Last Two Weeks Harbour

[ACJ]

Between Christmas and mid-feb Ive been working in Tasmania and not fishing the harbour, and have been reading the harbour and FAD reports from other raiders with glee (and not a tad of disappointment, as it appears a rather slow season.) 

It really sucked to be out of town throughout was should have been the prime season, so since coming home mid Feb I've tried to hit it as hard as possible to make up. 

I've managed three sessions since getting home (17, 22 and 24 feb) and have managed one king each session, in what I could only describe as seriously seriously hard work. 

On 17 feb I fished all morning with a mate, and after 0500-1030 of not a whif of a fish at any marker despite having over a dozen live squid, astonishingly hooked up and landed my harbour record of 90cm on the last cast with a well dead previously-live squid right  before "heading home for beers." Having drifted well-presented live baits past the harbour's best known king marker for several hours for either no touch to being pillaged by jackets, I said to my mate "Right, stuff this lets go home, let me just have an actually cast at the structure on the way back"

Flicked a dead live squid right onto the marker itself and let it sink in the lee of the strong incoming.....wham. Just goes to show...drift or troll a mark for ages with nothing but cast right onto the structure..fish was there but current was such that it didn't want to go more that a meter or two from the wood...

I'd love to say it was a hard fight picking it up so close to the structure, but the old adage of 'go easy on the king and it will go easy on you' is just so so true. Just sort of drifted up the harbour, mate driving and just keeping us out of the way of the ferry, gave him few runs (no reef there to dust me) and after a few mins it was cruising beside the boat. Took some insane runs of drag but out there in the middle of the channel with no reef I just sat and let it go. The first twenty seconds it could have so easily done my on the marker, but i just flipped the bail arm and it cruised away from structure. 

Anyway next two sessions (22/24) got a king off the same mark, but again not after hours of pain and effort. I had a call one day (Fri 24) from a charter friend to say a certain harbour mark ("Old yeller" too long ago to be a secret) was firing, drive out after work and saw the most lit-up christmas tree of a sounder I've ever seen, like insane numbers of big arches, but hours of dangling live squid, strips heads, jigs brought nada. Word was obviously our by then because there were half-a-dozen crews after work doing exactly the same thing for exactly the same result. 

Anyway I haven't gone king-less so they're there, but not exactly leaping into the boat. 

Also during my FIFO shift in TAS i took my box of squid jigs, and after work one arvo jagged a 33cm hood right out the front or work. Never had  squid pull drag...interesting arvo. Shot of him here just to remind us that Sydney Calamari are...on the small side

 

 

[big Neil]

You've definitely got a good job ACJ if that's what you catch "at work". Very nice Kingie too. Excellent report and something else you learned about the quarry sitting in tight, away from the current. Well done. BN

[fragmeister]

"Old Yeller"  ... whats that? ...Never Heard of it!

Nice report there and I have to say that it just reminds me that sometimes we get spoiled in the good seasons and forget that you sometimes need to put in a little effort.

Well done on the Harbour PB

 

Cheers

[raging]

Nice report. 

What gear were you using for the kingy?

 

 

[REELCRAZY]

That's a cracker harbour king mate. WELL done. Persistence paid off. Been meaning to fish the harbour more lately, it seems to be where a lot of kings are hiding this season 

[Rock&Beach]

Great harbour PB ACJ. That's a nice kingy and an even better squid.

Cheers R&B

[jenno64]

Great post and nice to hear the results are coming after so many hours....cracker tassy inker too:)