Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Saltwater-Estuary » Estuary Cod & Jacks

Estuary Cod & Jacks

By Andrew Schrodter

Hey team, I thought I'd jump in and talk about the not so elusive Cod (Estuary Cod).

Having a small tinny as opposed to my previous larger boats has really opened up fishing small creeks and estuaries to me again. It's cool! When I was younger and had little tinnies they were care free boats as in you take them anywhere, bump them, scratch them, walk them over sand bars, bump into the odd rock bar and launch them in some pretty ordinary places from the bank. What boat ramp!

The last few sessions I've had were to chase mangrove jack, a fish that I previously spent a lot of time chasing. Lately I've had no love from them though. I know that I'm fishing the right areas... but just no bites. However, as a jack bycatch, I have been rewarded with some really nice cod.

Something that's been in my thoughts is the size of the lures that I'm currently using. Usually for jacks I run 3-4" plastics. The ZMan 3" MinnowZ and ZMan 4" DieZel MinnowZ are a great size for jacks. Lately however, I've been tying on the newer ZMan 5" DieZel MinnowZ and you'll know why when you see them in the water. They have an awesome body roll and the tail action is wicked. I guess in my mind sometimes I think bigger bait... potentially bigger fish. Also coming to mind is that I really like to test a lure out for at least a full session.

Generally the ground where you look to fish for jacks is the same ground where you'll find cod. Snags, broken trees, rock bars, underwater logs and rocky banks are all prime structure. The most productive areas for me have been broken up rocky banks and 'cut ins' that lead to deep water (2-6m).

As I still don't have an electric bow mount motor for my boat, I usually set up a drift and cast my way toward the bank, then start the engine and position myself again a cast distance from the bank, repeating the process. When I come to the end of my drift and am nice and tight up against the bank, I grab the 5" DieZel MinnowZ and make a long cast parallel with the bank and let it sink, winding slowly until it hits the bottom, then give it a twitch up and slowly wind the plastic along the bottom.

I find it very important to be using a heavy jighead for this as you really want to keep that lure close to the bottom and nudging structure as you complete your retrieve. I find that the TT Lures HeadlockZ HD jighead in 1/2oz with a 5/0 hook is ideal for this, right up to the depths that I've been fishing. Another lure that I also have rigged 90% of the time is a diving Bagley Lures Rumble B 11. For me this lure has caught some nice jacks and my PB 120cm barra to date. It gets to a good depth and it floats, so when you bump into the stumps and rocks on the bottom you can pause, let it float up a little and then continue your retrieve.

That take on a decent cod can be very deceptive and generally, as I'm normally fishing for mangrove jack, they fool me for the best part. Don't get me wrong a decent jack hit is amazing and brutal, however when you put a cod on the end of your rod that has some size, it too puts up a great fight. For example, while using the technique above, I hooked a cod that I'd call every day for a 50cm jack. It smacked a 5" DieZel and immediately bricked me. After going a whole session without a bite, I was swearing it was a jack. Taking me into a submerged log and digging me deeper into it, I had no choice but to free spool him and hope that he came out.

I was right and he eventually poked out from somewhere down there. I thumbed the spool, gave him no line and he came to the surface (much to my disappointment...). I was really hoping for a jack, however a nice 60cm cod was its replacement. Now that I think about it, it really was an awesome tussle and I can look back being happy with the capture.

My next session 2 sessions, in consecutive days, also resulted in some really good size cod and yep, on the 5" DeiZel MinnowZ and yep, I still called one for a jack, haha. I guess when you're fishing for those red devils in those areas, anything that belts your lure and near bricks you you'll call for one. Not to mention some insane surface jack fishing that went down on one of those sessions! I'll leave that heartbreaking tale for another time ;)

So there you go, probably not a target species that a lot of people chase or maybe it is. Regardless, maybe grab a packet of ZMan 5" DieZel MinnowZ and parallel some areas in your local system. See how you go... at the end of the day jacks, barra, threadies and cod will all eat it.

Just a quick mention on gear. I broke in my new Okuma Komodo set up catching these cod and if you're a jack angler check them out and lock it up... you may just pull the plug out.

Until next time...
Andrew

Gear List:
ZMan 5" DieZel MinnowZ
TT Lures HeadlockZ HD jigheads

Okuma Komodo Baitcast Rods - KM-C-661H 6'6" 1pce 8-15kg
Okuma Komodo Baitcast Reels - KDS-364 6.4:1 Max Drag 11kg