1. Rocky Creek
2. Claustral
3. To Be Decided

Resolution No. 2

I will catch the following game fish in 2006

1. Bonito
2. Mulloway
3. Yellowtail Kingfish
4. Tuna
5. Brown Trout

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I have caught quite a few Black Jewies of varying sizes from Buffalo creek, back when I lived in the Northern Territory.  I have also caught "soapy" jew from the Hunter river when I was a kid.  I have never made a serious, targeted effort to catch a good jewfish other than setting the odd live bait when I have been chasing other species.  Not surprisingly, I have never caught a good jewfish.

I suspect that catching a school jew or better will be the hardest species to catch by far on my list, and will demand a serious effort from me to be successful.    Everyone says jewies are really hard to catch.  Even some of the best fishermen I know have only caught one or two jewies worth skiting about.  There is no use in reinventing the wheel.  A very select few people I know regularly catch big jewies, and it is from these people I am seeking advice.

My results so far have been really great, but not with the jewfish.  I have been using self-caught whole squid, self-caught whole cuttlefish and day old yellow tail scad.  So far I have caught three tasty gummy sharks to 12 lb, and a long string of hard-fighting, mega XOS Australian Salmon.  Salmon are a worthy target all on their own, being a superb fighting fish, and offer a tasty meal if handled with the care and respect that such a worthy opponent deserves. 

I am ashamed to write here that most Australians consider Aussie Salmon to be only fit for cat food.  If you treat them with due care - pith their brain using the "ike jime" technique on landing, cut their throat, immediately break their neck, bleed them, clean them, and put them straight into a seawater & ice slurry, they taste absolutely great.  Maybe it's just me, but I really enjoy their flavour.

Anyway, I have made a few interesting observations;

• There have been heaps of blue bottles all over the local beaches for the last two weeks.  This indicates that there has been nor'east winds prevailing for some time.
• The weather has been unseasonably warm.  I have been catching heaps of whiting and bream already this year and it's only September.  I feel that the warm weather has come early this year.
• Yellowtail scad has suddenly become very hard to procure at our LBG spots.  The silver trevally are still there (as well as heaps and heaps and heaps of salmon) but I presume that the sudden scarcity of yakkas indicates the presence of predators.  The kings are back I'm sure wooooohoooooo ! ! ! ! ! 

Time to get serious.

Tuesday 19th September 2006 - Ever since I successfully landed my first kingfish back in May 2006, I have been chasing mulloway off the local beaches when things seemed to be right.  Not a serious focused effort, just a pick the tides and we'll see if something comes along kind of approach.  Tonight was different.  It was the first of my serious efforts to specifically catch a school jew or better.  I fished 6pm - 7.30pm on one of my local beaches.

Why tonight?
- We have just had a bit of a wet period; it's been truly pouring rain, and last week we've had massive seas.  I feel this is great because it's scoured out the gutters again.  The formation I am fishing is a gap in the outer sand banks, leading straight out to sea.  There are sand banks about 100 -150 metres offshore, then a deep gutter, and a shore dump forming about twenty metres offshore.  Water washes parallel to the shore, before heading straight out between the outer banks  - this is where I am fishing, with minimal lead to hold bottom. 

Tide - High tide was forecast for 6.31pm.  High tide is forecast for just after darkness has fallen proper.
The theory is that jewies are hunting through the gutters after dark when there is most water. 

Moon - There was no moon during the time I fished.  The moon is supposed to be waning and just about gone - 8% of a full moon.  I have been told that the phase of the moon makes no difference.  Some say that more bites come when there is a full moon, but the size is better during the dark of the moon.  Thank goodness for science, and this blog - it will be an accurate record of what I experience on my favourite beach here in Newcastle.

Rig - Gamakatsu 8/0 Octopus hook, with 1.5m of 70 lb fluorocarbon leader, MT7144 rod, Shimano TSS4 threadline reel, 10 Kg Berkeley Trilene line, 80 lb ball bearing swivel.

Bait - legal sand whiting, hooked horizontally through the nose.

Sinkers - two large ball sinkers.

Result - one seriously chewed 70 lb leader - probable large whaler shark.
The MT7144 bent double in the holder and the TSS4 began to scream as the run began.  I fish two rods; one with a chunk of blue mackerel, live yabby or squirt worm for bream, whiting & flathead, while the other rod has the jewie bait.  I put the MT4144 in the other holder and sprinted to the jewie outfit.  I didn't bother striking, just dialed the drag up and held on while the fish (assumed to be a jewie) ran and ran and ran some more.  In no time at all, this was looking like a spool job.  I have a dirty little secret - I deeply hide a desire to hook a fish so big that it takes all of my line and spools me - it's wrong on so many levels - the poor fish towing around 300 metres of line until the hook corroded, the fact that it will take so long for the line to break down etc etc etc.  It would be a great thing to experience, but be horrible to think about afterwards. . . 

Anyway, the fish ran harder, faster and a HELL of a lot longer than anything that I have ever experienced before.  I have never heard my TSS4 make the amazing noise it did, or have experienced such a prolonged run from a fish quite like this one.  I was looking at the very bottom of my spool when the line went slack - and I wound and wound and wound and wound some more.  The 70 lb leader had been chewed through.  While this may have been very bad luck, and the result of a gill raker touching the leader, my gut feeling was that this was a bloody big, nearly unstoppable whaler shark. 

Unfortunately I didn't have any suitable jewie baits left and had to pack up just before 7.30 pm.  I'll be back every day this week I reckon, so keep checking this page!     
 

Synoptic Chart - www.weatherzone.com.au

Waning Crescent 8% of Full Tue 19 Sep, 2006 Moon Phase - www.calculatorcat.com

Sea temperatures Tuesday 19th September 2006 Image from CSIRO

Tides for 19th - 25th September 2006 - www.bom.gov.au

Wednesday 20th September 2006 - 8.45pm - 10pm. 

I am back at the same spot as last night, but I had trouble procuring live bait tonight.  I was running a bit late because of this, having only managed to catch two legal bream, each over a pound in weight. 

I have missed the tide.  It was high at 7.08pm tonight, but I didn't make it until 8.45pm, so it's my own silly fault.  The wind blew dogs off chains from the north west around lunch time, so I was very glad when it died early in the afternoon.  The waves were quite a bit smaller than last night.  There was absolutely no moon, so the sky was filled with stars.  It was great to be there tonight, even if I didn't get a run.

It always makes me smile at the stunned expressions on nearby fishermen when they see you place an 8/0 in the back of a keeper bream and cast it back out.  I have been told that they are a great bait when you are in a pinch because they are very picker resistant (bream usually are one of the main pickers in my experience).  They are nice and big, so likely to attract a good sized predator, and their big silvery sides have great flash in the sunlight.  Unfortunately I have never caught anything on a bream, live or dead.  But if you don't try, you will definitely never catch anything on one.  I know of a few blokes that have caught some crocodile sized flatties on legal size bream. 

I'll try again tomorrow night if I can get some more whiting or better still - squid. . . .

Synoptic Chart - www.weatherzone.com.au

Waning Crescent 3% of Full Wed 20 Sep, 2006 Moon Phase - www.calculatorcat.com

Sea temperatures Wednesday 20th September 2006 Image from CSIRO

 

It's Now November 2006

Well, it's the fourth week of November and the above info should give you an idea of just how serious I have been in my efforts to catch a mulloway.  I made a conscious effort to keep an accurate diary and to be frank, it's extremely repetitive, boring reading, full of minutiae.  I have decided not to bore you with countless stories of fruitless trips. 

In summary, I have used cuttlefish, squid, yellowtail, pike, whiting and swallow-tailed dart as bait.  I am currently using live beach worms as my main bait.  I have had a string of incredible runs that resulted in bite-offs.  I have fished three to four nights a week in great weather right through to horrible southerlies and pounding surf.  I have fished all phases of the moon.  I have fished mostly the hour before high tide, through to two hours or so after high tide.  I have used  fluorocarbon trace from 30lb right up to 100lb.  The sinkers I use are the "star" pattern, which hold the bottom well. 

Results so far - I have caught salmon by the hundred, several XOS skiting-size tailor, and an amazing assortment of doormats, rays and sharks.  The closest I have come so far was a measured 133cm, estimated 30 kilos of wobbegong shark I caught right on mid-night.

That fish gave me the chills - it constantly shook it's head, made several, bolting 100 metre runs, and took a timed 15 minutes to land.  I'll never forget the anticipation as I shone my head torch into the water expectantly, waiting for the jewie of a lifetime to waft into view.  Imagine my disappointment when an overgrown gummy shark appeared, instead of a massive chunk of living chrome.  Oh I was disappointed with that one, right up until I tried to land it and found that I simply could not pick it up.  It took two hands, a deft grab of it's tail and a lot of effort to drag it ashore.  It snapped at me repeatedly, nearly grabbing the crown jewels in the process.  I cut my hands to pieces on the line trying to pick it up, and had to grab it by the tail.  I just could not pick it up one handed, and I am a big bloke.  I needed two hands, and I estimate at least 30 kilos.  I handle 8 - 10 HP out boards nearly every day as part of my job, so I feel qualified to say I know what 30 kilos feel like.  I released the shark, relatively unharmed, and looking back at the photos, I am glad I did.  I think that it was gravid - look how fat and bulging it was around the vent.    

After that effort, my partner gave me the title of the World Champion of catching "the Mongrels of the Sea".  Thanks Darling.  I am officially banned from bringing another salmon home to eat, she's had enough of them.  I love them, so always make sure to bring home a couple of "tailor fillets".  It's funny how the little lady always enjoys them. . .

But I have reached a major milestone in my quest for a jewie - be sure to follow the link below;

A Major Milestone Achieved - Click Here