Mulloway are one of Australia’s true trophy fish. Big, powerful and often fussy, they keep anglers coming back because when it all lines up, the hit is brutal and the fight is something else.
In Australia you’ll find mulloway along much of the southern and eastern coastline, especially around beaches, estuary mouths, coastal rivers, bridges, rock walls and inshore reefs. Juveniles often hold in estuaries and deeper holes, while bigger fish patrol gutters, pressure points and reef edges from shallow water out to moderate depths.
Mulloway feed on baitfish, squid, prawns and small mullet, and they’re classic ambush hunters that use current lines and structure to trap food. They’ll often move through in short feeding windows rather than chew all night, so timing matters more than just soaking a bait for hours.
Tide changes are a big deal for mulloway, with the lead-up to the turn and the first push of the new run often switching them on, especially where current funnels bait. Low light is usually best, so dusk, night, dawn and overcast periods generally fish better than bright middle-of-the-day conditions. Light to moderate wind can help by stirring up water and bait, but strong wind makes many spots hard to fish and can shut down bite detection. A bit of swell around beaches, headlands and river mouths can fire them up by creating wash and dislodging food, but once the swell gets too big and messy it can dirty the water too much and make holding bottom a pain.
A medium-heavy overhead or spin setup with enough stopping power for rocks, pylons or surf is the go, matched to strong leader and solid hooks. Live mullet, tailor, squid and fresh slab baits are proven, and soft plastics or vibes worked slowly through deep holes and channels also get eaten. Keep rigs simple with a running sinker or paternoster depending on current and bottom.
Mulloway are also called jewfish, and big fish can make a croaking or drumming sound using muscles against their swim bladder.