an 18lb mack tuna on 6lb line- I was 16 (Sept 1984)and if id been an GFAA it would of been a junior world record (ah well), i hooked that inside Flint and Steel and landed it 45 minutes later outside Lion Island.  The spring runs havent happened for many years , some older guys than me reckoned they would push up as far as the railway bridge if the water was clear (no floods). The spring run at PS lasted a few more years but for whatever reason it doesnt happen anymore- and its not due to a shortage of mack tuna- they are still in plague proportions just a little bit further north- when i lived in SE QLd  we called them scungies and spent hours trying to avoid them.

Plenty of big Mack tuna are still roaming around PS but mainly Feb-April. They are a nuisance when your chasing longtail. 

[PaddyT]

2 minutes ago, Scratchie said:

Plenty of big Mack tuna are still roaming around PS but mainly Feb-April. They are a nuisance when your chasing longtail. 

Yeah they used to pee me off livebaiting Tomaree- but the spring run was different- they were big fish-6+ kilos and they chasesd whitebait with a very single minded attitude, i wonder why the run stopped- the Hawkesbury im guessing was water quality but PS?

[Scratchie]

50 minutes ago, PaddyT said:

Yeah they used to pee me off livebaiting Tomaree- but the spring run was different- they were big fish-6+ kilos and they chasesd whitebait with a very single minded attitude, i wonder why the run stopped- the Hawkesbury im guessing was water quality but PS?

We landed quite a few this year in the 5-7kg range. And Woodsy landed an 8kg plus chasing snapper one arvo! There’s still heaps about and great fun! It’s a shame about their eating qualities 🤮

[New Signing]

On 11/8/2019 at 8:23 AM, Scratchie said:

Plenty of spangled emperor up here! 
Caught in July

Bring on the coral trout and sailfish I say 😂😂😂

cheers scratchie!!! 

Though far from common i have heard of a few sailfish caught as far south as JB over the last couple of years

[JamoDamo]

I remember seeing someone catch a moses perch in Botany Bay and also in Port Kembla harbour

[Scratchie]

1 hour ago, New Signing said:

Though far from common i have heard of a few sailfish caught as far south as JB over the last couple of years

Now that would be a surprise! I’m yet to tick that one off the list. Maybe I don’t need to travel north! Haha 😂 

[Blackfish]

Australian Museum has a Sailfish recorded off Narooma.

That is a long way South.

[noelm]

Seen lots of odd bods during my fishing years, including a Sail Fish at the Banks off Nowra, I have personally caught Cobia, Spangled Emperor, and Spotty Mackeral off Bass Point and a positively identified Coral Trout off the small bommie on the north side of Rabbit Island at Port Kembla.

[DerekD]

Two or so years ago Fishraider @HenryR on a trip with @krauseoutside of Sydney heads hooked up on a huge Cobia (1m plus).

For those who missed the write up with photos:

I've also heard some reports of Cobia being seen in Middle Harbour last summer.

 

Edited November 11, 2019 by DerekD

[Berleyguts]

9 or 10 years ago, while on a work Christmas lunch at the Newport Arms Hotel, I watched down on half a dozen cobia chasing baitfish in Pittwater. Definitely cobes, not kings.

[noelm]

Cobia are pretty common down this way, they are caught around Bass Point every year, usually smaller ones around 5kg, but certainly caught reasonably regularly.

Edited November 11, 2019 by noelm

[Green Hornet]

16 hours ago, New Signing said:

Though far from common i have heard of a few sailfish caught as far south as JB over the last couple of years

I remember reading only a few years back, someone caught a  sailfish on a lure from the "Tubes" at the entrance to Jervis Bay.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to link it, but if you google Jervis Bay sailfish it comes up.

[Green Hornet]

At the other end of the spectrum, I caught this zebra fish (top) while chasing blackfish from the rocks around Jervis Bay.

Generally a fish from cooler, Victorian and Tasmanian waters.

[New Signing]

2 hours ago, Green Hornet said:

I remember reading only a few years back, someone caught a  sailfish on a lure from the "Tubes" at the entrance to Jervis Bay.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to link it, but if you google Jervis Bay sailfish it comes up.

I actually know the bloke that caught two in a day at the banks year before last. Same time there was a third one caught by another boat south of the banks

Edited November 11, 2019 by New Signing

[TAZ]

Over the past few years I've heard of just about everything getting caught in Vic waters. Times are changing.

https://vfa.vic.gov.au/education/featured/teachers-resource/climate-change-fishing-change

[big Neil]

Interesting thread. I'm not overly familiar with what fish belong where and are caught in locations where they "shouldn't be". As a monotonously logical person though I offer a few observations. Marine creatures do NOT know if they are in Sydney Harbour or Port Phillip Bay. They don't have the technology that we have when trying to catch them. What they do know is the environment where they are (water temp, depth, clarity, salinity, food supply and shelter). IF the environment is changing, most likely we'll find species in places where they wouldn't be (normally). So is the environment changing? That's for you to decide.

DISCLAIMER:

The above comments, provided by Big Neil are not necessarily the opinion of his alter ego (bn). As such, no responsibility for the above article is acknowledged nor sought.

 

Have a nice day...    bn

[PaddyT]

 

On 11/11/2019 at 3:25 PM, Blackfish said:

Australian Museum has a Sailfish recorded off Narooma.

That is a long way South.

I actually saw a sail get weighed in at Narooma in 1991- from memory it was in early Feb, so yep can confirm that one, on that same trip the guy whos boat i was on hooked a wahoo so must of been warm water at the time.

[SaltyGreek]

I’ve heard of a bonefish caught inside the port hacking river before. Ive also read something about a sailfish caught just outside Botany Bay heads in the late 70s if I remember correctly 

[New Signing]

5 hours ago, PaddyT said:

 

I actually saw a sail get weighed in at Narooma in 1991- from memory it was in early Feb, so yep can confirm that one, on that same trip the guy whos boat i was on hooked a wahoo so must of been warm water at the time.

There has been quite a few wahoo caught in the JB area over the years. I was on a boat that donated a lure to one. The Boar also got one about 4.5kg last season around Eden i believe.

I have seen spotted makeral caught around crookhaven heads in two season separated by a number of years

[rickmarlin62]

We got a 25kg barracuda off the rocks at catherine hill bay   ive caught 4 dolphin fish  in lake mac  as well as bonefish  giant herring  cobes  pennant fish  diamond trevally and fingermark