How Big do leather jackets grow

[blaze]

Hi all
Went fishin yesterday and all seem quite so pulled up over a rocky headland and burleyied for a while, caught a dozen blue throat wrasse upto 470mm and the bigest bloody leather jacket I have seen in 25 years of wetting a line. First one 310mm, second one 355mm, third one 320mm. Only wish I had taken the camera, nearly kept the big one to bring home for a picture, but released to grow some more. So how big do these buggers grow
cheers
blaze

[Big_Kev]

Up here in Queensland Blaze we carry a shotgun on all boats to shoot the big rouge ones or they will bite the Snapper in half before we can get em on board.
Kev

[blaze]

Hi kev
Had a look in some books i have and found some of the suckers grow to 550mm so these were only babies, talking to some of the older guys around smithton and they told me there is a few spots around the area where that is a common size, like i said though, it the biggest i have seen
cheers
blaze

[Big_Kev]

Blaze I think that a 550cm Leather jacket would be a rare catch for sure .
The fish you caught would probably be bigger than any I have seen in the flesh.
I have heard they are not to bad to eat it is just a matter of cleaning them in the correct manner, as the skin has to be peeled away so I have been told.
Cheers Kev .

[Derek Bullock]

Hey guys

I used to profish out of Port Stephens in New South Wales back in the early seventies. Seen heaps of leathers around the 500 mark or about 18 inches as we used to call it back them. Not sure if they are still around though because that is going back a few years.

By the way, they are a top eating fish and I would never throw one back.

Cheers.


Derek

[Lucky_Phill]

I once saw a Leather Jacket draped across The Big Fella ( Brett ) and that.........was the biggest Leather Jacket I ever saw. Said it was his Disco Outfit, but we know different !


OH ! leather jacket, the fish...........I see.

Well off the Bunker Group there is a similar fish < Trigger Fish, multi coloured thing, and they grow to,,,,,,,,,shoot, I've donged 'em up to 70cms. They fight like Tyson too. :o ::) ;)