Yon Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 I had arranged to meet a good mate for a sneaky pre-work spin this morning, but 7am rolled in and he had to rush off to work last minute. I was putting my pfd on when his call came through, so I figured I’d check the conditions out and maybe just have a quick fish by myself. The second I got to the headland, I could tell that it was going to be a good morning. The swell was about 3ft and the tide almost in. The sun was starting to light up the bay and I could see salmon jumping everywhere. My spot was still shaded and I figured that they’d make their way towards me as they tried to keep the last vestiges of shade / dark they could as they fed on the baitfish they’d herded. My third cast netted me a 3’ish kg salmon. Managed to wash him right up to my feet on a wave and was pretty happy with myself. This one was going to my swimming partner as his wife and kids love the old Kahawai. As I stood up on the rocks taking care of my catch out of harms way, I started to think about what my fishing mentor has always told me... Where you see a predator, something else sees prey. It’s true that the salmon wreak havoc on the bait schools, but I’ve also seen plenty of videos on YouTube where people use them as livebait for kings. What the hell, I figured - can’t hurt to try fishing beneath the school. Worst case factor I’ll lose a metal on the bottom. As I was reflecting on this, I noticed a loose loop deep in my spool and took a note to cast it out before it causes a knot. So I loaded up the rod and sent that metal as far as I could, paying attention to the line on the spool as the lure hit the water and sank. I didn’t want another loop, so I closed the bail arm and held the line in between my fingers as it started to tighten, and tighten and... shit! I was on!! I immediately reeled in my line and set the hook, gaining as much line as I could. A wave started to stand up where my line was and I was rewarded with the sight of a big Kingfish on the end of my line! Now you have to understand, I haven’t brought home a kingie in a year, my wife and kids are giving me a hard time about it, so I was stoked. The only problem is that I was fishing 20lb braid and 30lb leader in a pretty rocky area. So anyway, I’m eye to eye with a big king and it’s on the surface about 20, maybe 30 meters away from me. I reckon I’ve got a decent shot at landing this thing. Only then the fish seems to realise it’s hooked. It turns and goes down, down, down... 🥴 I’m tightening my drag and pulling hard, it’s as if the fish doesn’t even feel it. Just keeps going like the hoodlum it is while I hold my rod like a helpless child. My drag is running furiously and suddenly I feel the dreaded snap and no weight on my line. My heart pounding and hands shaking, I brought what was left of my line back in and re-rigged. I’ve had so much practice trying the fg knot This week that I can now do it with my eyes closed! After that I landed and sent back a few more salmon, but I was just trying to catch that king. I hope that somewhere out there near Bronte, there’s a big kingfish ready for another fight. Me? I need to listen to my more experienced friends more often! Still - what a spectacular day. Got to work by 08:45, managed to get a fish in and was in a good mood the rest of the day! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoingFishing Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 (edited) Great report !!!! Lesson learnt. Never tighten that drag mid fight against a Kingie Edited August 19, 2020 by GoingFishing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yon Posted August 19, 2020 Author Share Posted August 19, 2020 Yeah - should probably have just let it run as I had the line capacity. Oh well… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickmarlin62 Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 If anything back off drag and they stop the crash dive its called the softly softly aproach 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yon Posted August 19, 2020 Author Share Posted August 19, 2020 6 minutes ago, rickmarlin62 said: If anything back off drag and they stop the crash dive its called the softly softly aproach Ok - so I definitely need some instruction here. I’ve been told that if you don’twrestle them up, you’re 100% going to be taken into the reef and busted off. So if you let them run with lighter drag, How do you get them back up? Do you just go back and forth until they’re too tired to fight anymore and come willingly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAKSShark Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 Nice work on the salmon Yon, pity bout the kingie tho Just remember... The harder you go on a king the harder it will go on you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 Top report - felt like I was there. cheers Zoran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlvbw Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 Interesting isn't it. The kiwis LOVE to live-bait salmon (kahawhai) for kingies but I don't know anyone in Australia that does it. Check out the Big Angry Fish lads. They love it and there is no doubt it works in Enzed. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 Great report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rey05 Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 awesome report, love me some smoked kahawai. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoingFishing Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 (edited) 3 hours ago, Yon said: Ok - so I definitely need some instruction here. I’ve been told that if you don’twrestle them up, you’re 100% going to be taken into the reef and busted off. So if you let them run with lighter drag, How do you get them back up? Do you just go back and forth until they’re too tired to fight anymore and come willingly? If your on a boat fishing with 100 pound braid and 150 leader....you can try to " arm wrestle" them to stop them getting into the reef. But fishing off the rocks with 20lb main and 30 pound leader....your not in the best position for an arm wrestle !!!! That's bringing a knife to a gunfight against a good sized king. Theres no black and white answer...every situation needs to be considered individually Edited August 19, 2020 by GoingFishing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyT Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 Kings off the rocks can be really problematic-it completely depends on the terrain-the bigger kings ive landed off the stones and seen landed were all caught off ledges where you could get over the top of the fish and keep the line away from the rocks eg Avoca, Jervis BAy type ledges. The places where i constantly got smoked all had bits of shallow reef around and about. A classic is the Skillion at Terrigal-hooked a few crackers there over the years but all they had to do was swim to the south and the line would get cut on the underlying reef-sometimes they didnt even pull drag they just swum with the line angle-IMHO going soft on the rocks just means you donate more line to the reef. Some days you can get lucky but go hard-I did get a 6kg fish on 6kg mono a few years ago off the rocks at Noosa in Qld with no leader-but it was a dead calm day and i could get right over the top of the fish and keep the line out-most days he would of trashed me and ive landed quite a few in the 8-10kg range with heavier gear at places like Avoca and the Ovens-but again the shape of the ledge made all the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yon Posted August 20, 2020 Author Share Posted August 20, 2020 11 hours ago, dlvbw said: Interesting isn't it. The kiwis LOVE to live-bait salmon (kahawhai) for kingies but I don't know anyone in Australia that does it. Check out the Big Angry Fish lads. They love it and there is no doubt it works in Enzed. Yeah - I’d like to try it. Harder to keep a salmon alive overnight in a bucket than a few yakkas though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yon Posted August 20, 2020 Author Share Posted August 20, 2020 10 hours ago, PaddyT said: Kings off the rocks can be really problematic-it completely depends on the terrain-the bigger kings ive landed off the stones and seen landed were all caught off ledges where you could get over the top of the fish and keep the line away from the rocks eg Avoca, Jervis BAy type ledges. The places where i constantly got smoked all had bits of shallow reef around and about. A classic is the Skillion at Terrigal-hooked a few crackers there over the years but all they had to do was swim to the south and the line would get cut on the underlying reef-sometimes they didnt even pull drag they just swum with the line angle-IMHO going soft on the rocks just means you donate more line to the reef. Some days you can get lucky but go hard-I did get a 6kg fish on 6kg mono a few years ago off the rocks at Noosa in Qld with no leader-but it was a dead calm day and i could get right over the top of the fish and keep the line out-most days he would of trashed me and ive landed quite a few in the 8-10kg range with heavier gear at places like Avoca and the Ovens-but again the shape of the ledge made all the difference. I haven’t found the answer yet either. Cliff fishing I use 80lb braid and 120lb leader. I can just skull drag them up. with a light outfit I dunno... doesn’t seem to be a good way to land them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonD Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 Ive fished side by side next to my daughter where Ive broken 80lb leaders and snapped 10/o gamagatsu hooks over and over again while my daughter hasn't lost a fish using 20lb class tackle. In saying that not all leaders are made equal, by far the toughest mono Ive used in terms of abrasion resistance is mamoi diamond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yon Posted August 21, 2020 Author Share Posted August 21, 2020 12 hours ago, JonD said: Ive fished side by side next to my daughter where Ive broken 80lb leaders and snapped 10/o gamagatsu hooks over and over again while my daughter hasn't lost a fish using 20lb class tackle. In saying that not all leaders are made equal, by far the toughest mono Ive used in terms of abrasion resistance is mamoi diamond. I’ve been meaning to get some momoi. Just so expensive here. Was going to wait until we visit my in laws in America... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonD Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 1 hour ago, Yon said: I’ve been meaning to get some momoi. Just so expensive here. Was going to wait until we visit my in laws in America... It's frustrating that tackle stores sell other mamoi mono here but not the company's best selling line in the US. My local store seems to think he will be able to get some from the Aus importer, will let you know how he goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yon Posted August 22, 2020 Author Share Posted August 22, 2020 1 hour ago, JonD said: It's frustrating that tackle stores sell other mamoi mono here but not the company's best selling line in the US. My local store seems to think he will be able to get some from the Aus importer, will let you know how he goes. Thanks!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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