Dart
Shore / SurfFast, hard-pulling surf-zone fighter of WA's warmer beaches, built like a small trevally and a brilliant light-tackle target in the wash. The common dart (Trachinotus botla) is the main WA species, found from around Bunbury north to the Kimberley but most reliable from Shark Bay up. Loves turbulent surf and gutters, feeding on small crabs, worms and molluscs churned up by the breakers.
Overview
Dart are the surf-zone speedsters of WA's northern and central beaches — compact, deep-bodied members of the pompano family that fight well above their weight on light gear. The common dart (Trachinotus botla, sometimes called large-spot dart) is the species most WA beach anglers encounter, ranging from around Bunbury up to the Kimberley but really hitting their straps from Shark Bay northward. They live in the white water, working the gutters and sand spits where breaking surf exposes crabs, worms and molluscs. For anyone who likes light-line beach fishing, dart are a gift: willing, abundant in the right conditions, and a genuine handful when hooked.
Identification
Swallowtail dart, large-spot dart, pompano
A small, deep, flat-sided silver fish with a blunt snout, a tiny mouth, a deeply forked tail and long sickle-shaped dorsal and anal lobes. The common or large-spot dart carries two to five dark spots along the flank, which separates it from the snub-nosed dart (Trachinotus blochii, often called permit), a bigger, unspotted, deeper-bodied fish of the northern flats. Small trevally get called dart by mistake — check the tail wrist, because trevally carry hard bony scutes along it and dart do not. A blunt profile and a tiny mouth on a fish that pulls that hard is the giveaway.
How to Catch
Beach worms, bloodworms, peeled prawns, pipis, small crab, mullet strip
Small metal slugs (10–30g), small soft plastics, surf poppers, bibless vibes
Light running-sinker rig with a size 1–1/0 long-shank or circle hook and a small ball or star sinker to hold in the wash; 8–12lb mainline with a short 15lb leader. For lure work, tie a small metal direct to a light spin outfit. Keep terminals small — dart have modest mouths but pull hard.
Read the beach and fish the gutters and the edges of sand spits where the surf churns. Cast bait into the foamy water and let it tumble naturally, holding just enough lead to keep contact. With lures, fan-cast small metals across the gutter and retrieve fast with the occasional pause — dart will chase down a fleeing metal. Bites are sharp and the fights are all runs and head-down power; let a light drag do the work.
Northern beaches fish year-round; the lower west is a warmer-months proposition. A rising tide flooding the gutters is prime, and the hour either side of high tide concentrates feeding fish. Early morning and late afternoon produce best, especially on a moderate, working swell rather than a flat or blown-out beach.
Up to 3kg, commonly 0.5–1.5kg
Year-round (north); warmer months in the lower west
Size & Growth
Most surf-caught dart run 25–40 cm and half a kilo to a kilo — a fish the size of a dinner plate that fights like something twice that. Anything over 45 cm and 1.5 kg is a very good dart, and the headline maximum of around 3 kg is rare and usually a far-north fish. They grow fast and are relatively short-lived, which is part of why they are so abundant where the beach suits them. Expect numbers rather than size: a good session is a dozen honest fish out of one gutter, not a single trophy.
Diet & Habitat
Dart are surf-zone feeders, working the turbulent water where breaking waves excavate the sand and expose small crabs, worms, pipis and other molluscs; they will also chase small baitfish, which is why a fast metal works on them. They hold in gutters, along the edges of sand spits and over shallow bars, moving in with the tide and dropping back with it, and in the north they work sheltered sand flats and creek mouths as well. In WA they run from around Bunbury north to the Kimberley, but they are patchy in the lower west and only really reliable from Shark Bay upward.
WA Size & Bag Limits
| Minimum size | No minimum size |
|---|---|
| Bag limit | 8 |
Bag limit: 8. No minimum size.
Eating Quality
Yes — good eating, and better than their small size suggests, provided you bleed and ice them the moment they are landed. The flesh is white, firm and mild with a fine flake; it pan-fries, crumbs and grills well, and takes a whole-fish treatment on the barbecue happily, since the fillets off a typical dart are thin. Smaller and mid-sized fish are the pick — the biggest dart can be a touch drier. Scale them properly, because the skin crisps well and is worth keeping. Like all surf fish they soften fast in the sun, so an esky with ice is not optional on a northern beach. They freeze passably for a few weeks but lose texture; eat them fresh if you can.
Perth Tips
The surf beaches and sand spits around Shark Bay, Coral Bay, Exmouth and the Pilbara coast are dart strongholds; in the lower west, the Bunbury and South West beaches produce the odd fish in summer. Light gear makes them far more fun — drop to 8lb line and a small metal and they fight like miniature trevally. Watch the swell: a beach with defined gutters and moving water will hold dart, a flat shoreline rarely does.