Fishing World – September 2019

B

eaching a big jewie is undoubtedly the
pinnacle for all keen surf fishers. And
landing that first good fish represents a
turning point, a shift from merely
targeting jewies to success, and the confidence to
know what you’re doing is right. That first fish is
definitely the hardest.
Jewies, or mulloway, are not an easy fish to
crack, not with regularity anyway. And there
aren’t many beach fishos out there who can say
with sincerity that they have the species wired,
and they get results on every outing. If an elite
group even exists, I’m certainly not within that
circle. I love the species, but they can frustrate me
to tears... they can be there and feeding one day,
then vanish the next.
Even some of my mates who spend a lot of time
soaking baits in the surf and do exceptionally well
still have “dry spells". The species can be fickle
and challenging, but that’s part of their attraction.
They’re a consuming species, and they seductively
draw you into the chase.
In this piece we’ll look at some of the important
factors when chasing bigger jewies in the surf.
Factors such as weather conditions, tides, tackle
and bait. Some of this info is well-known, but
there are also some less-obvious clues to pick up
along the way, and some of these small signs could

fishingworld.com.au | September 2019 | 45

mean the difference between success, or just

another fishless session.

And by bigger jewies we’re referring to fish

better than the magic metre mark, and upwards.

By specifically targeting the bigger fish we’re

eliminating some of the smaller bycatch. This

may mean less action overall, but the jewies that

do hit the sand should be a better calibre of fish.

BEACH SELECTION

If you’re serious about putting in the time for a

big jew, then concentrate your efforts around

known big-fish producing beaches. This doesn’t

mean to follow the crowd, but it will require you

to know your local region to recognise what

stretches of sand produce the bigger jewies, as

opposed to beaches that are known for

producing smaller school sized fish.

These better beaches may boast deeper gutters,

be orientated to collect more swell, have bands of

reef running into the surf or simply offer more

bait fish. Whatever the reason, some beaches do

produce a better class of fish than others.

We have a remote beach here in SA that doesn’t

produce many small fish, and the by catch is

minimal, but it does offer some big silver slabs at

the right time of year. We have other beaches in

our region that yield more fish, but these are often

in the 80 to 100cm slot, but if we want a genuine

shot at a 50+ pounder, we’ll put the time in at this

particular beach.

And it’s also important to recognise seasonal

movements of fish too, so that you’re investing

time on the beach at the right period of the year.

Seasonal movements of fish are largely inf luenced

by water temperature, freshwater run-off and bait

availability, and this movement varies according

to location. Once again understanding your local

region is important.

CONDITIONS

When targeting jewies in the surf we can choose

the tide phase and control elements such as where

and how we fish, plus the bait and tackle we use,

but some factors are out of our control. Elements

such as wind, swell and barometric pressure are

important cues when chasing silver slabs.

The weather conditions are undoubtedly the

biggest make-or-break factor when surf fishing.

Hitting the beach during a stiff onshore breeze

isn’t the easiest of conditions to fish in. Trying to

lob large slab baits into a head wind with the

gutter churning with sand and white water

aplenty, isn’t the best recipe for jewie success. I’m

picturing some people reading this thinking “well

we’ve caught some nice fish in sloppy conditions”

This 116cm fish took a whole

squid during a rising tide.

OPPOSITE: Hooked up to a

50lb plus fish in the surf.