SCHOOL’S IN, SO ARE JEWFISH
LAST week we saw the first bait schools of the season come close to our beaches.
It is and awesome sight especially when we see the sharks feeding on them in the clear waters.
What really gets me excited though is the tailor that follow those bait schools and the flow-on effect that brings to our fishing here on the Gold Coast.
When the tailor are around so are the jewfish, and we are seeing some massive grey ghosts at the moment with many caught last week going well over 1m on the brag mat.
Jewies usually always are on the bottom of the ocean floor therefore I recommend a decent sinker to get your bait down to where the action is.
Fishing the seaway it is always best to use live bait when chasing Jewies.
There are usually bait schools on the blocks just north of the seaway and they will be good for seaway Jewfish, but if you can get your hands on a live tailor you have the perfect bait.
Here in Queensland the minimum size for a jewfish if you want to keep it is 75cm.
For this reason I recommend using as large a live bait as you can get as it will help weed out undersized fish taking your smaller bait.
I like to use a 6/0 hook with a 60lb leader.
Jewfish are unique in the way they attack your bait.
Once you get familiar with the bite you’ll know immediately if it is a jewfish paying attention to your line.
They are suckers of live baits and for that reason they can be difficult to hook if you’ve not experienced the bite before.
You’ll feel a fish paying attention to your live bait and your instinct will be to pick the rod up and strike at the fish, if you do this you’ll almost certainly catch nothing.
You need patience, with a jewfish you leave the rod alone, let the fish suck your bait and run with it.
Only after you know the fish has swallowed the bait do you strike.
The jewies are a great eating fish but can be ordinary if you overcook them.
Bag limit here in Queensland is two per angler.
Good luck