What fish will chomp a yellowtail?

[OZrevhead]

Hey guys, yesterday I was lucky enough to catch a yellowtail while bottom fishing near the Tweed River entrance so I put it out under a bobby to see if anything would take it. I hooked him lightly through the shoulder as I have seen and done before. He swam around happily for about half an hour then the tugging on the rod increased briefly and stopped. I knew what that meant so I reeled him in and he was bitten clean off just a hair away from my hook.

So my question is - what fish, other than a Tailor, will chomp off 3/4 of a yellowtail and leave me with just a head?

I assume kingfish would swallow a yellowtail whole, so I am intrigued as to what I missed.

 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hey mate, 

I would say that’s probably a tailor, bream, or small shark bite.

Cheers

[OZrevhead]

I don't really think a bream would bite a 20cm yellowtail in half like that, shark maybe. I do reckon it was probably a tailor but I was wondering if anything else could do that kind of damage to a baitfish. 

Also, he was about 70-80cm down in about 4-5m of water. 

Another fisho told me that tailor had been active on the surface a few hundred metres from shore where I was fishing and another fisherman caught a smaller tailor just down the way from me (around 20-25cm so he released it).

This is the fella before I sentenced him to death:

[OZrevhead]

I was in a hurry to get him out there, hence the simple 4/0 hook rig, next time I will definitely add a tail hook to the rig. 

Im back in Sydney now so I will not get a change to try again, maybe next time I am on holidays.

[ellicat]

Highly likely to have been a tailor, I say. Could possibly have been a small shark.

Missed the hook by not much. Unlucky.

Do you target the kingies in Sydney ?

[OZrevhead]

Hey mate, yeah for sure, that hook was left on the tiniest thread of skin.... So close but not close enough. 

As a land based fisherman I have never caught a kingfish, I have caught Amberjack on lures at the same spot as above. They were alot of fun, I'm sure kingies will be even better.

I am in the market for a boat and when I do get one then kingies are very high on my list of priorities (ie Molly point for starters)

[Junky]

Tailor or mackerel. 

I've seen some big spanish Mackerel in shallow water. 

 

They're called scissors because you'd swear it was cut with a sharp pair of scissors. 

They'd be chasing the tailor as well. 

 

 

[Memsmullowayhunter]

On 21/05/2023 at 4:23 PM, OZrevhead said:

Hey mate, yeah for sure, that hook was left on the tiniest thread of skin.... So close but not close enough. 

As a land based fisherman I have never caught a kingfish, I have caught Amberjack on lures at the same spot as above. They were alot of fun, I'm sure kingies will be even better.

I am in the market for a boat and when I do get one then kingies are very high on my list of priorities (ie Molly point for starters)

More than likely a shark or a tailor, potentially even a crab. The piers hold a lot of kings in the mornings land based. However if you do get a boat, there is a spot up river from the spit bridge, maybe like 5-10 min ride. You will see a wrecked yacht on the sounder, that wreck holds a lot of fish. From kings to jews to snapper.