Most of you would know I’ve been targeting a good sized gummy for awhile now without much success. Lots of hours, overnight sessions, loss of sleep :rofl: for not much the last two months. Yesterday that all changed, and I really couldn’t be happier. Would just like to give a huge thanks to Scraglor who helped me out heaps as well as rb85, Good blokes. :thumbsup:
Arrived at Yaringa around 9am, the plan was to get out there and hit up BP Jetty for the humble bait fish known as the Yakka. Exiting the channel markers I noticed heaps of bird activity spread out of about 500m. Talk about some good luck when hunting a gummy.. no need for BP Jetty today. Quickly motored over to Eagle rock and drifted into them. A bit harder when it’s not glassed out with about 9knot north running. Was heaps of bait on the sounder as well as Salmon. Cool noticing they were running up and down the edge of where dirty water line meets clear water. Casted halcos at them for awhile and kept 9 Sambos, also managing a bonus Snook on the metal too. Fresh bait ticked off the list.
I spent the remaining time of the outgoing tide fishing for Whiting with a gummy bait out too. Managed a couple 43 & 40cm Whiting but that was it.
Moved and anchored in the area I intended to fish for a gumbo. By about 4:15 the tide started to run in, the wind dropped out and I was sitting perfectly with he current, setup as good as anything. I was greeted with a legal gummy that took a fresh chunk of Snook, measured 94cm in total but I was feeling a bit generous And let her swim away. Felt good. Put up with almost a dozen banjos before sunset I reckon. In the dying stages of last light I switched it up, changed my rig to a pair of snelled Gamakatsu 7/0 inlines and instead of chunks, whacked on a strip from a big fillet. Sat perfectly in the current and I was away. As soon as there was no more light in the sky, and everything went dark that’s when it happened.
Watching my rod be viciously attacked with violent head throws and mouthings. I sprung to my seat. I knew this one wasn’t a banjo...
![Very Happy :-D](./images/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif)
This is where it became heart in my mouth type of stuff...
I got her back up to the boat and tried putting her in the net, well that didn’t work.. off she went on another run under the boat and almost took me with her. Over the other side now.. with the net again. Nope she wasn’t having a bar of that, and took me under the boat once again. One more timee with the net I thought... great her head was in but then something bad happened which got me freaking out. The first hook on my two hook rig got stuck in the net, so I had her hooked and the net hooked. God knows what would’ve happened if she screamed off again. But I wasn’t going to see her swim away. As quickly as I could I Bent over grabbed her fat tail and yanked her straight in the boat. I couldn’t believe it.. such a fat heavy fish! I am absolutely stoked with this.
I weighed and measured her back at Yaringa, going a whopping 10kg and 1.34m long. All those hours of donuts sure paid off last night. Persistence is key.