Hawaiian Giant Herring

This page uses Elops hawaiensis, the Hawaiian giant herring described by Fishes of Australia and the Australian Museum. Both sources recognise the similar Elops machnata. The museum accounts do not offer a simple dependable colour mark for telling them apart, and Fishes of Australia cautions that a tooth character used by some writers changes as the fish grows.

Angling articles often use Elops machnata much more broadly. Recfishwest’s useful WA account is one example. Its observations about fishing giant herring are presented here as common-name fishing reports, not as proof that those catches were that particular taxon.

For an uncertain catch, record giant herring and keep a good side photograph. Do not handle a fish for longer merely to force a scientific identification. The distinction from tarpon is more useful to most anglers than a confident guess between two nearly identical Elops.

Museum sources describe a tropical and subtropical coastal distribution around Australia, with occasional fish in southern waters. Estuaries, sandy or silty bays, lagoons and mangrove edges are the characteristic habitat. Young fish can move into lower freshwater reaches, but that does not turn the whole species into an inland river resident.

The WA fishing account names the Swan, Collie and Leschenault systems and occasional south-coast catches, with larger fish also reported from Exmouth Gulf. Those are historical angling observations. They are useful leads for local research, not an indication that a particular flat has fish this week.

For a southern estuary session, look for recent local reports and baitfish on the flats rather than planning entirely around a national range map. Farther north, include the shallow bay and mangrove edge as well as the river mouth. The connection between feeding flat and nearby deeper water is a more useful starting question than whether the fish ought to be somewhere on the coast.

A giant herring has a long, slim silver body, a large eye, a fairly large terminal mouth and a single short dorsal fin near the middle of the back. The tail is strongly forked. The back may appear blue or greenish-grey above the silver sides.

Oxeye herring, the Australian tarpon, have much larger-looking scales and a conspicuous elongated final dorsal-fin ray. Do not add that long trailing ray to a giant-herring identification. The names can be confused in casual conversation even though the fish look quite different when the entire side is visible.

Milkfish share a silver body and forked tail but have a smaller mouth. Photograph the head and fins as well as the flank. An image of a silver fish bent around an angler’s hands can conceal most of the useful characters.

Small fishes and crustaceans are documented food. A fish chasing bait along an edge deserves a moving imitation of that bait, rather than a pattern selected solely for the size of the predator. Start with the prey’s length and slenderness, then work out the depth at which the fly should swim.

Museum accounts describe ocean spawning and a transparent larval phase before juveniles enter shallower coastal habitat. A giant herring in an estuary is not necessarily spawning there. There is little basis for giving every river a fixed breeding or fishing calendar.

In southern estuaries, warmer-season sightings can offer a practical starting point. Recfishwest describes a summer Swan fishery that varies markedly in how easy the fish are to find. Treat that variability seriously. Time spent locating activity is usually better spent than fishing an empty flat because it produced a memorable catch several years ago.

Recfishwest identifies an eight-weight as adequate for most fly-caught giant herring. That is a useful centre point for an estuary outfit, with a reel and backing suited to a fast fish. Use more rod where wind, larger fish or difficult landing conditions require it, rather than extending a fight to defend a tackle choice.

A floating line suits shallow flats and surface patterns. An intermediate line is helpful when a baitfish fly needs to track below chop or along a channel edge. Keep the leader simple and inspect the terminal section often. Raspy teeth and a hard mouth make unnoticed abrasion expensive.

Sparse baitfish streamers, small Clousers and Deceiver-style patterns are reasonable starting choices. A popper or Gurgler offers a different option for visibly active fish. Keep the hook point sharp and avoid excessive material that masks the point or makes the fly spin. These are practical imitations of the food, not a promise of one locally unbeatable pattern.

Begin where a flat drops into deeper water or where bait is travelling along a current edge. Lead a visible fish, let the fly settle and retrieve across its path. A cast directly at the disturbance may arrive after the fish has already moved.

A brisk retrieve is worth trying, especially when the fish are actively pursuing prey. If the fly is followed but not taken, vary the pace or add a short pause instead of immediately making it larger. If nothing follows, cover new water rather than repeating the same lane indefinitely.

Set firmly with the line hand when contact comes. Keep the rod low enough to maintain direct pressure while loose line clears. Once the fish runs, let the reel work. Expect jumps and direction changes; a sudden extra pull when a fish is airborne can help it throw an already shallow hookhold.

Choose a landing area before the cast. A long silver fish thrashing beside a rock wall is awkward to support, and grabbing the leader while it is still jumping puts both hands and tackle at risk. Have a suitable net and pliers ready, and keep other anglers clear of a dislodged fly.

Use wet hands, support the fish horizontally and keep it in the water as much as practical while unhooking. Avoid dragging it over dry sand. A brief whole-fish photograph is enough to preserve a useful identification record without turning a hard-earned catch into a prolonged handling exercise.

Check current local fishing rules, access arrangements and any marine sanctuary boundaries before fishing. A famous estuary name does not establish legal access to every bank or permission to fish every adjoining lagoon. The attraction is a demanding, fast-moving fish in accessible coastal water; finding a suitable place to pursue it is part of the work.