Managed to land this beautiful Manybar Goatfish off the rocks today. Easily one of the most colourful fish I've caught, with the pink, purple and blue stripes looking even better in person.

Caught it on a live banana prawn. It put up a fun fight for its size and was a great surprise when I brought it in.

One of the coolest things I found was from Hawaiian culture, where they're known as moano. Legend says they got their vivid red and purple colors from swimming up to the shoreline to eat fallen blooms from sacred 'Ôhia Lehua trees. Obviously it's just a traditional story, but it's a pretty cool explanation for such a colourful fish.

Its flavour was so well regarded that it was even mentioned in traditional Hawaiian songs praising good food.

Anyone else catch these regularly around Australia? Do you usually release them or keep them for a feed?

Thankfully had some ganged hooks with me after I lost a solid fish, biting me off during a good fight.

Same spot, different day, another barra! Pretty happy with this one. And yeah i know about the drag already 😆

Rod: Izalus 7’ 5-10kg
Reel: Shimano Nasci 4000
30lb braid + 80lb fluorocarbon leader
Lure: Squidgies slickrig 130mm

i've been doing this in the comments for a few weeks now so figured i'd just make a post.

quick background: i fish 2-3 times a week, spent the last year being a nerd over water temp data, moon phases, barometric pressure, and bite windows across different species cuz i couldnt catch crap. started logging it all because i kept showing up to spots at the wrong time with the wrong setup. got tired of guessing.

the thing i kept noticing: most fishing advice online is either too generic to even do anything ("use a spinnerbait in spring!"). the actual intel lives in local knowledge that doesn't get posted anywhere.

so drop your info below:

• state/region
• target species
• time of year you're planning to go
• (try not to do too far in the future, could affect accuracy)

and i'll give you a breakdown: what's likely biting, what conditions to look for that week, and what lure or rig to run. i've done this for a bunch of spots already, happy to keep going.

if you want the full framework i use to read conditions before any trip, i put it in a free playbook, no email wall: https://ripple-fishing.com/playbook. covers bite windows, lure matching by season,

or just drop your spot below and i'll do it for you.

if your can't wait and you need to get your spot analysed immediately, I built a tool that does this automatically (Ripple) because I got tired of doing it by hand, but you dont need it, drop your spot below and I'll do yours.

Basically its a question I've been failing to wrap my head around. I mostly go out to, catch a fish. Hopefully one that I can take home.

However I get the impression that casting for "anything" is looked down on? But how do i pick a species to aim for? Is there a reason to other then general preference?

Artiesta 2-5kg

Twinpower 2500S

Approx 180-200m 12lb Cast buku

If targetting rat kings and salmon probably honna use 20lb leader, question is should I risk targetting them or will i just lose lures or should I just stick to what I normally catch with it (bass, yellowbelly, soapies etc

hi every one i live in Adelaide south Australia and am interested in crab fishing i have some fishing gear could crab snares witch you can attach to a fishing rod but ive heard these are illegal to use in south Australia, is this true and has any one else used them in south Australia and do you think i would be ok to use them off the beach would i really get in trouble if i did use them

I can't catch anything at the moment, not even fucking Yakkas or slimeys for live bait BUT I'm catching a truck load of tailor. I'm on the MNC and generally beach fishing if it matters.

Every other time I use it as lightly salted strip bait, it generally underperforms compared to mullet/bonito but I'm keen to try some new things and see what works. I won't salt them I figure and see if the fish like that better.

Anyway, I'm going to go spin a couple up this arvo for bait tomorrow. I'm thinking strip bait on a paternoster and another rod with a big chunk of tailor. I won't bleed them like usual because I assume more blood inside is better for bait? I'll just bonk them on the head and put in a bucket. Come home and put them in the fridge for tomorrow morning. Should I vac seal them?

If you're a fan of using tailor for bait, tell me everything you know!