Targeting Jew in the surf. Any tips???

[Stonkered]

Hello fellow Ausfishers,

I'm going to have a crack at catching a Jew in the surf. I've done a couple of searches and got some good info already....

So this will be my approach:

Tailor fillet bait
Snelled 8/0 - 10/0s
30cm 50-60lb trace
Ball sinker to suit conditions
30lb mainline
13'6" Wilson rod with 5500 Daiwa Emcast Plus

Live Chopper Tailor bait
Same rig as above but no sinker
Bottom hook behind the head (so bait faces away from rod)

Am I on the right track as far as the rigs are concerned?

Has anyone used Whiting for bait with any success??

I understand that Sea Mullet are the choice bait but I dont reckon I'd be able to catch one unless they were really thick and I used a jag (which is a no-no...)

Any tips or tricks you'd like to share would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Ben

[Slider]

Live bream Ben.

[jerson]

Ben,
Best gutter will have a single entrance heading straight out to sea with rock near by, 2 - 3 days before full moon, they will play with the bait, short runs then drop it, maybe 3 times, don't strike give them line, you will know when he is serious, give them a lot of line. heavy leaders & big hooks not required. Hang on.

Jerson.

[mattooty]

Failing any liveys, whole squid.

[84mick]

Luderick is also a good bait, have a go with some big SP's too.

Cheers, Mick.

[setthehook]

ive had alot of success with fishing set drag, no bait running. Any yellowtail fillets, slimy fillets mullet fillets are all good! Tailor make good slabs but if you use them live check them after a while as they have soft flesh the hooks wear out the flesh where they pass through and the hook becomes floppy and can result in the hook pulling back into the tailor and missing the hookup...
Use gamakatsu's and u cant go wronge!
And squid makes a great bait also!!

[tunaticer]

Jew of all sizes are complete suckers for big bunches of beach worms in the surf. Generally look for the ends of sandbars that drop quickly into deepish waters and get your bait in there with just enough weight to reach the spot. They will fully inhale worms and swallow before you realize you have a bite as they do not run unless they feel the hook bite into them.

Live squid if possible or most fish will usually give results for jew if they are around and feeding. Even happy moments are a great live bait for jew esp off the rocks.

[hungry6]

All of the above and alot of time and patience.
Nar just concentrate on the entry point of the largest gutter you can find and be there just before te top of the tide and as it turn and if they are there u will see results.
Just a side note, Fraser Is. is the only place on the east coast that I have manage to catch them during daylight.

[sleepygreg]

Mick!!!!!! SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Y adidnt have to tell him about the Luderick.

Now you will have all the 'gun' jewie fisherman putting a curse on you.

Most of the BIG jew caught on the north coast of NSW are taken on either slabs of Luderick, or just legal live Luderick, (even though they will tell you otherwise). And those same anglers use the Luderick gut to catch monster bream in the river systems. In winter it is THE bait to use.

Just dont tell anyone I told you....OK?

Greg

[Stonkered]

Thanks for the advice guys.

Heading up to Fraser in a few weeks now armed with knowledge shared by Ausfishers. Hopefully I can post a pic of my 1st Jew when I return.

Luderick huh? Never caught one of those either.... Don't know that I'll be able to find any up there at that time of year....

I'll be sure to try just legal live bream as well as live and slabbed tailor. Might even take some frozen mullet to use as slab baits.

Saw a few Jew caught up at Fraser the same time last year so I'm real keen to catch my 1st.

Thanks again.
Ben

[jerson]

Ben,
You don't need big baits to catch big jew, try ganging 2 X 3/0's with a triangle of "fresh" tailor. As mentioned above, patience is vital, the advantage of the this rig is you will catch very big bream & tailor to pass the time.
Have a great time.

Jerson

[yellowbeard]

Ben,
Best gutter will have a single entrance heading straight out to sea with rock near by, 2 - 3 days before full moon, they will play with the bait, short runs then drop it, maybe 3 times, don't strike give them line, you will know when he is serious, give them a lot of line. heavy leaders & big hooks not required. Hang on.

Jerson.

My dad used to tell me about the run-and-drop thingo when I was a youngin. And he was with me in the boat when I caught my one-and-only Red Sea pedestrian (53lb). I was later telling a pro fisherman about it and he disputed the run-and-drop thingo. Actually I was live baiting with a legal-size tailor (to a blind fishing inspector), and he said that Jews strike very quickly at great speed and mostly take a fish by the head (another good reason to hook the live bait through the back of the neck). When clear of the strike-zone he said that they stop and expel all the water from their gills and then take off again -- thus the delay in the second run.
I have asked others about this who seem to agree. Anybody have opinions on this?

[Horse]

At Nuggets last seminar he mentioned that he uses 15lb off the beach when chasing Jew. A lot better to cast with and a lot less wave and sweep influence. If you have tried to break 15lb mono through a 13'6" rod you will realise that it is probably about as much as is needed

Neil

[Pistol_P]

A good compromise is to run 20lb mono......with about a rod length of 30lb mono as shock leader..as its handy when casting out big slab baits and a heavy sinker.

Freshly caught Squid was always my preference on the beach with tailor and mullet fillets being my second choice.

Pete

[Fishmatics]

Hi Ben

All of the above methods work and you can also catch Jews on metal lures, 60g should be ok.

Cast as far out as you can and let the lure drop to the sand, then retrieve in a short jerk motion so that the lure looks like a bait fish feeding on the bottom. It is very important that the lure scrapes along the bottom. Sometimes you will catch a jew just beyond the shoreline. For obvious reason only use this method on sandy bottoms.

This method can also be used at night with a white painted metal lure.

The upside is that you catch some tailor whilst your trying for that elusive jew.

Good Luck
Andrew