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Species Profile: Jewfish (Mulloway)
- Category: Technique & strategies
- Published on Tuesday, 14 June 2011 20:41
- Written by Jay "Jewfisher" Penfold
Introduction: Mulloway or Jewfish, however you may know them, would have to be one of Australia's most sought after of all estuary and inshore targets of recreational fishermen. Some describe the search for these enigmatic full and new moon prowlers as “Chasing Unicorns”. They are exceptional sports fish and taken at the right size make excellent table fare.
Species Profile: Mulloway (Argyrosomus japonicus)
Common Names: Mulloway, Jewfish, Soapie Jew.
Size: to 1.75m, commonly caught 40cm to 1.2m
Size/Bag Limit: Varies by state and species. All lengths are total length (tip of nose to end of tail)
Qld: 75cm (max 2)
NSW: 45cm Only 2 over 70cm (max 5)
Vic: 60cm (max 5)
SA: Within Coorong waters: 46cm-75cm (max 10) WA: 50cm (max 2)
Distribution: Mulloway are found in Australia in open and tidal waters from Burnett River in Queensland to North West Cape in Western Australia to a depth of 200m. They are distributed around the Pacific and Indian Oceans near South Africa, Pakistan and Japan.
Habitat: Tidal estuaries, Ocean floor, inshore reefs, rocky headlands, surf beaches.
Habit: Mulloway are demersal fish that prefer the bottom of the water column. They are known as a 'lazy' or energy conserving fish that sits in the lee of structure or in eddies, typically head first into the current awaiting their prey where they use their powerful jaws and canine like teeth to break the back of their prey. They can also be found in the deepwater main channels of rivers and gutters on surf beaches. Their diet varies dependent on age, juveniles eating crabs, prawns and small baitfish, adults prefering larger baitfish. During flood events, Mulloway can be found running their lateral line along the the sand in shallow water on surf beaches near river mouths laying a mucous trail. This prompts beach worms to put their heads up far further than they would in clear water.The fish then return over thier path and snap up the worms.
Mulloway are belived to spawn near river mouths from November to March, Females becoming sexually active at about five years of age. Mulloway are a fast growing species, a 50cm fish may be as young as two years. Females grow faster and attain a much larger size than males.
Finding them: Look for eddies formed by structure like rock bars, fallen trees or bridge pylons, deepwater channels, outside scour edges of river bends, gutters on surf beaches, from rocky headlands, river mouth rock walls. Like unicorns, they also turn up where you least expect them.
Catching them: Mulloway are far from fussy eaters. They can be taken on a large variety of lures ranging from 2”-7” hardbodies and soft plastics, vibe lures, feather jigs, beachworms, livebaits and the old standard ganged pilchard on a running sinker rig. Personally, my best captures in an upper esturine environment have occured using 2” hardbody profiles with a tight shimmy action in hot pink colours.
Kayak Specific Considerations: Landing a large Mulloway in a kayak is a an excting moment, especially on light leader material and a just pinned fish. Once hooked, they make a few very solid runs, then roll over on their side. This is the time to make a careful aim with a gaff ideally under the gill and through the mouth to avoid damaging the flesh. Be careful to tire the fish out well and keep your gaff tip pointed up to avoid escapee fish. Immediately cut the throat and break the neck. I do this on the gaff with larger fish to stop them from escaping or biting me. (Which has happened in both cases) Never underestimate the propensity for these fish to become a one that got away tale. I have heard and told far too many. I now keep a big old cotton resturaunt apron that I wet and throw in the rear well to cover and keep cool. (Buys me enough time to catch one and have a beer at my local on the way home.)
When the fish rolls over on it's side, time to grab the net of gaff
Catch Management: Bleed upon capture, place into a cold bag/ice slurry immediately.
Cleaning: Filleting can be tricky until you have a few under your belt. The best strategy is to scale the fish and then make an incision from the top of the head past and behind the pectoral fin. Then work the knife from the head to the tail in strokes about an inch deep to establish a line along the ray like fin line. Then come back and stroke the knife along until you hit the main skeletal system. This is where things can get tricky. Bream for an example, have bones that guide you from spine to dorsal fin. Mulloway have a gap between them. Larger fish can be cut into cutlets with a heavy knife or cleaver.
Cooking: The method to prepare for the table differs very much dependent on the size of your capture. Should you keep a fish under 55cm, then fishcakes are an excellent proposition, as the flesh can be soft or “soapy” in texture, hence the somewhat derogatory name for smaller specimens. Anything in the region of 55cm to 90cm can make excellent fillets, fish exceeding this are best cutleted as you would a mackerel. Very large specimens are best returned as they become dry and tough upon cooking and are the bearers of enourmous amounts of future generations of fish to come. If not, they make excellent curry or soup. If you have never made fish head soup before, it's worth keeping a few heads in the freezer to do so. I promise a recipe to follow at some stage.
My favourite way to cook prime Mulloway fillet is to crispy skin it as per this recipe. It can be crumbed or steamed or baked whole, and makes the most superbly moist fishcakes. Ceviche or eat it sashimi, use your imagination, it is gorgeous cooked or raw. Give it the respect it deserves.
Wine and Beer to match: after a hard day grappling with a decent fish any beer will probably do, a fuller style like a coopers sparkling ale will do nicely, but for the signifigant other, try a cheeky verdhello or pinot grigio.
Conservation: Sadly, Mulloway numbers are not what they used to be. Commercial and recreational catches and sizes are declining, and have been for many years. Certainly take only what you need. Bag limits are one thing, but respect for such an icon is another. If you do manage to bag out, make sure that your neighbours and friends enjoy a feed and make sure they know how lucky they are to be able to enjoy such a luxury! It is thought that the recreational catch may be four times that of commercial fisheries.
Mulloway are surprisingly little understood fish, despite their importance as both a commercial and recreationally important species. There are many high value aquaculture projects underway by companies such as Port Lincoln's Clean Seas producing fish for the domestic and Japanese markets, the Clarence river has one too. Rivers are being restocked to help address the decline
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