Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Saltwater-Estuary » Threadfin

Threadfin

By Warren 'Wazza' Smith

King threadfin, threadfin salmon, threadys, no matter what name you prefer to call them, they are one of our very best sportfish that we have here in Australia. They can also be one of the toughest and most finicky fish to try and fool into grabbing a lure. Found in waters ranging from Brisbane on the east coast, north all along the coastline and extending down the West Australian coast, they can be found in rivers, creeks, bays and even coastal waters. I personally rate a metre plus thready as being up there with a barramundi the same length. Apparently they can reach sizes up to 30kg, which would be absolute madness on a rod and reel, however most of the ones I see are around the 6kg to 8kg size and the largest that I have ever seen caught went 14kg.

The thing that can make threadfin hard to catch is their feeding habits. On a dropping tide, along shallow mud flats with drains loaded with jelly prawns and a dirty water line, just to make seeing them hard, it all adds up to some very tough and frustrating times trying to get a bite from a thready. They slowly swim along, with those long whiskers or threads spread out in front of them, feeling their way through the dirty water until a mouthful of jelly prawns are detected and then rush forward and gulp a mouthful down.

These are the times that threadfin give their presence away as spraying prawns and the heads and tails of the threadfin become visible. I've spent countless hours casting all manner of lures and flies at threadys when they are feeding like this and a lot of times have left defeated and fishless as nothing we tried could entice a bite. Someone needs to make a lure or fly about the size of a golf ball that looks and feels like a mouthful of yummy jelly prawns (Tackle Tactics ;)). Despite all of the above, there are days when it's exactly the opposite and a well place lure will get hammered, time after time.

ZMan 3" MinnowZ are, as usual, are great plastics to use and rigged on a TT Lures 1/4oz HeadlockZ HD jighead, with a 2/0 or 3/0 hook, they are my go-to lure choice. If you can see threadfin swimming in clean water another lure that works well is floating, shallow running hardbodied lures, around the 8cm to 12cm size, including the Bagley Minnow B05, which works well in this case. The trick in this scenario is to cast a metre in front on the cruising fish and wait until it gets within a few centimetres of the lure, then give it a quick flick past its nose.

When Threadfin leave the shallow flats and move into deeper water they become a lot less fussy and will happily attack a trolled or cast lure as big as 15cm. The Bagley Rumble B in either 09 (9.5cm) or 11 (10.8cm) work well is this scenario. I've even seen them eat a trolled Bagley Monster Shad. Another good lure to troll is soft plastics. It's a little used option however it can work very, very well. A ZMan Diezel MinnowZ in the 5'' or 7'' size, with enough weight to get it bouncing along the bottom at a slow troll, can be very deadly. Pesky barramundi also find this slow rolled plastic attractive. Other plastics that work are the ZMan Grass KickerZ and the ZMan SwimmerZ in 4'' and 6'' sizes.

Big threadys hooked in small creeks and mangrove lined banks can be very hard to stop and will happily run you through and around any obstacle encountered during their blistering runs. You only have to look at the size of the big forked tails and you'll understand where the power comes from. Reels that have line capacities around the 120m to 180m are normally a safe bet.

Another thing that may help you track down threadfin is that they are a fish of habit. What I mean by this is that once found in a particular spot on the right time of the tide, you can usually find them there again next time the tides are the same. The same goes with finding them in deep holes in creeks and on bends. A lot of spots that we fish are in creeks that have a deep hole on bends and on the low tide threadfin will congregate in them, staying until the incoming tide gives them enough water to move on again. They will also travel a long way up very skinny water and you can sometimes pick a spot and wait for them to come to you on an outgoing tide. Hooking a metre plus thready in small, narrow creek usually ends up in disaster though... but it is fun!

One other thing when chasing threadys is that they are great to eat and I don't have a problem keeping one for a feed, however any that are destined for release should be released quickly and left in the water while removing hooks if possible. They don't handle being lifted out that well.

All the best with your search for threadfin. If anyone knows the trick to getting them to grab a lure while feeding on jelly prawns please drop me a line ;) Cheers, Wazza

Gear Used:

Okuma Cerros Baitcast Reels - CR-266V
Okuma Cerros Baitcast Rods - CER-C-601MH 6' 4-8kg & CER-C-661MH 6'6" 4-8kg

Okuma Helios SX Spin Reel - HSX-30
Cerros Travel Spin Rods - CER-S-703M 7' 3-6kg 3pc

Platypus P8 Braid - 20lb or 30lb

ZMan 3" MinnowZ
ZMan 5" DieZel MinnowZ
ZMan 7" DieZel MinnowZ
ZMan 5" Grass KickerZ

TT Lures HeadlockZ HD jigheads

Bagley Minnow B 05
Rumble B 09
Rumble B 11