John Dory Tackle

John dory are a member of the family zeidae, which has only 6 members. They are a demersal fish that prefers living in coastal waters. They have deep body that is compressed laterally.Their body is olive and yellow, and has a dark spot in the middle of its body on either side. They have long dorsal spines, and a thinly-membraned paddle tail.

John dory can reach about 65cm and 3kg, but are more common around 35-40cm and 1kg. John dory are found around the southern half of Australia, including in Tasmania, and extend north to southern Queensland in the east and the southern Pilbara in the west.

John dory will only very rarely take lures, which makes them viably targetable only with bait. Live bait is the best way to go, with small reef fish, slimy mackerel and yakkas the preferred bait.Here are some tackle recommendations for John dory.