Common names: Luderick, Darkie, Pacific Bream, Parore, Rock Perch

Identifying features: Blackfish can be recognised by having evenly arched dorsal and ventral profiles, small mouth and eye and a large tail. They have numerous dark vertical strips and in terms of colour can vary from a bronzed-grey with purple hue to a dull gun-metal grey.

Size: Blackfish can grow up to about 50cm and weigh over a kilo however they grow fairly slowly with a mature 5 year old fish being only 27cm in length.

Lifecycle: Spawning is thought to occur in surf zones near estuary entrances, typically during the winter. The larvae will then enter the estuaries and live in sheltered shallow water habitats whilst the larger juvenile fish will occur in the deeper water. The mature adults may re-enter the estuarine waters after spawning.

Diet: Blackfish are primarily herbivorous feeding on certain species of macroalgae. The type of algae they eat will be determined by the locality where you are fishing. In Sydney they eat cabbage weed, brown and green string weed. Correspondingly the blackfish congregate anywhere there is algae and floating weed so you will find them around rocky coastal shorelines, jetties, boat ramps, marinas and river break walls.
Interestingly at times they will also take nippers, beach worms and cunjevoi.

Distribution: Luderick occur from southern Queensland through to central south Australia, including northern Tasmania. They are also found in New Zealand.
Eating Qualities: I think Blackfish make a solid table fish. I would suggest crumbing Blackfish and shallow frying in some butter and serving with a fresh green salad and an ice cold coopers pale ale.

Fishing techniques: Blackfish are generally caught using long (3-5m) soft rods with centre-pin or spin reels filled with either monofilament or braided line. The "weed" is placed on a 6-10 sized hook suspended underneath a float. This bait is then drifted into wash zones if you are rock fishing or rocky foreshores and weed beds if estuary fishing.
Berley is often used to attract blackfish and is simply a mixture of sand and weed.
As the blackfish takes the weed the float will simultaneously sink. At this point the angler is to strike to hook the fish.