new south wales Fish Id Pls

[Fishy4lyf]

I recently went fishing off the Tura Beach headland and kept on catching these little guys when we let it drift too close to the rocks, threw them back because had no clue what they were. Could not find any ID info online and have asked around but no-one has been able to ID. 

Any help greatly appreciated. Ty 

[aussie123]

Bit hard to tell properly with those pictures but they could be what we call an old boot, aka wirrah

[Fishy4lyf]

Hey Aussie, we also caught a few wirras in same spot and these ones seemed a bit different, they had smaller narrower heads and their pectoral fins were spindly whereas the wirras have round fins. But perhaps just another type of wirra. 

 

[John]

my guess is one of these http://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/family/76

[Ovington]

I'd say its an Eastern kelpfish (Chironemus marmoratus) They are found in shallow rocky areas along the east coast between brissy and tassie i believe 

[Fishy4lyf]

29 minutes ago, Ovington said:

I'd say its an Eastern kelpfish (Chironemus marmoratus) They are found in shallow rocky areas along the east coast between brissy and tassie i believe 

Yep that looks to be the one, cheers. By the sound of things not good eating so glad we threw them back.

[benno573]

Always best if you're not sure to handle very carefully, take a photo and let it go, research, and know for next time. Exactly as you have done here! 

[John]

23 hours ago, Ovington said:

I'd say its an Eastern kelpfish (Chironemus marmoratus) They are found in shallow rocky areas along the east coast between brissy and tassie i believe 

nice detective work 

https://australianmuseum.net.au/image/eastern-kelpfish

[Ovington]

1 hour ago, John said:

nice detective work 

https://australianmuseum.net.au/image/eastern-kelpfish

The joys of spending countless hours reading fish identification books and Australian Marine ecology, looks like some things to stick...