# QLD: 20/2 Varsity Lakes - Jack Lives Here



## HiRAEdd (Nov 12, 2005)

So armed with a details provided by medongc and buoyed by his account of big Trevally, my mate and I hit the water around 5.30 and gingerly paddled our way through the canals into Lake Heron on our way to Lake Orr. Trolling a hard body and a soft plastic, my secondary mission was to provide my mate who lives on the canal, a picture of the bottom structure being that he doesn't have a sounder and I do. There are quite a few interesting spots in the canals, not the least being the 25 metres of water in the center of Lake Heron.

So we arrived at Lake Heron with not a bite to our name, my mate hung around bottom bashing whilst I decided to paddle over to Lake Orr. As I arrived at the Bermuda Street bridge, I could see something having a feed on the surface. At first, I thought, "probably Mullet" but then I thought, "could be Trevally, I should cast into them and see". So I toss the Tsunami Pro Black Back 4" Swim Shad (http://www.campbellsprotackle.com/store ... sp?ID=2948 - bottom one) past the action and start a quick retrieve, BANG! I'm on! At this point I'm calling Trevally - and a good sized one at that - so I don't push it too hard, I let it play out knowing the only real structure is the bridge and I was a reasonable distance from it. That didn't stop the fish trying to get there but pulling the line under the kayak and trying to drag me sideways took it's toll and after a short battle, a red fish rather than the expected silver one pops to the surface. At this point I probably need to apologise to the residents of the area as my shouts of "Woohoo!" and "Oh yeah!" probably woke a few of them up 

With the Jack safely netted I see that the soft plastic was completely engulfed and the hook firmly set in the side of the mouth. Ain't no way he was getting away. And ain't no way I was retrieving that lure out of those chompers! Into the hatch he went and we continued fishing the rest of the morning with no further action. I didn't mind 

Back on land, he went 48cm on the brag mat and a kilo and a half on the scales.

*Checklist*
First fish on soft plastic: check!
First Mangrove Jack: check!
Very happy fisherman: check!


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## Junglefisher (Jun 2, 2008)

Nice Jack!


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## BIGKEV (Aug 18, 2007)

Cracker jack mate! Nice work pulling one out in the open like that. How do you think you would have gone if you hooked him in proper jack country i.e. up close and personal with some serious snags close by. Don't need to explain dropping him in the hatch either, they are the best eating estuary fish in local waters and one that size will yield some decent fillets or bake up well whole.

Kev


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## HiRAEdd (Nov 12, 2005)

BIGKEV said:


> How do you think you would have gone if you hooked him in proper jack country i.e. up close and personal with some serious snags close by.


Honestly? I don't know. I wasn't targeting them and I wasn't expecting one. I played it _very_ conservatively. That said, my gear wasn't ultra-light so I'd probably put myself at a 60% chance of pulling one from a snaggy environment.


BIGKEV said:


> one that size will yield some decent fillets or bake up well whole.


Got some ripper fillets off it, floured them and pan fried them. Second best fish I've ever had. Big Jew being the first, Snapper being third and Barra probably a distant fourth. I was looking for a nice recipe for it but then I read on a forum that when you catch a prize eating fish, you don't want to overpower the natural taste with other things. I'd never really thought of it that way but it's pretty true. Of course, my Wife said it was the best fish she's ever had so now the pressure's on me to catch another Jack. The first one took me 33 years


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## AJD (Jul 10, 2007)

Congrats Gavin. That's a solid Jack mate. Well done.


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## Cuda (Sep 18, 2006)

Yep, a good catch that one. Well done


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## clarkey (Jan 13, 2009)

Top jack,well done,i would of woke the residents too.
Clarkey


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## Guest (Feb 20, 2010)

Great fish mate, well done 8)


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## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

That's a good fish in anyones language!


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

Reckon the jack made the trip down from Redcliffe worthwhile Gav, well done mate.


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## warren63 (Apr 16, 2009)

I have been tying to catch a jack everywhere and you pull one out nearly right under my nose, well done !!!


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## gcfisho (Oct 31, 2009)

Nice fish and thanks for the report , i know someone whos been telling me for a while about the fish in there and i havent bothered . Guess where im fishing next .


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## breamfish (May 19, 2009)

Nice Jack 
I wanna tick one of my list aswell


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

Nice fishy Gavin.

Do you still fish at Redcliffe? haven't seen you out for awhile.


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## HiRAEdd (Nov 12, 2005)

ArWeTherYet said:


> Do you still fish at Redcliffe? haven't seen you out for awhile.


Yeah, renovating has kept me quite busy so I haven't been out in ages. I really need to change that, especially after that 90cm Snap was caught the other day!


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## HiRAEdd (Nov 12, 2005)

warren63 said:


> I have been tying to catch a jack everywhere and you pull one out nearly right under my nose, well done !!!


I reckon any of those bridges around the canals would hold Jacks. What I found with the sounder was under all the bridges was around a metre or so deep, then as you come out either side, it drops off rapidly to about a 5 metre hole before just as quickly coming up to 2 - 3 metres before then either flattening out or dropping again depending on the lake.
There was zero action once the Sun came up so I reckon either during the night or right on sunrise would be the best time to chase them. And look for the surface disturbance 

...see, my first Jack and already I'm an expert


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## ausbass (Feb 15, 2007)

Great fish Gavin! 

For its size did it fight hard??


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## HiRAEdd (Nov 12, 2005)

ausbass said:


> For its size did it fight hard??


Never having caught a Jack, I've nothing to compare it to. That said, whilst I knew it was a solid fish, I think I had a distinct advantage in that it had no cover to go for. If I caught it under the actual bridge, I doubt I would have landed it.


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