Inland Fish

A long time ago it was pointed out to me the folly of ordering fish and chips too far inland, when I watched so fellow students ditch some greenish battered fish bought from if I recall correctly, North Banister, southeast of Perth. Since I have been working up in the Pilbara for the last 5 years I have been having encounters with live inland fish that is far more delightful. Commonly any near permanent water will have fish in them, even when the water is muddy and stained with cattle dung and smelling to high heaven. While that would put me off any temptation to eat them, it does provide a feed for various eagle or roaming pelicans that can turn up for a look.

Recently I was looking at a prospect some 200km inland not far from the FMG railway in the east Pilbara and apart from the country being burnt out, rainfall had made a permananet pool overflow, which was still trickling over a rock bar while I was there. Splashing alerted me to some bigger fish trying to get back to the deeper pool upstream, and on watching it for a bit I saw the fish make about 3 attempts, getting caught up in trash, before turning back and resting in weeds. I was able to take two steps and pick up this fine looking fellow, a spangled perch that was probably 20cm long, get a quick photo before helping it on its way to the bigger pool. Any longer there and it would have been a feed for an eagle I saw not far away. Under a nearby tree was the remnants of a fish that was not so fortunate to get that assist, and from the freshness of it had been a mid morning snack for the bird.

Spangled Perch

I also learnt a simple trick to find out if any fish are present., Lob a small pebble into the water near weeds or reeds, and if there are any decent fish they will rush out to have first crack at a possible feed. Doing this I have seen fish from Marble bar to old mining pits sounth of Karratha.

Another fish left behind in a shrinking smelly waterhole in the Pilbara. Possibly a Hardyhead? or Tarpon