Jewfish Fishing: Tips and Insights for Catching Southern Mulloway

If you’re an avid lure fisher in southern Australia, there’s a good chance that one day you’ll be bitten by the mulloway fishing bug. Southern mulloway, or “jewfish” are impressive fish that can be quite challenging to catch on lures.  I’ve lost count of the number of lure fishers I’ve interviewed who found this species incredibly difficult to start with,  but now consistently catch the “Ghost of the Estuary”.

So on this page you’ll find some valuable tips and insights from experienced jewfish anglers. And at the bottom of the page you’ll find links to all of the ALF interviews that cover the topic of jewfish fishing.

Understanding the Southern Mulloway (Jewfish)

The southern mulloway is scientifically known as Argyrosomus japonicus, is a species that inhabits the southern coastlines of Australia, as well as other regions such as India, Pakistan, Africa, China, and Japan. It’s important to note that in some parts of Australia, the southern mulloway overlaps with the northern jewfish or black jew. These fish are very similar, so it’s important to be able to distinguish between them and know the differences in bag and size limits. One of the more distinguishing features is the tail fin, which is shorter and more rounded in southern mulloway and more pointed in the case of black jewfish.

Jewfish can grow to impressive sizes, reaching lengths of up to 2 meters and weighing over 100 kilograms. However, the average size typically ranges between 80 and 120 centimeters. Southern Mulloway have a slender, elongated body with a silvery coloration and a distinct dark spot near their gills called an opercular spot. Their appearance may vary depending on factors such as age, habitat, and feeding habits.

Habitat and Feeding Behavior

Southern mulloway primarily inhabit estuaries, rivers, and coastal areas with sandy or muddy bottoms. They are often found near structures such as rock bars, bridges, jetties, and other submerged features. These fish are known to move between freshwater and saltwater environments, particularly during spawning periods. In estuaries, they can be located in deep holes, channels, and along drop-offs where they feed on a variety of prey, including fish, crustaceans, and other invertebrates.

Quick Tips for Mulloway Fishing Success

1. Timing and Tide: Focus your fishing efforts during low light periods such as dawn and dusk when mulloway tend to be more active and responsive to lures. Additionally, fishing either side of tide changes, especially when there is a strong flow, can increase your chances of success. Tidal flow tends to concentrate bait around structure and eddies, so jewfish come to these areas to hunt. Often the high flow rates in the middle of the tide are too strong for fishing lures, but the slower flows near the turn of the tide are perfect.
2. 

   Jewfish Tackle Cheat Sheet

   Lure Selection: Soft plastics and hard-body lures are the popular choices among jewfish anglers, though exact details vary depending on whether you’ll be fishing rocks, seawalls, estuaries and so on. Soft plastics that imitate baitfish, such as paddle-tail and curl-tail designs, rigged on a suitable jig head are great in natural colors like silver, white, and translucent shades. Consider using suspending or slow-sinking minnow-style hard-body lures that mimic injured or distressed fish. Diving depths of 1 to 3 meters are suitable for mulloway fishing even in deeper water at the ends of seawalls. Soft vibes are also popular and effective jewfish lures in the 90-100mm size range.
3. Retrieval Techniques: Experiment with different retrieve speeds, pauses, and variations to determine what triggers a strike. A slow and steady retrieve with occasional pauses can be very effective when fishing large hard body lures. Gentle lifts and hops can work very well with soft plastics and vibes. It’s worth checking out the interviews and show notes for ALF episodes that feature jewfish for lure and location specific advice.
4. Tackle Selection: Jewfish are relatively clean fighters, so in areas where there are no hard structures they can be played out on very light gear at times. On the other hand, the tckle required when fishing from ocean rocks and seawalls can be very heavy in order to cope with bigger fish and tough conditions. Once again, refer to the show notes of various ALF jewfish fishing episodes for detailed information on the appropriate tackle to use at a specific location. One thing that is common to all combos is the need for a quality reel equipped with a smooth drag system to handle the strong runs and bursts of these fish.
5. Fishing Locations: Mulloway often congregate in deep holes, channel edges, drop-offs, and structure-rich areas like rock bars, bridge pylons, and jetties. However, they may not always be feeding in these areas and often come into the surf zone, headlands, eddies and shallow water to hunt. The area beneath bridge lights is another great place to find feeding mulloway.

Conservation and Ethical Fishing

Before going jewfish fishing, please familiarise yourself with relevant fishing regulations, catch limits, and size restrictions. Southern mulloway are particularly vulnerable to overfishing, and in many areas there are distinct signs that fish numbers and sizes are in decline.  Practice ethical fishing and conservation by releasing undersized fish, handling caught fish with care, and respecting the environment.

ALF Episodes About Mulloway Fishing

The ALF episodes below either focus 100% on how to catch mulloway using lures, or they have a significant component about targeting mulloway.