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Before we go too far I just want to put it out there that this post is just a reflection of part of my fly fishing journey. Don't take it as gospel but do feel free to use it as a foundation in developing your own abilities to catch a fishonfly or fishonlure ... in this case Threadfin Salmon

Both are a fantastic table and sport fish with big tails and plenty of vigor and would pull a similar sized salt water Barramundi backwards. They also have a well earned reputation of being finicky and difficult to catch.

They're endemic North of Brisbane on the East coast and North of Broom on the West coast and along all of our Northern coastline in coastal waters, river, creeks and bays.

They have bizarre feeding habits and it can be very frustration getting them to bite. Some days they don't respond to anything you offer but other days they can be almost cooperative. They are predominately bottom feeders and mooch along head down with they threads or feelers out in front of them constantly sensing for food items. Having said that when they are in shallow water they will occasionally strike at bait being retrieved past or above them. Their main diet includes Jelly Prawns which are only up to around 4 centimeters long and a pale pinkish cream in colour and are more akin to Krill than Prawns. They also eat real prawns, Crabs and Worms as well as bait fish including Herring and Mullet.

They favour constantly discoloured waters that are not flushed clear by incoming tides. We don't have much of that type of water around Gladstone and the best locations to target Threadfin locally is the back waters of Gladstone Harbour, The Narrows and sometimes the Calliope River. The back waters of Turkey Beach, Seven Mile and the Colosseum are also good options.

Threadfin do not like too much run in the tide and a good rule of thumb is that if the water is running faster than you can comfortably walk then it’s going to be hard to catch Threadfin.

They are a great target species throughout the year but there are two peak periods in which to target Threadfin in Central Queensland.

The lesser of the two peak periods is Autumn and the prime peak period is late Winter to early Spring. In both peaks, large numbers of Threadfin accumulate in tidal flats and river mouths. For the best action in those periods take advantage of bite windows that occur around the quarter moons and then specifically around the neap tides.

Spawning for both species appear to occur during the months of late Winter/early Spring and that may account for prime peak period in late Winter to early Spring being the better of the two peak periods to target Threadfin.

Outside of those peak periods Threadfin tend to prefer water 8 to 10 meters deep but during both peak periods (more so during Autumn and Spring) they move up into tidal flats, shallower bays and estuary waters. At these times they may be found in much shallower water and you will even come across them foraging in shallow water with their fins and tail visible.

They follow the run of the tide moving from one deeper hole to the next deeper hole where they school up and feed. Those holes are often less than meter deeper that the surrounding water but that’s enough.
 

There are a number of different fishing opportunities created by tidal flows.

Tidal Flats
As rising tides inundate tidal flats and shallower water in bays Threadfin take advantage and follow the tide over feeding grounds. During these times it is likely that they are feeding on Jelly Prawns and/or Proper Prawns, Small Carbs and Worms that live in the muddy bottoms.

Threadfin stir sand and mud when feeding so if you come across an area where the silt or mud seems more intense there is a good chance it has been stirred up by feeding Threadfin.

Another thing I have notices is there is sometimes Dolphins on tidal flats that I am fishing ... my research is that they are feeding on Threadfin or Herring the latter being a staple in Threadfin diets so if there are Herring around it's a good sign that Threadfin may also be around.

So in either case, seeing Dolphins where your Threadfin fishing may be just as good an indicator as when you see Sea Gulls when your fishing for pelagics.

If your lucky you'll come across these shallow water events not only in open areas like tidal flats, shallower bays and harbors but also relatively open areas and backwaters such as the Anna Branch of the Calliope River. In rivers those open areas are also often punctuated by creeks and gutters creating channels for Threadfin to follow as the tide moves up and down.

Threadfin can be particularly finicky and shy when feeding in open shallow areas so it wont take much to spook them.

It's a great idea to stay well away and to target them with long casts with smaller top water hard body lures and prawn imitation soft plastics or Flies.
 

Shallow Mangroves areas

In rivers and other areas of big tidal or flood flows the inside of corners and the bottom points of any gutter, cuttings or small creeks running into a larger flows of water, subject to the make up of the bottom (eg. sand or mud versus rock or gravel), is generally shallower than the outside of the corners corners and the top points of flows into the main or bigger arms of the main river.

If the shallow water is adjacent to mangrove lined shores you are more like to come across shallow feeding Threadfin from close to the ebb of the high tide and then moving progressively out of the shallows as the levels drop. As the ebb of the rising tide approaches Threadfin often target prawns and baitfish still moving into mangroves and then as the tide turns they target the prawns and baitfish starting to leave themangroves.

In particular they may congregate to feed in deeper pockets where there are breaks in the mangroves or gutters and small streams that give access for the tides to flood or or drain mangroves. If you pay particular attention to any of those gutters or access breaks in the mangroves or any isolated structure clear of the main mass of mangroves your in with a chance. They still may be feeding on Krill but more likely they will be targeting Herring, Mullet and other baitfish or Prawns that are entering or leaving the mangroves.

It's still a great idea to stay well away and to target them with long casts with smaller top water and medium swimming depth Hard Body Lures or Prawn Imitation and Paddle tails Soft Plastics and Flies.
 

Falling tides
As the tide continues to fall in both shallow open areas and shallow mangrove areas Threadfin move back to the deeper water of the main channel and will follow the tide down moving from deeper hole to deeper hole.

For rivers the main channel is generally closer to the outside of curves rather than the inside of curves in rivers.

In deeper water Threadfin become less susceptible to being spooked and as long as you can get you Fly, Soft Plastic, Hard Body Lure, Vibe or Blade down close enough to get their interest your in with a chance. That of course can be in open coastal waters or bays, the harbour or rivers. If you do find Threadfin Salmon holding in a particular spot it's always worth marking it on your sounder because when conditions repeat Threadfin Salmon tend to return to marks repeatedly over time.
 

Deeper holes located close to mangrove lined banks.
The best approach is to maneuver your boat within cast range of the deeper holes and mangroves. From there to cast your baits, whether they be live bait fish or Prawns, Vibes, Blades, Hard Body Lure, Soft Plastic or Flies, targeting Threadfin that are hunting food entering, leaving or feeding in the mangroves.
 

Deep holes along a channel
When Threadfin move away from mangroves and back to the main channel position your boat just up current from deeper holes in rivers, river entrances, shallow flats and harbour or coastal channels and hold the boat there. You can do that with your electric motor on anchor lock or if you don’t have the benefit of anchor lock drop your anchor well back from the deeper hole and once the anchor has set feed out enough rode to back down with the current close to the edge of the hole … don’t forget to take wind into account as you go through this anchoring process.
 

In any case Threadfin typically only stay in each hole whilst the tide is relatively slow or until the bait fish or prawns they are feeding on move on in the direction of the current and the Threadfin follow them moving from deeper hole to deeper hole. It’s best to have the locations of the deeper holes, where you’re going to target Threadfin, marked on your sounder and as soon as they move out of the deeper hole your on to move down with the current and the help of the electric motor to the next deeper hole or even to the hole after that.

You can also target them as they move between holes but keep in mind it’s a tradeoff between getting into position for when they arrive in the next hole and congregate or targeting relatively dispersed salmon as they are traveling. If you’re doing the latter the best locations to targeting those travelers is the channels along which the holes are located, particularly those with gravelly and or structured bottoms.
 

Baits

Because Threadfin live in discolored water and have poor eyesight they have to rely on sensing prey with their very sensitive feelers so whatever bait you decide to use weather it be live Fish or Prawns, Vibes, Blades, Soft Plastics, Flies or Hard Body lures, make sure that even at a slow speed they will be active active with heaps of vibrations even when retrieved at a slow speed.

Here are my suggestions on baits for Threadfin Salmon.

Gear

I don't bait fish at all so I don't have a set up for that.

When targeting Threadfin Salmon I use the same gear as I do when targeting Barramundi and generally have two outfits on hand.

The basic set up for both outfits is the same and consists of a TT Venom 15/50 7 foot rods, matched with Shimano 5000HG Twin Power reels. The backing is 50lb Suffix 832 braid in lime green and that is connected with a FG knot to a rod length of Sunline FC100 50lb fluorocarbon leader.
 
One rod is set up for fishing hard Vibes and Blades and PTE baits and that outfit has a Mustard size #4 Fastach clip at the business end.
 
The second rod is set up for soft plastic fishing and whilst the leader is basically the same as the one above it has a size #5/0 stinger hook just above the the size #4 Mustard Fastach clip as shown below.
 

 
Obviously my fly rod set up is different and consists of a 9 foot Predator fly rod matched with a Hardy Fly Reel. The backing is 50lb Suffix 832 braid in lime green and that is connected with a FG knot to a rod length of Maxima 40lb monofiliment. At the business end I have a size #3 Mustard Fastach clip to facilitate easy and quick fly changes.