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Kurnell Cliffs.


mako1

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Hit the Kurnell cliff tops in search of some snapper and to also do some live baiting.

Arrived at the spot at 7:45am and cast a wide bait for a snapper.The sea was calm and it

was sunny, not ideal snapper conditions, so I left the rod and rigged a pilchard under a float.

First cast I caught a 30cm pike so out it went straight away on my new LBG rod.

The pike was holding really close to the rocks and I couldn't get it to swim out so I left it

while I continued to float fish.About 25 minutes later I noticed the line slowly moving away from

the rocks so I thought the pike was finally starting to swim out but then the line picked up speed.

I quickly grabbed the rod and let the fish run for about 15m and then I set the hook and that's

when the fish hit the afterburners and ran for about 25m but just before the run ended there was a

crack and the 7'6" rod became a 6' rod.After the rod breaking I finally manage to turn the fish but

then it took another good run and I had to lock up a few times to prevent a bust off.

I finally started to win and after a few more tense moments I had a nice king waiting for the gaff at the

base of the cliff.That's when the fun began.

I clipped the cliff gaff on and slid it down.I pulled and gaffed the fish but it didn't hold.I tried again but

gaff wouldn't slide down to the fish because it kept getting caught on the broken piece of rod on the line.

I kept trying to get the gaff to the fish but it wouldn't go past the piece of rod and the rope was starting

to tangle.Then disaster,when it pulled on the rope the clip came loose and the gaff came off the rope and

then slid down onto the fish.I pulled the rope out while frantically thinking of what I could do.I tried to lift

the fish up with the line but it was too heavy.I then cradled the rod in my arm while holding it between my

knees and I grabbed the other float rod I had out and pulled it in.Tensely I tried to hook the cliff gaff with

the ganged hooks.After about five minutes I finally hooked it and brought it up.

The gaff went back down on the rope and after two more goes I finally got a good hold on the fish.

The worst part was bringing it up 30 metres because I was just waiting for it to drop off.

Then total relief as I brought it onto the ledge.

post-2229-1216437889_thumb.jpg

post-2229-1216438359_thumb.jpg

The king was 106cm long and a new PB for me.I weighed it on the scales I had at home.

I weighed myself and then myself and the fish and the difference was 10KG.

I'm not to sure if that's accurate.Any ideas on the weight?

With a broken rod and a 25 minute walk ahead of me I decided to call it quits.

The walk back was a bit of a struggle,to say the least but it was worth all the pain.

Got home at about 10:30am, after stopping off at the tackle shop to get the rod exchanged,cleaned

and cut the king into cutlets ready for the BBQ.

It was good to finally get a king from this spot as I have been busted off quite a few times on the

lighter gear but now that I have the heavier gear I might start to win a few more battles and I know there

are bigger kings there.

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Top effort mate. Landing a kingie from a ledge would be hard enough, without contending with a broken rod :1yikes: . Good to see you were rewarded for your efforts with a great fish to take home. :thumbup:

Any explanation for the new rod breaking, Mako?

Hodgey

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Thanks for all the kind replies.

Should have maybe weighed the fish at the tackle shop?

The guys at the tackle shop estimated the king at 6-7kg and I thought that

sounded about right but when I got home and was going to clean the fish it

felt like it was heavier.I was going to weigh it on my Shimano scales but I

couldn't find them so I had to resort to the bathroom scales.I also have a

weigh your fish with a ruler section in my fishing journal and a fork length

of 96cm is equivalent to 11.3kg so I think 10kg sounds like it's on the mark.

Any explanation for the new rod breaking, Mako?

Hodgey

I'm not sure why the rod broke,probably just a manufacturing fault.

The guys at the tackle shop were great and replaced the rod straight away.

Hopefully I wont have any more problems with the rod.

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WOW! Sensational report Mako and a great fish too.

Well done! :thumbup:

Hope you do just as well next time ... without the broken rod of course.

Would love to see some photos showing how high the cliff is. (It's not my cup of tea because I don't like heights) Great story.

Cheers

Peter

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WOW! Sensational report Mako and a great fish too.

Well done! :thumbup:

Hope you do just as well next time ... without the broken rod of course.

Would love to see some photos showing how high the cliff is. (It's not my cup of tea because I don't like heights) Great story.

Cheers

Peter

Here are a couple of photos from the ledge that I fish from.

The point in the photo is 30m high,the same height as the ledge

I fish from.

post-2229-1216472564_thumb.jpg

post-2229-1216472581_thumb.jpg

I have some photos looking down from the cliff but I can't seem

to find them.I'll post them up if I find them.

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Mako, that is a bloody sterling effort... Catch of the month in my eyes.. Ive seen guys fishing there when Ive been trolling past, and think what the Hell do they do if they get onto a Hood... thanks for answering that.. and top fish at that!!! :1worthy::1worthy::1worthy::1worthy::1worthy::1worthy::1worthy::1worthy:

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