Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Beach-Rock-Land-Based » Monster Beach Mulloway on Soft Plastics

Monster Beach Mulloway on Soft Plastics

By Cameron Cronin

Many moons ago Cameron Cronin shared with us an incredible story of his PB mulloway, and you can still read the story of that 140cm fish by searching ‘Cameron Cronin Jewfish of a Lifetime’ or find it in the ‘Tips & Techniques’ section of our website under ‘Bay & Harbour’. It seems that years later Cameron has topped that incredible PB and blown-up fishing socials with the photo of the monster fish. Here’s the story behind the PB. Fish on!

If I had to put my finger on why mulloway have such a universal appeal in the southern half of Australia, I think it would come down to a unique combination of both accessibility and illusiveness. If you live anywhere near salt water, regardless of whether you are shore bound or boat based, you will have access to some sort of mulloway fishing.

Regardless of how you fish, mulloway are challenging, fickle and perpetually frustrating targets, yet at the same time, it is universally recognised that those who are willing to dedicate their time to the pursuit of these fish will eventually be rewarded. For most, this comes in the form of increased consistency and a gradually increasing personal best. However, I think that one of the greatest things about mulloway is that as long as you are fishing, there is always that ever present hope that the fish of a lifetime might only be a cast away. This captivates anglers regardless of skill level or experience.

During my early years of targeting this fish, I was fortunate enough to have my ticket to the mulloway lottery go off early, with a respectable 140cm fish caught off the bank on plastic, from a local Sydney estuary. However, since that point, despite accumulating numerous fish just shy of this mark, this would remain the benchmark that I would endeavour to better for many years.

Fast forward to 2023 and it was with that long term goal ever present in the back of my mind, that I found myself on the road enroute to one of my local beaches. It was a Sunday afternoon, and after a morning of errands, a short wind and swell window had aligned with a usually productive tide, resulting in a set of conditions too good to ignore. The only issue was that, given I had not fished this beach for a significant amount of time, I had no idea where the best gutters would be located, or even if the beach formations would be suitable for mulloway at all. In any case, with the sun rapidly lowering on the horizon, I knew I’d need to waste no time selecting a spot before the best bite time began.

Arriving at the beach, my adrenaline peaked as I scanned the rolling breakers. Rarely did the conditions align so perfectly, and even less did they actually play out the way the forecast suggested. With unusually high hopes, I quickly set off toward the section of the beach where the best gutters should be located. One of the challenges of fishing for mulloway off the sand is the ever-changing nature of the beach. If you found the perfect gutter the week before, you could very easily return the next week to find shifting sands have transformed it into little more than a knee-deep sandbank. Unfortunately for me, this exact scene had unfolded once I reached my destination, and I was forced to make a snap decision to begin heading away from my usual area of choice.

Continuing I spotted a gutter in the distance that caught my eye. It was rather narrow and unassuming at first glance, however the lack of wave action close to shore suggested it was unusually deep for a formation of this size. Just as I began to zero in on the spot, I realised another angler was headed toward the same gutter from the other direction. As luck would have it, we ended up crossing paths directly in front of the gutter. After a brief chat, and quickly realising that we both had the same plans, we agreed to share the gutter and began to set up our respective rigs.

As my newfound companion began to assemble a two-hook rig, fitted with bunched up beach worms, I opted for my usual favourite beach mulloway presentation, a ZMan 6” SwimmerZ in Sexy Mullet colour rigged on a 1oz 8/0 TT HeadlockZ HD jighead, tied to 60lb Platypus Hard Armour Leader and attached to a 30lb Platypus Pulse X8 Braid mainline. Casting my plastic beside such a time proven beach mulloway bait didn’t exactly fill me with hope, however given luring mulloway off the sand is often characterised by numerous fishless sessions, I was interested to see if a change of techniques might reveal any fish that I wasn’t able to catch with lures.

Within ten minutes of casting, a shower of mullet caught my attention at the edge of casting range. A quick cast, fired out in response, was immediately met with an aggressive bite, and within moments I had a large tailor flapping about on the sand. I gave this fish to my companion and promptly resumed casting towards the disturbed school of mullet. With the weather conditions remaining ideal until dusk, and with such an abundance of bait, this was enough to trigger a decision to remain here for the next few hours and fish into dark.

Thirty minutes later my methodical slow roll just under the surface was violently interrupted by a jarring strike. Certain this fish was a mulloway, I slowly coaxed it into the shallower part of the gutter, and it wasn’t long before a nice fish of a little under a metre was resting on the sand at my feet. With the session already a success, I barely had time to settle back into my routine when a little over twenty minutes later the SwimmerZ was nailed again, this time by a legal sized school fish that put up a spirited account of itself, despite its size.

Not long had passed and the sun began to dip below the horizon, my co-angler wound in his baits and began to pack up his gear. After little action on the beach worms, apart from some sizeable whiting, he had decided to call it quits. I moved over to his part of the gutter to say goodbye and as we spoke, I continued to cast. Just as he turned to leave, the SwimmerZ was inhaled as it rolled through the shallows, sending a sharp jolt up through the braid.

I slammed the hook home and the fish hardly reacted, gently cruising back toward my position, seemingly unaware of its predicament. I initially had it pegged for another school fish, before it suddenly stopped in its tracks, completely loading up the rod, yet refusing to budge from its position. In that moment, both the fish and I instantly realised the seriousness of the situation.

Within a blink the unseen mulloway accelerated seaward at full speed, stripping nearly 100 metres of line, as it powered straight through the shallows at the back of the gutter and out past the breakers. Settling into the fight, I felt strangely calm. I’d lost some very large fish in harsh terrain in recent times, however given the lack of structure on the beach, all I had to do was keep this fish pinned and it shouldn’t be long before I’d be able to have a shot at landing it.

This was easier said than done, with the unseen fish settling into a holding pattern just beyond the back of the breakers and refusing to budge. Conscious of sharks, I kept the pressure on and fortunately it wasn’t long before a large set materialised and swept the fish back into the inside of the gutter.

Taking a different course of action, the fish responded with a barrage of angry headshakes and began to run parallel to the shore. I grimaced as the braid briefly clipped the sand at the edge of the steep drop off, before coming free and giving way to another powerful run. Following the fish down the beach, I began to gradually lead it away from the current of the gutter and into the nearby shallows.

It was at this point that, in the unbroken face of a wave, I first managed a glimpse of the fish that had taken the lure. Time seemed to freeze as the afternoon sun illuminated the pearls of its lateral line and a deep yellow tail, the size of a dinner plate, as it sliced through the surface. The wave then collapsed, and chaos resumed as the fish powered through the white water and back out to sea.

My heartbeat quickened as I realised that this was the fish I had been chasing, and instinctively I backed off my drag as the fish thrashed around in the shore break. Sensing the fish beginning to tire, I started to size up my landing options. Due to the extremely steep, eroded bank that I was fishing from, I’d need to pick the perfect wave to bring it to within grabbing range, before the receding water would carry it back down again.

After a few failed attempts, the fish had finally had enough and began to float onto its side in surrender. Eyeing up a large set wave, the fish disappeared under a foaming mass of white water and was carried landward, before laying to rest precariously on the sand at the water’s edge. What happened next was a blur of adrenaline as the fish was hauled free of the shore dump and away from the surging waves.

Laying the fish to rest on a brag mat, it was clear that my long-standing goal had been eclipsed. Coming in at 145cm, I was over the moon to finally have my chance to hold another fish of this size. After considering releasing the fish with a tag, it was clear that due to the powerful shore dump, I wouldn’t be able to safely spend the time in the water required to swim the fish back to health, and the decision was made to take the fish home.

Although I’m hopeful that my next win in the mulloway lottery won’t require such a wait, it’s served as a personal reminder that if you dedicate enough time to the type of fishing you love, you never know which lazy Sunday afternoon session might produce the fish that you’ve been chasing all these years.

Thanks for reading and happy fishing,
Cam

Gearing Up:

Platypus Pulse X8 Braid - 30lb
Platypus Hard Armour Leader - 60lb Tough
ZMan 6" SwimmerZ - Sexy Mullet
TT HeadlockZ HD Jighead - 1oz 8/0