Finally, a legal jewie

[Chamelion]

Hi there,

Warning: Long winded post... skip to the pictures if you're not interested in a blow by blow.

Have wanted to catch a legal jewie for over a decade but only put the hard yards into making it happen the last year. I caught a few smaller ones last winter on soft plastics and recently decided to concede to using bait to make it happen.

A couple of outings ago I tried a new spot which saw me land my first jewie in months, so I tried again the other night and the night after that without success. (I've been crook and couldn't sleep, so I figured I may as well go sit down by the river)

Last night I had intended to meet up with Lapras to chase jewies in the surf but as I'm still not quite over the flu I decided not to share it with him. I couldn't sleep again so decided to make my way back down to this new spot and try my luck.
I set three lines, one with a live biddy, one with a chunk of prawn and the third with a dead poddy mullet.
Not much was happening but about two hours later (around 1am) something was starting to play with the dead mullet. I had the drag set super loose and about ten minutes later something ripped off a couple of meters of line, so I picked up the rod. A few moments later it ran again, this time going about ten meters.. I quickly tightened the drag, felt the fish start to move again, lowered the rod tip in time with it and then struck and made a solid hookup.
The fish fought well, but I was never in any real danger of losing it due to the 4-8kg/20lb outfit I was using, but the knees were knocking a bit and I knew it was going to be my PB even if it wasn't legal.
The fight lasted a few minutes before I slid it up onto the sand only to be greeted by a massive knot as the fish had tangled my mother two lines... Oh well.

Things went downhill from there.. I had to re-rig all 3 outfits and as I was doing outfit number one my 30lb leaders 'packet' popped open making a huge mess of line. I couldn't untangle it and had to throw away about $10 worth of leader... As I finished tying my hook/trace to my swivel I went to move the rod only to find the hook had dangled it's way to the underside of my #####... thank christ I didn't move the rod with more haste or I'd have been in a real pickle.

It was very quiet for the remainder.... A mate driving past saw my car and stopped in for a chat, after that I left for home. The fish wouldn't fit in the fridge whole, so it's in the esky on ice until I slide some fillets off it.

Does anyone have some good jewie recipes?

[bennykenny]

nice one chamelion, the jewies are great to catch arnt they, and they taste great too. the only thing better would have been to share it with a mate, but you got the pics, awesome. bet you cant wait to do it again. cheers BK

[Fish_gutz]

Nice Jewie Chamelion , makes it all worth while when you put in the effort.
I cook most of mine in egg and cornflake crumbs. the kids seem to eat more when it`s done that way but if it`s snapper it`s straight on the barby plate with a pinch of salt and pepper and a little squeeze of lime . cheers Andrew

[tailorboi99]

Congratulations, that's a good sized Jewie. Oh, and you look happy as a man can be in that second picture, I'm sure you're going to frame it and put it on top of the fireplace .

[trymyluck]

Always good to have a win mate, are they a good size for eating at that size? The bigger ones tend to be a bit strong imo. Does anyone know why they call them soapie jew down south up to around that size?. Is it taste or something else.

Mark

[whatscracken]

Good work mate.

[Hornblower]

Congratulations, mate, well done and it was a well written post as well describing the event. Keep us up to date with how you go as you progress to bigger and better fish.

Cheers,

Craig

[Chamelion]

Congratulations, that's a good sized Jewie. Oh, and you look happy as a man can be in that second picture, I'm sure you're going to frame it and put it on top of the fireplace .

Perhaps if I had a fireplace.

Always good to have a win mate, are they a good size for eating at that size? The bigger ones tend to be a bit strong imo. Does anyone know why they call them soapie jew down south up to around that size?. Is it taste or something else.

Mark

I'm not a big fish eater.. I tend to return 99% of what I catch but have heard so much good about the eating qualities of jewfish that I couldn't resist giving one a go. With that I have to confess, it was the most delicious fish I have ever eaten. I tried a bit that I cooked in the sandwhich press (half fries, half bakes) and had the rest battered.

Word is they call them soapies because when small (under 50cm I've read) they taste like soap... This one was nothing of the sort. It's fishy flavour was very mild, the texture was soft and moist. I really cannot fault it.... Thanks be to the government for raising the legal size to 75cm. Hopefully that means we see more and more getting around in the river.

Just awesome... great fight, great tasting... What a fish.

[sleepygreg]

Well done Matt. Congratulations on your first legal jewie. The term 'soapy' was used to refer to the soft nature of the flesh in fish under about 60cm. That size you have there is the perfect eating size.

Cheers
Greg

[Chamelion]

I better clarify.. the hook I refer to was hanging in such a spot the point was 3/4 up my doodle and when I went to move the rod I felt the point good and proper... ouch.

[trymyluck]

Caught heaps of smaller ones as a kid, never kept any of them as the old man used to fish for them quite a bit, smallest I can remember him bringing home was around 20lb. Most were between 30 and 50lb.
My wife caught 1 around 40lb on Stockton Beach years ago while we were fishing for Tailor. We kept it but in future will probably try and release. We ended up giving most away as we did not like the taste as it is strong. Although 1 around that size may be worth trying. Strange how things change. We used to catch large bream and think nothing of keeping them, at a guess they would have been around 50 to 55 cm, we never measured fish, just weighed them. P.B = 5.25lb.
Now would probably release them.
Mark

[Mossy247]

awesome catch mate. Well done. Wish it was me.... LoL

[Lapras]

Matt,

Congratulations, now you just need to get your feet wet and get one from the beach!

Maybe in a couple of weeks?

Dave

[Chamelion]

Matt,

Congratulations, now you just need to get your feet wet and get one from the beach!

Maybe in a couple of weeks?

Dave

Definitely

[Mexikan]

Nice one Chamo! Looks like your into them again.
Still fishing Maroochy???
Mex