More Iluka Jewies - Friday - last Week

[Mullet Musketeer]

Friday

The weather was getting better and on Friday morning the rain had stopped and the wind had dropped. There was virtually no swell so again, I decided to fish at Middle Bluff at Iluka. This time I walked out to the rocks just as the sun was beginning to glow behind the horizon, at around 5.45am. The wind was light from the south east.

I started with a soft plastic on a 3/8 oz 4/0 hook jighead - the GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad in the lime tiger colour. This plastic has a forked tail that curls in at the ends. The tail creates a flutter effect as it sinks and most fish find it hard to resist. I put in a couple of casts and on the third, a fish hit the lure very close in. It was still pretty dark but after a short fight I had a 55cm Jewfish at my feet. Things looked promising.

I cast the same plastic back out, after straightening it on the jighead. It was smashed before it hit the bottom and a solid fish started heading out to sea with it. It was a slow and rhythmic run and it took around twenty metres of line before it paused, then set off again. On the next pause I tried to get some line back but it immediately set off again. I tightened the drag and then it started to swim back towards me. I took up slack as fast as I could but the fish had now got the line round something on the bottom – there was a bit of see-sawing back and forth and then the line snapped.

I re – rigged with the same set up and cast the soft plastic back out. Things went quiet for a while and then at about 6.30 am I got a couple of touches, very close to the base of the rocks. I then got snagged and lost the jighead. I swapped to a Jerkshad in the satay chicken colour and slowed the retrieve right down. After a few more casts I had another fish on. This time it was a smaller Jewfish around 48cm. I threw it in the keeper pool.

I fished on for a couple of hours and caught another two Jewfish of a similair size. At around 9.00 am I stopped and cleaned the fish. It had been a great session fishing from the rocks in Northern New South Wales.

For more pictures and fishing stories visit the Landangler blog at http://landangler.wordpress.com/

[BLOOEY]

Slaying the soapies down there mm. What are your thoughts on legal size for them in nsw. Ben

[Mullet Musketeer]

I understand the rules and the need to manage the fishery but the very limited research available suggests land based, recreational anglers, using rod and line, have an unmeasurably small impact on fish stocks along our whole coastline.

I think it is pretty tough to catch a Jew, without a boat, in both NSW and QLD. I also think your chances of landing a Jew bigger than 65cm are not that good when your fishing from the rocks.

For all these reasons I think we should have a 50 cm x 5 fish limit for land based anglers in both states. And I think there should be different size limits for land based anglers and boaties.

My other observation would be with twelve trawlers going up and down off Iluka every night last week. And fish co-op full of Jewfish, surely what they are doing to fish stocks needs to be addressed before we fiddle with us land based and rec fisho's.

Thats my view - always open to feedback or informative comment

[greenie.77]

That makes sense, although I do like the 65cm limit in QLD....anything to help these fish get bigger b4 they are taken (not having a go at you, what you did is fine)