Sunday Harbour sesh

[mattyg_16]

Hey guys,

Went out into the Harbour on Sunday (with a million other boats) to chase some Kings as it had been a little over 6 months since I had specifically targeted them. Got to tunks park just before 6am with the carpark already full! Set off to find some squid but could not get one (first squid fail in a while) so had to use my back up frozen squid caught last outing. Tried a few spots for no action so headed into Rose Bay for some lure flicking and caught my first flounder on a deep diving hardbody. I actually got to see him come out of the sand and smash the lure in the gin clear water, he was put back as he was well under legal. Tried for some flattys but could not find any.

Decided to have one more crack at a king on the way back to the boat ramp at a well known marker. Had to squeeze my boat in between a couple others already there and did not hold any high hopes. However I did feel a little better seeing everyone was using pilchards and prawns as bait. Put my squid out mid water and within a couple of mintues one of my rods was buckling over. The king took one run straight down and I immediately knew it would be a PB king for me (currently 78cm) as I have caught a few on the same outfit but none have pulled that hard. It then took a second run on a down angle towards the marker and I was staring to s%#t myself as I kinda knew I would not be able to stop this thing . Made a drag adjustment and after gaining a tiny bit of line back from him he then took a third and final brutal run straight for the marker and busted me off with ease. I was using 60lb braid and 60lb leader. Spewing that he busted me off but even though I didn't land him he left with the adrenalin shakes and a smile on my face. Put some more squid back down but after 10mins of nothing decided to pull the pin an head home. Definitely got my King addiction fired up again!

Matt

Edited November 26, 2012 by mattyg_16

[tasksta]

Hey mate

I hit the markers on sat for zero but i only had yellow tail and plastics.

Can i ask how far out from the marker you dropped your bait?

Gotta love a fish that excites you even if you don't land it!

Chers

Paul

[mattyg_16]

Hey mate

I hit the markers on sat for zero but i only had yellow tail and plastics.

Can i ask how far out from the marker you dropped your bait?

Gotta love a fish that excites you even if you don't land it!

Chers

Paul

Hey Paul,

I reackon squid is the go inside the harbour, I'm sure yakkas work but squid seems to be the best. I fished roughly about 15 metres away from the marker. Need to find a happy medium that you are close enough to the structure that the fish find your bait but far enough away that gives you a chance of steering them away from it. Obviously I could not do that on Sunday . But that's fishing, I'll rethink the game plan and have another crack.

Matt

[Cobba12]

WOW what a fish!!!

When I fish 50lb braid and hook something like that my motto is if I am going to lose it then let it break the line. What this means is lock the drag up, hit sunrise and then grab the spool if you can. Some fish need to be stopped and that is often the only way. If you still cant stop it then it's game over.

Does your reel have drag strength to load up 60lb? I have seen some guys use heavy duty line but not have the tackle to actually use that weight line which is really quiet pointless.

Anyway better luck next time mate.

[Robinsoi]

Nice report there Matt

Must have been a beast of a fish. Sorry to hear the sneaky bugger busted you off.

Better luck next time.

Ian

[mattyg_16]

WOW what a fish!!!

When I fish 50lb braid and hook something like that my motto is if I am going to lose it then let it break the line. What this means is lock the drag up, hit sunrise and then grab the spool if you can. Some fish need to be stopped and that is often the only way. If you still cant stop it then it's game over.

Does your reel have drag strength to load up 60lb? I have seen some guys use heavy duty line but not have the tackle to actually use that weight line which is really quiet pointless.

Anyway better luck next time mate.

Good point Cobba12,

I personally don't fish the line class to match my reel drag pressure (which is 20lb). I only fish heavy line and leader to give me a bit of resistance around structure (although clearly it did not work this time) and I usually have a couple of different outfits depending on where I'm fishing. I did try and give it to him after the second run but as they say the harder you pull the harder they pull, and he blitzed me. Pretty excited that that caliber of fish is accessible to most people as I only own an estuary boat. Definitely keen to give it a go, minus all the boats that were out.

Matt