Mangrove jack

Mangrove jack size and bag limit in QLD

Min 35 cm. 5 per person. No closed season.

Checked 8 Oct 2026 against the Queensland Government pages: size and possession limits and closed seasons.

Limits are possession limits: they count everything you hold, including any at home in the freezer. In yellow (conservation park) zones: max 2 lines and 2 hooks in total per angler. Green zones: no fishing. All QLD fishing rules

When to catch mangrove jack in South East Queensland

• P peak season
• S in season
• – off season
• C closed season for at least part of the month

Tide: Reports vary; many favour the high tide upriver and the change around bridges and walls.

Time of day: Dawn, dusk and night are traditional; reports also show daytime lure catches in shaded canals.

Weather: not fussy about wind; rain and runoff help.

Seasons partly come from Coastwatch report mentions, not catch numbers.

Mangrove jack by area

Not in our guide for Moreton Island, Offshore Sunshine Coast, Offshore Moreton and Offshore Gold Coast.

Around Scarborough and the Redcliffe Peninsula

Our local Redcliffe Peninsula notes come from local fishing columns and reports, and for mangrove jack they differ from the South East Queensland picture. Around Scarborough the best months are December, January, February and March, with April, October and November also worth a try.

Scarborough Boat Harbour, the Newport canals and deep-water structure in the Pine River.

Spots in our local notes: Scarborough Boat Harbour walls.

Where to catch mangrove jack in SEQ

Warm-season estuary structure everywhere: Gold Coast canals, Coomera/Nerang/Pimpama rivers and the Seaway rocks; Pumicestone Passage canals (Pelican Waters, Golden Beach); Maroochy and Mooloolah rivers and canals; Noosa River and Lake Cooroibah; Jumpinpin creeks; the Pine and Caboolture rivers, Newport canals and Scarborough harbour.

Catch Signal forecast areas that rate mangrove jack: Noosa River & Noosa Heads, Laguna Bay & Noosa offshore, Maroochy, Mooloolaba & Coolum, Caloundra & northern Pumicestone Passage, Bribie Island & southern Pumicestone Passage, Redcliffe Peninsula & Deception Bay, Bramble Bay, Pine River & Sandgate, Central bay & Moreton Island west, Jumpinpin, Jacobs Well & Pimpama, Gold Coast Broadwater, Seaway & Nerang River, Burleigh to Point Danger, Ocean side of Straddie & Moreton.

Spots to try for mangrove jack

Picked because the water each spot reaches suits mangrove jack (our habitat match), not from catch reports. Each spot links to its place on the area page; tide times are for the place our forecast reads for that spot.

How to catch mangrove jack: best baits, lures and rig

Baits

• Live herring, mullet or prawns
• Fresh mullet or bonito strips

Lures

• Hard-bodies and soft plastics worked tight to pontoons, rocks and snags
• Surface lures at night in the canals

Mangrove jack rig

Heavy for the size: 20-30 lb braid, 30-40 lb leader, locked drag; get the fish away from structure fast.

Good to know about mangrove jack

Wake up in September-October as water warms; strongest Oct-Mar; fade quickly after April. Floods help recruitment.

Open in the forecast

See mangrove jack in the Catch Signal app: seasons for the area you fish, closed-season warnings and the best days this week.