Found along the east coast of Australia from Noosa Heads in Queensland to eastern Victoria and dwell in rockpools, estuaries and rocky reefs.
Rock blackfish are usually a dark brown colour as juveniles and uniformly black as adults.
Use floated baits as these are typically used to keep tackle away from rough sea beds. Mix up a nice batch of berley consisting of stale bread, chicken pellets and
the rock blackfish’s favourite cuisine - cabbage weed. Since
the rock blackfish is a very strong fighter, diving for the seabed or making a beeline for a
cave, double-strength hooks and lines from 6 to 15 kg breaking-strain are necessary.
Sport Value
Powerful and violent fish that often dives for shelter once hooked. This stubborn fish requires strong arm tactics to landTackle
Use stout rods, 10 to 20kg line and bobby corks to minimise tackle losses. No. 4 mustad or beak hooksBait
Cunjevoi flesh, cuttlefish, abalone gut, bass yabbies, bread, crab or prawnsVery good table qualities. Has tasty flesh, especially if it’s cleaned, skinned and filleted soon after being caught. Smaller fish ranging from a mere kilo to 3kgs are known to have better table qualities than large specimens.