Mulloway are the fish of a thousand casts, and most anglers can tell you exactly where they were standing when they finally cracked the code. Big, silver, ghost-like, and maddeningly hard to fool until conditions line up. Get the lure or bait right and put it in the right place at the right time, though, and a jewie session can change overnight.
This is a rundown of what actually works, on lures and on bait.
About mulloway
Mulloway (Argyrosomus japonicus) go by plenty of names, jewfish, jewie, river king, and the little ones are "soapies" or "schoolies". They're found right around the southern half of the country, through New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, in estuaries, off the beaches and around the rocks.
They're ambush predators that love structure and low light. They use their eyes and their lateral line, so vibration and presentation matter as much as the lure itself.
Where they hold
Find the structure and you're halfway there. Mulloway sit where current, depth and bait meet.
- Bridge and jetty pylons. Classic ambush points where current sweeps bait past. They sit in the shadow lines at night.
- Deep holes in estuaries. The deepest scour in a bend or junction often holds the fish during the day.
- Breakwalls and rock walls. Especially river entrances where bait and current funnel through.
- Beach gutters. Deep gutters with a bit of wash, particularly near a river mouth, are prime beach jewie water.
Reading this kind of structure is the core skill. The same thinking we lay out in estuary fishing, structure, tides and patience applies directly to chasing jewies.
When to go: tide, night and moon
Timing is everything with mulloway. More fish are caught on the right tide at night than at any other time.
- Tide changes. The hour either side of the top and bottom of the tide, when the current eases and bait gets disorganised, is when jewies feed. The slack and the early run of new water are gold.
- Night. Low light is your friend. Dusk, dawn and right through the dark consistently out-fish the middle of the day.
- Moon. A lot of experienced jewie hunters key in on the days around the new and full moon, when the bigger tidal movement gets fish on the chew. The dark of the new moon is a favourite for many.
Line up a tide change after dark near a moon phase and you've stacked the deck.
Best lures
Soft plastics
The go-to for a lot of modern jewie fishing. Big paddle-tails on a jighead get down to where the fish sit and put out the thump that draws them in.
- Run paddle-tails in the 5 to 7 inch range. Jewies eat big baits and aren't shy of a big plastic.
- Match the jighead to the depth and current. You want it ticking the bottom, not sailing over the fish.
- Work it slow. Lift, let it sink on a controlled drop, and stay in contact. Most hits come on the drop.
- Natural colours (white, pearl, mullet tones) in clear water; darker or brighter in dirty water or at night.
Vibes
Soft and metal vibes (blades) are deadly around deep structure and pylons. The tight vibration calls fish in and they're easy to fish vertically.
- Drop to the bottom and hop them with a sharp lift and a controlled drop.
- Great for working the base of bridge pylons and deep holes where you can stay directly above the fish.
Swimbaits and hard bodies
Larger swimbaits and deep-diving hard bodies shine when fish are chasing bigger prey, especially around walls and beach gutters. A slow, steady roll near structure mimics a mullet or tailor and gets the big girls interested.
The lift-drop, stay-in-contact approach that works on jewies is the same discipline that catches a lot of estuary fish. If you want to drill that retrieve, our breakdown of the best flathead lures covers working plastics along the bottom in detail.
Best baits
For all the lure progress, bait still accounts for plenty of big jewies. Fresh is the rule, and live is better again.
- Live yellowtail. Hard to beat. A livie sent down near structure on the tide change is a proven big-fish bait.
- Live or fresh mullet. Poddy mullet live, or a fresh mullet fillet or head, is classic jewie tucker.
- Squid. Whole fresh squid or a large strip is excellent, especially off the beach and rocks.
- Live herring and other locals. Whatever the jewies are eating in your system, matched live, will get bites.
The theme is freshness. A day-old supermarket bait will get ignored where a fresh-caught livie gets smashed. Catch your bait on the day where you can.
Gear and rigging
Mulloway grow big and live around line-eating structure, so don't go light.
- Leader. Run heavy. 40 to 60lb fluorocarbon is a sensible starting point, heavier again around sharp rock and oyster-covered pylons.
- Main line. 30 to 50lb braid gives you the backbone to turn a fish away from structure.
- Rod and reel. A 7 to 8 foot rod with a quality 4000 to 6000 reel covers most estuary and wall work. Step up to surf gear for the beach.
- Hooks. Strong, sharp hooks sized to your bait. For live baits, a snelled rig or a single strong hook through the nose or shoulder.
- Drag. Set it firm. The first run away from the pylons is the fight you have to win.
Plenty of jewie fishing happens through the night and the change of light, so a head torch, good footing and a cap with a brim that keeps the glare off when the sun does come up all earn their place. We talk through the gear for the conditions in our piece on fishing hats for sun, salt and wind.
Tips and common mistakes
- Patience is the real bait. Mulloway fishing is about putting in the hours on the right tide. Pick your window and commit to it.
- Stay in contact with your lure. Most takes come on the drop. A slack line means missed fish.
- Fish the change, not the run. Hammering away through a roaring tide is hard work. Time your effort around the slack and early run.
- Use fresh bait. If the bait's not fresh, expect a slow night.
- Don't bust them off. Light leader near pylons is a recipe for heartbreak. Go heavier than you think you need.
- Mind size and bag limits. Mulloway are managed closely in most states. Check your state's current size and bag limits before keeping a fish.
Last cast
Mulloway reward homework. Learn your structure, fish the tide change after dark around the moon, send down a big plastic, a vibe or a fresh livie, and go heavy enough to win the first run. Most of all, put in the time. The jewie that breaks your drought is worth every blank session before it. When you're ready to branch out, they swim the same water as plenty of the fish every Aussie angler eventually catches.