Episode 410: Hunter River Jewfish With JJ Edwards

JJ’s Hunter River Jewfish Tips!

• Catching jewfish very much depends on putting in enough time on the water. If you’re out often enough you get in sync with the system and know what the bait is doing and where the fish are.
• Early spring is one of the best times of year on the hunter river for jew fishing. As the water warms you’ll find fish up on the flats, in heavy structure and in fast running water. The main thing is to find congregations of bait…… in the hunter that’s often the flat tail mullet.
• JJ would suggest swimbaiting down near the mouth of the river at night, anywhere there is light on the water and a bit of a current break. Places where they can duck into the current to intercept food, then head back to places they can rest up again. “You want to target jewfish that are in their kitchen, not in their loungeroom”.
• Jewies love shallow water and will often find somewhere near a bridge pylon or sand spit and dark edges where a shadow creates distinct light and dark water areas. The fish will often sit in the dark and come out to smash bait coming down in the light water.
• An approaching storm front is often a good sign that the jewfish will soon be on the chew. The leadup to full or dark moons can be very productive, but JJ catches fish on all phases of the moon. Windy conditions fish best and a “howling southerly” can be perfect to stimulate a bite, especially if it makes the water dirty.
• Likewise, the middle of the tide when the current flow is strongest seems to be the most productive for swimbaiting.
• If you’re having a quiet day but are confident that you’re in the right place, don’t keep peppering them with casts as they do wise up and are more likely to take your lure if you give them a break and come back in an hour or two…… Use the opportunity to gather your thoughts and figure out another game plan.
• A little bit of scent isn’t such a bad thing on swimbaits…… JJ uses S-Factor among others.

JJ’s Jewfish Tackle

• JJ prefers baitcast tackle for the fact he has less issues with treble hooks fouling the line during casting. He uses a Venom Swimbait rod with a 300 size Daiwa Lexa reel 30 lb braid and a 50lb leader.

JJ’s Top Jewfish Fishing Lures

• A 150-200mm Zerek Live Swimbait is a dead ringer for a mullet. These are great cast up current at 45 degrees when the current is really running fast working them back as slowly as you can.
• The River2Sea Mullet has been discontinued for its tendency to fall apart after one or two fish, but if you can get your hands on one they are a great option around the slack tide. A slow, constant wind is the best retrieve when using this lure for jewfishing.
• The Sillago is JJ’s handmade wooden swimbait that he does in 150, 180 and 210mm sizes. They dive to about 6ft and are best given a sharp rip once they hit the water surface, then slow rolling them back. The deep body shape and jointed design gives the lure plenty of flash and a nice sound.