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Very few anglers use monofilament line nowadays except in line-class fishing competitions.

Even so, catch and release has largely taken over from the kill-and-weigh competitions of yesteryear, and queenfish are no longer targeted to the extent they were before braid line came on the scene.

I decided to write about queenfish because I’ve actually enjoyed some fabulous sessions on near-metre-long tearaway queenies recently.

They are such a fun fish to catch because they display so much aggression when they chase a lure, and go ballistic on the end of the line once hooked.

Surface poppers are a great way to fish for queenies, either trolled or cast.

It’s hard not to get excited when three or four of these silver streaks are leap-frogging each other as they try to crash a popper skipping across the surface.

A good lure pattern to troll is a popper down the guts and a couple of bibbed minnows on either side.

Although they’ll scoff a zappy popper readily, it has the other positive of attracting queenies to the other lures at the same time.

Minnows that work the best must be able to be trolled at a brisk pace; at least 1300 rpm is good.

Bombers track at that speed, and are readily acceptable to queenfish in water as shallow as 1 metre.

Classic F18s and B52s are excellent and get down to about 1.5 metres on the troll.

Perhaps the greatest queenie lure of all time is the Flatz Rat…simply irresistible.

Any pop that puts out a good spray will work on queenfish.

Ordinary barra baitcasting gear is ideal for queenfish, although you might be in trouble if a mackerel jumps a queenie lure.

One thing to be careful about is the actual handling of a queenfish once landed.

They damage easily and don’t have the staying power of a barra, for example.

If you bring one aboard in a net or via a firm grip on the tail, it will thrash its head and kill itself if you let it.

Sure, photos are good, but be quick to get the hooks out and the fish back in the water.

If it goes belly-up, swim it from the mouth with a Bogagrip and with the boat idling along until it comes good.

Surprisingly, queenfish aren’t too bad to eat, but only when they’re fresh.

They hold their flesh well in batter or bread crumbs, and are excellent thinly-sliced and tossed on the barbie with some chilli and soy sauce.

Of course, the queenfish is famous as “the” fish to use in a Nummus mix – matchstick-thin strips, vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, onion, chilli to taste and best eaten chilled two hours after preparation.

Have a wonderful and safe Christmas.