Luderick, or blackfish, are a proper estuary favourite around southern and eastern Australia. They are great fun on light gear, fight well for their size, and can keep you busy when other fish are quiet.
You’ll find luderick around rock walls, bridge pylons, oyster leases, pontoons and shallow reef edges where weed grows well. They are common in estuaries, coastal lakes, harbours and the wash zones of ocean rocks, usually in clean water with steady current.
They mainly graze on green weed and algae, picking it off rocks, pylons and other structure. Most of the time they feed steadily rather than smashing a bait, so bites can be soft and all about watching the float carefully.
Tide matters a lot with luderick, and they usually feed best on a run when current is pushing food past weed-covered structure. Low light early and late often helps, especially in clear water, while bright middle-of-the-day sun can make them a bit fussier. Light to moderate wind is usually handy because a bit of ripple gives fish confidence, but strong wind makes float control harder and can shut a spot down. Smaller swell is generally easier and safer to fish, though a bit of wash on ocean rocks can fire them up if it is not too heavy.
A long float rod, small centrepin or threadline reel, fine main line and a simple stem float rig is the classic setup. Fresh green weed is the go-to bait, with a small fine-wire hook and just enough weight to get a natural drift. In tight estuary spots, berleying lightly with chopped weed can help hold fish in front of you.
Luderick have strong, chisel-like teeth that let them scrape weed clean off rocks and structure.