G’day Raiders.
I had something strange happen to me last time I was out fishing a central coast ledge and wanted to harness your collective knowledge to figure out what happened and how to get the better of the fish next time!
The situation:
- Fishing whole pilchards on a two-hook rig.
- 30lb braid and 50lb leader on a Catalina 4000.
- Sandy bottom off the ledge. Had caught a few kings but was waiting for the big one.
- Cast out and bait hit the sand. After a few seconds I feel something mouthing the bait and then it slowly starts to pull so I strike and BAM! Big run on fairly tight drag. Much harder run than the undersized kings I’d been hooking so far, I call it for a big fish and tell my mate to have the gaff handy. Then after a few seconds of taking line I’m no longer connected.
- I reel in the line and bait is still there, intact but slightly crushed?!
Im wondering if it was a big Jewfish as I’ve never caught a jewie before but have heard they take the bait differently to kings.
1) What the heck happened???
2) What do I do differently next time?
Thanks for reading!