mako1 Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 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. 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riley93 Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 great fishing mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livinthedream Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 well done!! nice fish but exceptional considering the circumstances!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiro Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Top report brother... Well done! Good job on landing the fish... Would have been pretty pee'd if you didnt take it home huh... Top effort!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Cam Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 I'm sure you breathed a sigh of relief to finally cuddle that kingy! Well done! Now you have an excuse to update your rod! Cheers, Cam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cflife Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Top fish mate , good work. got my vote for fotm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Beauty of a King there Mako, well deserved after that effort to get it up the cliff penguin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abiasin Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 10 kg sounds pretty right to me mate, well done on the great king there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtosea Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Wicked read champ, great report. Should have maybe weighed the fish at the tackle shop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgey Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Top effort mate. Landing a kingie from a ledge would be hard enough, without contending with a broken rod . Good to see you were rewarded for your efforts with a great fish to take home. Any explanation for the new rod breaking, Mako? Hodgey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inhlanzi Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 (edited) Great fish Mako Even better story well done! Cheers inhlanzi Edited July 20, 2008 by inhlanzi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishhunter76 Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Great story Mako. The kingy . Mate bet you had a great time pull the monster up . All the hard work diffently worth it. Top catch. Cheers LALA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ben75 Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Gday Mako Congrats Cheers Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray R Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Mate what an effort, well deserved after all the dramas anice big Kingy.. Congrats.. Cheers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alvillanova Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 well done and congrats on such a great capture from the cliff tops mate, keep up the good work............cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mako1 Posted July 19, 2008 Author Share Posted July 19, 2008 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james7 Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 WOW! Sensational report Mako and a great fish too. Well done! 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mako1 Posted July 19, 2008 Author Share Posted July 19, 2008 WOW! Sensational report Mako and a great fish too. Well done! 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. 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TobyW Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 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!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanger Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Nice king, well done getting it off the rocks!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemo1203 Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Fat king there mate. he would have been a great fight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adjustedpete Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Absolutely sterling effort my man.... I fished off the cliffs for tailor a few times and it is no mean feat to haul a bigass hood like that up...............Legend status bro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillN Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 cliff fishing looks like an extreme sport! congrats on the nice fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloosh Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 bloody corker of a kingy - well done mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Dan Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 well done mate, thats a champion effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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