Almanac Poetry: The Fish of Geelong
Redfin (Perca fluviatilis), from British Fresh Water Fishes by Alexander Francis Lydon, 1879. [Wikimedia Commons.]
The Fish of Geelong
One regular activity
when I was a kid in Geelong
was fishing.
Below, entirely from memory
are the fish of Geelong I knew.
All in my head by the age of twelve.
Freshwater fish,
mainly from the Barwon River:
brown trout,
carp,
eels,
rainbow trout
and redfin.
Saltwater fish,
mainly from Corio Bay
– many could be caught by line
from Cunningham Pier
in the middle of town:
banjo shark,
barracuda,
bream,
bronze whaler shark,
butterfish,
flathead,
flounder,
garfish,
gummy shark,
John Dory,
leatherjacket (cut out the prickle on its back – this is not to be eaten),
school shark,
sea horses (I caught one in a net – illegal)
snapper,
stingray,
toadfish (poisonous),
trevally,
whiting
and wobbegong.
Such are – perhaps, in some cases, were
the fish of Geelong,
at least, ones known to me.
How many did I catch? Not many.
Was I a good fisherman? No.
I was too impatient, and didn’t like
the cut of the knife,
the blood,
the death involved.
I simply went fishing
because water was near
and for the experience;
in some ways, I knew
my subject well.
……………….
(Note: some water creatures are not fish, of course
– Geelong had plenty of these:
black mussels,
crabs,
cuttlefish
limpets,
octopus [poisonous and otherwise]
shrimp,
squid,
yabbies … )
Read more from Kevin Densley HERE
Kevin Densley’s latest poetry collection, Sacredly Profane, is available HERE
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About
Kevin Densley is a graduate of both Deakin University and The University of Melbourne. He has taught writing and literature in numerous Victorian universities and TAFES. He is a poet and writer-in-general. His sixth book-length poetry collection, Isle Full of Noises, was published in early 2026 by Ginninderra Press. He is also the co-author of ten play collections for young people, as well as a multi Green Room Award nominated play, Last Chance Gas, published by Currency Press. Other writing includes screenplays for educational films.
Inspired stuff KD. My in-laws spend a lot of time catching the non-fish water creatures, squid out that way. I’m always happy to oblige at the dinner table. Scrumptious.
Glad you could connect with this, DB.
Your comments concerning the dinner table reminded me of one of the funnier responses to a poem of mine on the Footy Almanac website – basically, I posted a serious poem about my father saving me from drowning as a little kid at St Leonards Beach, and a bloke replied, ignoring the serious content, and said that that was where his family used to catch calamari!
I love the lists – and what a huge number of fish and non-fish there are! My husband, who loved to fish and had annual high hopes of catching The Maroochy Monster – which always eluded the final hooking, however – would have very much enjoyed the poem. I did, too, but my fishing contribution was to bring the snacks and a book …
Thanks for your comments, Jane. So pleased you enjoyed this poem – regarding my early fishing exploits, ‘snacks and a book’ sound like they would have been a good alternative approach to filling the time. That said, the atmosphere of fishing for eels and redfin at night on the Barwon River (with my father and sometimes a mate) had its own special quality.