Fish Of The Month: Jewfish Argyrosomus Japonicus 

Jewfish, or Mulloway as they are also known, are a local fish that tastes better the bigger they are, with smaller ones tasting ‘soapie’ which they are sometimes called. However with a 75cm minimum size limit in Queensland this isn’t an issue.

While I have never really targeted them specifically, they have often turned up while chasing other species and are a very welcome catch as they are 4/5 stars eating quality for me. Taking large live baits and lures, some fisherman spend many hours hunting these fish from surf beaches, around wharves, local reefs and around river mouths especially after rain events. Growing to at least two meters long and over 40kg they can certainly test your fishing tackle to the limit.

Sometimes in the surf they are caught on beach worms and some people believe that these fish can pull beachworms from the sand like a fisherman does, but only just using their mouth. I find that hard enough using my hands!

Recently some nice legal Jewfish have been caught from Woody Point Jetty. A couple years ago I managed to film a school of  ‘Jewies’ under Shorncliffe Jetty. See my Youtube page for the video.

www.youtube.com/channel/UC2...

The Aboriginal word Mulloway means “The Greatest One”