Blue salmon are a hard-fighting northern inshore fish that punch well above their weight. They’re popular because they smash baits and lures, pull strong in shallow water, and taste great fresh.
In Australia you’ll mostly find them across the tropical north, from the Kimberley through the Top End and across the Gulf into north Queensland. They hang around estuary mouths, tidal creeks, mud flats, beaches and shallow coastal water, usually over muddy or sandy bottom rather than reef.
Blue salmon feed on small fish, prawns and other bait moving with the tide. They’re active hunters that patrol drop-offs, drains and colour changes, often rounding up bait in dirty water where they can ambush it.
Tide matters a lot, with the run-in and run-out both fishing well when bait is pushed along creek mouths, flats and channels; the bite often slows around slack water. Low light is usually better, especially early morning, late arvo and overcast periods, though they’ll still feed through the day in stirred-up water. Light to moderate wind can help by adding a bit of chop and dirty water, but strong wind makes boat control and presentation harder. Small to moderate swell can fire up beach and coastal fish by moving bait, while heavy swell can dirty things up too much and make the bite patchy.
A light to medium spin outfit with 10–20 lb braid and a fluorocarbon leader is a good all-round setup. Small soft plastics, vibes, metal slugs and shallow divers all work, and fresh prawns, pilchard pieces or strips of fish are reliable on simple running sinker or paternoster rigs. Keep hooks sharp because they hit fast and can throw them with those head shakes.
Despite the name, blue salmon aren’t a true salmon at all — they’re actually a threadfin.