Big Jack

[Stumpthumpa]

A friend of a friend brought this around to our house today to get a picture on a brag mat. I could not belive the size of it and so thought I would post for all to drool over. Caught a few nights ago off Brunswick Heads. Weight is around 15kg.

[Paddyinoz2006]

wow big bloody jack?

[LostNearBribie]

Holy crap!
How big do these things get?

[Fisher4life]

what a thumper

[honda900]

Stumpathumpa,
Mate if you are correct about the weight, it might be an aussie record size fish, check this out..

http://www.fishnet.com.au/default.aspx?id=225&fishid=108

Great fish..

Regards
Honda

[Chalkandcheese]

that thing is huge. 15 kilo is right up there for a record.

from what ive heard big reef jacks taste like rubber and have alot of bloodline in them, not good eating at that size.

[samson]

Good fish more common that size than alot people think especially in that area seen them to 16kg off brunsy i know a guy who regulaly gets them 10kg plus off northern NSW.

[breamnut]

i rekon lots of guys have caught huge jack like that but cant be botherd about any records. they just take a pic for memory

[snagking]

Thats a BIG JACK!!!!!!!

[frankgrimes]

Would have put quite a bend in the 'ole rod!

[blue_mako]

It does look more like a big Red Bass, but I'm not 100% on if they can be caught as far south as Jacks. Also was it inshore/estuary or offshore? Red Bas are considered to be inedible as there is such a high risk of ciguteria poisoning, if I caught it I wouldn't have taken the chance :P . If it is a Jack, that is one solid fish. I have seen 1 or 2 others of that size from Ausfish reports in the past couple of months which is good to see. Would have been better if a Jack that size was released though.

Troy

[juju]

Very average fish..;D

[sambos]

thats definatly a big jack .red bass have a larger eye an slightly different body shape .obviously caught in open water at this size?

[snagking]

Yep thats a huge jack 4 sure

[Matthias]

Nice one, Makes me wanna go and catch some big breeder flatties.

[Murph77]

great jack, that's solid

[SWANY22]

very impressive looking fish

[frankgrimes]

Nice one, Makes me wanna go and catch some big breeder flatties.

hehe....nice one Matthias.

I hear they're tastier the bigger they get ;D

[Lovey80]

Would that even be a breeder???? I thought that once they go offshore to the reef that they've done all their breeding for their lifetime. Surely they don't breed off shore then the young swim back into the esturies?

Just what i thought can anyone confirm???

Cheers Chris

[Stumpthumpa]

Not sure if it is a breeder at that size or not. Anyway I did not catch it, just posted the pic. I believe the fish is in the local paper today - Northern Star.

It was an offshore fish, I am not sure where it came from, but big jacks can be seen when diving the deeper reefs of Brunswick.

Good to see how big they can grow, I wonder if impoundmnet Jacks in place like Awoonga will get to this size?

[Benno75]

I'm also not positive about their breeding habits, but my thought was that they do breed out on the reefs? I have always known that at a certain age they leave the creeks and rivers and head off shore, for some reason never to return.

There is an article in this June's B'n'B about a similarly large jack caught off the Goldie.

[NMK]

Nice fish.

Ive seen a few of them sitting in the shadows under the wrecks at tangalooma.

[mbt]

There has been a few in the news over the years taken from the reefs off the tweed at nearly that size , bet he new he had it on!

[mattooty]

it was caught in byron by my lbg buddys housemate.
Caught on a live yakka. Its starting to do the rounds now.
It was 15kg uncleaned but still beats the existing record by a few kilo's gilled and gutted.
Matt

[sambos]

Nice one, Makes me wanna go and catch some big breeder flatties.


sounds like your jealous you couldnt catch it .
once in a lifetime fish good on him

[fishytales]

Great fish, but pity about all the negative comments that seem to come whenever a largish fish is caught and kept. I could understand comments like that if it was a big breeder flathead, but c'mon guys-give him a break.

Chris

[sambos]

Would that even be a breeder???? I thought that once they go offshore to the reef that they've done all their breeding for their lifetime. Surely they don't breed off shore then the young swim back into the esturies?

Just what i thought can anyone confirm???

Cheers Chris
drifting in currents as spawn and fingerlings they travel along way how many beer cans and thongs do you see washed up from out to sea

[Steel Death]

Stumpthumpa, that is massive. Although I've have seen 13kg fish taken by spear, this is still an impressive fish, especially to be taken on line.

SD

[Sean]

I reckon They would breed out on the reefs and turn around and smash their New borns!!!!! I know I know they don't give birth.

I Reckon the photo is doctored!!

Ok I'm just kidding about that too, geez guys, lighten up!!!

Just wanted to know what it was like to be one of those knockers, you know, 'You kept 1 Fishh!!!!' You will die a slow and painfull death!!!

Here's a question for you all then- If you were fishing and caught that huge MOFO of a fish but didn't have your camera, would you keep it for proof?
Do you then think the same people who knock him for keeping it would say...yeah right, I would only beleive it if you had proof!!

[jackextracter]

sounds like your jealous you couldnt catch it .
once in a lifetime fish good on him
No i dont think he is jealous but more pissed that people keep big breeders like that it is a great fish and i would love to catch one at that size, and yes they do breed offshore as well as river mouths and some of the baby jacks come back in to the river, but some also grow up on the reefs to, hopefully soon they would of brought in the new size limits for jacks, so it will be great for the fish I heard there bringing in a maxium size to so big girls like this will be protected anyway it is a great fish, best i have seen .

[banshee]

I reckon They would breed out on the reefs and turn around and smash their New borns!!!!! I know I know they don't give birth.

I Reckon the photo is doctored!!

Ok I'm just kidding about that too, geez guys, lighten up!!!

Just wanted to know what it was like to be one of those knockers, you know, 'You kept 1 Fishh!!!!' You will die a slow and painfull death!!!

Here's a question for you all then- If you were fishing and caught that huge MOFO of a fish but didn't have your camera, would you keep it for proof?
Do you then think the same people who knock him for keeping it would say...yeah right, I would only beleive it if you had proof!!

No I wouldn't have kept it if there was any chance at all of it surviving,I have never realy seen the point in the 'pissing contest' side of fishing where impressing others is paramount.It is almost certainly a breeder who's offspring would have provided good fish in the Bruns' for years to come.

[Chalkandcheese]

It does look more like a big Red Bass, but I'm not 100% on if they can be caught as far south as Jacks. Also was it inshore/estuary or offshore? Red Bas are considered to be inedible as there is such a high risk of ciguteria poisoning, if I caught it I wouldn't have taken the chance :P . If it is a Jack, that is one solid fish. I have seen 1 or 2 others of that size from Ausfish reports in the past couple of months which is good to see. Would have been better if a Jack that size was released though.

Troy

dont get red bass down there young fella. definitley a jack.

[Chalkandcheese]

of course this fish is a breeder. big jacks breed offshore, the spawn gets washed up and down the coast, going into creeks.
jacks this size taste like a thong, hopefully they get a maximum size on them one day........

[samson]

Chalkandcheese your correct on the jack but we get lots of red bass down this way on the reefs usually juvinials to 1kg but seen some horses before like the 9kg model caught at nine mile reef that was in bush'n'beach a few years back in one of Gavin Dobsons articles, also starting to pick up coronation trout, coral trout, red emperor, red throat more regularly over the years along with more coral reef fin fish that are regular visiters like spangles and green jobfish just to name a few, who knows we might get the whole lot one day the way the water temp keeps rising.

Cheers samson

[reelchippy]

:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:oShit

[mattooty]

No i dont think he is jealous but more pissed that people keep big breeders like that it is a great fish and i would love to catch one at that size, and yes they do breed offshore as well as river mouths and some of the baby jacks come back in to the river, but some also grow up on the reefs to, hopefully soon they would of brought in the new size limits for jacks, so it will be great for the fish I heard there bringing in a maxium size to so big girls like this will be protected anyway it is a great fish, best i have seen .

Dude, the fish was caught in nsw. The sizes on jacks arent being changed down here so even if there was a max limit in qld it wouldnt change the legality of it.
I find it amusing how much flak this fish gets while theres other members of this site that regularly plug 3 or 4 jacks of this size in a trip and get applauded. Why arent you all jumping down their throats?
MAtt

[jackextracter]

Dude, the fish was caught in nsw. The sizes on jacks arent being changed down here so even if there was a max limit in qld it wouldnt change the legality of it.
I find it amusing how much flak this fish gets while theres other members of this site that regularly plug 3 or 4 jacks of this size in a trip and get applauded. Why arent you all jumping down their throats?
MAttI dont applaude any one that keeps big jacks(BREEDERS) like this one or any jacks, and im not jumping down any ones throat im just saying what i think, its an open board and we can say what we want ! I know it was caught in nsw and its stupid they dont have a size limit on them there.

[tanglefoot]

Holy S###, that is huge wouldnt get them in a creek, I hope.

[the gecko]

It’s a real shame that the self proclaimed jack police are getting so active on ausfish. Its wrecking a good site. No, Im not having a go at the regular, expert jack catchers that choose to release – it’s a pleasure to have these guys input. We learn so much from them.

It’s the guys that resort to name calling in order to get their point across, who try to belittle someone over a keyboard.

I can see both sides of the argument, and I am slowly being drawn to the C&R team myself.

I just wish some people wouldn’t be so aggressive on those that choose to eat their catch. Its not cool to force your opinions on others. Its each fishermans choice what he does with his catch. Lighten up guys, show some IQ. Try education and persuasion, instead of attack.

Andrew

[richieboy]

Here's a question for you all then- If you were fishing and caught that huge MOFO of a fish but didn't have your camera, would you keep it for proof?
Do you then think the same people who knock him for keeping it would say...yeah right, I would only beleive it if you had proof!!

I'll answer the Q mate. I wouldn't keep it for proof. If you need to kill a beaut fish like that to prove to blokes how good a fisho you are or simply brag about it, you're obviously misled a little.

All that said, that is certainly a bruiser and a once in a blue moon fish. Well done, better of alive than on a dinner plate in my opinion tho. Each to there own.

Richie ;)

PS: just don't forget tha digi next time. LOL!

[jackextracter]

It’s a real shame that the self proclaimed jack police are getting so active on ausfish. Its wrecking a good site. No, Im not having a go at the regular, expert jack catchers that choose to release – it’s a pleasure to have these guys input. We learn so much from them.

It’s the guys that resort to name calling in order to get their point across, who try to belittle someone over a keyboard.

I can see both sides of the argument, and I am slowly being drawn to the C&R team myself.

I just wish some people wouldn’t be so aggressive on those that choose to eat their catch. Its not cool to force your opinions on others. Its each fishermans choice what he does with his catch. Lighten up guys, show some IQ. Try education and persuasion, instead of attack.

Andrew
I think one of the main reasons people get angry when they see jacks dead is because they catch and release with every jack, and it dose not even cross there mind to keep one for a feed, then they see them dead and it just seems like a waste of a fish and a let down.

[BilgeBoy]

The biggest Jack I have ever eyeballed is in a tank with Barra at Under water world in Malloolabah. Bloody brilliant being able to stand there and observe the monster jack...he would easily be another 50cm longer!!

This is a great fish and well done for landing it. Personally I would have put it back with or without a photo..but that is what I would have done. All those who criticize a bloke for keeping a fish LEGALLY would be better served writing to fisheries asking for upper size limits.

BilgeBoy

[scubajay08]

Wow, Wow, Wow, Wow

[Chalkandcheese]

The biggest Jack I have ever eyeballed is in a tank with Barra at Under water world in Malloolabah. Bloody brilliant being able to stand there and observe the monster jack...he would easily be another 50cm longer!!

This is a great fish and well done for landing it. Personally I would have put it back with or without a photo..but that is what I would have done. All those who criticize a bloke for keeping a fish LEGALLY would be better served writing to fisheries asking for upper size limits.

BilgeBoy

thats always the argument, its legal to do it so no worries...however, the people that make these rules in my opinion need to re-look at them, you have no idea how many fish this breeder would produce, heeps. the argument about population in diff areas is the only thing thats holding it back, people from nth qld whinge cause they wanna keep a few of them, and to right they can when they have greater stocks up there, but down here the jacks get fllllllogggged.

big reef jacks are as rare as hens teeth, they need protection, flathead get a max size, and jacks dont? we have a genuine scraper that needs the protection more than anything in our neck of the woods. thats the one thing that needs to be addressed. it needs to be adressed first and foremost, before we loose our character of the estuaries.

slot size would be the go, 1 fish per person. not many people are skilled enough to catch more than one jack in a session anyway

[mattooty]

HI AUSFISH GUYS , I TRIED JOINING YA SITE BUT CANT SEEM TO GET ON. AFTER THE RESPONSE TO MY MATES FISH "OF A LIFETIME" I DONT THINK I'LL BOTHER ..I AM ASKING MATT TO POST THIS ON MY BEHALF AND THESE ARE MY VIEWS NOT HIS OR ANYONE ELSES, my screen name is HAPPY and I can be found at a number of other sites tfs syd angler or sfx..dansoundz@hotmail.com so unlike the guy who caught this fish at least U have right of reply.. I hope this is ok with admin or they can just remove it ..I will understand..

1. The only reason your viewing this pic is cos we DONT EVEN OWN A BRAG MAT, borrowed one off a member of AUSFISH ..thanks bloke , and he posted a pic ...cool

2. The bloke who caught this works his ring out up a ladder all week and loves his fishing, he is working his way through getting his coxswains and may even end up owning a charter, to this end having records is of value ."pissing comp.." WHATEVER!! I am sure some of u would prefer he kept painting , personally I'd like to see him do what he loves and get paid for it. Furthermore he will work nearly a week to have the fish {of a lifetime } preserved. But i'm sure if u want to catch some awesome fish on holiday and want to go on a charter u'd like to go with someone who knows how to get on.

The main point is no one handed it to him..the boat or the fish..

3. A jack a little smaller than this was caught by pros netting at coffs earlier this year and made the papers, this is big news..

4. if you are a rec angler , a sportsman or simply obsessed as we are , it is important for OUR FUTURE to know that big captures like this are still possible .

5. in the bigger picture of fisheries and preservation of stocks WE ARE NOT THE PROBLEM.. WAKE UP! If u want to feel good about the flathead you release , i'm happy for you if you want to make sure there is flathead and jacks in the future ESTUARY CARE is a good start..If you want to have a go at anyone why not start with the corrupt council and multibillion dollar transport company that had a chem spill in the bruns that killed everything EVERYTHING in the river over a decade ago and did nothing , NOTHING about the environemental impact .

6. Who of us is confident to say that by preserving , releasing bigger jacks we are increasing Jack numbers, although this model may be relevent to some fish such as flathead etc. it isnt nescesarily the best for all ie Jewfish, which may be better served by having the bag limit based on two breeding cycles before legal capture as apposed to the LARGE BREEDER suggestion.As it stands the bag limits on fish such as snapper are insane and encourage waste.

7. correction it was caught on a pilly, my mistake mat sorry

8. After an outstanding night there were a few lower income earners and single mums feeding themselves and kids fresh snapper..A good neighbour , nice bloke and valued member of my community caught this fish ,To the critics , Think about this before ya topple off ya high horse .And remember that the guys you have a crack at on the net might be the ones that save ya bacon on the water or the rocks .

9.. Until u have been in this position, and its doubtful some of u ever will be with these small minded attitudes, do u have any right to judge .

10.. I think its also his 1st Jack.. Did u keep ya first? was it a possible national , world record?

I know this guy and the lengths he goes to to improve his fishing and the fish he takes pics and releases. Hence i find some of the above unqualified remarks a little annoying actually naive small minded abnd infuriating .
Tolerance is something that definately should flourish in the rec fishing environement , unless someones behaviour is absolutely out of line we should keep our opinions to ourselves , I see this capture as neither illegal or immoral. However I could easily see practices on these pages that arent aligned with mine. That is none of my business.. Furthermore JAK POLICE your pics are all over the site you will meet the guy your having a crack at one day he will recognise youy but u wont have a clue who he is , or why he is reaching for the gaff at the boat ramp .... I'm joking of course .

cheers boys , tite lines and loosen the _____ up? Go get em. d:-]

[banshee]

If some gutless prick comes at me with a gaff at the ramp I will put it so far up his arse that they will be removing it through his mouth....or I'll go down trying and that's a promise
Get one thing straight prick,Sean asked for an opinion and I gave mine,if that's going to cause that sand you've got caught in your spadge to play up to bad,get over it.

[disorderly]

Hi Happy,
Relax mate.With a membership base of 19000 you are bound to get some outspoken treehuggers who feel superior if they belittle others for catching a few fish for a feed.
I see nothing wrong with education and trying to change the mindset of rec fishers and the powers that be to introduce realistic laws to release the larger breeders,but its not always going to happen and I certainly dont see that condemning a potential new member and his friends and associates for this is at all going to further the ideals that those detractors aim for.
Much better to befriend and use the gentle art of persuasion and also education .
I dont know about you but I quickly lose respect for those that tell me not to do something although its rightfully lawfull.
BTW thats an absolute ripper of a fish!and I would say there are plenty of others here that feel the same.

cheeers Scott

[Stumpthumpa]

Well as the person who posted this I apologise to Happy for the flack he has copped. My wife took the pics and I thought is was certainly something of interest and worth sharing with all as it was an exceptional fish.

I never expected the reaction of some people here, some of it has certainly been over the top.

[richieboy]

Happy: Plenty of great points you gave there champ, but that still don't change the way some of us (me included) still feel. BETTER OFF ALIVE, NOT DEAD!!!!!!!
Yep, I said it again and you can see my pic on my Avatar plain and clear buddy. Do with it what you will. ;)
No, I'm not part of the "JAK POLICE" but as has been stated before this is an open forum and some fisho's are passionate about different species. For me, it's jacks. Anyone can say what they want, when they want and if they want.
The good thing about this post is it promotes discussion and to some degree education.
Now I got one for you: As well as all the positive replies, accept the negatives and deal with it. Oh, and loosen the ____ up! Tight lines.

Richie

[sambos]

im not part of the jack police either.
had a bute trip to hinchenbrook last week .we kept and ate 3 jack about 2kg each one night on the houseboat .they tasted great great baked whole ,cracked pepper,lemon beautiful
we did release plenty though

[Jackinthebox]

Come on Heath,

where's that pic of your big one hiding......

the jack that is 8-)

[cuzzamundi]

fantastic bruiser in anyone's books!

cuzza

[Chalkandcheese]

im not part of the jack police either.
had a bute trip to hinchenbrook last week .we kept and ate 3 jack about 2kg each one night on the houseboat .they tasted great great baked whole ,cracked pepper,lemon beautiful
we did release plenty though

jacks are in plague numbers in north queensland, nothing wrong with keeping a few up there, and the law says u can keep them down here to, thats what the argument is.......ffs southern queensland doesnt have the numbers of jacks that up north has.

well said banshee.
dont want to hear the sad stories about some battler rah rah rah, im a 1st year apprentice and i let every jack go. you didnt take any notice of my previous post regarding the stocks this breeder would produce you just rubbished on about feeding single mums/battlers etc. well if thats the case go out with some fresh mullet and get a feed of bream. the year is 2007 not the 50's anymore. these big jacks need protection

[themissus]

Thanks stumpthumpa for post a picture of such an awsome fish. This debate will always rear it's ugly head. Hope it doesn't stop others posting pics of their 'fish of a life time'. I like to see the big ones go back(no matter what species) but I also like to chew on a jack now and then. It's a question of balance. As long as it's with in the legal size/bag limits C&R is personal choice.
Great Fish!!
Cheers Kim.:)

[mamu]

Man, some of you blokes have got to get out more!
Does anger management mean anything?
Get over it

[jackextracter]

Man, some of you blokes have got to get out more!
Does anger management mean anything?
Get over itWhat ever mamu, what ever that means? if your not going to write something to do with the topic dont write anything.

[choppa]

of course this fish is a breeder. big jacks breed offshore, the spawn gets washed up and down the coast, going into creeks.
jacks this size taste like a thong, hopefully they get a maximum size on them one day........


i'm a bit late on this one and the fun is nearly over,,,, most of you already know that i'm more c&r than kill,,,, but that doesnt mean that i wouldn't have taken this brute home either,,,,, depends on a number of things,,, more around if i felt like cooking it and eating it,,,

a question that is always asked is where these buggers go in the cooler months,,, where they breed etc etc,,,, much the same as you can only catch muddies in a mnth with an r in it,,,, total crap

if this works as an attachment have a look,,, these things are more predominant than you all think,,,, just log onto suntag or recfish and do a search on em,,,,,,

choppa

sorry the attachent is to big to download,,, and i don't know how to shrink an email attachment,,,, its the may 2007 no 131 suntag release,,, that shows a recapture of a jack that was caught at bells crk caloundra and travelled 485km's over 6 years when it was recaught,,,

in woolgoolga reef coffs harbour

thats south isn't it?????????????????

[Chalkandcheese]

sorry the attachent is to big to download,,, and i don't know how to shrink an email attachment,,,, its the may 2007 no 131 suntag release,,, that shows a recapture of a jack that was caught at bells crk caloundra and travelled 485km's over 6 years when it was recaught,,,

in woolgoolga reef coffs harbour

thats south isn't it?????????????????

if your trying to be smart by adding "thats south isn't it?????????????????" then think again, i wrote the spawn gets washed UP and DOWN the coast, meaning a breeding jack wide of fraser could send its wriggly bits all the way down to coffs if the currents provided leeway.

[choppa]

if your trying to be smart by adding "thats south isn't it?????????????????" then think again, i wrote the spawn gets washed UP and DOWN the coast, meaning a breeding jack wide of fraser could send its wriggly bits all the way down to coffs if the currents provided leeway.

on the contary chalky,,,, no intention on being smart cause if i was then you would certainly know about it,,,

i posted the last bit purely because i cant shrink the email attachment,,,, and more to the point due to the common belief that jacks migrate north in the cooler months

it had no mention of ""spawn"",, this is a fish that was caught,,,,tagged,,,, and then recaptured,,, SOUTH of its original place of capture

i think all in all,,, i'm tiring of members being shot down in flames over posting pics that doesn't agree with the majority,,, and yes,, there's been hundreds of posts that fit this bill,,,

i can even name members that joined,,, posted a pic,,,, were severely criticised over their catch,,, and we have never heard of them since,,

as a prior reply stated,,, take it up with the relevant department if there's a problem,,, (not meaning you solely,, but all )

sorry if you took the original reply as a response to yours,,,,it wasn't

choppa

[sambos]

come of it chalky lighten up .obviously jack are your target species .fair enough your doing your bit to protect them but have you ever hooked one in the gills or some other fatal area .

[Owen]

When I was an active hunter we called it bambi syndrome.
Seems jacks evoke the same sort of emotive response.

If someone posted a pic of a monster bream that was maybe 25 years old it wouldn't raise a wimper.

yawn :zzz:

I release more than I keep and I've decided not to take up the last 1/2 ounce of trigger pressure plenty of times too. Doesn't make me fit to judge someone who decided on that day, at that place to drop the hammer.

almost makes you want to ask some people when they stopped beating their wives? ;)

[Wahoo]

well done to your mate
catch of a lifetime



Daz

[JEWIENEWIE]

Such shame this thread went this way
Jewie

[traviso182]

thats a big jack.