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Bite Compass

Blowfish (Blowie)

Shore / Estuary
Family Tetraodontidae (various, e.g. Torquigener pleurogramma)

The blowie — WA's most despised bait-robber. A small pufferfish that swarms estuaries, jetties and beaches across the South West, shredding baits and frustrating anglers. IMPORTANT: blowfish flesh is highly poisonous (tetrodotoxin) — DO NOT EAT, and DPIRD asks that you return every blowfish to the water immediately, as dead blowies left on the shore can be lethal to dogs.

Overview

Blowfish — universally 'blowies' in WA — are the bane of the bait fisher's day. Small, abundant pufferfish that swarm estuaries, jetties, groynes and beaches throughout the South West and lower west, they descend on a bait in numbers and strip the hook in seconds with their hard beak-like mouths. No angler targets them; everyone catches them. Beyond the frustration, two things matter: blowfish are highly poisonous to eat, and they should never be left dead on the shore. DPIRD's standing advice is to return every blowfish to the water immediately — they're scavengers that play a real role in the ecosystem, and a dead blowie on a jetty or riverbank is a genuine, sometimes fatal, hazard to dogs that eat them.

How to Catch
Best baits

N/A — blowfish are an unwanted pest, not a target. They'll take almost any soft bait (prawn, mulie, worm) meant for other fish.

Lures

N/A

Rigs

Not a target species. When blowies move in and start shredding baits, the practical move is to change spots or switch to lures, which they largely ignore.

Technique

There's no technique for catching blowfish — the technique is for avoiding them. When they swarm, baits vanish in seconds and other fish are pushed out. Move to a different spot, fish harder-bodied or larger baits they can't easily strip, or switch to lures and metals. If you do hook one, unhook it carefully (mind the beak) and return it to the water alive.

Best time

A year-round nuisance, worst in the warmer months (spring through autumn) when they swarm the estuaries and nearshore in plague numbers. Warm, calm conditions in the rivers and over sand bring them in thickest.

Size

Commonly 10–25cm

Peak season

Year-round (spring–autumn worst)

Eating quality

DO NOT EAT. Members of the blowfish/pufferfish family (Tetraodontidae) contain tetrodotoxin, a powerful poison that is heat-stable and cannot be removed by cooking or cleaning. Blowfish poisoning causes paralysis and can be fatal. No WA blowfish is safe to eat — return them to the water.

Regulations (WA)

Blowfish are not a table species and should not be taken for eating. DPIRD advice: return captured blowfish to the water immediately — do not leave dead blowfish on jetties, rock walls or riverbanks, where they pose a life-threatening risk to dogs and other animals that may eat them. Always check current DPIRD rules — regulations may change.

Perth Tips

When the blowies arrive, the bite for everything else effectively ends — accept it and move. Carry long-nose pliers to unhook them without touching the beak. Never throw dead blowfish up onto the bank or leave them on the jetty: it's both a fineable bad look and a real danger to dogs. Return them to the water alive wherever you can.

Where to Catch Blowfish (Blowie)
Ammo Jetty (Ammunition Jetty, Woodman Point) Claremont Jetty (Swan River) Mandurah (Foreshore / Jetty area)
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