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(Click for large pic. 19Kb)
The Dart is a swift swimming fish living in the breakers along the open ocean beaches , even though good specimens are caught in Hervey Bay especially around Round Island and the Picnic Islands. It affords excellent fishing to anglers, baiting with Ugari (pippy), yabbies, peeled prawns and cut baits. Quite frequently the bait is taken as soon as it strikes the surface. The powerful tail of the fish , combined with resistance of its deep body, enables it to, put up a game fight when hooked. The species reaches a length of 600 mm and is a good table fish. Ideally, it should be bled immediately on capture, and the fillets skinned and chilled as soon as possible. This raises the problem of logistics; surf anglers usually find that when they are "on" Dart, they are fishing a sizeable shoal rather than stragglers.
So, in a short but furious burst of fishing, a large number of fish are caught. These fish tend to dry out and spoil rather quickly on the warm sands of ocean beaches; it is a good plan to maintain their quality by digging a shallow hole to the level of cool moist sand and burying the fish in it as they are bought ashore. In colour the fish is blue-grey above and bright silver below with from four to seven thumb-print-like dark blotches just above the lateral line. The lobes and spines of the fins are blue black.
Season: all year
Location: surf areas, beach gutters deeper channels in Hervey Bay
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