Sea Life Not Seafood

By Dan Trotter on April 15, 2016 in Sport

It was an interesting concept that was posed across the dinner table amongst a group of friends one boozy, delicious and fun filled evening. The concept, which has gained gravitas with me and is worth everyone’s consideration, is that seafood shouldn’t be called ‘food’ at all, but rather it should be called sea life, because that’s what we’re eating, life.

Perhaps if the everyday person who gobbled down a piece of crumbed fish or sweet, tasty tuna sashimi stopped for a moment and considered where that delicious piece of protein had come from, it may change their perception and help them better value the ocean and all the life that lives in it. May I’m getting a bit carried away, but why don’t see what we can do with this, as fishermen with a love of the ocean and the animals that live in it? From now on, you’re eating sea life, not seafood, got it? Now back to how to catch your favourite sea life and turn it into food!

April is a special month on the fishing afflicted calendar, and this year my observations and diary entries tell me it’s going to be a cracker. Put all other plans aside and make excuses to go fishing. Whether you decide to stay local or head north or south, it really doesn’t matter, because April is a time of abundance everywhere off the east coast of Australia.

With that in mind, I say pick a fish you’ve never caught before and make it all about that species. Read books, watch videos and ask questions of people who know a thing or two about that species, its habits, locales, preferred prey and its behaviour. Once armed with that intel, be single-minded in you’re approach until you succeed. Mine is going to be mulloway, not because I haven’t caught them before, but because I haven’t caught many and I’ve not caught any large ones off the beaches or in the estuaries. I’ll report back next month. Stay tuned.

On the local land-based front there is plenty of fishing to choose from. The whiting are in good numbers right now; try fresh worm baits at dusk on the tide in the beach corners for success. Ocean run bream are also about in healthy sizes and numbers; find a washy rock ledge and employ a steady berley and a lightly weighted peeled prawn, or a fresh small fillet of yellowtail or slimy mackerel, to be in with a good chance. April is also the month for big tailor in these parts and spinning medium sized metal lures is your best bet. Pick a day with safe medium sized swell and cast and cast for the best chance of catching a few green backs for a healthy immediate feed.

Offshore not much will have changed except for the location of the species. Snapper, yellowtail kingfish, marlin, mahi mahi and maybe some early season tuna are all worth a session or two before May.

Tight lines.