KEEN jewie specialist Caleb Strik contacted Fisho recently with news of an outstanding fish caught near Newcastle, north of Sydney.
We’ll let Caleb tell the story:
“Here’s a picture of the jewfish I caught at Stockton Beach near the breakwall. The fish, which measured at 160cm and more than 35 kilos, was caught at the bottom of the tide on a bait of fresh arrow squid rigged on twin 8/0 hooks.
“The fish took me 200m down the beach and turned and ran back up the beach for 150m. All up, it took me 25 minutes to land the fish.”
Caleb caught his massive mulloway on a Frankenstein Extreme 8-15kg rod and a Fin Nor 8500 reel spooled with 30lb line. He kept the otoliths (ear bones) after filleting the fish. We understand he’ll send these bones to NSW Fisheries. Scientists use the bones to determine how old the fish is.
Another big jewie highlighted in Fisho, Vaughan Little’s 100lb beauty caught in the Shoalhaven River in February 2012, was analysed by NSW Fisheries scientist Dr Julian Hughes and revealed as being 34 years old. It’s unlikely Caleb’s fish will be that old but is likely to be more than 20 years of age. If and when we get the details, we’ll let you know!