JEWFISH, BLACK
Black Jewfish are a highly sort after fish from the Northern part of Australia. A tropical cousin of the Mulloway they are tough fighting and grow very large.
Black Jew are quite a stunning large, long bodied fish. They are dark bronze to almost a pinkish brown on the top, with more silver on the sides and yellow underbelly. They are orange or yellow inside their mouth. They are definitely darker than their cousin the Mulloway and go quite black once dead, hence their name Black Jew. They are regularly caught by those who know where to fish in the 18-25kg range however can grow as large as 50kgs.
Black Jew are not particularly hard to catch once a school has been located. And that is one feature of the Black Jew, they do school up well, and if in the biting mode it is hard to keep a bait on the bottom. Often the fish schooling are of a similar size. Traditionally Black Jew have been caught by bait fisherman - and most still are. Bait can be live fish, fish bait, although they cannot resist a well presented squid bait. Black Jew require quite heavy tackle as they head straight for cover once hooked, and their first run is breathtaking - something a fisherman will never forget - the first time they hook a Black Jew. They do tend to play with the bait a bit, and many a fisherman have through to just have something small playing with their bait until the Jewy realizes it is hooked. Then its on! Black Jew in the last few years have also been targeted successfully with both soft plastics and hard bodied lures around deep snags and rock bars in some northern rivers.
Black Jewfish are found in Australia from Northern Queensland, throughout Northern Territory into Northern Western Australia. Black Jewfish live mostly in inshore reefs, wrecks and rock holes, particularly with deep tides. They will travel into estuaries however not quite as much as their cousin the Mulloway.