Estuary Jewfish Basics

For keen southern anglers there are few more highly prized fish than the elusive jewfish. Many anglers aspire to catch these magnificent fish, but very few do so with any form of consistency.

The biggest problems are usually the location fished and the methods used.

In this article we’ll look at how to target estuarine jewfish on soft plastic lures, concentrating on the all-important fundamentals of location, lure choice, retrieve techniques and suitable tackle.

When targeting estuary jewfish, you give yourself the best possible chance when fishing from a well set-up boat. Today’s tournament bream anglers know full well the importance of having a well set-up boat to consistently producing fish. Chasing jewfish is exactly the same.

You need to be able cover water quickly and effectively and make a minimal amount of noise in the process.

While a fancy US bass boat could be close to ideal for chasing estuary jewfish on lures, you can still effectively target these fish in less glamorous craft.

Key requirements are enough power to cover a decent amount of water during a session, have an electric motor (preferably a bow-mount so your hands are free at all times) and a good sounder to let you read the bottom formations like an open book.

The combination of speed and stealth is a lethal one and pretty well essential to consistently catch jewfish on lures.

Like many large predatory fish, jewfish are generally more active during low light levels. That’s not to say you can’t catch them during daylight hours and plenty of anglers consistently catch them during office hours, it’s just easier to tempt them during early morning and late afternoon periods.