When
it comes to big kings and samson fish, South Australia
probably isn't the first place that comes to mind.
But as Alistair McGlashan discovered on a recent
expedition, it's home to some true monsters of the
deep.
The massive floodlights of the Calypso Star illuminated
the black ocean around us. Attracted by the light,
hordes of yakkas danced about on the surface like
a swarm of bees. Occasionally, a big arrow squid
would charge into their midst sending the bait scattering,
while down deep on the edge of the light, large
and unidentifiable shadows moved menacingly about.
It was a surreal, almost eerie scene that seemed
more fitting in a ghost movie than a fishing adventure.
However, what made it truly unbelievable was that
we were targeting kingfish - yellowtail to the rest
of the world - in the dead of night. It was 5.00am
and bitterly cold when suddenly one of the Tiagras
on the starboard side burst to life, its ratchet
shattering the stillness of night. Geoff, who had
persisted all night, was on it in a flash and quickly
set the hooks on what was obviously a solid fish.
The
fish powered out to sea before abruptly changing
direction and heading back into the bay past our
anchored boat. Seeing as this didn't work, the fish
then changed tactics and sulked down deep. It took
a good 10 minutes before, to my great surprise,
a massive kingfish materialised in the floodlights
and reluctantly came to the boat. Our guide Steve
Morris, technical director behind the innovative
Top Shot Tackle Company, made short work of the
fish with the gaff and hoisted almost two metres
of kingfish onto the deck. Pulling the scales down
to 31kg (nearly 70lb) it was a true monster, and
easily the biggest king I had ever laid eyes on.
What an unbelievable welcome to South Australia!
When
it comes to big kings and samson fish, South Australia
probably isn't the first place that comes to mind.
But as Alistair McGlashan discovered on a recent
expedition, it's home to some true monsters of the
deep.
The
fish powered out to sea before abruptly changing
direction and heading back into the bay past our
anchored boat. Seeing as this didn't work, the fish
then changed tactics and sulked down deep. It took
a good 10 minutes before, to my great surprise,
a massive kingfish materialised in the floodlights
and reluctantly came to the boat. Our guide Steve
Morris, technical director behind the innovative
Top Shot Tackle Company, made short work of the
fish with the gaff and hoisted almost two metres
of kingfish onto the deck. Pulling the scales down
to 31kg (nearly 70lb) it was a true monster, and
easily the biggest king I had ever laid eyes on.
What an unbelievable welcome to South Australia!
