Do mullet jump for fun

[AD97]

Hi guys

Just spent a glorious couple of days at our place out at Cannon Rocks, didnt catch alot of fish, but still gave a nice fight on the light tackle- caught on bait.

The one spot where I fished is right at the mouth of the Bushmans River. While walking back to the Landy the route takes us parallel to the river. I saw quite a few big mullet jumping out of the water, and sometimes a swirl or two, which I presume were leeries. The next day I went back armed with the artificials. Saw the mullet jumping again. Threw bucktail, Halco laser pro's, spoon and even a bit of dropshot and not even a chase.

Which begs the question- Do mullet jump for fun, as I tried every trick in the book as far as artificials go and didnt even get a chase. I fished Kasouga a couple of hours before that and got what I thought were a couple of swirls and chases. Plenty of mullet around Kasouga.

So what do you guys say, do mullet jump for fun.

[Kumz]

In personal opinion ..
I think they are being chased...
But i was told by an old timer once that some times it is like a mating thing .

Cos i had an experience where they had gona billistic ...but we cus not get a single hook ... :sadd

My 2c's

[Fritz]

Hi AD97.

I have spent many years working in the Bay, testing sail baots. And what you discribed I have seen hundrids of times. Even walking on the walkons you could see the mullit in the top part of the water. We always said that thei were sun tanning.But many times we saw them jumping and in the begining we always tried to throw some lure at them to catch the predetor chasing them. The only fish I ever got was mullit on fly.

So I have come to the conclusion that thei do jump for fun when thei are tanning.

[tyrrell]

See that all the time here in the Swartkops, and have wasted many an hour targeting "the predator" that was chasing them only to blank spectacularly! The only thing worse than a calm mullet is a frolicking mullet!

[Spearo]

I spend all my fishing time under the water and do have a lot of experiance in seeing this mullets play  and mate. While they mate they will swim into the predators mouth and not even know it, I've had lots of them swimming into my speargun and so close pass my face that I had to pull my head back. I did however see them feeding at the bottom with some yellowtail Kingys before, but then there is no surface time for them. I've seen a couple of over a meter and always wondered how much of fun a 5kg soft fish that's a good fighter wil be on light tackle.

[WalkersKiller]

Steve  bru, Im sooo Jelous you were in the  :eprov: I want to see a pic of that Blacktail you got at Bats 

I know a lot of the time mullet 'jump for fun' but whenever i have seen them in the kariega river going crazy Ive normally seen a Leerie or Springer chasing them... Kasouga is full up with Garrick and Kob apparently, I know a 9kg Leerie came out of the river a few months ago... I think if you had your throw net with you and you rigged up a livie you would of been vas! Unlucky you didnt get one... In my opinion when there are a lot of mullet jumping and you do not see any predator fish, it means there are only 1 or 2 gamefish chasing the school, which means there isnt a lot of competition so they feed selectivelty on the mullet and ignore the artificials... Normally when there are a big schools of leerie chasing elf or mullet thats when you get them on artificials as there is so much competition they will chase and eat anything to get the upper hand and prove their dominance!

My 2c 

[SAfish]

Mullet jump because they can. 
They jump for fun but are also very skittish and when they get a fright they will jump, even a prawn farting will have them airborne.
My biggest mullet was a Striped Mullet of 3.965kg (weighed) and it was 78cm long. It gave me very good fight and I love catching them on light tackle. 

[WalkersKiller]

Mullet jump because they can. 
They jump for fun but are also very skittish and when they get a fright they will jump, even a prawn farting will have them airborne.
My biggest mullet was a Striped Mullet of 3.965kg (weighed) and it was 78cm long. It gave me very good fight and I love catching them on light tackle. 

Mullet are awesome to catch on light tackle do you have a pic Herman? That must of been a MOTHER of a mullet, my biggest is a 32cm Flathead and that fought me like 1kg Shad 

[SAfish]

I got that one in 1992 and took photos with my old 35mm camera but there was something wrong with the film and I lost all my holiday photos. I have caught a lot in the 1-1.5kg range and they are very good fighters.

[Cam Mundy]

To me the difference comes when the school jumps in roughly one direction, then they are buggering about. but if they come flying out the water in all sorts of directions and then regroup  something is trying to snack on them.

[1309sg]

In the Gamtoos, we used to drive in late twilight, early dark with a spotlight on a duck and the mullet would go ape and jump right into the boat, sometimes giving you a helluva sore smack too. They really are good eating when that fresh, just don't keep them or freeze them..yuck!

Point being, not all boats got them to jump, it took a particular sound and revs to make them really active... almost like they only like heavy metal and not R&B!!  So yes I guess they know how to have fun.. LOL!

[AD97]

Thanks for the replies guys, Now I am second guessing whether I got any chases at all Was still good fun though, really trying for that Leerie and that Kob on bucktail. But I guess persistence is the name of the game.

[Rods]

Must be for fun.  Came to the realisation long ago that they must nudge their mates under water and say " Psst Nigel, bet you I can make that sucker excited".  Caught me enough times.   

[WalkersKiller]

Must be for fun.  Came to the realisation long ago that they must nudge their mates under water and say " Psst Nigel, bet you I can make that sucker excited".  Caught me enough times.   

[NeilM]

Hi Guys,

There is also a theory about jumping to dislodge parasites from themselves...

[emjay]

Hi Guys,

There is also a theory about jumping to dislodge parasites from themselves...

Yep, heard that one too, and I think it's the best theory

It's always funny to watch a newbie grab his tackle, trip over a rock, fall over his mate, and cast so quickly at the jumping mullet that he gets an overwind with a coffee grinder, only to be told by the old salt he is wasting his time

Although apparently illegal, when I didn't know any better I used to jig mullet with a big treble. It's not as easy as you think! And what a fight when you do hook one! It's one of the best rushes I've experienced in fishing.... BUT it is illegal apparently. I don't know why it's illegal, it's pretty difficult to jig through a mullet's thick scales, and it's easier to throw net them anyway.

I have lost more than I care to remember, but man what fun  . I don't jig them anymore though. I try to stick to the straight and narrow when fishing. The one time I jigged a mullet of about 2.5-3kg and it broke the clicker in my reel. They hard fighting things man yoh!

[Angler 1]

Hi Guys,

There is also a theory about jumping to dislodge parasites from themselves...

THATS EXACTLY WHAT I HEARD ASWELL!!