Take for example frigate mackerel; these little creatures are hell on fins: sleek and fast with a ton of stamina.

My first was caught many moons ago while trolling a small Christmas tree lure out the back of legendary Bermi Skipper Lloyd Williams’ old boat the ‘Jasmin May’.

I was surprised to learn around a decade later that frigates frequent some shallow beaches and bays at this time of year, those around the mouth of the Shoalhaven River are one example but many calm flat beaches get visited by these creatures.

Come to think of it, I have even seen them half way up the Clyde River when fishing for bream.

Sometimes the only thing that gives them away is a trout like swirl and a few flickering white bait, they are stealthy little critters despite their power and speed.

Frigates are the number one bait for XL kings, marlin, sharks and anything else big enough to scoff them. Any one who has used one whole will know the almost fluorescent silver flash of their flanks is brighter than any other fish this size and it draws attention from miles away. They also make great cut baits for most reef estuary and surf species.

Once you know how they can also be turned into awesome sashimi if cleaned, iced and prepared properly - yum!

Funnily enough I was boarding a boat at Port Kembla Harbour recently and noticed that some guys at the start of the jetty had half a dozen frigate mackerel in their bucket. No doubt they brought them down for bream bait? Wrong-the lads were actually catching them on small soft plastics.

Dig this - the frigates regularly move right up to the boat ramp, in a tight little corner hundreds of meters from the harbors entrance. It happens in summer and autumn each year much to the delight of the local anglers.

After a while you could pick the bait flicking 50 meters out as they started their approach.