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How to catch Australian salmon

Arripis trutta (Forster, 1801)

About Australian salmon fishing

The Australian salmon is a streamlined pelagic neritic fish belonging to the family Arripidae, featuring a fusiform body with dark bluish-green upper flanks and silvery white underneath. It reaches a maximum recorded total length of 89 centimetres and a top weight of 9.4 kilograms, with common adults measuring around 47 centimetres. Inhabiting coastal shelf waters, estuaries, and exposed surf beaches down to depths of 39 metres, this migratory species forms large active schools that hunt small pelagic fish and crustaceans. Highly regarded as a powerful sport fish, it is frequently targeted by recreational anglers along coastal areas for its exceptional fighting endurance and acrobatic surface leaps.

  • Difficulty

    Medium

  • Average size

    47 cm TL

  • Market value

    Very high

  • Habitat

    Brackish, Saltwater

  • Season

    Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter

  • Also known as

    Bay trout, Black back, Black-backed salmon, Buck, Buck salmon, Cocky salmon

Australian salmon

Forked caudal shape

Forked tail fin structure characteristic of active pelagic swimming.

Terminal mouth

Terminal mouth position aids in midwater prey capture.

Straight forehead

Straight dorsal profile leading from snout to dorsal fin.

Indistinct lateral spots

Irregular dark spots arranged in rows along upper flanks.

Australian salmon fishing facts

Characteristics

  • Typical size

    47 cm TL (max 89 cm TL )

  • Typical weight

    1.5 kg (max 9.4 kg )

  • Preferred temperature

    15.6–22.3 °C

  • Depth

    30–39 m

  • Longevity

    26 years

  • Body shape

    Fusiform / Normal

  • Commercial?

  • Vulnerability score

    37.4

Best hours

  • Dawn

    First light

    Peak

  • Morning

    After sunrise

    Active

  • Midday

    High sun

    Low

  • Afternoon

    Late day

    Active

  • Dusk

    Last light

    Peak

  • Night

    After dark

    Low

When to fish for Australian salmon

01
January
02
February
03
March
04
April
05
May
06
June
07
July
08
August
09
September
10 Now
October
11
November
12
December

How to catch Australian salmon

Tips for catching Australian salmon

To successfully target this energetic schooling predator, focus your efforts around turbulent ocean surf beaches, deep coastal gutters, and rocky headlands where water movement concentrates baitfish. Anglers achieve the best results by casting shiny metal spoons or small bouncing soft plastics on high-speed erratic retrieves that mimic fleeing whitebait or pilchards. When surfcasting from sandy shores, presenting a fresh pilchard or squid strip on a paternoster rig into deep channels is exceptionally effective. Plan sessions around early morning or late afternoon light windows when visibility aids visual hunting, and watch for diving seabirds signalling active feeding packs crashing into surface bait balls.

Other names for Australian salmon

Local and alternate names anglers use for Australian salmon.

  • Australian salmon
  • Kahawai
  • Salmon trout
  • Newfish
  • Buck salmon
  • Buck
  • Black-backed salmon
  • Black back
  • Bay trout
  • Kermadec kahawai
  • Cocky salmon
  • Native salmon
  • Colonial salmon
  • Salmon
  • Eastern Australian salmon
  • Three kings

Best equipment to catch Australian salmon

Compare fishing methods for Australian salmon — sized kit for each technique.

Note: Typical fish is 1.5 kg Our algorithm will suggest the best equipment for you based on this weight.

Best lures and baits for Australian salmon

Ranked lures and natural baits from every method, best first.

How Australian salmon migrates — Anadromous

Grows at sea and swims into rivers to spawn. Target the run as fish leave the ocean and push upstream.

How Australian salmon migrates — Anadromous 1. Eggs: Laid in fresh water, usually well up the river. 2. Juveniles: Grow in the river, then head downstream to the sea. 3. Adults: Feed and grow at sea. 4. Spawners: Run back up the river to spawn.
Fresh water Estuary Sea

1 Eggs

Fresh water

Laid in fresh water, usually well up the river.

2 Juveniles

→ Sea

Grow in the river, then head downstream to the sea.

3 Adults

Sea

Feed and grow at sea.

4 Spawners

→ Fresh water

Run back up the river to spawn.

Some populations never go to sea and complete the cycle in rivers and lakes.

Hover or tap a number to read each stage.

Diet and behavior of Australian salmon

  • Diet

    Top predator

  • Feeds by

    Hunts animals

  • Hunts

    Dawn · Dusk

  • Feeds over

    Soft bottom · Hard bottom · Seagrass · Coral reefs · Mangroves

  • Main prey

    Baitfish · Bottom prey

  • Used as bait

    Yes

Prey and predators of Australian salmon

Prey is what Australian salmon eats. Predators are the animals that eat it.

That is how it feeds, and how it is hunted.

Prey

What it eats

Predators

What hunts it

Fish

  • Carcharhinus brachyurus juv./adults
  • Carcharhinus obscurus juv./adults
  • Carcharodon carcharias juv./adults
  • Carcharodon carcharias recruits/juv.
  • Eugomphodus taurus juv./adults

Where Australian salmon lives

Pelagic over the continental shelf — coastal open water, not the deep ocean.

Habitats
Brackish, Saltwater
Depth zone
Epipelagic
Sunlight · 30–39 m
Water column
Open water
Does not use the seabed

Where this species lives

Where to fish for Australian salmon

Mapped fishing spots where Australian salmon is recorded — open a pin for access and methods.

Red Bullock Bay

AucklandAucklandNew Zealand

Arkles Bay

AucklandAucklandNew Zealand

Army Bay

AucklandAucklandNew Zealand

Boulder Bay

AucklandAucklandNew Zealand

Catalina Bay

AucklandAucklandNew Zealand

Coast Guard Bay

AucklandAucklandNew Zealand

Fisherman Bay

AucklandAucklandNew Zealand

Gardiner Gap

AucklandAucklandNew Zealand

Hobbs Bay

AucklandAucklandNew Zealand

Motuihe Channel

AucklandAucklandNew Zealand