When to fish for Tailor: Last two hours of the run-up tide into a sand gutter is the textbook beach window — bait gets funnelled into the gutter and tailor patrol it.
Also known as Chopper, Bluefish (US), Choppertail. Bait, technique, tide windows, and where the bite is on right now.
Tailor — Aggressive beach/headland surface predator — winter NSW classic. Also called Chopper, Bluefish (US), Choppertail.
Tailor will shred 30 lb mono with their teeth on the first run. Wire trace is not optional if you intend to land them — and undersize fish in NSW cannot be used as bait, must be returned alive, even if injured. The species was named for its scissor-action jaws.
Tailor is also known as: Chopper, Bluefish (US), Choppertail. Aggressive beach/headland surface predator — winter NSW classic.
Regional names can confuse anglers and cause misidentification. The table of common names below covers the most-used alternatives across Australia, New Zealand and the US:
Key to correct identification: check the regulations-authority species sheet for your state or territory before keeping any fish — minimum legal sizes, bag limits and identification guides are published by each fisheries department and are the authoritative source.
Hero spots in our coverage where Tailor is in season for August. Click through for the live forecast.
Deeper reading on the species, the tides, the safety, and the timing windows behind the forecast.
Beach: cast metal slugs into the back of the breakers from a sand gutter at dawn or dusk, fast retrieve with rod tip high — tailor smash chrome. Headland: ganged pilchards float-rigged or cast unweighted into the wash, drifted with the current along the bommie edge. Look for bird activity — diving terns mean tailor are pushing bait to the surface underneath. Always use wire trace if you want to land them — their teeth shred 30 lb mono.
Field-proven Tailor methods compiled from published tackle guides — AU East surf beaches, headlands, rocks and estuary mouths. Every method links its source.
1beach baiting with ganged pilchards
Bait / lure: half pilchard on single hook or whole pilchard on three ganged hooks
Rig: 9-12ft surf rod, 5000-8000 spin reel, around 20lb leader; rig bait straight to reduce spin and bite-offs
When & where: surf gutters and deeper beach sections, especially late afternoon, high-ish tide, low light or night
2moving dead bait in the wash
Bait / lure: lightly weighted garfish, pilchard or fish strip
Rig: two or three ganged hooks, light weight only as needed; avoid wire unless bite-offs force it
When & where: beach or rock wash zones where a slow-rolled bait stays above bottom and looks alive
3metal spinning
Bait / lure: 20-60g metal slug or slice matched to bait size and surf conditions
Rig: light-medium spin or surf spin outfit; fast retrieve, burn-and-kill or rip-and-pause
When & where: surf, rocks and headlands when schools are moving fast or birds/bait reveal fish within casting range
4stickbait casting
Bait / lure: slender sinking or floating stickbait around 75-120mm
Rig: spin outfit matched to lure weight; retrieve fast, burn-and-kill, or rip-and-pause to imitate fleeing bait
When & where: rocks, beaches and estuary mouths when fish follow metals but need a slower fall or more erratic profile
Last two hours of the run-up tide into a sand gutter is the textbook beach window — bait gets funnelled into the gutter and tailor patrol it. Dawn and dusk override tide importance: a low slack at sunrise will still fish better than a high tide at midday.
Tailor are famously strong on the new moon and the dark of the moon — Fraser Island's legendary "tailor run" peaks around new moon nights and the dawn following. Dark nights with phosphorescence in the water often produce hot night sessions off ocean rocks (with appropriate safety — never alone, never in big swell).
Figures come from each jurisdiction's own fisheries authority, with the source linked on every page above. Rules change — closures in particular are reset annually — so confirm with the authority before you keep a fish.
Tailor limits vary by state, and Western Australia additionally folds tailor into a combined nearshore and estuarine finfish bag rather than a standalone allowance — the per-jurisdiction figures are above. Tailor are oily and best eaten fresh; they don't freeze well. Undersize fish cannot be used as bait and must be returned to the water immediately, even if injured or dead.
NSW size & bag limits for Tailor — current DPIRD limits, verified →
Other Australian states — size & bag limits for Tailor: QLD · VIC · WA · TAS
The Australian record (GFAA all-tackle) for Tailor is 6.5 kg, caught by Greg McDougal at Kalbarri in 1997.
| Record | Weight | Angler | Location | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian record (GFAA) | 6.5 kg | Greg McDougal | Kalbarri | 1997-10-19 | GFAA → |
Records as published by the IGFA and the Game Fishing Association of Australia — verify against the linked source before citing.
Olli-Mikael Vaittinen has fished his whole life. Fifteen years of fly fishing, guiding seasons on Norway's Lakselva — his favourite Atlantic salmon river — and a blue marlin landed in Vava'u, Tonga. Founder of Fishare — the app that puts the data behind the decisions every angler makes on the water.
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