Luderick

(Girella tricuspidata)

Common Names

Black Bream, Blackfish, Bronzies. In New Zealand the Luderick is known by it's Maori name of Parare.

Description

A small to medium sized omnivorous fish, it has a small square mouth and comb-like teeth. The colours vary with their habitat. Estuary Luderick are usually dark to purple-brown with nine or more darker vertical stripes, and a cream belly. Ocean Luderick are brassy or bronze over purple-brown and may also be a light blue-grey, they also have nine or more stripes. Their fins being darker than their bodies, especially their tails.

Size

Most Luderick weigh between 0.4-1.2 kilos, but have the potential to exceed this.

Habitat

Luderick are found around trhe south-eastern seaboard of Australia from Fraser Island (the greatest place on earth) In Queensland to western Victoria and south to Tasmania. They are also found in New Zealand waters. They are rarely found further than 100 metres from the shore. They range into titdal waters and even venture a little ways into freshwater. They love brackish headwaters down through the rivers and out along the rocky foreshores.

Feeding

Luderick are a schooling species and rarely travel in groups of less than ten. They are largely vegetarian for most part of the year. Their favourite foods are the filamentous green streamer weeds and cabbage weeds. During the spring they change their eating habits and start to feed on marine worms, prawns, shrimp, yabbies, nippers. They will feed in less than a metre of water.

Fishing Technique

Luderick are caught more or less the same way as garfish, using a nicely weighted float, 1.0-3.0 kilo fishing line, a light rod, sharp hook size 10-4. Make sure the bait is neat and tidy, using the types of foods suggested above. However, different States use different baits, so if in doubt, consult your local fishing tackle shop. The Luderick bite best when the tide is running or there is wave action, under the cover of dark; some have been caught in the middle of an overcast day.

Eating

Luderick are a fair to good table fish but they should be bled and cleaned promptly. I think that the ocean Luderick taste better than the estuary Luderick. They are best cooked as fillets.

Legal Size & Bag Limit

Victoria: Legal Size = 22cm
New South Wales: Legal Size = 25cm, Bag Limit = 20