GOLD COAST MANGROVE JACK SECRETS AND TIPS
To book your private mangrove jack charter with us SMS 0432 990 302.
For a lot of estuary anglers the mighty mangrove jack is their number one bucket list fish. Rightly so, these magnificent looking beasts deserve the attention and respect they receive.
It’s quite surprising when talking to people how many have never caught one. There are two big reasons why, lack of persistence from anglers, and the fact that they are elusive fish!
If only they were as easy to catch as bream. Unfortunately although they are super aggressive fish, they are smart and have their bite periods, they are not easily fooled. Then hooking them is only half the battle, getting them out of their snag is another story. Here are some tips and links to help you catch your first or biggest jack on bait if you haven’t had much luck.
We’re going to specifically talk about the Gold Coast area, and offer suggestions for mainly boat anglers. However land based fishos can make use of this info too.
Eight year old Luke with his first ever mangrove jack, caught on our charter September 2019 TACKLE
To have a better chance of landing your first jack don’t go too light or expensive on tackle. You don’t need top end gear either.
A Shimano snapper combo (often around $89 on special at shops) with a 4000 size spinning reel, 4-8 kg rod, with 30 lb braid/ 30 to 40 lb shock leader, or 30 lb mono straight through will do the job for smaller jacks around the 30-50 cm mark.
If you’re coming across bigger jacks 50cm upwards and getting smoked in seconds try heavier gear and line, and a longer leader for more abrasion resistance when jacks run for their snags. They are known to circle then hit a bait on the way back into their snag so always be ready.
Your trace/ leader needs to be anywhere from 2-6 metres long depending how sharp structure you’re fishing. Eg. oyster covered rocks or bridge pylons.
You can then have either a strong swivel with running ball sinker above it then trace to hooks below it or an FG knot connected to leader then ball sinker just above the hooks. Having a running sinker is good to allow livies to move freely.
How to tie an FG knot: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yk7uWUa4z6Y
Use an Alberto knot if you’re out on the water and need a simpler, quicker but strong knot: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eHsv24FXFJA
Sinker size depends on the amount of tidal flow, the light the better, and even unweighted around tide changes and areas with less flow such as canals. Just a big enough sinker to hold the bait on the bottom.
Strong hooks are very important, Mustad Hoodlums are a good choice in 3/0 up to 8/0 size and single or snelled trace depending on the size of your bait.
BAIT
Live bait is best, and locally live whiting, silver biddies and poddy mullet work well. To gather these you will need a cast net, if you don’t know how and where to use one we can show you on our mangrove jack charters. See the bottom of this article for more info.
Finding livies with a cast net can sometimes be time consuming and difficult, as the bait moves around a lot.
A reliable method for us is catching winter whiting in the Gold Coast broadwater on Ecogear ZX40 lures.
There are a number of reasons why we rely on this so much.
Firstly these whiting have no size limit, and they range from 15-30cm locally, making them the perfect jack lollie.
Secondly jacks love eating live whiting. Hardly surprising, who doesn’t love eating whiting? Thirdly they are usually easily caught on ZX40’s, they are suckers for these amazing lures, making this part of the fun on our charters as they are very aggressive lure takers and fun on light tackle.
Fourthly they are hardy live baits, staying alive well in aerated bait tanks, and conserving their energy when put out for jacks. Their sudden nervous twitch alerting you to the nearby presence of a jack before they get smashed. Hold on tight!
Lastly they are plentiful over the summer months in the Gold Coast broadwater mostly in depths from 3 to 8 metres, great timing for jack season. It’s not uncommon for us to catch 30 or more winter whiting on lures in 2 or 3 hours.
There are times when live baits are hard to get such as in strong winds. In this case dead baits bought from bait stores, such as whole mullet, mullet fillets, whiting fillets, slimy mackerel, pilchards, silver biddies. Or try throwing cast nets at the end of canals.
It pays to mix it up too, sometimes jacks will grab a fillet or butterflied whiting instead of a livie. Keep left over whiting in the freezer for this purpose.
For a smaller live whiting a single hook through their nose is ok, a bigger whiting or live mullet or whole mullet fillet requires a snelled trace with two hooks, one through the nose, one into the bumhole then out the side.
How to tie a snelled trace: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YHTWWdTOoOM&t=78s
How to throw a cast net: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yTS3fsoV5tg
Bigger baits will attract bigger jacks and fish. It depends on what gear you use and how brave you’re feeling at doing battle with a horse. Wayne with his first jack, a 52cm fish on our charter
LURES
We won’t go into this too much as the main purpose of this article is to help those who have never caught jacks or caught only a few small ones.
Lures however are an exciting way to target jacks. There are heaps of videos on youtube you can look up to research and learn from such as Mick Horn’s and John Costello’s (My Lure Box) both legends at their crafts. See links at the end of this article.
You can encounter jacks on light tackle and small lures while chasing bream around structure. The problem with this is you have a much higher chance of getting busted off and losing expensive lures.
They say jacks are a fish of a thousand casts on lures, so when you do come across a big one you don’t want any weak links in your tackle.
For casting big soft plastics, poppers, and hardbodies close to boats, pontoons, bridge pylons, rock walls you’d want to go at least 20 lb braid, 30 lb leader on a 4-7kg baitcast rod and upgraded vmc or mustad hooks on the lures. One method that works well is casting as close as possible and parallel to structure and a medium/ fast constant retrieve to draw that reaction strike. Time on the water and covering ground is the only way to perfect this and get results. Lure colours that work well include red (imitates baby jacks), white, green, and gold (baitfish).
Smithy has great success trolling deep diving lures at his favourite jack areas.
Read more here in Smithy’s article on trolling for jacks: https://www.bradsmithfishingcharters.com.au/blog/articles/targeting-mangrove-jacks-gold- coast/
If you want the best info and range on jack lures and gear, drop into Sporty’s fishing at Bundall. Tony and Ben really know their stuff and are always happy to help.
Lindsay with a solid 53cm jack, his first ever. Caught on our charter in Nerang river LOCATIONS AND TECHNIQUES
We’re not about to give away exact favourite locations here but we will help with ideas for the Coomera and Nerang rivers. Part of the fun is finding your own spots that produce red dogs.
The obvious locations are heavy structure ranging in depth from one to six metres. Rock walls, pontoons, moored boats, bridge pylons, drains, boat ramps, mangroves, dead trees in the water, rock bars, drop offs, rocky corners and points, all hold jacks.
Taking time to plan how you anchor is very important. Around bigger tides the tidal flow is strong in the lower to mid sections of rivers, you may want to time your fishing session either close to tide changes or further up rivers where the flow is not as strong, or out of the main river in canals and tidal lakes.
Anchor up tide from bridge pylons and get a bait in close to either side of the pylons.
When planning your session allow for the fact that tide changes can be two hours or more later than the predicted tide times at the estuary mouth.
The wind also plays a factor. A situation where the wind is blowing the opposite direction to the tidal flow, makes it difficult to anchor and fish properly. Your boat will swing around on anchor and drag your livies over the bottom and snag them.
Think where you need to be in the river to get the best anchor lie to get your baits in the correct position very close to structure. Look at a gps map on your phone to see where both wind and tide both line up in the same direction, or where you can tie the boat to restrict movement.
A better set up is finding a spot to anchor where wind and tide are working in the same direction and casting two or three baits out the back close to structure or out in the open during slack tide. Jacks do leave their nest at night and patrol in the open for food.
Some people use baitrunner reels to allow the jack to kill the livebait then run with it, before they engage the reel and strike. Nowadays I prefer to fish with the rods tightly held, nearly locked drag to get a head start on the fish.
Their bites ranges from a shy nibble to a flat our, brutal hit and run.
When the jacks first hits wait for the rod to fully load up then quickly lift and just hold him there to start with, even firmly holding you hand on the reel spool to brake the fish. The second you feel the fish’s head start to turn, firmly pump and wind. Keeping the pressure on until the fish is in the net.
Get your mates to quickly bring in their lines to avoid tangles then help when you hook up.
There is nothing more exciting in river fishing than seeing a big red dog land on the deck, ready for photos and release!
Watch their teeth when extracting the hook, they will bite you if given half a chance. For charter guides like us, nothing is more thrilling than seeing a guest catch their first ever mangrove jacks, especially a trophy fish over 50 cm in length.
Allan with his first mangrove jack IMPORTANT POINTS
Don’t get too relaxed when fishing for jacks. They often hit when you least expect it after hours of waiting. Chances are if you put a rod down or just hold it in one hand, it is going to go flying off the boat into the water when a jack hits. They are violent, hard hitting fish.
They can be caught all year around but the best months are October to May. Hot, stormy days are good, as are water temperatures of 26 degrees and above. When it gets too hot as in over 30, look for areas when run in tide is pushing in cooler oceanic water.
Hot, stormy days with a sharp barometer drop can trigger a hot jack bite, as can a high barometer. Lead ups to and just after full and new moons can fish well but not on the actual full and new moon days which can be tricky. Use neap tides to fish lower river and mouths where there is more flow.
Jacks are easily spooked and very sneaky! Do not make noise on the boat or shine torch or phone lights on the deck or into the water. When dropping anchor carefully gather up your chain and slide it quietly into the water, or place a plastic slieve over the chain to lessen noise.
Like other fish, jacks can be almost anywhere in a river where there is structure, and sometimes out in the open at night. Be open to them possibly being anywhere, and always looks for new spots.
Areas where the current flow is broken or back eddies at certain tide times are good, changes in the water flow and appearance, such as where rock walls veer in our out, or pressure points such as pontoons break the flow making it easy for jacks to hold their ground and launch ambush attacks on unsuspecting baitfish.
Don’t leave your livies and baits out too long. Give them five or ten minutes then move them to make sure they’re not snagged. The process of winding them slowly in and casting out again as close to structure as possible can draw jack strikes.
The period just after sunset until about 9pm can be productive. Try to be anchored and settled with lines in the water at your first spot before sunset.
There are times when there is too much bait is around and jacks are spoilt for choice. Eg. Mullet jumping casually everywhere. Move somewhere else to try if you’re not getting bites.
Bream will often pick at baits. Use a whole mullet fillet or big livie if theres lots around, so there’s something still there for a jack to grab after the bream have attracted attention. When the bream suddenly go quiet often there is a big jack around.
Give it an hour or so at each spot, if no bites keep moving. Try three of four spots over an evening to cover ground and find the fish. Don’t doubt yourself or give up! Even the best jack anglers have lots of fishless sessions. Keep trying and don’t get distracted by fishing for other species eg. Bream on a lighter rod and small bait/ lures. Focus on jacks until you get one and expect to catch one.
Always make sure your tackle is up to scratch, be fussy. Retie roughed up leaders, use strong hooks, replace dead or chewed up baits.
You can use berley, it works. We prefer not to as it attracts bream.
Keep your locations secret if you catch jacks there. There is a big craze on jacks and your spots will get heavily fished by others.
Every time you head out day fishing, look for and memorise future spots to try for jacks. They could be the next honey hole. Jacks are everywhere near any structure, bait fish, and tidal flow.
Read all this info several times over so it sinks in, but there’s nothing like seeing it on the water in action.
The legend himself, Brad Smith with a big Gold Coast Coast jack CHARTER INFO
Very limited dates available every jack season due to heavy demand, and we space them out to fulfil our day charter bookings and work load.
During October to April Brad trolls day time with deep diving lures at his Tweed river and Surfers Paradise honey holes for mangrove jacks. He takes two people maximum on charters.
Clint mainly livebaits for jacks at night. A typical charters starts at 2pm and finishes at 10pm, meeting at Isle of Capri and starts with catching live whiting and other baitfish with lures and castnets, before venturing up river to target jacks, with GT’s, estuary cod, big bream the bycatch.
**SMS 0432 990 302 or email fi[email protected] to book your private jack charter for 1-3 people. Includes all tackle, lures, bait, full tuition. No guarantees with catching jacks but no one tries harder or know local areas and has a better strike rate than us. ;) **
Video of a jack charter with us: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ldEDtl9svW4&t=1s
Our latest fishing reports and pics: https://bit.ly/2oOW3V2 Useful links and tips from some local jack fishing legends:
John Costello/ My lure box: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCMiqw182B0jFaWbYIKCyxGQ http://www.fishandboat.com.au/articles/item/271-gold-coast-jacks-cody-hochen-2017
Mick Horn: https://m.youtube.com/user/MickHorn2574/videos https://www.fishingworld.com.au/how-to/the-jack-guru
Keith Stratford: http://tackletactics.com.au/Tips-Techniques/Saltwater-Estuary/Mangrove-Jack-Basics
Other links: https://doclures.com/nerang-river-mangrove-jack-mick-horn/ https://doclures.com/tweed-river-mangrove-jack-brad-smith/ https://tackleland.com.au/mangrove-jack-fishing-techniques-robbie-rayner/ STRONG KNOTS & HOW TO VIDEOS
Fg knot: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yk7uWUa4z6Y
Use an alberto knot if you’re out on the water and need a simpler, quicker knot: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eHsv24FXFJA
How to tie a snelled trace: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YHTWWdTOoOM&t=78s
How to throw a cast net: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yTS3fsoV5tg
LOCAL EXPERTS:
If you want the best info and range on jack lures and gear, drop into Sporty’s fishing at Bundall. Tony and Ben really know their stuff and are always happy to help: https://m.facebook.com/sportysfishinggoldcoast/posts/?ref=content_filter&mt_nav=0
Read Smithy’s article on trolling for jacks: https://www.bradsmithfishingcharters.com.au/blog/articles/targeting-mangrove-jacks-gold- coast/
Cheers Clint Ansell
Copyright 2019