The Hairtail Plague

[Muddy Toes]

they seem to have vanished from the Coal and Candle creek in the Hawkesbury

Cheers'
Rick

There was a very steep decline in their numbers quite a few years ago when some commercial netters caught a heap off Stockton Beach and realised there was some money to be made out of them in that whole area.

[Heath]

Got that right!!!

Sounds like these threads about Hairtail are sparking up some old....and cold memories of Coal and Candle, Jerusulam, and Cowan for alot of Ex-Mexicans.

[halfmanhalffish]

Grew up in Coffs Hbr as a kid and approx 20yrs ago they had a hairtail plague of biblical proportions! Looking off the jetty there they were like tomato stakes as far as you could see in every direction! The harbour was like that for months. The average was 5ft long and from memory the largest one I saw through the fish co-op was 9 1/2 feet long( no sh#t). They lingered on for about 12 months in less and less numbers. Intersted to see if anyone here remembers it as well. Did make it hard to catch anything else however. Good fun on the end of a line, the big ones go hard!!!

[murf]

Grew up in Coffs Hbr as a kid and approx 20yrs ago they had a hairtail plague of biblical proportions! Looking off the jetty there they were like tomato stakes as far as you could see in every direction! The harbour was like that for months. The average was 5ft long and from memory the largest one I saw through the fish co-op was 9 1/2 feet long( no sh#t). They lingered on for about 12 months in less and less numbers. Intersted to see if anyone here remembers it as well. Did make it hard to catch anything else however. Good fun on the end of a line, the big ones go hard!!!

that would be a sight to be seen

don't remember hearing of them in the harbour at Coffs but a few were caught out to sea a bit further North way back then, I was originally from Newcastle and they were a target species in the harbour way back then

cheers Murf

[halfmanhalffish]

It was a bit of a kill-a-thon for the poor old hairtail. Have heard of a few captures in the harbour and marina over the years but only isolated cases!! Lucky I guess for all the other harbour residents!!!