gregg.michael Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Hey Raiders, Bit of a special post so I may go on a bit. Thought I would share my most recent catch with you. Spent Wednesday and Thursday fishing the Hawkesbury with my brother and father. Conditions were tough on Wednesday with the winds still blowing from the day before. Cut a long story short - the next day was perfect. Mudcrabs in the pots and squid were cooperating, things were looking good for the afternoon run out tide. I didn't know how good they would get. We were just settling in to our second spot for the afternoon when all hell broke loose. The rod set closest to the boat buckled over and I grabbed it, setting the hook. The fish ran upstream into the current and straight under the anchor rope. So within 30 seconds of this fight starting - I was in trouble. My brother was already bringing the anchor up, so with him holding the rope up, I passed the rod under and I was in the clear again with the fish charging into the current and towards the reef. I managed to turn the fish and thankfully it ran wide and then went with the current downstream and towards deeper water. I felt the heavy headshakes of a fish with some serious weight and called it for a Jew. The leader came to surface three times before I got a glimpse of what I was dealing with as it continued to charge for the bottom and away from the boat. But when the murky brown water of the Hawkesbury finally revealed it to me, it dawned on me how important it would be to land this fish properly. A few expletives were uttered at the sheer size of the fish which had finally given up and was heading now towards my brother with gaff in hand. Special thanks to my bro who slipped the gaff into it's gaping jaws and perfectly pinned it through the bottom jaw and lifted it up over the side and onto the deck. Now we could see it in all it's glory. This thing was way bigger than any Jew I had caught previously and definitely the biggest fish I have ever landed. I was hoping for a nice schoolie - when we measured it, it went 140cm. It didn't fit on the brag mat! (please note the tail in this photo is bent up the inside of the cast deck and looks shorter than 20cm beyond the end of the mat - but it was measured properly on flat a surface and it went 140cm) High fives and carrying on attracted the attention of the family fishing next to us who came over for a look. The very young kids couldn't believe their eyes, and it reminded me of being a very young bloke learning of the mighty mulloway that lurked in my local waters and the dream of one day catching a big one. Unfortunately we didn't have scales but even if we did they probably wouldn't have been adequate for a fish of this size. I checked the dpi website and a fish of 140 cm should be 27.7 kgs. It felt every bit of it. I know it will take me a long time to top that fish but the memories will be with me forever. A huge thanks to my father Gary, and my brother James. Without these two I wouldn't go fishing half as much as I do and there is no way I could have landed this fish of a lifetime without them. I have attached one pic with a red bull can in frame for COTM and would like to submit this fish for the fishraider records. Enjoy the pics & thanks for reading. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewhunter Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Well done Mike! That's a session & a fish to be very proud of! Awesome jew, & a top report to boot. Congrats on a great fish. Cheers, Grant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickyd Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Awesome mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hambo692 Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 That's amazing. Awesome fish. Feeling better about my 3 nights up there this week. Well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piratin Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 What a wonderful fish and experience. Congratulations!!! Thanl you for posting the story and pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gonfishing Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Well done on that serious jew mate. Never landed one of that size on the boat but I have had a fare share of them on the beach and rocks and yeah, that adrenalin, I'll say no more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray R Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Great story mate and a beautiful mulloway, congrats to you and crew... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garryl Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Well done. You won't forget that in a hurry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screech Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Omg thats awesome!! Dream catch!! Well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben millauro Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Top jewie mate! He take a fresh squid? Where abouts did u get that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfisherman Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Special indeed, a milestone not many people reach... Congratulations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickybeak Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Well done mate sounds like a team effort to land that dream fish . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvbigfish Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 what a top effort thats what i was looking for last night but didnt pan out , once again well done to all on board cheers paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenno64 Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 (edited) That was a freakish read and well done on an absolute fish of a lifetime! How long was the fight and what gear were you using? Edited April 17, 2012 by jenno64 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blood Knot Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Aweome fish Mike - Congrats on the capture Cheers Blood Knot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vo2c88 Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Well done mate. Know that's one fish of a lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pongrass18ft Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Congratulations on landing such a beautiful Mulloway.Even better when your brother and dad are part of the crew . Well done on your PB with memories for a life time Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregg.michael Posted April 15, 2012 Author Share Posted April 15, 2012 Thanks everyone, There are a lot of members on fishraider who I really respect. So your comments are very appreciated. The fish was caught off famous Juno Point, some way out just inside of the fast flowing current. It took a squid head and guts - interesting considering there were two beautiful live squid sitting off either corner of the boat. The fish fought hard and deep and even though time completely stood still for those moments I believe the fight lasted 10 - 15 mins. Weapon of choice was a Shimano Beastmaster rod matched with a Shimano 18000 Saragosa reel. 50lb braided line connected to a 40lb leader. Two hook rig consisting of a 6/0 hook at the top and a 5/0 hook in the longer tentacles. The top hook found it's mark in the corner of the mouth. Silly snell the top hook, half blood at the bottom. Running ball sinker above a swivel to keep it down. Thanks again to everyone for your replies and I hope some info in this will be helpful to anyone targeting/obsessed with Mulloway. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mii11x Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 hey mike, simply an awesome effort mate, well done on an awesome fish. great to read the story, gets the blood pumpin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
user1829 Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 that is awesome! :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjc123 Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 FANTASTIC! Thats a monster and you were definitely in the right spot. A mate of mine got a 30kg fish there late last year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niclebum Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Congratulations on a lifetime memories catch! Parraman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Good work, a bloody good fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alasdair Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Cracking fish. Well done. Lots of very jealous Fishraiders sitting at home at the moment... alasdair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humesy Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Outstanding effort. Who said the Hawkesbury is dead? Great job; sounded like some heart stopping moments there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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