Where and when to catch Swallowtail Dart in Queensland: the QLD season, the spots in our guide that hold them, and where to find QLD's current size and possession limits.
Called Dart on our Western Australian guide.
QLD limits for Swallowtail Dart are set by Fisheries Queensland and change from time to time, so we link them rather than copy them.
Check Fisheries Queensland's limits before you fish.
Western Australian limits don't apply in Queensland.
Beach worms, pipis, peeled prawn, bloodworms and small strips of fresh fish
Lures
Small metal slugs (10–30 g), small soft plastics and grubs, and small surface poppers and bibless lures worked through the gutter
Rigs
A light running sinker or paternoster rig with a size 2–1/0 long-shank or circle hook and a small ball or star sinker that just holds in the wash, on 6–12 lb line with a short, slightly heavier leader. For lures, a small metal tied direct to a light spin outfit. Keep everything small: dart have small mouths but pull hard.
Technique
Read the beach first and fish the gutters, rip edges and the corners of sand spits where the surf churns. Cast bait into the foamy water and let it tumble naturally, with just enough lead to keep contact. With lures, fan-cast small metals across the gutter and wind fast with the odd pause. Bites are sharp and the fight is all runs and head-down power, so let a light drag do the work and don't horse a fish through the shore break.
Best Time
Dart work the surf gutters all year in Queensland, and are thickest through the cooler months. A rising tide flooding the gutters and the hours either side of high are the classic windows, with early morning and late afternoon best, especially on a moderate, working swell rather than a flat or blown-out beach.
Identification
Also known asSwallowtail dart, surf trevally
A compact, flat-sided silver fish with a blunt snout and a small mouth, a deeply forked tail with long, pointed lobes, and long sickle-shaped front rays on the soft dorsal and anal fins. Most adult dart carry a row of dark spots along the flank above the lateral line; the number and shape of those spots is what separates the species. Small trevally get called dart by mistake: check the wrist of the tail, because trevally carry a row of hard bony scutes there and dart don't.
Size & Growth
Most surf-caught dart are 25–40 cm and half a kilo to a kilo, a fish the size of a dinner plate that pulls like something twice that. Anything over 45 cm is a very good dart. They grow quickly, mature in about two years and are relatively short-lived, which is part of why they're so plentiful when a beach suits them. Expect numbers rather than size: a good session is a dozen honest fish out of one gutter.
Diet & Habitat
Surf-zone feeders that work the turbulent water where breaking waves dig out the sand and expose worms, small crustaceans, pipis and other small shellfish; they'll also chase small baitfish, which is why a fast metal works. They hold in gutters, along the edges of sand spits and over shallow bars, moving in with the tide and dropping back with it, mostly off exposed sandy beaches and occasionally around nearby rocks.
Eating Quality
Good eating if bled and iced the moment they're landed: white, firm, mild flesh with a fine flake. The fillets off a typical dart are thin, so they suit pan-frying, crumbing or cooking whole on the barbecue. Scale them properly, because the skin crisps well. Like all surf fish they soften fast in the sun, so bring an esky with ice and eat them fresh if you can.