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Mangrove Jack - The Estuary Rogue
By Michael Wright
The mangrove jack [Lutjanus argentimaculatus] belongs to the family of fishes called Lutjanidae. In Australian waters their distribution ranges from Shark Bay in Western Australia, north to the Torres Straight and back down the east coast of Australia to Lake Illawarra in NSW. Mangrove Jack are a visually stunning fish, with beautiful crimson red colorations. As hunters they possess very sharp K9 type teeth and large perceptive eyes, backed up by a large broad tail that delivers extreme speed and power.
Jacks live in the harshest of angling environments, such as rocks, fallen trees, bridge pylons, mangrove trees or anywhere else you don't want to throw a $20 lure. With the above attributes they can deliver quick justice to the unawares or any weakness in one's tackle. Each year or 'jack season', I only see a few over 60cm as these are real trophy fish.
Most anglers hold the belief that all jacks go to their ocean homes, a reef a few kilometres offshore, when they reach a couple of kilos and/or measure around the 40-50cm mark. However, annually in jack season, these and bigger jacks show up in SEQ. A reason for this could be that a lot of our southern Queensland systems contain a variety of deep water structures, for example, natural and man-made rock bars and walls up to a depth of six metres. These structures, combined with a good bait supply, create the perfect environment for big jacks.
The second reason could be due to a fishing tale that I did hear, which seems plausible, explaining why southern jacks grow bigger. So, up north jacks move out from estuaries to offshore reefs to mature. Here on the southeast QLD coast we have limited offshore reefs, so instead the jacks are quite happy to grow into our mini equivalent of the PNG black bass.
Lastly, simply it could be that over time, with anglers practicing catch and release, these fish have more time to grow much larger, therefore they may be a credit to those anglers who practice catch, photo and release.
Summer is the best time to target the mangrove jack in SEQ and northern NSW. Anglers who have the pleasure of living farther north of 1770 in Queensland can target jacks all year round as the water temps are more favourable during the winter months and a good water temp for jacks is 22-27 degrees Celsius.
So, in SE Qld in late September, once the humidity starts to rise and afternoon storms start to build, then things become very interesting and it's time to dust off the jack gear! When the barometric pressure rises or falls rapidly, it will generally put the fish on the bite and its game on! But look out, because by the time December hits, the jacks act like they're on steroids and even the fish in the 40cm range can be a handful. Jacks will give a good run until Easter and as water temps start to cool, so will the bite.
The old stories of fishermen chasing the 'Red Bass' (mangrove jack) off the sea walls, with big cane rods, piano wire and mullet heads seems hard to envisage these days. But whilst that initial shock of speed and strength of the jack fight hasn't changed, our choice of fishing tackle and techniques certainly have.
This radical change in my part of the world, SE QLD, relates specifically to how we target jacks. Don't get me wrong, you can still catch jacks on live bait, however, the improvement of luring techniques and modernisation in tackle has allowed us to catch more and larger ones.
For example, when I first started fishing for mangrove jack, I would have to firstly go off and catch my live bait to use for a session. Then, after getting busted up countless times, I would finally manage to land one and if over 50cm it was well worth the wait.
At the time I found many other anglers were more evolved in their jack endeavours and were trolling around deep diving lures in the 12-20' range, trolling deep rock bars, long rock walls and canal entrances. This resulted in them landing some very impressive specimens.
Obviously, this was an awesome time for the tackle shop owners as I know people who lost countless lures to jacks and snags. A lure retriever was mandatory as lure losses became very expensive and sometimes between you and a mate you could easily do over half a dozen good lures if the fish were on the job. So, the outcome was smashed, done and dusted, and back to the tackle shop.
In our new millennium the tackle industry experienced a breakthrough. A massive growth and development in soft plastics, advanced lines, fishing tournaments, boats with electric motors, carbon rods, high tech reels and a more technical spin on a simple thing called a jighead. All of these things together became the new norm of today's jack fishing experience.
Innovative tackle has led to more opportunity in the way we can present the lure to the mighty mangrove jack. While the electric motors and kayaks with pedals have allowed us to position ourselves for that perfect cast, it's the actual lure or soft plastic/jighead and its personal presentation that makes all the difference. The most notable change in jack tackle in my book has been the soft plastics.
My choice is simple, the ZMan 3" MinnowZ and/or ZMan 4" DieZel MinnowZ. These are the most durable plastics on the market, hands down, allowing more fish per bait. Also, they're the perfect size for a jack and the action of this swimbait or paddle tail is awesome. It has a nice body roll and the paddle tail can get moving at the slowest of speeds.
Coming in nearly every colour combination that you could dream of, it's a challenging choice, however my favourites in clear, clean waters are the Sexy Mullet and the Smokey Shad. The Sexy Mullet colour represents the perfect shade of whiting, one of the jacks favourite foods. Under a UV light the magic takes place and these are best used in the middle of the day when the sun is high. Smokey Shad is ideal as a colour choice in both 3 and 4" MinnowZ, with a natural hue impersonating a poddy mullet or a small pilchard that pops with its glitter and is perfect for very clear waters.
In dirty water or reduced light, where you need more of a silhouette for the fish to hone in on, Red Shad, The Wright Stuff, Morning Glory or even a Purple Demon lure in those big jacks. For added incentive, DieZel MinnowZ have a handy belly slot that you can stuff full of your scent of choice too.
The use of a prawn style plastic can be deadly on dark or new moon periods in the summer months as this is the migration period back to the ocean for school prawns. I suggest using the ZMan 3.5" EZ ShrimpZ at this time, either pre-rigged in the pack or rigging with your choice of jighead. Accompanied with a TT Lures ChinlockZ SWS in a 1/8oz 3/0 or 2/0, to allow you to skip it in. This result is a slow and natural looking, horizontal fall that gets slammed if there are hungry fish around.
An awesome plastic needs an equally innovative style jighead and TT Lures have mastered this combination. Their range offers an elite advantage in the market as they've perfected the jigheads for the specialised performance required for mangrove jack fishing. SnakelockZ jigheads can be rigged snag free and allow little impact on the plastics natural swimming action. Also, weights can be swapped to suit any situation, so this jighead is the perfect choice for getting deep in those small creek snags.
For the lovers of skip casting, the ChinlockZ and ChinlockZ SWS are the obvious choice, especially for under snags and in the gnarliest of underwater structures and debris. Again these are designed for weedless / snagless rigging. This technique has blown open the doors in terms of presentation of a lure to the fish and as it can be done everywhere, it's a cast that needs to be in your repertoire as a jack angler. The skip cast will place your plastic at ground zero, in the face of an angry red fish.
For rock walls and pontoons, my personal favourite combo is the more recently released TT Lures Big EyeZ jigheads in 3/8oz with a 3/0 hook, perfectly matched with the little 3"MinnowZ. Built with a strong Mustad black nickel, chemically sharpened hook and a large glowing strike trigger eye (in selected models), it's fish on! I like to cast straight at the wall and bring the lure away from the structure, as opposed to casting along the structure. This strategy for snags or pontoons, where you're bringing the lure along past the jacks' lair, can result in some epic wipe outs and torrid battles, but that's what keeps anglers coming back.
In lower temperature weather, retrieving from rock walls and pontoons consists of a basic slow roll, whereby the ZMan MinnowZ does all of the work for you. Bouncing the plastic down the rock wall for the first few feet, followed by a slow grind winding technique can almost do your head in, but it is effective. As the water temp climbs, you can increase your speed of retrieve. Remember, jacks are always faster than you think and if you're too slow, any offering hanging around their space will usually end up with you re-rigging your rod.
Rods and reels have taken huge leaps and bounds over the years and they are a far cry from what I first started to use in MJ fishing. Today's baitcasters or spin rods are so light that you would swear a good fish would destroy it, but just because a rod is lightweight is no reflection of its strength.
Okuma have some beautiful rods for jack fishing. I have been using the Cerros baitcaster, med/heavy 6'0" 4-8kg and it's purely amazing, lightweight and tough. You can cast this all day and the components are top notch with high grade stainless steel SeaGuide guides, Fuji reel seat and a mean looking rod too in a matt black finish. The action of the Cerros is unreal as the softer tip allows you to really load the blank up and pelt those lures out. This baitcaster has a lot more control over the mangrove jack once it is hooked up and offers greater accuracy for casting lures. As for reels, the Cerros baitcast reel has a smooth drag, is super lightweight and perfect for an all-day jack session.
Loaded with 30lb braided line, Platypus P8 packs down on your reel nicely and getting backlashes out is easy. I love the bright orange colour as it's easy to see in lower light conditions, and combined with the Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader or the Hard Amour Monofilament Leader you have confidence to lay into those fish.
With sturdy knots, a Cerros baitcast combo and your ZMan lure of choice rigged on a TT Lures jighead, you'll have the confidence to go hard. With superior tackle and knowledge about the mighty jack and its hunting habits, hopefully you'll land that thumper mangrove jack this season.
I hope this has given you some insight and will assist you in your endeavours. Jacks are one of those fishes that require a lot of time on the water, so keep casting and you will eventually get the rewards... or busted up instead, but hey that's jack fishing! Remember, with mangrove jack, preparation is the key... if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.
NB: Tide times and location impact successful mangrove jack fishing. In SEQ I fish a couple of hours either side of tide change and like the new moon.
Tight lines... Michael Wright
Gearing Up:
Okuma Cerros Baitcast Rod - CER-C-601MH 6'0" 4-8kg
Okuma Cerros Baitcast Rods - CR-266V
Platypus P8 Braid - 30lb
Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader
Platypus Hard Armour Monofilament Leader
ZMan 3" MinnowZ
ZMan 4" DieZel MinnowZ
TT Lures ChinlockZ SWS Jigheads
TT Lures SnakelockZ Jigheads
TT Lures Big EyeZ Jigheads