breakwall jew landing

[Weedywhiting]

Hi all

Last night I saw quite a few elements line up for jew fishing at my favourite breakwall. I headed off before dark and had time to set up and start casting hardbodies about an hour and a half before the high tide change. I got a hit from a soapy with a short run and then nothing  for another hour. right on the high tide change i got a solid hit and i had my drag set fairly tight. it went for 2 good runs. he ended up going upstream so i climbed up to walk along the wall with him but then he turned and headed back towards the wall. i kept the slack out of the line the whole time but there i was on my own, the only person on the wall, a 2.5m east swell pushing straight in and smashing on the rocks and the biggest jew i have ever hooked beginning to get washed up against the rocks. my gaff was well out of reach by this stage and my game plan was to wait for a break in the sets and try to get down there and retrieve him. There wasnt a break in the sets for over a minute it seemed and by this stage he had washed in. in a desperate attempt i tried to wash him in to an area where i might have some hope of getting to him but then as the waves receded the trebles came unstuck and i had lost the biggest jew i have ever hooked. I reckon it could have been close to 15kg. hard to tell.

i was a broken man after that. my casts were half hearted and i nearly wept out there on my own at the end of the breakwall. I have obviously gone over it 4000 times in my head but i still cant help but think that in those conditions with that swell the chances of landing a fish that size are slim. perhaps i could have applied a little bit less muscle and let him run for longer so that i could keep him away from the rocks until the break in the sets but i feel he would have gotten washed in anyway. there was whitewater and waves everywhere.

I walked too far away from my gaff as well which was a rookie error but the distance between me and the fish while the waves were crashing in was much longer than my gaff.

anyway i might not go on my own anymore because i cant live through that again! unless anyone has some advice on how i could have played it differently. also looking for some advice from anyone who is experienced at gaffing jew on their own.

I am also thinking about swapping the trebles out of my lures and replacing with single hooks. I reckon if i had got him in the corner of the mouth with a single hook he wouldnt have gotten away.

I just hope that he survived to tell his side of the story!

Dave

[Guest]

Unlucky Dave 

[Fufu]

Hard luck mate

At least you still caught one heck of a fish 

Fufu

[big Neil]

Devastating loss there Dave. Hopefully you'll have a little extra luck on your side next time mate. BN

[Scratchie]

An unlucky first post mate but welcome to fishraider!  All I can say is, safety first, fish second! 

Cheers scratchie!!! 

[dirvin21]

if its an extendable gaff, make yourself a shoulder strap and carry it while you fish 

[Trailcraft43]

Id make a mini clift gaff.

Out of stainless.

With a 20 mtr length of blue/yellow telecom style rope.

Google clift gaff. And click in pictures

 

 

[Weedywhiting]

thanks all for the replies fellas. i reckon the cliff gaff could be the go if they work well. i use braid but fish with a 12 foot 60lb leader and fg knot. i might extend the leader a bit and attach the cliff gaff when i reach the leader. just gotta hope he doesnt go for another run i guess.

a backpack with rope coiled and gaff easily accessible to make it a quick clip on. just wear the back pack religously. thanks for the ideas.

[Cargo05]

Tough game this fishing. I bet we all have a tale of woe or three.

[Mike89]

I'm not one with any experience hauling in big jewies from breakwalls but.. I might just suggest that it's all part and parcel of the fishing game.

There are always heartbreaking moments. I would have cried too.

Good luck next time!

[Short]

Anyone know if it is legal to use a harpoon/spear with a detachable flopper tip running to a rope to land fish? I thought that would be easier than a standard gaff or flying gaff, especially land based and even more so if you are solo.

Tie your rope off to a good anchor (or just round your waist if you are mad....) then as long as you can get good penetration with the spear head you're safe, drop the rod and rope the bugger in...

[Captain Spanner]

I think the situation you were in is a difficult one anyway and even more difficult by yourself. I think the landing and getting the fish up the rocks problem is all part of it.

I'm not one of them, nor have i seen it done much, but I think the guys that catch alot of big fish off the rocks and are good at it probably somehow control the fish to a more convenient part of the wall for landing. They may do this by fighting it from a different angle on the wall or by letting the fight go on a little longer out wide from the wall and wearing it out while it is still a safe distance out from the wall so they can guide the tired fish up or down the wall a little bit before it is thrashing around at their feet in an inconvenient spot. I also think that sometimes conditions wont let you have any control over this and there is not necessarily going to be a safe or easy way to do it.

I think a long handled gaff is the best option. While they are a bit cumbersome and not easy to carry while you fight a fish, you still have some control over the end of it. I'm not sure how well a traditional cliff gaff would work on a breakwall as they seem to be more designed to drop down a tight vertical line pull up fish vertically. On a breakwall you are not directly above the fish so you cannot lower the cliff gaff down the main line to the fish in the same manner you would on a jetty or tall vertical/overhang cliff. So essentially you would be sending it down your line on an angle like a flying fox and hoping for the best and then having a similar problem of having your cliff gaff rope washed/tangled in the rocks as your line was, once the fish is washed into the rocks by a wave.