Introduction

A fishing clinic was held in March, at the Tuross Boatshed covering Tailor. Fishing clinics are held one a month in Tuross (5pm for 6pm start) each Tuesday before the programmed monthly weekend fishing club outing. This provides an opportunity to discuss the best way of catching the nominated species for that weekend. These clinics are a great educational and social opportunity for newer members and juniors but we would like to see the experienced members attend so they can pass on their knowledge. Bring a rod and a drink as fishing off the jetty is great fun of an evening with your mates!

Targeting Tailor

The three best methods of catching tailor are trolling lures or bait behind a boat, throwing soft plastics (especially at the mouths of estuaries or from ocean rocks) and bait fishing from the beach.

Tailor has a narrow body like a mullet but they also have razor sharp teeth. They follow schools of baitfish and will often indulge in feeding frenzies, to the point where they will eat only half a baitfish before attacking another alive one. When the tailor is really excited like this they will strike at almost any bait or lure. Tailor is very nice to eat, usually put up a good fight on light gear and you can catch them in many different ways.

Locations

Headlands, rocks, reef, sand and break walls are favourite haunts of tailor, especially where there is white water. When fishing from the rocks it is a good idea to berley with a mixture of bread and pilchards. Scatter handfuls in the wash and on the lower rocks. This will keep the tailor bite longer and will often attract other species such as bream, drummer, black kingfish, and snapper.

Tailor are a predatory fish primarily found in rivers, bays, surf and around rocks in close offshore waters the tailor is at home in almost any area with good tidal run and nearby clean deep water. Tailor can be extremely aggressive and it's not uncommon for tailor to take baits only centimetres smaller than themselves. Smaller fish are most commonly encountered in rivers and bays where these choppers present excellent light game opportunities taking baits and lures readily and performing jumps trying to throw hooks. However it is the traditional beach fishing for tailor that you must try.

Beach Fishing

Having access to numerous beaches around Tuross tailor fishing is popular. So what is the secret to beach fishing? Observation! Knowing how to identify banks, gutters, drains and rips becomes essential if you hope to regularly catch fish from the beach.

Additional observations of swooping birds and for the more experienced surf and rock areas will produce a better class of fish normally then in the estuaries. When you are beach fishing for tailor, you’ll find they are constantly on the move and may stay in a gutter or hole off the beach for only a short time before moving on. Holes are pockets of deeper water scooped by waves and tide, while gutters are longer channels of deeper water, sometimes running the entire length of a beach. Both formations are easy to spot because the water in them appears darker. Fishing a rip can produce a lot of tailor as well, as they like to eat the small baitfish carried out by the water. It can be difficult to fish though because of the fast flowing water. Those wanting to encounter larger fish on a regular basis will be using large cut fillets of fresh mullet, tailor and bonito or whole large gar. Patience is the key to these bigger fish as is a move to plastic coated wire to ensure these big greenbacks don’t part your line with their razor teeth.

Additional observations of swooping birds and for the more experienced surf and rock areas will produce a better class of fish normally then in the estuaries. When you are beach fishing for tailor, you’ll find they are constantly on the move and may stay in a gutter or hole off the beach for only a short time before moving on. Holes are pockets of deeper water scooped by waves and tide, while gutters are longer channels of deeper water, sometimes running the entire length of a beach. Both formations are easy to spot because the water in them appears darker. Fishing a rip can produce a lot of tailor as well, as they like to eat the small baitfish carried out by the water. It can be difficult to fish though because of the fast flowing water. Those wanting to encounter larger fish on a regular basis will be using large cut fillets of fresh mullet, tailor and bonito or whole large gar. Patience is the key to these bigger fish as is a move to plastic coated wire to ensure these big greenbacks don’t part your line with their razor teeth.

Larger fish should be targeted with a minimum 6 kg line up to 10kg being preferred for very large fish, and hook sizes from 5/0 to 7/0 to suit your bait being used. Tailor as the name implies love tails so using a pilchard tail on a single hook is a good way to start! The beauty of pilchards is, when attacked by a tailor the resulting head shakes and biting spread pieces of the pillie like a natural burley keeping the other fish in the school excited and in your area. Smaller fish are most commonly encountered in rivers and bays where these choppers present excellent light game opportunities taking baits and lures readily and performing jumps trying to throw hooks.

The estuary tailor still loves pilchards, big or small. Lines sizes can be reduces in the estuaries to 4 to 6 kg range which are more than sufficient for fish likely to range to 1 kg with the average being much smaller. Gangs of 3 x 3/0 hooks are a good option for use with pilchards and also allow main line traces to be used rather than wire trace. This results in many more strikes and hook-ups than if wire is used but be aware the occasional bite off will occur, probably from a second fish striking at a swivel or piece of bait sliding up your line.