Jew - Getting The Hook Up!

[locodave]

Last night I was in the Hawkesburry fishing, minding my own business with a fillet of a tailor, the fish finder had a massive fish going through, and as I was looking at it and joking around my rod just went bang and bent forward and the drag started going off. The drag was set to a pretty hard strength but was no issue for this thing. Took the line and I thought I was on and began to reel in. But i lost it.

Now I am not sure, but I think I read somewhere here that Jews don't always swallow first, they let it sit in their mouths first before they actually chew, is that true?

Not sure if it was a Jew by the way, just like to hope it was

[Davemmm]

I aint no expert but I let them have a little run first then stike.

The baitrunner makes this easy but the other reel is usually left with the bailarm open.

I know there is a heap of different opinions on the site with many leaving the reels in strike and many not.

Each to their own i suppose.

Dave

[Red]

How big were your hooks? We leave the rod in strike with plenty of drag, unless using big livies.

Cheers

Red

[flatty hunter626]

i use the baitrunner mode and giv it about 10seconds before striking up...

[Gozza]

I usually dont have my drag on too tight. Ill let it run for a bit then tighten the drag and go for the strike. But then again, thats just me.

[bobfish]

Im with Red... how big were your hooks? Jews arent afraid of a bit of metal so I use a 2x 10/0 hook snell rig when using slabs. They have mouths like buckets so your better off with a big sharp hook that can penetrate and hold on.

Let it run til you want to strike I say. Not every jew is the same nor every situation. 10 seconds seems like a lifetime to me when i'm about to set the hooks....

Best of luck

Bobfish

[tide'n'knots]

Last night I was in the Hawkesburry fishing, minding my own business with a fillet of a tailor, the fish finder had a massive fish going through, and as I was looking at it and joking around my rod just went bang and bent forward and the drag started going off. The drag was set to a pretty hard strength but was no issue for this thing. Took the line and I thought I was on and began to reel in. But i lost it.

Now I am not sure, but I think I read somewhere here that Jews don't always swallow first, they let it sit in their mouths first before they actually chew, is that true?

Not sure if it was a Jew by the way, just like to hope it was

sounds to me like you did every thing right except set the hook! When i fish for jew i leave the drag set to where you want to fight the fish and if it is running with it then strike because jew normally have bait and hook in there mouth when they are running with it. I miss very few fish this way. they have a big cavernous mouth and even a relatively small jew can fit a fairly large bait and hook in there . once apon a time i use to set the drag light and wait for the fabled second run - what a crock!!! As soon as they take off with it hit em!

good luck.

T'n'k.

[locodave]

Well I thought I had a big hook, honestly didn't expect anything big to smash the bait, but I guess now I will learn to be prepared I can't remember the size of hook of the top of my head but I think a 2/0 (im not good with hook sizes, so I'm way probably way off )

[Red]

Dave, like Bobfish i generally use 2 x 10/0 hooks. Even soapies don't have trouble getting these down.

I suggest you try using 8/0 hooks as a minimum, especially when using good sized baits aimed at better fish.

Cheers

Red

[jewieslayer]

As soon they take a run i strike

Cheers Jewieslayer

[tide'n'knots]

Well I thought I had a big hook, honestly didn't expect anything big to smash the bait, but I guess now I will learn to be prepared I can't remember the size of hook of the top of my head but I think a 2/0 (im not good with hook sizes, so I'm way probably way off )

The most important thing to remember about hook size is to use a hook that is relative to the size of the bait!

you wouldnt use a 10/0 on a small prawn anymore than you would use a size 1 on a slab from a 2lb mullet,

however a size 1 maybe suitable if you are only using a smaller strip off the slab. Always try to present the bait as natural looking as possible and a large hook in a small bait can look very unnatural. At the same time, if the point of the hook is buryed in the flesh of the slab there is little chance of the hook pinning a fish in the mouth. A jewies mouth is very hard in spots, so always make sure whatever hook you are using is razor sharp. Consider the breaking strain of the line also. If you are fishing around structure such as a bridge you may want to UP the line strength for stopping power and in that case there isnt much point to have a small hook on such a heavy line because if you try to put the brakes on a good fish in that sort of situation, there is a good chance the hook will snap or straighten. On the other hand where i fish for jew there is nothing for the fish to run you around so I fish with lighter lines and smaller baits. It is amazing how small a bait can be to catch a big fish however generally speaking - BIG BAIT usually means BIG FISH.

tight lines.

Pete.T'n'K.

[locodave]

Ok, that was a good read, thanks for that!

Got another question though, in general, do you guys show the hook a little bit when set the bait or do you hide the hook inside the bait?

[tide'n'knots]

if the point of the hook is buryed in the flesh of the slab there is little chance of the hook pinning a fish in the mouth. Always make sure that the point is exposed but dont go crazy using massive hooks or the weight of the hook can make the bait sit on the bottom and look unnatural - a good way around this is to just pin the hook once through the end of the fillet near the tail, there is a lot less meat on the fillet in this area so you can easily come down a hook size or two and the bait will waiver around in the current and look a lot more natural. A lot of people bury the hook half way or more down the slab and tie a half hitch around the top of the fillet, I imagine that this would work well off the beaches or rocks where there is a lot of water movement, however in the esturies and rivers where you dont get the wave action, I guarentee you will get heaps more jew useing the method I have just spoken about. Use a long leader about 1metre and always make sure that your leader is at stronger than the main line unless you are fishing 50lb mono or something similar. For instance if your main line is 15lb use about 25lb as a trace. I cant count the number of jew I have lost over the years due to the leader breaking about 6-8 inches from the hook before I finally realised that leader simply wasnt strong enough. My theory is that they cut it with thier gills when they go for a headshaking run.

Good luck hope you get one soon! Make sure you post a report on your next effort, I will looking for it.

tight lines.

T'n'K.