Jump to content

Kingfish Blues


inhlanzi

Recommended Posts

What a story, the most intersting read for ages...edge of your seat stuff. Perhaps you might be able to hire some scuba equipment to complete the salvage..Good luck and thanks for the report.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's an awesome fishing tale. It had everything, action, drama and loss. That is truly a story to tell the kids and grand kids. Bet the Kingy went down a treat for you and the family.

The unfortunate loss of your gear must surely be a bit easier each time you remember what happened.

Memories for a lifetime.

GOOB

Link to comment
Share on other sites

G'day Raiders

In recent weeks I have been attempting to catch a big jewie on a downrigger.

Pete at GoFish has been very helpful at getting all the bits and pieces I need to get up and running. I had to get a special rail-mount to hold the downrigger. On Thursday I went for a trail run with everything in place.

I did a few runs with a big river to sea rattle mullet and then a big paddletail and finally a Pakula Dojo Peche. I wanted to see how the boat and gear performed at low speed and see how the feedback was on the rod with the different lures. All worked very well and was stoked with the whole set up.

There was some surface action and I went over to chuck a small river to sea "pinkie" at the splashing. Quickley got a nice slimey an then I had a bright idea! How about a nice downrigged slimey!!

Got the rod rerigged and down went a slimey to 25 feet.

Now the rod in question is a Wilson Live Fibre Texalium Six foot Spin and on it is a Baitrunner 6500B loaded with 80lb Tuff line XP sitting in a rail mounted Scotty Powerlock 230.

I head off down with the current as the tide is on its way out. I decide I will just follow the flow and see what happens.

About 20 mins into the journey I suddenly hear that amazing sound of the 6500 going off its head, I turned to see the rod absolutely buckled off to the side and then a sudden sharp CRACK and the rod, reel and rodholder head off at an angle into the drink!!!! kasploosh!!!!! Instinctively I grab the downrigger handle and wind like hell but its not caught on anything. WTF WTF

All quiet... WHAT THE F&^$!!!!!

Absolutely shattered is about all I could think.

Stopped the boat sat there and contemplated the situation. How the hell can a rod holder snap like that??? I have had numerous really big rays and good sharks and the odd big jew take in that same holder and never a problem. I checked the bomb and as it was still a brand new bomb there was not a mark on so therefore it must have been a a frigging FISH!!!

The DAMAGE - $600 plus Goooooone

Wilson Live Fibre Texalium Six foot Spin (+_ $350.00 )

and on it is a Baitrunner 6500B ( +_ $230.00 )

loaded with 80lb Tuff line XP ( at least $50.00 ).

Scotty Rod Holder ( +_ $ 59 )

post-1963-1209291639_thumb.jpg

All that remains...

Ah well I figure I better start to try and jig up my gear. Find some sinkers and get a few trebbles off the lures and the cast and retrieve begins. At this point I remember back to Cephs posts about the Stella that got away not once but twice and he got it back so it motivated me keep on trying.

I tried for a long time and it was starting to get dark and then in the gloom I see a fin slowly moving on the surface. Being a bit curious I motored over to have a look and there is a mother of a kingie just slowly lolling on the surface. Quickley grab one of the rods and try to put on a lure to have a cast. Then I notice something hanging out the side of the kingeys mouth - a slimey. Thats what took my rod!!!!!!!! As I got closer he turned and I could see my yellow braid!!! My heart starts pumping and now what? At this point he sees the boat and a swish of the tail and he's off like a rocket.

Ok OK so now I know more or less where things are.

By now its really dark and I decide to pack up and come back at first light.

I got home and made up a few jiggin traces with the biggest trebbles I could find.

Hardly slept all night and at 5 am I was off to the water.

Got to the spot as the sun was coming up and there was nothing. So I figured I would try and jig the whole area. I had been jigging and draging for hours I was quite despondent.

A couple of times I saw what a thought was an up-welling near where I saw the Kingie last night. I moved a bit closer and cast over the upwelling area. I think on the third cast I snagged something - the joy of seeing the braid on the trebble was amazing. I grabbed the braid and began to pull there was something there and it was moving. YES YES YES

I took my time hand over hand making a neat pile on the deck and then I saw him...SHIT... landing net no, no no! too small get the gaff get the gaff. I guided his head toward the transom and lowered the gaff under his head and drove it home up and onto the boat, bloody hell this was a good size King. The measure sticker on my boat stops at 90cm and he was well pased that!! Yahoooooooooo..

NOW get the gear on the other end! I pulled the line in quickley ...BIG MISTAKE ... It was snagged on something and I guess I was a bit too hasty I had the line wrapped around a pair of pliers for leverage, but long story short - the braid bust down where it was snagged and my beloved texie and my newest 6500 lies somewhere down there.

The Kingie made a fantastic dinner for 9 adults and a couple of kids.

I am still in a bit of shock and will have to go back and jig and drag some more.

As I stare at the empty spot in my rod rack I guess there are a lot of lessons to be learned here but I still need time to figure them all out!

Cheers

inhlanzi

post-1963-1209291022_thumb.jpg

Mate, Top story pity you didn't retrieve your gear. I lost a rig off the rocks at Kurnell the cast out a lure and picked up my line, wasn't sure if I was pulling in a fish or my rig, in the end I got back the whole rig.

Cheers Jimi.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

mate i've had the excact problem of loosing a rod from trolling..... i thought i checked the drag before starting to troll..... 5min into it... hear the drag then a snap and my rod was over board attached to the snapped rod holder...... if anyone is daring to swim around the container wall and find an ugly stick you can keep it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for all the replies Raiders

Great to be able to share the experience with all of you.

Thanks for the sympathy and the advice.

It sounds like I am not alone in having gear busted out of rodholders!

I will attempt to answer some of the questions you asked

Tobyw - Didn't get an exact measure or a weight but on the boat I have a measure sticker which goes 90cm and the tail went past that.

Netic - The drag was what I call hand tight, you have to give the line a good pull to make the spool move.

Boban - I have kept a packet of fillets to give to your Uncle. Maybe he will get you over for some tasty hoodlum for lunch. He saw the fish when I got home.

Ceph - I'm already starting to research stainless rodholders!

Byron - I will never put a rod out on a downrigger without a lanyard again - I have already made one 3m long and it even has a crab trap float on - just in case.

I will let you know if we ever find the rod and reel.

Cheers

inhlanzi

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It sounds like I am not alone in having gear busted out of rodholders!

Cheers

inhlanzi

I thought I would wait to see how many others had lost rods to this sort of freight train attack before I put my 2 bob in.

Firstly the story, unbelievable, what perseverance, clever man, thinking on your feet under duress. Champion effort, as mentioned, a story to be regaled over and over again. Excellent reading.

Anyway, a few years back I was live baiting for Papuan Black Bass using telapia, in the upper Galley Reach in PNG using GB1706 with Abu 7000 loaded with 24kg. The rod was left in free spool with the ratchet engaged leaning against the gunwhale, the familiar zzzzzzzzzzz went off and I reached for the rod only to knock it over, unfortunately knocking it out of freespool, only to sit there in amazement at the speed that the outfit went over the side of the boat into the water - like a rocket. All I could do was to look over at my mate, grab another beer from the esky, and sit there in silence.

Definately a candidate for POM.

Cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

mate sorry to hear that...over the weekend i was fishing with a mate off a boat in the bay, he had 2 combos with him, a crystal blue with a little okuma reel, probably worth about a total of $130, and his other combo was a daiwa sol combo worth about $600....

he baited the crystal blue up, cast it out, left it leaning, then cast out his sol combo...crystal blue bends like crazy, we both turn around,he grabs the crystal blue... then we both hear knock behind us, turn around... the sol combo has taken to the air, hit the water and disappeared...

on the way back this is what i was hearing... "why couldnt it be the crystal blue combo?"

cheers, harry.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...