Id like to see one caught on a sp! not that i suppose it couldnt be done but the only way i know how to catch them is to gidgie them in the shallows which i dont think is alowed anymore.

Keep it tight, reeeeeeel tight!

Down at Quindalup beach Dounsborough in the weed beds,2 for us would got out and get 3or4 in a hour or so /Great eating
steve
Born to fish forced to work

 im going back a few years now but  i got them on bloodies  thats why i thought  sp,s mite work

yeah theres heaps around the narrows.. might be worth flicking around the gulp blood worms very slowly along the shore?

Cobbler are now a protected species in the swan and canning rivers...

you are correct and so they should there ,few and far between as when i was a boy there were shit loads.we use to catch  heaps while bream fishing at the old brewery not any more good on fisherery department! .years ago the professionals used them as cray bait thats part of the decline problem ,western fishereys had a write up on it a few years back!

i thoguht they were only a protected specie when it comes to gidgying? and spearfishing?

10 YEARS PROTECTION FOR COBBLER IN THE SWAN AND CANNING RIVERS

Cobbler stocks in the Swan and Canning have fallen significantly, primarily due to environmental changes causing loss of suitable breeding habitat for the species that generally nests in burrows,” Mr Syers said.

“Recfishwest and the Recreational Fishing Advisory Committee (RFAC) have both recommended that cobbler (Cnidoglanis macrocephalus) be totally protected in the Swan and Canning Rivers.

“With the protection of cobbler for 10 years, recreational fishers are reminded that they will no longer be permitted to use gidgees or similar pointed instruments in both of the river systems.

“Commercial supplies of cobbler are available to Perth’s fish retailers from the South Coast Estuarine (interim) Managed Fishery (SCEMF), so there are no current concerns over the availability of supplies.”
Around 40-50 tonnes of cobbler are caught in the SCEMF each year.

Thankyou for that info adam. Cheers.

Keep it tight, reeeeeeel tight!

best way for cobbler is unpeeled praws but they can bge timid bitters at times, Easiest way is to go to any weed beds at night and gidgee them, not in the swan though :P just any shore line with rocks or weed

Work is just for people who havn't discovered fishing

Hi Ya,

Many moons ago, when I was young in Bunbury, people used to get them in the rocks along the estuary in town.  The rocks have all been removed and awall built.  They used to put a hook on the end of a reasonably stiff wire and bait it up with good sized bits of bait.  Then walk along the rocks poking the hook down holes in the rocks.  Saw some really big cobbler caught that way.  30inches wasn't uncommon.  I went to school with a Soulas kid.  They were pro fishermen from memory.  I have a memory of him (Michael was his name I think) getting hit by a big one and spent time in hospital.

Cheers.

I spent a night in Gero hospital after standing on one when i was surfing in boarding school years back they used to get bad when all the weed was in .CHEERS SHAG

caught one at about 32cm down at eshed on prawns..it released well though

the more u fish..the less stress u get....

I have been stung and it isn't pleasant.
(Colin 1 - Co-founding member of the prestigious Colin Club)

If I burely out hard with Mulie pieces around the rock groynes at night, I manage to get a few Cobblers to come out of the rocks every now and then. They are dark colour could almost mistake them for a Eel but you can tell by their whiskers. I only used pieces of mulies and through it into the trial and just keep an eye on whats happening.

Pleasant eating but they have a funny smell to them like a really strong fishy odour IMO.

Cheers lads,

Darda. H

They pack a punch if ya stand on them.
My old man stood on one when we were wading one night.
Went straight through his sneaker and he had his foot in hot water all night.
We used to get a few around point peron and warnbro sound wading at night. That was back in the late ninetys.

www.rockyreefmarine.com.au

still get a few down in Mandurah off the rock wall at the new marina facing the ocean

Best bait is rock crabs, gidgie them, cut legs off and peel shell off, then cut in quarters, best bait, plus legs and shell were burley

Still do this now, and still get a few :) half dozen or so most trips, but patience is required.

Cobbler are more nocturnel type fish so spend more time feeding at night, and would think it to be very hard to get one on a SP. They are a scavenger fish not a predator.

Bodie

I remember as a kid fishing for them of the old traffic bridge with hand lines at dusk and early evening. It was shoulder to shoulder and quite a few were caught. My mother caught one and swung it around (not knowing what it was) when she pulled it up. The density of the fishos around decreased remarkably.

Higgo - I'm in Mount Barker - so may have to give the Frankland a shot. Would love a feed of cobbler!

Colin Molloy

(Colin 2 - Co-founding member of the prestigious Colin Club)

I often see guys with torches and buckets wandering up and down the inside of the south wall at night. I caught one near the lighthouse a few months back.

(Colin 1 - Co-founding member of the prestigious Colin Club)

I saw a few diving in the marina at night, back in summer.

i saw a couple at narrows bridge and causeway fews nites ago wading the shallows

the more u fish..the less stress u get....