Luring Jacks

Andrew McGovern confesses his love for targeting mangrove jack and describes various methods to help you pull a few out of their snag ridden homes.

Mangrove jacks boast numerous appealing features, all of which contribute to their status as one of my top piscatorial pursuits. Along with the brutes of the ocean, yellow-tailed kingfish, jacks have been a long time favourite target species. Unfortunately, due to living in the southern part of the continent, I don’t get to fish for them as much as I would like; however, my latest venture up north had me primed and ready for some relentless jack attacks.
It had been some years since I had targeted these ferocious predators, so it took some adjustments and tinkering with retrieves and lure styles to get among the action but once we worked a pattern, we boated an amazing number of quality fish. Along the way we landed PBs and upgraded those several times in under a week. The following will hopefully assist you in landing more of what is truly one of this country’s most awe-inspiring sports fish.
Jacks have a wicked set of dentures that will easily penetrate scales, flesh, and bone. This attribute, combined with a bite reflex, which is actually quite frightening, are two of the main factors that attract me to these tenacious scrappers. For us poor southerners, the only fish that displays similar characteristics is big mulloway. Even then, they don’t rival jacks when it comes to jaw snapping power or speed. I’ve seen jacks of less than a kilogram break the back of a 25 cm mullet in the blink of an eye.

▲ The author nailed this cracking 56cm PB jack while working a soft vibe under a set of overhanging mangroves.

The other visually attractive feature of jacks is the iridescent deep purple they often acquire, even when living in heavily turbid water. Above all though is their astounding fighting ability and dirty tactics employed once they smash a lure and power back into their snag. Even small jacks can, and often do, pull line from heavy set drags. I have had fish of less than half a kilogram take my lure in full sight, yet still manage to find their way back into their roots, and weave a path of destruction.
Where jacks differ from many other species, is in their feeding process. They more often than not swim out from their snaggy lair, at high velocity, turn, and as they swiftly gather speed, smash your lure on the way back into the snag. Newcomers to northern creek exploits, or even those tasting man-made channel fishing around the Gold and Sunshine coast for the first time, are often caught off guard, resulting in lost leaders, lures and fish.
CASTING
Tidal phase is a major contributing factor as to where in the creeks and rivers these bruisers will be situated. During a half tide, either side of full, schools of fish will congregate under mangroves and fallen trees that jut out into the centre of the creek. Needless to say, targeting jacks around mangroves requires pinpoint accurate casting. An hour either side of high water can be extremely challenging as the mother lode of fish will have moved up into the very back of the mangroves and undercut banks waiting for mullet, herring, or gar to seek shelter in the shade from the same feature.
On a recent trip up north we were fishing a small back water creek when we decided to pull the boat up tight to the edge. It was the middle of the day and the bite had gone a little quiet. We tied off to one of the larger branches from an overhanging tree to gain some respite from the sweltering conditions. As we ate lunch we observed numerous jacks, ranging from hand sized fish to belters well over 50 cm, weave their way nonchalantly in and out of the labyrinth of mangrove roots. What we found most interesting was the fact these fish appeared to be sharing their tangled web of underwater flora with a mix of Archer fish, gar, and mullet.
The baitfish stayed away from the extreme back of the snags, as this belonged to the jacks and a sprinkling of fingermark bream. The baitfish were smart enough to position themselves within the shade of the trees but far enough out not to become jack fodder. It seemed as if there was an invisible barrier or boundary that only a few unsuspecting baitfish crossed. When one of the baitfish dropped their guard and moved too close to the mangrove roots, they were quickly demolished by one of these highly efficient predators.
TACKLE TALK
Tackle for jacks has come a long way over the past 30 years. Strong main lines and leaders are paramount if you want to give yourself a chance at extracting jacks from snag-riddled creeks. Thin braided lines make casting remarkably easier than with thick mono type lines of the past. Thirty pound breaking strain is fairly standard these days, and even then, it isn’t always heavy enough to turn a rampaging mangrove jack hell bent on making its way back to its lair. A few northern mates swear by 50 lb as they explain that lure loss becomes too expensive with 30 lb main line.
On my most recent northern adventure we exclusively used 30 lb main line and 60 lb fluorocarbon leader. We still lost a few crackers, even with almost four kilograms of drag set on our reels. In saying that, we also experienced plenty of 20-plus fish sessions with no loss of lures or fish. On a side note, I decided that I would experiment with some new connecting knots.
My standard braid to leader knot has been the Improved albright for a number of years and this has proven itself time and time again. However, it is a bulky knot and this becomes even more problematic when using heavy leader in excess of 40 lb breaking strain. As we would be using 50, 60 and 80 lb leaders I opted to use the FG knot. Obviously, I undertook plenty of practice in my garage before getting on the water and I have to say the knot performed faultlessly. Basically the FG is a tension knot so tight wraps are imperative for it to stay intact. This characteristic also makes it a thin profile knot with minimal bulk. It travels smoothly through the guides on each cast before passing smoothly when wound back onto the reel. In addition, the strength of the FG knot, when tied correctly, was a standout feature. On three occasions I was ‘bricked’ by what we suspected were juvenile Queensland gropers. On each occasion they took my lure deep into the snags and in each instance my knot held strong. The 60 lb leader broke before the knot did.

Jacks are aggressive feeders and will often take quite large lures.

TIDES
Tidal flow is critical in most estuarine scenarios and chasing jacks in creeks is no different. The saying, ‘No run, no fun’, is right on the money when these brawlers are your prime foray. A receding tide can produce some of the hottest bites as baitfish are forced off the flats and from within the sanctuary of the thick mangroves and out into more open water, where they are easy prey for predators. The last hour or two before low tide is what I consider prime time. As mentioned, baitfish are forced out into open water with only minimal cover, meaning less water between them and the jacks.
Also playing into the angler’s favour during low tide is the little to no water under the mangroves. This means they are forced to relocate temporarily. Predatory jacks use this opportunity to hunt. On a recent trip up north we experienced several productive sessions just prior to dead low tide. The schooling jacks had moved into the middle of a couple of small creeks and held position in trenches and gulling along the bottom. At first these fish were difficult to target, as our diving hardbodies were not getting down deep enough. A strategic switch to soft vibes paid dividends as this genre of lures proved the downfall of numerous quality jacks. We used a mix of retrieval styles with the standard long draw and drop working well on most occasions. When the fishing shut down we found the ultra small hops and extended pauses produced strikes when everything else failed (See Tech Tip – Short Hop (long pause).
SUMMARY
When targeting jacks in creeks it pays to have a mix of lure styles including hardbodied divers, soft plastics, bibless minnows and soft vibes. Each lure style has its place and application around various types of structure. Remain flexible in your approach and try different retrieval styles when the stock standard approach is not delivering results.
In addition to their unparalleled pound for pound, fighting ability and their lure destroying teeth, they are one of the best eating fish available. If you have never targeted mangrove jack you are doing yourself a huge disservice. So what are you waiting for? Start planning that trip to a northern creek where you too will become totally addicted to one of the finest species on the planet.

Andrew has been fishing the Canberra, Monaro, Snowy Mountains and south coast of NSW region for almost 40 years and is considered one of the country’s most innovative and competent anglers. He has been a freelance journalist for almost 17 years, has written two extensive books on the region, and featured in numerous AFN tactics DVDs. He regularly undertakes all forms of fishing with casting soft plastics for trout, chasing kingfish from the rocks, pelting baits from beaches, and luring his local estuaries amongst his favourite pastimes. Andrew is currently a Pro Angler with Jarvis Walker Australia and endorses their range of products.