Mangrove Jack Tips

[rhino01]

Went fishing last week and caught my first Mangrove Jack in the Mooloolah River WHOA!! Went 56cm and my mate pulled in a 60cm model. What a night!!! Mate reckons mine was a fluke as I was only using 8pound braid and a 6 pound leader. Went to the same spot last night a BUSTED OFF not once but THREE times by Jacks using the same setup. Needs some help with a new Mangrove Jack set up???????????? Currently using Shimano 2500 reel and a 6-8 kg rod with the above metioned line/leader!! Any suggestions would be great as I can now catch them just need to be able to land the brutes.

[chris_stewart14]

Heavier braid - much heavier leader...

[Cowfish13]

15-30lb Braid, with 20-60lb leader should let you land most

[rhino01]

Does heavier braid reduce the amount of hookups???? If I use 15 pound braid and 30 pound leader would that suffice?

[HookedOnTackle]

some fish are as close to kamikaze pilots as you can get, others are damn shy and may well avoid the heavier line. personally i think it is more to do with the leader size. the heavier line class and apart from a jack's teeth, is to avoid being pulled into a rock bar, oyster encrusted jetty or the like.

if you are getting them in open water at night, you can downsize as there is not much around to be rubbed off on, it will be the initial hit n run of the jack you will need to worry about. just got to try find your balance between getting hits and landing fish in the location you are.

[Cowfish13]

rhino01 wrote:

Does heavier braid reduce the amount of hookups???? If I use 15 pound braid and 30 pound leader would that suffice?

My brother got busted off by a Jack with that exact gear, in pretty open water. The Jack found one oyester covered rock (every other rock was smooth, with algae on it) which we later discovered at low tide

But yes, it should be ok, though you will lose a few.

[jakhunta]

1 metre of 40lb flourocarbon and 20 lb braid.