fishmaniac Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Hey all, After a very long semester, I was out on the water on saturday, the day after my last exam. The weather was fantastic and so was the fishing. Fishing Sydney Harbour I managed: - 2 salmon (of around 2kg) - Around 15 kingies (lost count) - Assortment of reefies All fish were released except the one kingie pictured below. It was a personal best for me measuring in at 114cm and 14kg. It was a fantastic fight that lasted about 10 mins running some serious drag on a 50lb outfit. Doing everying from controlling the boat to the gaff shot was an interesting task being alone in a tinnie, but a hell of a lot of fun. What a fantastic way to start the holidays!!!! Cheers, Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hambly99 Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 solid king mate, good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Loops Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Awesome fish mate and even better doing it solo style Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adjustedpete Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Wow, what a great day to start the hol's. it only can get better mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregL Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 NIce King! What did you get it on, lure or livey? No better way than fishing to turn the mind off more serious things in life and then to celebrate with a cracker like that! Doesn't get much better...... Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roosterman Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 thats a solid fish for the harbour,well done any more details on that great capture... what was the sizing of the others , legals or rats? cheers...steve.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spongy Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 fishmaniac, We 3 were next to you in the other boat when you landed that monster. Awesome day and congrats on your PB. We ended up with 3 legals and lots of rats. Hopefully we can do this again next week. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harold Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 just a brilliant catch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray R Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Well done buddy , thats a cracker king and sounds like you had some fun with other species as well. Enjoy your hols.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgey Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Great fish mate, particularly as a solo effort. Great start to the holidays! Cheers Hodgey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil D Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 What a way to start the Hollidays mate, SOLID KING The other Kingies, where they rats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mookison Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 nice fish mate good on u for only keepin the prize Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny doi Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 congrats on the cracker hoody king & your new PB.wouldv been a sight watching you fight it & land it on your own,great work. now that youv finished school,who needs schoolies when your catching ripper kings like that.LOL. CHEERS JOHNNY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SZ1 Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 That is a brute hoodie, from the sounds of things there is quite a few hoodies swimming around at the moment, this is season looks to be shaping up nicely!!!! Well done on the beast, that is an awsome fish. Cheers, Sz1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankp Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 That is a serious hoodlum. Very close to a fish of a lifetime. Wel done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewiehaven Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 What a cracking Kingie Andrew... Damn... I wish I could catch them like that LB What a stonker and great effort all by yourself to fight, drive the tinnie and gaff the beastie! Thats a true achievement for a solo gig mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keflapod Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Hey FM, What exams did you just finish? Fish psychology? Or was it solo fishing 101 ? Helluva kingie for a one-man-band. Did you find yourself doing a 360 around yourself like the exorcist? I take my hat off to you. Tell you what, how about you give us a story-version of the events to give others on the site an insight as to how tricky it is to catch anything with a bit of fight on your own. I too fish alone and when I get a couple of nice trevs get on at once, there is more than a little tapdancing going on.... Congrats..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogtooth Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Nice King and Superb effort fishing solo.... Cheers... John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinksy Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 wow what a fish congrats.. so jelous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle ray Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Wow monster. Excellent fish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmaniac Posted November 23, 2009 Author Share Posted November 23, 2009 Thanks to all for the positive feedback! The majority of the other kingies were rats but there were some fish that were legal mixed amongst them. These little guys are so agressive they usually are first onto the baits. When i hooked up i was quite sure it was a solid fish, probably in the 70 or 80cm bracket. After about 5 minutes i knew it was a big fish (probably over that magic metre mark i was yet to crack) and was praying it didn't find any structure. By this stage i knew every inch was important and worked hard to regain line when the fish took a break after a run. The star drag on my saltist reel was completely locked and i had wedged myself between the back bench of the tinnie and the transom so i could be most secure when exerting maximum pressure on the fish. It was a great fight and i am very pleased that all my knots and tackle held together. When the fish was near the boat i was very nervous as this is where many big fish are lost. I had two missed gaff shots due to nerves and (by this time) a bit of fatigue from holding the rod in one arm and trying to line up the gaff. Got the gaff in and pulled him over the back of the boat. Now i am not sure if the following occurred when being dragged over the back of the boat or from the action of the fish but upon hitting the deck the hook came out. Upon inspection it was apparent that the barb of the hook had been snapped. I was very glad this happened in the boat and not out of it!!! My advice to anyone fishing solo is to have a clear deck and have all equipment (such as gaffs, pliers etc) ready to be used and in a place that all you have to do is simply pick it up. It was an amazing experience. After putting so many hours into so many spots and having more than a fair shair of king-fishless days, to land a fish of this calibre from Sydney was a dream. I just hope it becomes more of an occurance now with the restrictions on commercial fishing!! Cheers, Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kris Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Hey Andrew, Ive been out there with you fishing and when the kingfish came through, you always new how to hook onto the bigger models. Its a wonderful achievement from Sydney Harbour and may there be plenty more times like that and may i one day experience it. All the best and what a fish. Kris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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