PRACTICALLY every summer season the north-east coast of Australia is bombarded by one or two raging
cyclones. These cyclones are sometimes accompanied by days, sometimes weeks, of torrential rain.
A considerable quantity of this rain finds its method into northern NSW, swelling the rivers and inflicting intensive
flooding. When this happens the standard weekend angler most likely sits at residence with a can of beer
in his hand and a sulk on his face. Not so the north coast jew fisherman, who eagerly prepares his
gear in well-founded anticipation. Nor the educated Sydney jew fisherman who frantically tries to reorganise his annual journey for the fortnight after the rains have stopped.
These males know that the floods will invariably result in giant hauls of huge jewfish from the breakwalls on the entrances to our different northern rivers.
This phenomenon may very well be readily outlined as follows: when the river floods its ratio of latest water
to salt is significantly elevated. As a result of the flood strikes in route of the coast the river useful properties momentum
and picks up sand, grime, rubbish, even timber get caught inside the rush to the river mouth.
Understandably, the fish inhabitants of such a river, conditioned to clear salt water and placid
setting, could not survive on this new setting. Their solely escape is to swim with the river, all the best way all the way down to the mouth and into the best way extra cozy setting of the Pacific Ocean. The vast majority of this fish inhabitants is made up of schools of the smaller species, primarily mullet. The schools break up and the fish head up or down the coast.
As quickly because the rain stops and the river peak begins to drop, these schools will slowly congregate throughout the river mouth as soon as extra, prepared for conditions to boost adequate for them to get once more in.
The presence of acres of small fish ought to naturally entice predators, and on the north coast of NSW this suggests jewfish!
For the two or three days that the mullet school throughout the breakwalls all through a latest, the jewfish
truly go berserk. Their feeding frenzy can solely be equalled by a university of tailor ravaging a university of pilchards, solely the jew are further spectacular. When this takes place, some extraordinarily huge captures are made.
Now that I’ve your tongue hanging sloppily somethe place spherical your knees, let me make clear various
of the basics employed, to catch these monsters. First requirement is a extremely heavy outfit. Mild,
sportfishing type out is an entire waste of time on a breakwall. You’ll get all the thrills you want
watching a fifty-pound fish flapping spherical on dry land, determining he’s yours.
The rod must be not lower than eleven ft prolonged and heavy, with a number of guts. I exploit a Sportex 3904 with
the tip decrease off, nevertheless a nine-wrap Butterworth or considered one of many heavy Conolons will do the job admirably.
Line should not be lighter than forty-pound breaking strain and options over fifty-pound are the rule
better than the exception. The reel must be a sturdy one and in a position to holding not lower than three
hundred yards of line. I exploit an outdated picket Ajax centrepin, and considered one of these reel is utilized by lots of
the locals on the breakwall at Stockton. Any of the huge Alveys will perform as properly, though.
The exact rig used on the breakwall will depend upon the tide, the bait, the depth of water, the
amount of rubbish inside the water and, further importantly, on the jewfish themselves. When bait fishing
you can each fish the underside or you can fish with a floaiting bait beneath a bobby cork. If the fish are chopping on the mulJet on the ground, then the logical technique may very well be to utilize a bobby cork rig and fish shallow. It is fascinating to note how each breakwall has its commonplace strategy of fishing a latest.
At Stockton, the locals all use bobby cork rigs, however at Yamba the same old rig is to fish bottom
with lead to swimsuit the run and the place of the fish. I plug for utilizing a bobby cork, if solely
because of you already know the place your bait is all the time.
With reference to bait in a latest, the first choice ought to on a regular basis be dwell mullet. Keep in mind, though, any dwell bait is more healthy than a dull bait.
The method is to throw your bait into the mouth of the river from the doorway of the breakwall and
let it drift out with the current. Once you haven’t hooked a fish by the purpose your bait has come correct
spherical and out of the drift, then wind in and repeat the movement. It will likely be important that the bait is
wound in as quickly because the bait has stopped transferring spherical as tangles will inevitably consequence when further baits switch out of the current.
The accompanying footage have been taken by way of the heavy floods expert earlier inside the 12 months.
The entire north coast rivers have been flooded on the time and jewfish have been taken in numbers from not lower than
half a dozen utterly completely different breakwalls.
This story was initially revealed inside the May 1974 model of The Australian Angler (Fishing World).