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How to Catch Mangrove Jack on Lures

For many anglers mangrove jack are a bucket list species, while for others they are an addiction that drives them to spend hours on the water, throwing hundreds of casts, driven by that brutal and explosive strike, followed by a white knuckle battle that is sometimes won and sometimes ends abruptly with shredded leaders and a moment of silence. The precision casting, the brutal strike, the speed and power and that awesome red fish with its dog like teeth, landed, photographed and then sent back to terrorise other anglers.

When & Where

Mangrove jack are generally found from the central coast of Western Australia, around the tropical north and south to the central coast of NSW. They are a greenish brown to reddish in appearance and juvenile fish often feature pale bars on their sides and bright blue lines on their cheeks. They inhabit creek and estuary systems, even up into the freshwater reaches, moving to offshore structure up to 100m deep as they reach larger sizes. Larger fish can also be encountered in creek and estuary systems that have plenty of structure and abundant food. The Gold Coast in QLD for example is recognised as a big fish destination, with its myriad of canal systems, pontoons, rock walls and abundant baitfish that mangrove jack feed on.

Mangrove jack are a tropical species and a more commonly caught in numbers in the northern parts of the country, while the further you move south it seems the more casts between fish, however larger fish seem to be caught more regularly by jack enthusiasts. Fish are commonly caught from 25-40cm, with a fish over 45cm considered a quality capture, 50cm a target for many anglers and the hardcore jack anglers often set 60cm as the holy grail for creek and estuary systems. The frightening thing is that different websites talk about maximum lengths of 120-150cm for reef jacks... and we would all have no lures left if those guys decided to hang around in the creeks and estuaries! It'd be fun trying though ;)

Mangrove jack are caught year round in the north, while around their southern limits spring and summer are the preferred times to target jacks, with anglers generally opting to chase other species throughout the cooler winter months. Being a structure based, ambush predator, both manmade and natural structure can be the key to locating jacks, especially if there is plenty of bait and some water movement.

In the north it's predominantly mangrove snags, rock bars, rock walls, laydown timber, snag piles, logs and drains, while for southern anglers it's a mix of the aforementioned, along with the manmade structure that population density brings, including canal developments, pontoons, moored boats, stormwater pipes and so forth.

Gearing Up

When it comes to rods, reels, lines and leaders it's often a balance between gear that is comfortable to cast all day, while enjoying the tussle with a variety of by-catch species, to putting the brakes on an angry red dog. Like with most species, in areas where smaller by-catch and smaller jacks are common you may wish to lighten up the gear, while in areas where big fish are common and the by-catch also includes trevally and other hard pulling species, you may wish to up the ratings on the combo and the line and leader.

Many anglers in the north chase mangrove jack on light spin combos, with 10lb braid and 20lb leader a common starting point when targeting natural structure, while others opt for 20lb braid and 20-40lb leader, especially when the structure becomes less forgiving and covered in marine growth, or when targeting larger fish with the chance of larger by-catch, including barramundi. A quality hi-vis braid is often preferred, such as Platypus P8 or Platinum Plus, as it assists with line visibility when casting and fighting fish around structure. A quality fluorocarbon leader, such as Platypus Stealth, will be less visible in the water, while also sinking to stay in touch better with your lure and offering increased abrasion resistance. Some anglers opt for a monofilament leader when fishing surface lures as it doesn't have the rapid sink of fluorocarbon leader, in turn not dragging your surface presentation down when worked.

Here's a few medium weight spin options to get you started -

Good
Okuma Ceymar C-S-702M 7' 6-14lb spin rod and Okuma Alaris ALS-30 spinning reel.

Better
Okuma Cerros CER-S-701M 7' 3-6kg spin rod and Okuma Epixor EPXT-30 spinning reel.

Best
Okuma Helios HS-S-701M 7' 3-6kg spin rod and Okuma Helios SX HSX-30 spinning reel.

Baitcast combos are also a popular option for anglers chasing mangrove jack -

Good
Okuma Ceymar C-C-661H 6'6" 5-8kg baitcast rod and Okuma Ceymar baitcast reel.

Better
Okuma Cerros CER-C-661MH 6'6" 4-8kg baitcast rod and Okuma Cerros baitcast reel.

Best
Okuma Komodo KM-C-661MH 6'6" 6-8kg baitcast rod and Okuma KomodoKDS-273 baitcast reel.

Lure Selection

When it comes to soft plastic selection for mangrove jack, there is no doubt that paddle tail plastics dominate the catch rate and it's no surprise with mullet, herring and other baitfish at the top of the menu for this aggressive ambush predator. Other plastics that appeal to mangrove jack include curl tails, crustaceans and frogs. Let's take a look at each in more detail.

Paddle Tails
Paddle tails imitate the baitfish that mangrove jack feed on and thanks to their 10X tough construction and super-soft and flexible realistic feel, ZMan paddle tails have become a favourite on jacks. Go-to paddle tails include ZMan 3" MinnowZ, 3" Slim SwimZ, 3.5" Trick SwimZ, 4" DieZel MinnowZ and 4" SwimmerZ. Rig with any of these and you are giving yourself a great chance of triggering a strike.

When fishing pontoons anglers will often rig the paddle tail on a 1/4oz, 3/8oz or 1/2oz jighead, for accurate casts, especially in windy conditions, and for a steady retrieve that encourages an instinctive, reaction bite from the fish. The idea is to run the plastic tight to the edge of the pontoon and below the underside to draw jacks out that are feeding and ambushing prey underneath. This same setup can also then be used to fish marinas, boat hulls, rock walls and fished along the edges of bridge pylons. Remember, mangrove jack will generally be holding close to structure and shadowy pockets, so get your lure right in there to maximise your chances.

These same setups can also then be used for targeting snag piles, rock bars and laydown timber in the deeper sections of rivers, creeks and estuaries, where jack often hold. These snags will often produce more often and better quality fish if there is water movement around them, creating eddies and pressure points. The nastier the structure the more important it is to have weedless jigheads in your kit, such as the TT Lures SnakelockZ jigheads, as these allow you to fish your plastic through and over structure with minimal chance of snagging or fouling. This makes it possible to fish plastics in places where you would never throw a traditional hard body or vibe.

As you move further north and jacks become more plentiful, they also tend to feed around shallower structure, drains and mangrove edges, so it's important to have a selection of the aforementioned jighead weights in your kit, along with some lighter options, including 1/12oz, 1/8oz and 1/6oz. The same plastics will attract the strikes and it's all about getting that plastic tight to structure, where you can mix up your retrieve from an immediate slow roll or twitching and winding, to allowing the lure to sink deeper in the snag where it will often be inhaled on the drop (sink) or when you begin to hop it out of the snag.

Don't discount a single log or stick on the flats as these are often an oasis in the desert for fish, attracting bait and in turn predators. When fishing with a mate in north QLD we have hooked up to five jacks from a single log on a flat near a creek mouth.

There is another paddle tail that we call into play when mangrove jack are harassing tiny prawns and small bait in the mouths of drains and that is the ZMan 2.5" Slim SwimZ. This smaller finesse profile seems to better match the hatch and rather than spooking fish, when it lands in the mouth of the shallow drain, it is generally smashed almost immediately. This smaller plastic is generally rigged weedless on a 1/12, 1/8 or 1/6oz TT Lures SnakelockZ Finesse jighead in a #2, so don't be too brutal with the drag when fishing this light wire option.

Curl Tails
For those that prefer a curl tail plastic over a paddle tail, there is no reason that these won't work, using similar rigging and techniques. Curl tails in the ZMan range that produce on mangrove jack include 3.5" GrubZ and 4" and 5" StreakZ Curly TailZ.

Crustaceans
When it comes to crustaceans, it's the prawn imitations that dominate the mangrove jack captures. A well-presented ZMan 3.5" EZ ShrimpZ or 3" Scented ShrimpZ is hard for a jack to resist, especially if there are prawns in the system being fished. Everything eats a prawn and prawns love holding around structure where jacks love to feed. The ZMan 4" Turbo CrawZ has also claimed its fair share of mangrove jack, fished both sub-surface around structure and also buzzed across the surface on a TT Lures ChinlockZ or ChinlockZ SWS jighead.

Our aim is again to match the hatch and prawns generally move and glide slowly or flick when they are fleeing. When fishing deeper, with heavier jigheads, the aim is to get the ShrimpZ down around deeper structure and fish it with twitches and pauses. When fishing shallower snags the ShrimpZ is fished on a lighter jighead or virtually unweighted and allowed to drift and glide into the snag. In this situation it is often eaten on the drop (sink) and you need to be ready for the battle. If it is not eaten on the drop, then a few twitches and flicks, followed by a pause and repeat, should see the ShrimpZ gliding and flicking in around the structure. Weedless jigheads are again a good option if fishing heavy cover, with the TT Lures ChinlockZ unweighted jighead, ChinlockZ SWS belly weighted jighead and SnakelockZ head weighted jighead all popular for rigging and fishing ShrimpZ.

ShrimpZ have also been effective on some quality jacks fished under pontoons on a ChinlockZ unweighted, weedless jighead. Using the movement of the water, allow the unweighted ShrimpZ to be sucked under the edge of the pontoon and drift along its length, just below the snaggy marine growth on its underside. You may need to have the top section of the rod in the water to drift the ShrimpZ along the underside and definitely to get the fish out once hooked. Ensure you give the rod a good wash down after the session.

FrogZ
A deadly surface presentation, especially in the north, the ZMan 2.75" Finesse FrogZ has been a game changer in terms of surface soft plastics. Its bite size profile drives jacks crazy, when combined with the lively paddle foot action that creates a bubbling and gurgling sound, water movement and a bubble trail. For surface fishing the 2.75" Finesse FrogZ is rigged on a 2/0 TT Lures ChinlockZ or 1/12oz 2/0 ChinlockZ SWS if you require additional weight for casting, especially in windy conditions, and if you wish to sink the plastic into a snag or back to a fish that misses a surface strike. FrogZ can also be rigged and fished sub-surface to mix things up and show the fish something different.

Lure Colour

When it comes to mangrove jack, anglers commonly opt for lighter, natural baitfish colours in clear water and brighter conditions and darker silhouette colours for dirty water and darker conditions. When it comes to ZMan plastics that includes Pearl Blue Glimmer, Opening Night, Green Lantern, Bad Shad, Pinfish, Houdini and Smokey Shad for example for clear water and bright conditions. For dirty water and dark conditions, opt for a darker, silhouette colour and glitter can also add some flash and catch the available sunlight, these may include Midnight Oil, Motor Oil, New Penny, Gold Rush, Redfish Toad, The Wright Stuff, Golden Boy and Red Shad.

Fluoro colours also have their place, especially in the northern part of the country where there are larger numbers of fish and hence more competition for food, with Sexy Mullet, Sexy Penny, Glow Chartreuse and Pink Glow proven producers.

If you could only have one colour in your kit though it would be Pearl. For some reason this colour produces the bite day or night and clean or dirty water, making it a must have in your jack kit.

Jigheads

When it comes to jigheads for jacks it's all about stopping power and TT Lures have built a solid reputation for handling Australia's largest and most powerful fish species, with a comprehensive range of standard and weedless options, built on the world's finest quality hooks.

HeadlockZ HD - The go-to jighead for targeting mangrove jack is the range TT Lures HeadlockZ HD jigheads, based on their comprehensive range of weights and hook sizes, brutally strong Mustad black nickel, chemically sharpened hooks and 'head lock' keeper designed to lock your soft plastic in place. It would be safe to say that in recent times more jacks have been stopped on HeadlockZ HD jigheads than any other standard jighead, with the chemically sharpened hook providing penetration, while the XH (extra heavy) wire hooks can handle brutal strikes, tough fights and heavy drag settings. Jighead weights from 1/8oz - 1/2oz are commonly carried in hook sizes to suit your go-to plastics, commonly from 3/0, 4/0 and 5/0, with anglers presenting smaller plastics including a few 1/0 and 2/0's in their kit.

Weedless Rigging

With jacks being so structure orientated it is no surprise that weedless rigging soft plastics has become extremely popular and seen an increase in the number of fish landed. TT Lures have revolutionised weedless rigging with the comprehensive range of ChinlockZ, ChinlockZ SWS and SnakelockZ jigheads making weedless rigging simpler for anglers and more effective in terms of securing plastics on the jighead. Combine these jigheads with the super-soft and flexible, 10X Tough ZMan ElaZtech plastics and you have the ultimate weedless rigging system as the plastic are softer and more flexible, hence they clear the hook much more easily when a fish strikes, increasing the hook up rate of your weedless presentation, while also being 10X Tough, allowing them to be rigged over and over again, rather than being torn and impossible to rig after one fish.

ChinlockZ

Featuring TT Lures 'chin lock' keeper to make weedless rigging quick and easy, while securing the soft plastic in place, ChinlockZ are unweighted making them ideal for rigging plastics to fish the surface or on a dead slow sink. In a 2/0 size this is the go-to for many anglers buzzing the ZMan 2.75" Finesse FrogZ across the surface, while a 3/0 is popular for surface fishing plastics such as the ZMan 3" MinnowZ or 4" Turbo CrawZ.

ChinlockZ SWS

The SWS in ChinlockZ SWS stands for Snagless Weight System and that is based on the belly weight that is moulded onto the bottom of the curve of the hook, keeling the plastic and providing a slow, natural, horizontal sink. ChinlockZ SWS are dynamite for slow sinking plastics into heavy structure, while also providing increased weight for casting over and through structure, buzzing FrogZ in windy conditions or when long casts are required and keeling paddle tail plastics to control the torque of the tail when fishing them on or near the surface.

The ChinlockZ SWS is extremely popular in the north where jacks tend to hold and eat higher in the water column and in shallower water. A ZMan 3.5" EZ ShrimpZ, 3" MinnowZ or 4" DieZel MinnowZ sunk slowly into structure is a sitting duck for a mangrove jack waiting in ambush. Anglers will often carry a selection of sizes, including 2/0 for ZMan 2.75" Finesse FrogZ, 3/0 for a variety of plastics, including 3.5" EZ ShrimpZ, 3" MinnowZ and 4" Turbo CrawZ, and 4/0 for 4" DieZel MinnowZ, SwimmerZ and Pop FrogZ.

SnakelockZ

TT Lures SnakelockZ have become the most popular weedless jighead option for anglers chasing mangrove jack around structure, thanks to their comprehensive range of interchangeable ChinlockZ hooks and clip on weighted heads. This design allows plenty of lure action as the free-swinging front weight is attached via a stainless steel through wire clip that has been tested to 75lb. The hook features the 'chin lock' keeper to lock your soft plastic in place, so lock it on and you are ready to fish the gnarly stuff.

Anglers often carry a tray of head weights and hooks, allowing them to mix and match 2/0, 3/0, 4/0, 5/0, 6/0 and 8/0 hook sizes with 1/12oz, 1/8oz, 1/6oz, 1/4oz, 3/8oz and 1/2oz weights, based on their requirements. Select the hook to suit your soft plastic selection and the weight required to get it into the strike zone, clip it together and catch jacks. You can find a guide to matching your weedless hook sizes with your favourite ZMan soft plastics at - http://tackletactics.com.au/Rigging-Guides/Selecting-a-TT-Lures-Weedless-Jighead-for-your-ZMan-Plastic

SnakelockZ Finesse, a light wire version of the SnakelockZ, are also available and although not designed for targeting fish on heavier line classes and with heavier drag settings, we have done well on the northern jacks fishing them on a light combo with 10lb braid. The reason we fish the SnakelockZ Finesse is that we are targeting jacks in the mouths of drains feeding on tiny prawns. We rig a ZMan 2.5" Slim SwimZ on a 1/12oz, 1/8oz or 1/6oz #2 SnakelockZ Finesse, flick it up into the mouths of the drains and the jacks can't resist this tiny presentation that matches the hatch.

Other Lures

Soft plastics and especially weedless rigged soft plastics now dominate the mangrove jack captures in many regions, however Bagley and Fish Inc. also offer a few other jack options.

Fish Inc. Lures 80mm Fly Half popper is described as 'small but fearless' with its heavy duty ABS construction, through wire design, heavy duty Owner trebles and dazzling array of finishes. It also has a unique keeled belly design that allows it to be popped subtly, blooped more aggressively or fished with a walk the dog retrieve. It is an extremely versatile surface option and more importantly it is built to handle mangrove jack. A good one to have in your kit if jacks feed on the surface where you fish.

Bagley offer a few diving options, including the Minnow B 05 that is ideal for fishing over shallow structure and rock bars, working mangrove edges and running beside pontoons, along with the deeper diving Rumble B 09 and 11, which have proven deadly in the north, fished with a twitchy and paused retrieve. Bagley also offer the Deep Diving Shad 07, which is a smaller, herring shaped profile that has also proven effective crash diving snags and mangrove edges.

Another walk the dog style option is the Bagley Rattlin' Finger Mullet 09 and 11, described by many as the easiest lure to walk they have ever used. They feature a low rattle and an action that draws fish to the lure and like the rest of the Bagley range are available in some favourite jack colours, including Copper Mullet and Gold.

Again it's important to select the weapons that are suitable for the structure and region that you are fishing. Hard body lures have their place, however if you're new to jack fishing it's hard to go past a weedless rigged ZMan 10X Tough plastic, especially when targeting the structure that jacks call home.

Scent

When targeting mangrove jack it's generally a brutal strike rather than a few taps and scent is less essential. In saying that when fishing north QLD I have had jacks follow plastics multiple times before deciding to eat them, or striking a plastic multiple times and so I always scent my plastics regardless of target species. The other reason that I always scent my plastics is because I am always looking to maximise my chances of catching fish and that includes the myriad of by-catch species that can be encountered while targeting jacks.

Without doubt my favourite Pro-Cure Super Gel flavours for mangrove jack and their associated by-catch are Mullet, Pilchard / Sardine and Bloody Tuna, however I'm sure other anglers have their own favourites. Pro-Cure combines the best of the laboratory science with real ground bait, including powerful amino acids, bite stimulants and UV enhancement in a super-sticky gel formula. Add a little scent to each side of the head of the plastic and smear it right down to the tail, every 30 or so. Pro-Cure is also ideal for all other lure types.

Land Based Tips

Mangrove jack are often caught when fishing land based and it's generally about finding that suitable structure that is accessible from shore. Google Maps can help you out to a degree, however those that consistently catch jacks land based are putting in the miles on foot to locate prime structure, often in proximity to deeper water, with plenty of water movement creating pressure points and eddies that attract bait and allow the jacks to position themselves ready to ambush.

Land based starting points include bridges and accessible pontoons, boat ramps and jetties with plenty of marine growth, marinas (that you are allowed to fish), rock bars and snag piles. It's then a matter of fishing these snags on a variety of tides and moon phases to see if you can crack a pattern or at least land a couple. The positive is that you will often catch a stack of other species around this prime structure that, depending on where you are fishing, could include flathead, trevally, mulloway, salmon, fingermark and barramundi.

Landing & Handling

Jacks are an impressive fish that many anglers say are 'too good to catch just once' and they choose to release them, especially in the southern half of their distribution where they are caught in lesser numbers. If you plan on releasing the fish it's important to handle them with care, remembering their spikes on the fins and anal fin, sharp gill plates and their teeth... that come with powerful jaws.

A landing net makes landing them simpler and a wet cloth and lip grips make handling them easier. A wet hand and lip grips is ideal for holding them up for a quality photo. Mangrove jack are a quality and popular table fish, especially in the northern parts of the country where the numbers are greater. Remember to check your local size, bag and possession limits if keeping fish for a feed.

Hopefully there's a few tips in there that assist you to crack your first jack, a new PB or get stuck into a few more. Mangrove jack are an iconic, highly regarded sportfish that are sure to test your patience, your skill and your gear. Check out the mangrove jack opportunities in your region or on your next travel adventure, gear up for some epic battles and get on the hunt for the prime structure.

All the best with the fishing.
Justin Willmer