Jewfish at night on plastics

[thekingofgloom]

Alright so I'm relatively inexperienced in the field of mulloway/jewfish and it's not through lack of effort. Never had a species frustrate me this much. Had about 5 fish pull more than 10 metres of braid and the hook didn't stick. The reason for this post is I'm about the put a lot more time into them through winter and was wondering if anyone had plastics suggestions. Currently have squidgy fish and slick rigs in all of the larger sizes, Zman diesel minnowz, Berkeley ripple shads and also a few styles and brands of blades. I would also like advice on how people keep in contact with the lure at night without shining my head lamp into the water, I read you can keep your finger on the braid above the reel and if you get a tick in the line, hit it. I'll be fishing the metro Melbourne area, so Maribyrnong river, Patterson river and Yarra river. I'm not asking for your golden jewie secrets just a little insight into how you fish plastics at night, as I want to crack the code myself. I'm using a samurai 301 with a 2500r certate and 15lb braid usually with 14lb leader.

[The G factor]

Originally Posted by thekingofgloom

Alright so I'm relatively inexperienced in the field of mulloway/jewfish and it's not through lack of effort. Never had a species frustrate me this much. Had about 5 fish pull more than 10 metres of braid and the hook didn't stick. The reason for this post is I'm about the put a lot more time into them through winter and was wondering if anyone had plastics suggestions. Currently have squidgy fish and slick rigs in all of the larger sizes, Zman diesel minnowz, Berkeley ripple shads and also a few styles and brands of blades. I would also like advice on how people keep in contact with the lure at night without shining my head lamp into the water, I read you can keep your finger on the braid above the reel and if you get a tick in the line, hit it. I'll be fishing the metro Melbourne area, so Maribyrnong river, Patterson river and Yarra river. I'm not asking for your golden jewie secrets just a little insight into how you fish plastics at night, as I want to crack the code myself. I'm using a samurai 301 with a 2500r certate and 15lb braid usually with 14lb leader.

sounds like your lure choice isn't the problem, especially if you have hooked a few fish. Jewies have hard mouthes, so a good hook set is the way to go (make sure jigheads are sharp). Keeping in contact with the lure generally depends on the technique your using, but the key is to wind up any slack when you can. If your lure is hit as its sinking on a tight line you should be able to tell.

Also might help to use a faster, stiffer rod to set the hooks and feel the ticks. The samurai's are good for making ramen, but thats about it

[chanlo]

As light a jighead as possible ie. 1/12 to 1/8, 3/0 to 5/0 depending on size of plastic and 4" to 5" jerk shads with scent work well also. look for structure like rock walls, rock bars and bridge pylons and fish the slack water (tide changes). Have a game plan and follow the slack water up (or down) river so you get to fish a few spots in the slack tide.

This is start and should after time yield some schoolies.

[yellow door 1]

Here's what the inside of their mouth looks like - theres lots of places for the hook point to stick into but its hard to penetrate alot of it.

[yellow door 1]

Best case scenario is through the lip and around the Jaw - worst case is getting it stuck in the skin on the roof of the mouth. I reckon its very important to not let any slack in the system after hook up. Much more important than other fish

[yellow door 1]

Sometimes I reckon the hook points are just stuck in like Ice axes

[laddercat]

If you are having trouble feeling line at night fish vibes.

Vibration through the rod make it easier to stay in touch
Vibration at night works wonders on Jews
More terminal on vibes can mean higher hook up rates.

A warning with vibes, replace the terminal with better gear.

In my opinion Vibes are the best to start for jew when fishing at night, far easier on the angler which often translates into more captures as the lures are fished more concisely.

Best of luck mate.

[yellow door 1]

Jewies do love hitting a livie in the belly - and if you check your soft plastic for teeth marks after its been hit - you can often see the pin pricks of their teeth in the plastic -

if it happens too many times in a row - you might have a think about choosing a rigging method that can take advantage of this sort of attack

[laddercat]

Jewies do love hitting a livie in the belly - and if you check your soft plastic for teeth marks after its been hit - you can often see the pin pricks of their teeth in the plastic

VERY true, i swear this is especially common when Jew are feeding in schools. They mouth the bait as they swim away from the school. Often resulting is missed fish as it feels like a run.

I spent the weekend retrieving 40cm tailor with their bellies mutilated by jew in the shoalhaven river mouth.

[Juzza]

Geez G Factor I thought a Samurai 302 would have been OK for sticking jig heads into mulloway mouths , mine seems ok on snapper and their mouths are pretty hard. What's your rod of choice?

[yellow door 1]

Originally Posted by laddercat

VERY true, i swear this is especially common when Jew are feeding in schools. They mouth the bait as they swim away from the school. Often resulting is missed fish as it feels like a run.

I spent the weekend retrieving 40cm tailor with their bellies mutilated by jew in the shoalhaven river mouth.

Yeah I've taken too many photo's of mullet with tail and belly hits for it not to be a thing

[Mickyj]

I can catch a mullie on a soft plastic that is cool
one day i may
I have caught three on hards not on plastics

[thekingofgloom]

One common thing I've noticed in all the plastics photos is my hooks aren't big enough. Might upgrade to 5/0 hooks. I use a brand new tt headlock every time I fish, so upsizing my hook is gonna be my first port of call. The samurais are a little noodley, so maybe a black label 701HFS or something similar will have to be added to the shopping list.

[The G factor]

Originally Posted by Juzza

Geez G Factor I thought a Samurai 302 would have been OK for sticking jig heads into mulloway mouths , mine seems ok on snapper and their mouths are pretty hard. What's your rod of choice?

Currently Im using a MB Racing condition sight fisher, its rated 4-16 but stiff as and very fast, and also a MB onikirimaru which is 5-14lb but literally a broom stick. I think megabass was having a laugh and ripped the head off a broom and put some guides on it.

Im sure the Samurai is fine, but Im not a fan of them, just feel too soft for my liking.

[stella fella]

I use a daiwa gen black Beowulf for my Jewie/kingy stick. It's an excellent low cost option, and broomstick is an understatement