Tommy Ruff

Overview

Tommy Ruff are a fast, fun schooling fish caught from South Australian beaches, rocks and jetties, often under working birds. They bite aggressively, are brilliant fun on light gear, and are just as valuable in the bucket — both as excellent fresh bait for bigger fish and as a crispy pan-fried feed.

Quick Info

Identification

A slim, silvery schooling fish with a bluish-green back, bright silver flanks with faint dark spots along the upper body, and a slightly forked tail.

A sleek silver body with a bluish back, faint dark spots along the upper flanks, a small mouth and a deeply forked tail. Australian Herring is the same fish — the name simply changes by state.

Where to Find Them

When to Fish

How to Catch Them

Berley heavily with bread or berley pellets to bring the school in under the surface, then fish small baits or small lures in the berley trail. From the beach, a light surf setup with a small rig and pipi or fish strip works a treat.

Small pieces of pipi or whitebait on tiny hooks fished in the berley trail; on lures, small metals and soft plastics retrieved steadily through feeding schools.

Steady and fast for small metals worked through surface-feeding schools — herring chase anything flashing away from the berley.

Best Baits

Pilchard

The classic saltwater baitfish - a staple for salmon, mulloway, snapper and gummy sharks, fished whole or in strips.

Pipi / Goolwa Cockle

The number one King George Whiting bait in South Australia.

Squid Strip

A tough, reliable whiting bait that stays on the hook.

Rigs & Gear

Current SA Fishing Rules

Keeping Your Catch

Cleaning & Filleting

Cooking

Dust in seasoned flour and pan-fry until crisp, or crumb and deep-fry whole. Tommy Ruff also make premium fresh bait for mulloway and salmon.

Where to Catch Them in SA