The Peak - Saturday Morning

[jim77]

A belated report from Saturday morning.

Yesterday i was lucky enough to get invited along on a mate of a mates boat. We got on the water at about 5:30 am and armed with assorted colours of knife jigs we went straight out to the peak. It was a bit bumpy on the way out there as there was a bit of a NE swell running but soon enough we pulled up.

Jigs straight over the side. We had several drops for not a lot of action before we came across some huge schools of bait on the sounder sitting in about 75 metres of water. After dropping through one of the schools - a few winds and i was on. This fish was like nothing i have ever fought before. I have caught a couple of reasonable sized (80 cm) kingies in the harbour and they go hard but this was something else. I had 50Lb braid on and 100lb leader and i simply couldn't shift it. Drag locked up hard and it was still managing to pull line... After battling for a couple of minutes the hooks pulled

I was pretty pissed off but not long later i hooked up again. This one was pulling even harder and it was all i could do to hold onto the rod, keep my balance in the lumpy seas and keep myself from being pulled over the side. After a couple more minutes of stale mate... you guessed it same result, hooks pulled again

By this stage i was feeling pretty low with myself but luckily i got another chance. 3rd time lucky i was thinking and this time i managed to get a few turns on the reel and get back a few metres of line - but no hooks pulled yet again!!!

To ease my embarrasment one of the other lads hooked up and had a similar experience. He had a bit more success and managed to get the fish quite a long way off the bottom - but same result, after about 5 minutes of battling - ping, hooks pulled!!

After 4 lost fish we pulled up stumps and headed for home. On the way in we stopped off at the "Trag" grounds off Coogee. As we pulled up there were fish everywhere on the sounder. Jig straight over the side, a few turns and wham! I got smashed and i was on again big style! This fish was pulling hard and taking line and there was little i could do to stop it. Again i just hung on - again same result... Pulled the hooks!! Not happy JAn!! Brought the jig up to find some serious teeth marks on it where it had been hammered.

After that no more action and i had to get in to go to work. All in all a fantastic heart pumping morning with some serious action. No fish on board but not for want of trying.

Just wondering if anyone has had similar experience with pulling hooks. Any reason for it?

Is it becuase there is no "give" in the braid and if you go too hard it just rips the hook out of the fishes mouth? I was very conscious of not giving any line as i didn't want to get rubbed off on the bottom. Is it better to back the drag off a bit and give the fish a bit of line? Maybe the hooks were too small but i don't think so (we were using Surecatch 250 and 300grm jigs with hooks already on them. Green was the colour doing the damage)

Any advice anyone has would be appreciated as next time i hook up to something substantial i want to make sure that i get it on the deck!

Sorry about the length of report - just got carried away. (i'm still reliving all of the fights in my head - and i can still feel the ache in my arms today!)

[jewgaffer]

Hi jim77 Anything is likely to come in very close in this ongoing run of warm currents. Your line and leader looks fine. Are you using circle hooks ? The mustard 6/0 hoodlum short shank l/b hooks don't pull the shank all round the place and set right into the jaw and throat for a more solid hook set. They're a bit harder on the fish though.

jewgaffer

[Geoff]

Jim Firstly it is great to see a report on the Peak , I think it is the first I have seen in years.

Browns Mt. seems to be the current flavor of the month or perhaps I should say years. Maybe the Peak is not as productive these days but back in the 70's / 80's it was the place to be for Kings , YFT & a lot of other good quality fish.

From your report it sounds as though it is still a good spot & a lot closer than Browns.

In respect to your hook pulling , the braid may not assisted with it's low stretch but I suspect locking the drag was the main problem.

Back it off a bit , let the fish have a few runs & tire it's selfout. Playing the fish is part of the challenge. It is just a matter of getting the balance correct

Would be interested to see a photo of the jigs you were using

Geoff

[Steve07]

Mate,i think i agree with Geoff you gotta back the drag off a bit & let the fish run a little,its definately part

of the fun anyway fighting fish.Also there is no give in the braid so every time the fish runs, when the line

dont stretch at all something has to give & that's usually why the hook will pull out.Most fish caught at the

peak are a fair way from the bottom anyway so you dont have to worry about them getting down & busting

you off as quickly as you think.Also try adding a large,extra strong treble to the end of the jig as for years in

the past all those that jigged for kings at the peak only had jigs with trebles & usually just 30 to 50lb mono

line but always got stacks of kings & lots of 10kg to 15kg fish as well.

We all learn something new everytime we head out there,that's what makes fishing such a challenge,maybe

next time your luck will change & a 10kg king will be on the deck.

cheers mate;

hollywood

[jim77]

Thanks for the replies and the advice gents. The drag wasn't "locked up" as such but it was on pretty heavy resistance... Next time i will back it off as suggested and just let the fish run for a bit. I will take my chances with the bottom. The guys i was with caught a 14kg kingy in the same spot about 4 weeks ago - so i don;t think they were small fish that we were messing with.

Geoff in regard to the lures - all the fish were hooked on Surecatch Knife Jigs, either 250 or 300 grm models. Green had 3 hookups and Blue one. Sorry i don;t have any pics.

Once again thanks for the advice and hopefully next time i will get one in the boat.

Cheers

Jim

[Nolongeramember]

A belated report from Saturday morning.

Yesterday i was lucky enough to get invited along on a mate of a mates boat. We got on the water at about 5:30 am and armed with assorted colours of knife jigs we went straight out to the peak. It was a bit bumpy on the way out there as there was a bit of a NE swell running but soon enough we pulled up.

Jigs straight over the side. We had several drops for not a lot of action before we came across some huge schools of bait on the sounder sitting in about 75 metres of water. After dropping through one of the schools - a few winds and i was on. This fish was like nothing i have ever fought before. I have caught a couple of reasonable sized (80 cm) kingies in the harbour and they go hard but this was something else. I had 50Lb braid on and 100lb leader and i simply couldn't shift it. Drag locked up hard and it was still managing to pull line... After battling for a couple of minutes the hooks pulled

I was pretty pissed off but not long later i hooked up again. This one was pulling even harder and it was all i could do to hold onto the rod, keep my balance in the lumpy seas and keep myself from being pulled over the side. After a couple more minutes of stale mate... you guessed it same result, hooks pulled again

By this stage i was feeling pretty low with myself but luckily i got another chance. 3rd time lucky i was thinking and this time i managed to get a few turns on the reel and get back a few metres of line - but no hooks pulled yet again!!!

To ease my embarrasment one of the other lads hooked up and had a similar experience. He had a bit more success and managed to get the fish quite a long way off the bottom - but same result, after about 5 minutes of battling - ping, hooks pulled!!

After 4 lost fish we pulled up stumps and headed for home. On the way in we stopped off at the "Trag" grounds off Coogee. As we pulled up there were fish everywhere on the sounder. Jig straight over the side, a few turns and wham! I got smashed and i was on again big style! This fish was pulling hard and taking line and there was little i could do to stop it. Again i just hung on - again same result... Pulled the hooks!! Not happy JAn!! Brought the jig up to find some serious teeth marks on it where it had been hammered.

After that no more action and i had to get in to go to work. All in all a fantastic heart pumping morning with some serious action. No fish on board but not for want of trying.

Just wondering if anyone has had similar experience with pulling hooks. Any reason for it?

Is it becuase there is no "give" in the braid and if you go too hard it just rips the hook out of the fishes mouth? I was very conscious of not giving any line as i didn't want to get rubbed off on the bottom. Is it better to back the drag off a bit and give the fish a bit of line? Maybe the hooks were too small but i don't think so (we were using Surecatch 250 and 300grm jigs with hooks already on them. Green was the colour doing the damage)

Any advice anyone has would be appreciated as next time i hook up to something substantial i want to make sure that i get it on the deck!

Sorry about the length of report - just got carried away. (i'm still reliving all of the fights in my head - and i can still feel the ache in my arms today!)

I feel for ya mate. You would have had some very decent sized fish on the end of your lines..

I dont think there is any specific drag setting for fighting kings or any fish really as I am always changing mine depending on where the fish is during the fight.

What I usually do when fighting a suspected king is to work out where abouts in the water column the fish is. If the water is 50m deep and you have 45m of line out then give him everything you have got. If the hooks pull then they pull there is nothing you can do about it.

On the other hand if you hook the fish mid water and you estimate hes 30m off the bottom then back off the drag a little and let the fish go. If hes takes a stack of line and you think hes near the bottom again then lock up...

When the fish is very near to the boat, or I know Im over a sand bottom then I back the drag right off.

Also, when you have a lot of line out you would be surprised how much pressure is on the fish even with a full loose drag. Try dragging 100m of empty line out the back of your boat at trolling pace and you will see what I mean.

[Geoff]

Thanks for the replies and the advice gents. The drag wasn't "locked up" as such but it was on pretty heavy resistance... Next time i will back it off as suggested and just let the fish run for a bit. I will take my chances with the bottom. The guys i was with caught a 14kg kingy in the same spot about 4 weeks ago - so i don;t think they were small fish that we were messing with.

Geoff in regard to the lures - all the fish were hooked on Surecatch Knife Jigs, either 250 or 300 grm models. Green had 3 hookups and Blue one. Sorry i don;t have any pics.

Once again thanks for the advice and hopefully next time i will get one in the boat.

Cheers

Jim

Jim Tks for the info on the luers.

One further thought that has come to mind. As previously mentiond it has been a lot of years since I jiged for Kings at the Peak or in fact any where else but as I recall if fishing with live bait the hook goes a long way into the mouth when the king swallows the bait therfore providing a solid hook up .

With jigs the hook up tends to be more around the lip area hence the greater chance of the hook pulling.

Also , & this may have been my imagation , but kings caught on jigs appeared to be more agressive than those on baits.

Add this to the non stretch braid , a lip hook up & tight drag , increases the chances of the hook pulling.

Would be interested to see if other Raiders have had a similar experience

Geoff

[jewgaffer]

Jim

........ I recall if fishing with live bait the hook goes a long way into the mouth when the king swallows the bait therfore providing a solid hook up .

With jigs the hook up tends to be more around the lip area hence the greater chance of the hook pulling.

......... kings caught on jigs appeared to be more agressive than those on baits.

Add this to the non stretch braid , a lip hook up & tight drag , increases the chances of the hook pulling.

Would be interested to see if other Raiders have had a similar experience

Geoff

Geoff your reply may have just about nailed Jim's question and that is the extra leverage that is given to a fighting fish by using lures where the hook up point is generally in the mouth.

Salmon for example have a particularly soft mouth and the heavier the fish the softer the mouth in comparison

Certain species have a natural instinct to shake off a hook if given the leverage and the free play in the lure where the lure is tied to the leader ring, the free play along the lure itself and again where the trebble hooks are attached to the lure by a split ring. And of course, you have to add to that the weight of the hardbody or knife jig and try to keep up the pressure on the fish and therefore minimize the free play and counteract the leverage from head shakes by keeping the line reasonably tight while graduating the drag.

Short shank solid live bait hooks do give a far more solid hook set.

As an analogy for people fishing for bigger fish with harbodies, and for an example, estuary fish and bait fish can often shake off long shanks. So using the same head shake and leverage principles in my estuary fishing, I think it's better to use kirbys or suicides generally and add fluro tubing to the leader for toothy critters such as tailor and flathead.

jewgaffer

Edited November 18, 2007 by jewgaffer