I tried for some tailor on Friday morning last week and couldnt get a bait past them. I fished the south, west, northern walls of Hillarys and the south west corner of Ocean Reef marinas and as soon as the bait hit the water they shredded it. Didnt seem to matter if it was before the sun was up either.

How can you suggest that they are gods ceatures as well man

have you given up on the great whites walfootrot?

 I don't think a widespread cull is the answer...if you believe what Fisheries has to say, the blowies can detect when their numbers are being reduced and beef up their reproductive patterns (more spawning) to make up for it. I've been fishing the Peel estuary system for over 10 years now and I've found that as an angler I've had to change my behaviour/fishing methods. I only use lures, and even soft plastics can be used in the right areas...working them quickly through the water where there is a strong tidal flow virtually eliminates any chance of being shredded, and the target species (skippy/salmon trout/tailor/herring) can still easily grab the placcie. Basically, "outrun" the blowies...they aren't designed for high speed pursuit!

I also believe that the large numbers of blowies protect the desirable fish in the sense that they grab/destroy baits and lures, thereby reducing the average fisher's ability to catch the good stuff...people who aren't willing to alter their methods and/or put a bit of thought into their angling tactics will be forever mired in a "blowie hell" while the open-minded individuals will move on and continue to catch what they're aiming for.

To Dan881...if you know the tailor are there but the blowies are wrecking your bait, can you use a metal or a hardbody minnow like a Halco or Rapala? You'll still get blowies, but if the tailor are around and feeding, you'll get them as well....yes you lose a bit of time taking the blowies off the lure, but it's not as much time as when you have to take them off your hook AND replace your mulie...

I think we should do a tagging with acoustic devices first !maybe find out their migration patters.

;)

 I agree with auslobster, and I reckon half the reason their numbers are so big the amount of bait and burley us fisherment put into the water.

 Easy.  Don't throw them back. Dispatch them and bin them. 

Or or find a way to make them edible to the masses and watch a few demographics take them all within weeks. 

Are we talking about the Fat ,annoying ,scavengers that are usless apart from taking every thing they can,also known by the Greek name Polly, West Australian Goverment Minister,found in large numbers at free drinking holes & food bars, or the ones seen swimming along the river,groyns,and nearby reefs freqented by tax payers,that have a habbit of blowing themselves up with air.and can have a spinny skin. diver

 That would solve a few problems of present times.  

 Are these blowies similiar to the Japanese fugu?

If it is......

 Sell them to the Japanese restaurants.

Blowies are there in such high numbers due to pollutions and human interferance. We stop all human impact on the swan and bam, all the blowies will be gone once its recovers

 Try a lure if there's Tailor there they can swim faster than the blowies!

Bloody blowfish .. Millions of them in just one area, something's going right for them. 

They will disappear , Perth waters were swarming with blowies in the late 60,s and early 70s, I remember there was an article in the West Australian newspaper fishing section saying they were developing a disfigured dorsal fin, I went for a dive of the north mole with my uncle back in 73 and before we jumped in I remember saying to Jim (rip) whats that brown slick in the water, he said lets have a look and we jumped in , what it was millions and millions of blowies heading out to sea they were swimming about 1 meter from the surface and we went down to about 5 m and watched them the whole school when the length of the north mole and further, I just hope it happens again soon , some people will doubt this story but it is true blowies disappeared for decades. When we got out of the water Jim said to me remember that its something you will only see once in your life

 Would they make good fox and feral animal baits?

have been pretty scarce the last few years.they have seemed to make a come back though this year.let`s hope it`s only for this year.

dynamite the things

I hate them but suspect that just killing them (as in a cull) will never work. As for people just leaving them in numbers at fishing locations I hate that. It just makes the place smell and it is not nice to see dead blowies everywhere. Was launching the boat at a ramp and someone must have left 100s adjacent to the ramp. A disgusting mess. They do attract crabs so I do cut them up and use them in pots, albeit not alone but with some chook necks etc.

 What about trumps, crap loads in safety bay n they take the lure n baits even when cast n retreve. 

All you blowie lovers wait until they take a kid!!

There is not more blowies just more people in the water.

Dump a big pile of Pinkies in there and they will eat them all.

There is no real early records of blowfish so I wonder if they are even native to the Swan?