Jacks in the Maroochy River.

[MagicRik]

Ive never been able to target Jacks, but now im in maroochydore i can.
Ive just got one or two questions thou.
Where would be a good place to start looking for jacks?
What tackle will i need to land one. eg. Rod, reel, line, leader, hook/JH size.
What would i catch them with? bait or SP's
Also im land based at the moment.

ok thats a little more then two question
any info at all would be a great help

Thanks Rik

[snakecatcher]

There are Jacks in the Maroochy but few and far between and your land based options are limited. You could try the Cod Hole which is under/next to the motorway bridge as there have been Jacks caught there but unless you have access to a boat your chances are probably slim.

SP's and hard bodies lures are both good options as is a well presented live bait (herring / mullet / prawn) you will need so beef up the tackle as they are scrappy fighters and will bust you off the first chance they get - 20-30lb mono leader with 15lb braid will do the trick.

On a final note Jacks are really a summer target.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Mike

[finding_time]

MagicRik

If you look in your UBD you will see an old sugar cane railway bridge a fair way up the river, i'm not sure which way you would get to the bridge from land as i always use a boat but there a always fisherman on the bridge so it can be done. This bridge would be a very good place to start with either plastics or livies. Also abit further upstream at Dunnithan rocks ( vey unsure of spelling) there are a couple of spots on the river there.

If you get a boat try petrie creek or coolum creek, although the jack are more active in summer they can be caught in winter. Happy hunting!

Ian

[MagicRik]

thanks Ian can i ask, the bridge your talking about, is the road that runs on it called River road running off yanina coolum road?

[finding_time]

MagicRik

Try map 47 in the ubd ref Q 18 the bridge is near river store road and shown as dots. Also the dunethin rocks area is accessed from lake dunethin rd map 47 H 15

The bridge on River road where it crosses Coolum creek( Map 48 K 11) is a very likely area but i haven't had success there but haven't really given it a big work over.

hope this helps

Ian

[snakecatcher]

I have just thought of another place you could try - at the very end of Stoney Wharf Rd (Bli Bli) there is a mud boat ramp which isn't used very much which will give you casting access to a section of the mangroves.

Also I recall reading in the paper that a section of the cane railway bridge had collapsed so it may not be accessible any longer - can't find anything on the web about it though. It wouldn't hurt to go and take a look.

Good luck

[MagicRik]

Thanks guys......now ive got a starting point at leased