Mulloway Fishing Tips

[PPSGT]

Hi Raiders,

After moving to Sydney a few years ago, my mates love ringing me from Adelaide

and brag about XOS snapper and mulloway the have been catching....

Anyway one of the friends a while back lost his job selling security alarms (boring)

and was struggling to get work. A friend of friend rang he a week or two later

and asked if he could recommend so fishing spots for a South Australian TV show called

"Out of the Blue" a seafood cooking show where they usually go fishing for what they cook

- he offered to come along and see what is was all about, a week later they offer him a job,

now he spends his time traveling all over the place fishing and eating what the Two Michaels (the hosts of the show - its sometimes on Foxtel) cook. He now arranges the fishing charters

, organises the sponsors spots (ie read free fishing gear) and basically does nothing but going fishing two or three times a week, gets paid for and gets to eat the spoils of the cooking show... what a hard life!

Anyway he rings me at work from the Head of the Bight, where they have just finished filming.

Now I never let work never get in the way of a good fishing story, so I got all the details of his latest trip.

They fished at Yalta and The dogfence, two salmon hotspots but the locals, a national Parks ranger and the local fishing store guy said the fishing was slow and the mulloway had been hard to catch.

So bar catching a truck load of 10lbs plus salmon, they caught nothing worth putting on the show. They went back to the township that day and met a local aborginal fishing nut, who’s claim to fame was a 90lb+ fish from his secret spot a few weeks ago. He arranged to take them into the traditional lands restricted area to do a bit of fishing. The next day they set out, and drove along the beach looking for a gutter to fish, the bloke was in my mates 4wd, with his head out the window, my mate asked him what he was doing, and his reply was that he could "smell" the mulloway in the gutters

Anyway they drove a little further, after passing some really fishy looking gutters,

he yells out stop, out the front of the smallest, fishless looking gutter and tells him this is the spot.

My mate starts to think he's been had, and the story they were told of the 90lbs mulloway he'd caught "a few weeks ago" my have been an typical "should have been here last week" fishy tale. The local tackle shop guy tells him their wasting time and should go back to one of the other gutter.

My mates getting paid to be there , so he's not that fussed whether they catch fish or not, and follows the "guides" instructions

He tells him his hooks are two small, fresh squid wont work, pilchards are no good... and the list goes on about the things he's doing wrong. He’s told to use the salmon from the day before that was in the engel fridge in the car - "big chunks, big hooks" he rigs up as instructed and tossed it into the life less looking gutter within a minute or so, his rod is loaded up and losing line fast after 100 or more metres the line goes limp

and the guide tells him "your hooks are two small, the fish spat your bait"

By now the other guys are interested and some bigger hooks (although not big enough according to the guide) are found and the bait is cast back out - This time he hooked up solid, but couldn’t stop the fish.

As the show is sponsored, his lovely Saltiga & braid out fit he uses at the Murray Mouth is at home

and the sponsors crappy outfit fitted with bargain bin 20lb line unfortunately isnt up to the task and the fish wins its freedom. He lost a few more unstoppable fish but managed a nice gummy shark, and as time was running out for filming it was cooked up for the show. (they taste good, so they were pretty happy)

He hit the bloke up for some tips on the trip back to town and his theories on the mighty mulloway

Bait??? - Salmon , his theory is the mulloway cant actually catch the big salmon, but wait for the big bronze whalers to chew up the school, and the really big fish rather than expend energy chasing down their dinner, they just sit in the shallow gutter waiting for the shark to herd the salmon into shallow water and just pick up the scraps

BIG Hooks - the bigger the better, the really big fish have huge mouths, and tend to spit out the bait to re swallow after the first run,

Smelling them in the gutters??? - Even I am skeptical about this, but Aboriginal trackers are pretty much the best in the business, they know their environment and I'm sure this guy would know his local area very well.

A quote from the SA Govt fisheries website on Mulloway "They have a quite distinctive smell and some ‘old salts’ claim to be able to ‘smell’ schools of mulloway from the beach." so maybe it is true, he certainly got my mate onto the fish straight away, in a gutter they never would have fished

What Gear??? - Definitely not the sponsors "special" of the week

Proof of the 90lbs Mulloway - He didn’t have a photo, but had photos of other big fish he'd caught

40kg mulloway aren’t too uncommon in that area (have a look on google) so no need to doubt that

part of the story - believing he could sniff the big fellas out however would need a bigger leap of faith...

Pic from the Yalata Indigenous Protected Area homepage

Jason

BTW - After all this talk about jewfish I went to the fishmarkets today and bought the big jewish cutlet they had and cooked it for lunch it was close to a kilo....and it was fantastic along with some 8 to a kilo king prawns (like mini lobsters they were) I got her to pick out all the big ones!

Edited September 6, 2008 by PPSGT

[luderick59]

its true jew have a very strong smell i have smelt them on a still night at nth curl curl and caught them

also some nights we would catch heaps of bronze whalers and then the odd jew so i imagine the lazy jew are there picking up pieces of mullet or tailor that t he bronzies are getting into

peter

[cupster]

I could smell them on the night i caught my biggest jew [at juno].Smelt them as soon as i arrived.A local jew charter once told me he could smell them [occasionally] as well.

Edited September 6, 2008 by hooked4life

[arpie]

Terrific tale, Jason!!

Like Peter & H4L, I have also smelled one at night when fishing a local beach, but I didn't manage to hook him - must have been using too small a hook with the wrong bait!!

I have seen Out of the Blue on either NBN or Ten earlier this year & it was a great show. I keep an eye open for all the fishing shows & hope it will make a welcome return soon

How lucky is your mate??? Talk about being in the right spot at the right time with the right info! Great work if you can get it!

Great Post - keep em coming!

Roberta

Will have to slab my next salmon & throw it back in!

[jewgaffer]

Good reading PPSGT ! I like the suggestion of using the same dead bait that had been been running in an area especially when there is no sign of the school at the same place at the time. Jewfish have repetetive hunting habits and sometimes have to fossick for leftovers and dead baits are a good offering when it is obvious that everything else has disappeared. By the same token I like using out of area baits because the baitfish of the day often know when and where the water's safe for them to be. It's true to say that jewfish come in to fossick for surf worms and droppings such as leftovers after the sharks have gone as do rays and other toothless sharks like shovelnose that jewfish are compatiable with. Jewfish have to round up speedsters like salmon in packs and literally corner, thrash and mandhandle a few between them until they're isolated and stunned. Jewfish know how to disappear to their own safety freshhold before the school sharks arrive as they have no protection from the dog packs such as the estuary whalers that hunt for the same food, and jewfish have what is known as safe reefs to spawn and caves in which to seek refuge otherwise the jewfish species would not survive the shark packs just as baitfish would not survive when they're stranded out in the open at the time when predators can tolerate the same water level.

Cheers

jewgaffer

Edited September 11, 2008 by jewgaffer

[alvillanova]

i had a mate who had the ability of sniffing out jew on beaches, he reckons that you could smell the jew feeding on the edge of the shore break, the jews were feeding on beach worms.........easier to pick up the scent in shallow water..........cheers and tight lines to the silver streak

[Hodgey]

That was a terrific read mate!

The whole 'sniffing out' the fish is a concept I had not heard before. Obviously, judging by some of the responses, this is indeed quite feasible!

Thanks for sharing your story. Nice photo of a superb fish too!

Cheers

Hodgey

[Josh88]

That was a really good read, interesting points in there.

Can anyone tell me they smell like??

Cheers

Josh

[rickb]

That was a really good read, interesting points in there.

Can anyone tell me they smell like??

Cheers

Josh

Hi Josh, back in the 80's when I was pro fishing,we use to say it smelt like money,it was a beautiful sweet smell,and in the shallows of a night when the big jewies would swim across the sand flats and blow that stuff out of the perforations in the under belly,to bring the worms up, you could smell them then,it is a smell all of their own you can't mistake it.

Cheers rick.

[arpie]

Rumour has it that the jewies roll in the shallows to 'bring up the worms' as they smell a bit like ammonia. It is a distinctive smell! If you ever see anyone cleaning a jewie, go over & watch & sniff! Once sniffed, never forgotten (not unlike Blackies! They also have a specific smell about them!)

For jewies, Off the beach or even in the estuary, try throwing a huge treble out under a float with a couple of worms entwined around the treble ..... looks a bit like a 'gathering of worms' & the jewies should go 'off'!! Worms are their favourite food (behind blackies & mullet & tailor & Aussie Salmon!!!)

I have hooked & lost a few BIG jewies on the breakwall here on fresh worms ..... but usually when fishing with lighter gear & I was busted off quick smart!!

Roberta

Edited September 7, 2008 by Roberta

[Jewhunter]

I've also smelt them quite a few times. There's no mistaking that smell!!

On one of the beaches I used to fish from down that way it was very common. A large school of smaller jew, 2 - 6kg's, would move in on a summers night & with the onshore nor'easter it stank.

I've also smelt them fishing landbased in the harbour.

I just wish the times that I smelt them resulted in a 40kg fish!

I've gotta get to Yatala one day. Heaven!!

Cheers,

Grant.

[jenno64]

Top read Jason.....sounds like your mate has a perfect job

[humesy]

I have smelled them once and thought I was really losing the plot with jewie fever. It was a dead still night and sure enough, i had a good hook up but lost the fish to a clump of seaweed. It was very reassuring to find out that you really can smell them from the land.

[tuffy]

When I was a young bloke - early teens - about 40 odd years ago, my folks would always go to Yamba for holidays. One day I was up near the lighthouse with my old man just going for a walk when this old fisho pulled up in an old Land Rover ute, got out and stood staring at the beaches with his head in the air for about 10 mins. He then got back into the ute & sped off down toward the main surf beach. I asked my father what he was doing & my old man said " He's sniffing out the Jewfish, mate. You wait, he'll be back in a few hours with that ute full". Suuure, says me, but sure enough later that arvo, the old fisho pulls up at the cafe opposit the pub with about 5 huge jewies in the back. don't know the weights, but they were almost as big as me at the time( normal 12 year old kid). The old fisho that day introduced me to the "jewels" and gave me some to start my collection. I have honestly never thought any more about it until this thread appears - sure brings back fond memories of Yamba back in those days, totally unspoiled. For those Raiders of the more senior years,some may remember the Yamba of old, and the locations I have described. Back in the days when Reedy Creek still existed on the road out of town.

Shit!! I just realised how old I am by reminiscing - scary!!

Stay loose, 'cause I certainly am!

Tuffy

[zen801]

Great read!

I have caught a few jewfish in the last few years and my biggest was taken from the beach on a salmon fillet.

I never throw a salmon back in the water.

Great for cats, sharks and jewies.

Cheers

[andrew399]

yeah what a top read!! would love to head over there at some stage!

PPSGT - do you still manage to catch kingies on shitty servo pilchard cubes? havnt seen a report for quite a while, just wondering!

[james7]

That was a great post Jason. I really enjoyed reading it.

At first I doubted the idea of “smelling schools of mulloway from the beach”, but there may be some truth to the matter after reading so many supportive statements from the Fishraider “jewie gurus”.

It reminded me of an old man I met down at Cronulla many years ago who claimed he could “smell out” Jew fishermen. I swear this is (almost) a true story. Sometimes when I was out walking at Cronulla, I would run into him at night on the sand hills of Wanda, standing still, his head raised facing into the gentle breeze. He’d slowly turn to me and say, “there’s a Jew fisherman down there at Greenhills”. I’d peer into the darkness unable to distinguish anything except the glistening moonlight on the breaking waves. After a while, he’d continue, “yep, that’s got to be old Fred. He’s using tailor fillets, and … wait a minute … (he’d sniff again) … he’s also got a few beach worms in his pocket.” I’d shake my head then continue my walk and sure enough, I’d run into old Fred, just as he dragged a beautiful big jewie up the sand.

The old man’s bizarre skills were not confined just to the beach. I’ve seen him do the same thing in a crowded tackle shop. Not only could he identify the jew fisherman in a crowd, he’d tell you about their last catch, how big it was, where it was caught and what bait was used – all from their smell. He also claimed he could tell you how they cooked the jewie – but of course I wasn’t gullible enough to believe that.

Amazingly, this old man could distinguish between different fishermen just by putting his nose into the air. Of course you may doubt whether any of this is true, but if you attend the Back to the Bay Social, try this test, when you see a bunch of Raiders, close your eyes and open your nostrils and I’m sure you’ll be able to identify all the great Jew fishermen that are present by smell alone. (One hint I’ll give you is to also sniff for stale rolly tobacco – that’s a dead giveaway of a great jew fishermen) You may also be able to identify the lure blokes who are easily identified by the lack of stale prawn smell on their hands. As for the successful big game blokes, just look for the smell of money. I understand it’s a very distinctive sweet smell. For those successful blackfisher men and women, you can’t miss that stale “weedy” scent (Another hint is to look for the smell of smoked blackie fish pie – a sure sign of an excellent blackfisherperson). For the flathead experts, you don’t even have to smell them, just look for a “bushy moustache” – it’s a dead giveaway!

Don’t take my word for it, I’ve been told that if you go on a Ross Hunter charter, close your eyes, and you’ll immediately detect the scent of big snapper, huge tuna, even bigger marlin, and most importantly, the strong smell of “success”.

Cheers

Peter

[arpie]

Very good tale, Peter!! Good to hear you are not gullible enough to believe everything the old fella told you!!!!

Roberta

[jewgaffer]

Very good tale, Peter!! Good to hear you are not gullible enough to believe everything the old fella told you!!!!

Roberta

Nice story Peter Rather than smoking rolly owns and sniffing out jewfish basm I'd be more inclined to think that air sniffing bloke walks overfed poodles, wears a pink shirt and smokes menthol cigarettes.

Cheers

jewgaffer

[rickb]

Nice story Peter Rather than smoking rolly owns and sniffing out jewfish basm I'd be more inclined to think that air sniffing bloke walks overfed poodles, wears a pink shirt and smokes menthol cigarettes.

Cheers

jewgaffer

I'll go with your theory Byron sounds good to me ,

cheers Rick.

[Dreamtime]

After reading this post I wasn't completely convinced of this smelling theory, so I done a bit of research myself. Following is some interesting and useful information.

The distinctive odour of the mulloway is part of its mystique. They swim up under the surf along the coastal beaches, expelling this odour in their excretions as they go. When the beach worms come up out of the sand to feed on this stuff, the jewies suck them in.

The mulloway is found in Africa, Madagascar and along the southern coastline of Australia from Shark Bay in Western Australia to north of Brisbane in Queensland.

It is the most southern species belonging to the Scinaenid Family with many species present in the north of Australia. The most notable species is the ‘black jew’, which is often confused with the mulloway but distinguishable by the slightly stouter body, smaller more compact scales, firmer texture and darker appearance. Also known as butterfish and jewies, they are perhaps the most prized sporting fish that is in ready reach of the everyday angler.

Mulloway is a fish of many names, It is the aboriginal name for ‘the greatest one’. Mulloway are indeed one of our greatest scalefish and are easily distinguished from other fish through their metallic silver / bronze sheen, shield like scales and concave (outward fanning) tail. They grow to a large size, with fish up to 30kg common and some records of fish up to 40kg. Mulloway are equipped with elaborate swim bladders which are able to resonate and emit a ‘croaking’ noise, which can often be heard from the sides of the boats on a quiet night when fish are many metres below. This characteristic is common to the Sciaenid family of fishes, collectively known as drums or croakers for the reasons described.

Mulloway also contain enlarged otoliths or ‘ear bones’ which are often collected for jewellery items. This attribute has led eastern Staters in particular to refer to them as ‘jewies’ or jew fish (after ‘jewel fish’). Another name used to describe mulloway is ‘butterfish’ which relates to the yellow butter-like lather that mulloway apparently produce on the surface of the seawater during spawning.

Although it is difficult to generalise, mulloway tend to spend their first four years or so in the estuaries and then move to marine waters for the remaining years.

Mulloway generally spawn in marine waters just outside of the surf zone and the egg larval development occurs at sea, with juveniles settling in estuarine nursery areas until a length of 46cm is reached, in about three to four years. A 10kg mulloway is likely to be about six to seven years of age. They are thought to live for a maximum of about 30 years.

Mulloway are believed to reach sexual maturity at a length of about 75cm, although this has not been verified for Australian waters.

Mulloway are opportunistic predators, feeding on a variety of fish, molluscs and crustaceans. The size of prey items increases with the size of the fish (there is a message for the anglers here!). Large fish have been observed though, with large numbers euphausides, which are small shrimp like crustaceans which often ‘swarm’ in the water column just beyond the surf zone. Other food items include sand crabs (especially on surf beaches), small fish such as mullet, and whatever organisms are abundant in the locality.