May 26, 2021 2 min read
While urban development has been detrimental to many aquatic species, mangrove jack seem to have thrived in these concrete jungles. Artificial structures such as bridges, pontoons, retaining walls and even sunken vehicles have provided our resident red dogs with places to ambush their prey, and in the last 20 years, fishing in these urban jungles has become very popular.
Despite being a prized target for lure anglers, those fishing with live or dead bait can rack up impressive numbers of jacks. If this type of fishing appeals to you, make sure you prepare yourself properly. You’ll need at least a 40lb monofilament or fluorocarbon trace, with Jinkai Leader, Black Magic Tough Trace and Scheider Leader Line providing a great connection between you and an angry jack. For hooks, whether using live or dead bait, you can’t go past Gamakatsu Live Bait Hooks, which are designed for this type of rough-and-tumble fishing!
Those interested in chasing these devils with lures can either cast or troll lures, with both methods proving very successful. The key with either method is to make sure you’re working over a lot of structure to find hungry fish. Trollers will want to work their lures along rock walls with pontoons and other structures, getting as close as possible to the prime real estate. Casters can get their lures even closer, and accurate casts that get lures swimming under pontoons and alongside pylons and rock walls is the key to provoking a strike.
Lures such as ZMan Swimmerz Soft Plastics, MMD Splash Prawn 95mmand Daiwa Pro Double Clutch IZM 95SP are known jack takers, and great for those wanting to cast at their jacks.
For trollers, it’s hard to go past the Halco RMG Scorpion and Rapala Shadow Rap Fat Jack.
Whether you choose to troll or cast, it’s important to get your lures as close as you dare. Extracting an angry jack may be difficult, but most seasoned jack nuts tend to focus on hooking their fish first, and worry about how they’re going to land them later. There are many losses in the city jack game, but that’s all part of the fun.
The canal systems on the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Tweed River offer prime city-slickin’ jack fishing, and if you’re chasing an adrenaline rush in the warmer months, this is just the thing you need!
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