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Jack season in SEQ is all but shut down however head nother around CQ and they are still on the bite in the small gutters towards low tide. You need a rover or creek that runs almost completely dry or becomes landlocked with sandbars, plenty of similar rivers and creeks in CQ like that. Fish stealth mode and look right under the edges of mangroves with little drains running along the edges about a foot deep. Scored 85 jacks in 5 days fishing fair smack in the middle of winter about 5 yrs ago. Best fishing is done wading these creeks during the long slack water.
I have never fished for Jacks in a creek, and only got my first off the reef 2 weeks ago so this may sound really stupid??????? If the season is "shut Down" , what do the buggers do for sustinance over the next 6 months?? They could not survive on stored fat for that long and the little lads are seldom caught offshore.
Surely they must still be around in the usual snags etc but maybe source a slower type of food?? Fat lazy estuary worms/mice/cocky's/something herbivore. Doesn't sit with me that you guys can only get them when it's warm.
They are still around ,that's for sure. I got 2 a month ago, mid forties, a mate Chris got a 49 2 weeks ago, and another mate got a 55 2 days ago on wednesday!
Water temp has been 20 degree.
All fish were taken on lures, but.............., all these fish were classed as incidental captures because we were fishing for Trevallies. We were not targetting Jacks.
All fish were also caught in close proximity to the river mouth. This time of year, as we all know, the bigger boys head out to sea.
I believe that the majority of estuary Jacks are still in their lairs and holes over winter, using up the fat they have stored up over the Summer/ Autumn seasons as well as feeding on any unsuspecting and easy prey, without using up too much energy.
Because of this reason, and the fact that the water temp has dropped right down, effectively slowing their metabolism down, they are less active and are considered a not very reliable target.
Still there but not as active. Afterall, like Scott said, they have to eat.
Cheers Jeff. The thing is hey--- one must eat to survive. Even the fattest hlard of a human can only survive for so long without having a chew.........
For sure Pete. Winter Black Bucks. After this rain thjey are a go.
I find they are up out of the deep holes and in the shallows where the water has a poofteenth of a chance to be warmed a bit better. Generally I hunt for jacks where the water looks too shallow to support a decent sized fish like that. Less than a foot of water is my target zone. Look for a mangrove bank that faces the sun along a sandbank with about a foot of water on it. They will be holed up facing the creek waiting for a chance to dash out for an easy feed.
Don't believe that they're shut down, I went down to a super secret spot of mine a couple of nights ago that I don't really fish because I don't want to flog it. I watched a school of jacks smashing mullet and bream in 1-2 foot of water. They're still around and they definitely weren't "shut down".
You can catch them year round...I've never come close to achieving this but know others that have in every month. The frequency, however, lessens quite drastically in cooler times. Think of the temp as being a metabolic catapult...yes, they still have to feed in winter, but because their energy levels are lowered, they don't expend as much as they do in warmer months. Hence, they need less feeds to survive. Look at it that way and it's easy to see why they're far less frequent in winter. Same with barra, bullies etc. Give it a go for sure...you never know and if you're in the right place you may score some great by-catches ie. jew, ec, trevs.
Im with Jack. If there are any around, they will be in shallow creeks with lotsa sandbars, and little boat traffic. These creeks tend to heat up quicker with the sunlight on shallow water. Fish for em around dusk on runout tide, and look for the odd deep hole or pylon near the shallows.
They tend to act differently in diff areas, so learn your local conditions. Im having more luck with dead mullet, and unweighted is working better than weighted. No luck with floats, it tends to attract vermin with dead baits, but Id try it with a livie.
Good luck, Im after a winter jack this year too. Im sure theyre around.
Andrew
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