Metacognitive judgments made during learning often reflect intrinsic properties of the to-be-learned material, such as encoding fluency and processing fluency. By contrast, when delayed judgments occur under conditions that allow for covert retrieval, retrieval fluency is a potent and reliable indicator of future memorability. Unfortunately, the generation of potent mnemonic cues is not possible during learning, for the very presence of to-be-learned material prevents its covert retrievability. However, the retrieval of episodically related information, such as previously studied material, is possible. Three experiments explored the effects of retrieving episodically related information on making immediate JOLs. Presented with previously studied word pairs, participants considered them when making JOLs on newly encountered word pairs. Manipulating the presentation of the previously studied word pair varied the likelihood of its covert retrieval. Cue-only format promoted covert retrieval of the episodically related target word, while cue-target format prevented this occurrence. The results are discussed in terms of cue utilization theory.