Baitfish · Fish
Smelt & Fry (Southern)
Retropinna semoni
Size
50–80mm
Always there
No hatch and no season — this is in the water every month of the year, so it's always a fair bet when nothing is showing on top.
How fish feed on it
Once a trout is big enough to take fish, it stops being an insect-eater in the way it was and becomes something closer to an ambush predator. Fry and small fish get pinned against margins, weed beds and shelves, and the takes are hard and unmistakable. Autumn is the classic window, when this year's fry are shoaling and the biggest fish in the water finally show themselves.
Flies that imitate this
Grey Ghost
Muddler Minnow
Woolly Bugger
Black Zonker
Clouser Minnow
Ecology
Where you'll find this
- New ZealandPresent
- PatagoniaPresent
Present throughout
About the genus Retropinna
The Australian smelt ( Retropinna semoni ) is a small, pelagic silvery freshwater fish found in large numbers in waters of the south eastern Australian mainland.