sydfish
14-08-07, 07:57 PM
:hellyeah:Went out on Sunday with my mate and co founder of Sydney Fish Finder, Hugh Hefner, for the best, (for Hughie at least), session in months.
Started out by heading wide of the Barwon Banks, to the 85 m line where most of the good snapper have being coming from up here. We anchored up in 95m and put a couple of baits down. As our normally secluded mark had been somehow broadcast to the whole world with 40 boats in the area, we were off the normal mark by a 100 m or so. After nearly an hour we had only one snapper of about 5kg, so we pulled stomps and went to our favorite spot in 35m on the banks. We did have a few drifts at other marks for a big fat 0.
After anchoring we went back to our pre local guru methods and burleyed solidly for an hour or so without much success, just a few small snapper, pearl perch and trevally, one of about 25cm which we put on a serious wire 3 sliding hook rigs and 80lb braid, about 2m under a baloon in the burley trail. Back to that later.
All of a sudden the bottom rigs started going off, I blew one ripper when on the initial run the boat rocked the carpet under my feet slipped and I fell into the gunnell with the small leather rod bucket getting in between me and the gunnel and subsequently sqashing my left nut. I will say no more than in this moment the fish and I parted company and I was in a state of serious pain that only men understand.:maad:
Hughie also droped his next one when one of the swivels in his gang gave out. He then managed to land the next snapper of 4kg, with less trouble than the last fight. He was using a 6/0 gang of tru turns separated by swivels and I was on a paternosta with circle 6/0 gamakatsus. He then pulled in the next 6 snapper between 3 and 6kg while I kept missing hits exept for a few small snapper just legal (35cm up here) until I changed rigs to the ganged rigs, I then was destroyed by the next 4 hits, 2 of these I was too light on and I was done in the reef, so I hardened up and straightened the hooks on the gangs for the next 2, I was having a bad day, good for hookups crap for landing fish.
Meanwhile the live bait had been harrassed on the surface a couple of times without a strike. As we kept blowing baits down deep unable to stop in 30m whatever was getting us. We consentrated on the heavy gear as the livey was getting more agitated all the time, suprising since it had been out for 2 hours by now. Then big grey backs started coming up near it, at the time we thought it must had of been sharks until it engulfed the trevally and the baloon poped and it was on. The fight went on for 10min or so we thought all sorts of things as it circled under the boat an Hughie was happy about the heavy gear, we landed a king of 110cm and about 11kg, and saw a pack of his mates both bigger and smaller than the one we caught.
After landing I thought bugger this and bought out the jigs and with only a 80lb leader I dropped my prized sacrifice stick in black and gold and was on in less than 3 seconds after dropping it, the fish took off and went straight to the reef, bang it was all over in 30 seconds all i had left was a damged led leader. So i tie another on bang gone 2 turns off the bottom. So I tie on a third, hit almost at the boat on the way up. I had this one to the boat twice before it liberated itself on the third run to the bottom. I was a bit desperate bu this stage so I beefed up the gear on the 4 jig, bang 20m down hit and after a few moments we parted company again. I might add that i was game fishing this day, my wifes birthday, so we had to go back in. Alright by me I was buggered after losing so many big fish.
It goes to show no matter how much you refine technique, you have days where nothing goes right, but I will be prepared for next time.
Started out by heading wide of the Barwon Banks, to the 85 m line where most of the good snapper have being coming from up here. We anchored up in 95m and put a couple of baits down. As our normally secluded mark had been somehow broadcast to the whole world with 40 boats in the area, we were off the normal mark by a 100 m or so. After nearly an hour we had only one snapper of about 5kg, so we pulled stomps and went to our favorite spot in 35m on the banks. We did have a few drifts at other marks for a big fat 0.
After anchoring we went back to our pre local guru methods and burleyed solidly for an hour or so without much success, just a few small snapper, pearl perch and trevally, one of about 25cm which we put on a serious wire 3 sliding hook rigs and 80lb braid, about 2m under a baloon in the burley trail. Back to that later.
All of a sudden the bottom rigs started going off, I blew one ripper when on the initial run the boat rocked the carpet under my feet slipped and I fell into the gunnell with the small leather rod bucket getting in between me and the gunnel and subsequently sqashing my left nut. I will say no more than in this moment the fish and I parted company and I was in a state of serious pain that only men understand.:maad:
Hughie also droped his next one when one of the swivels in his gang gave out. He then managed to land the next snapper of 4kg, with less trouble than the last fight. He was using a 6/0 gang of tru turns separated by swivels and I was on a paternosta with circle 6/0 gamakatsus. He then pulled in the next 6 snapper between 3 and 6kg while I kept missing hits exept for a few small snapper just legal (35cm up here) until I changed rigs to the ganged rigs, I then was destroyed by the next 4 hits, 2 of these I was too light on and I was done in the reef, so I hardened up and straightened the hooks on the gangs for the next 2, I was having a bad day, good for hookups crap for landing fish.
Meanwhile the live bait had been harrassed on the surface a couple of times without a strike. As we kept blowing baits down deep unable to stop in 30m whatever was getting us. We consentrated on the heavy gear as the livey was getting more agitated all the time, suprising since it had been out for 2 hours by now. Then big grey backs started coming up near it, at the time we thought it must had of been sharks until it engulfed the trevally and the baloon poped and it was on. The fight went on for 10min or so we thought all sorts of things as it circled under the boat an Hughie was happy about the heavy gear, we landed a king of 110cm and about 11kg, and saw a pack of his mates both bigger and smaller than the one we caught.
After landing I thought bugger this and bought out the jigs and with only a 80lb leader I dropped my prized sacrifice stick in black and gold and was on in less than 3 seconds after dropping it, the fish took off and went straight to the reef, bang it was all over in 30 seconds all i had left was a damged led leader. So i tie another on bang gone 2 turns off the bottom. So I tie on a third, hit almost at the boat on the way up. I had this one to the boat twice before it liberated itself on the third run to the bottom. I was a bit desperate bu this stage so I beefed up the gear on the 4 jig, bang 20m down hit and after a few moments we parted company again. I might add that i was game fishing this day, my wifes birthday, so we had to go back in. Alright by me I was buggered after losing so many big fish.
It goes to show no matter how much you refine technique, you have days where nothing goes right, but I will be prepared for next time.