Cold, windy and ... mulloway!

Jewfish, Jewies, Soapies, what an awesome fish to target!
bilby
Rank: Silver Trevally
Rank: Silver Trevally
Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2012 10:45 am
Likes received: 15 times

Cold, windy and ... mulloway!

Post by bilby » Sun May 01, 2016 10:01 pm

I went out for a couple of hours this afternoon, after some dismal sessions over the last few weeks at various locations. I was getting so dispirited I only took one surf rod tonight and my old trusty bream rod. I put out a large bait and then flicked out a tiny piece of bait for bream, mullet or whatever. An hour into the session, there were a few tiny taps on the bream rod. A few more taps and then the rod started to curve! Within seconds, I realised this was no bream - the little 8ft bream rod buckled over and I started losing metres of line off the totally under equipped reel. Within 30 seconds I had lost all the line and was down to the backing. I vainly tried to lock up the drag and gain some line, but the fish kept going - within another 10 seconds the line severed (presumably against a nearby pylon). Holding the loose line of the bream rod in one hand, I stared back at my large mulloway rod, which remained completely untouched, of course.

Over the next hour, I failed to register any more bites, so finally I down sized the bait on the large rod, in a "match the hatch' sort of logic. Within 15 minutes, I noticed a slow tap on the line. I mucked around with the fish for about 5 minutes, letting out line and then waiting for the next bite. Eventually, there was a slightly constant pressure, so I struck - as I did, the surf rod bent down toward the water and the drag started screaming! The fish headed out wide and straight for structure - having lost many this way before, I tightened the drag considerably and held on. I managed to turn the fish three or four times during the fight - at one point narrowly avoiding a pylon and almost breaking my rod in the process. After a few minutes and some dodgy missed attempts with the net, I had my fish - an 80cm mulloway. I spent a few minutes reviving the fish in the water, and eventually it gave a solid kick and was off into the depths.
Screen Shot 2016-05-01 at 9.45.05 PM.png
Screen Shot 2016-05-01 at 9.45.05 PM.png (587.92 KiB) Viewed 2210 times
A great night after so many recent fishless sessions!

User avatar
abzz
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Thu Apr 18, 2013 9:17 pm
Likes received: 1 time

Re: Cold, windy and ... mulloway!

Post by abzz » Sun May 01, 2016 10:08 pm

That's a fantastic effort for such a crappy day!
Always happens when you flick out a small bait for anything lol
Good on you for releasing it too :thumbsup:

User avatar
GONE FISHING
Rank: Australian Salmon
Rank: Australian Salmon
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:36 am
Location: Melbourne

Re: Cold, windy and ... mulloway!

Post by GONE FISHING » Sun May 01, 2016 10:12 pm

Top report and well done on the fish :thumbsup:
Last edited by GONE FISHING on Sun May 01, 2016 10:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

DougieK
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Fri Dec 14, 2012 3:19 pm
Location: Glen Waverley
Has liked: 30 times
Likes received: 612 times

Re: Cold, windy and ... mulloway!

Post by DougieK » Sun May 01, 2016 10:12 pm

braver than me today! beautiful fish.
Chasing LBG and sharing a love for the Martial Arts, everywhere, all the time.


LBG Season 2023/4 :

Kingfish : 61

Redhunter
Rank: Bream
Rank: Bream
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 12:19 am
Has liked: 138 times
Likes received: 140 times

Re: Cold, windy and ... mulloway!

Post by Redhunter » Sun May 01, 2016 10:13 pm

Well done bilby! Sounds like that Jewie gave you a good run for your money.
Imagine how an 80lber would go...

Buckle&scream
Rank: Silver Trevally
Rank: Silver Trevally
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2015 5:08 pm
Location: Victoria port Phillip bay

Re: Cold, windy and ... mulloway!

Post by Buckle&scream » Mon May 02, 2016 2:10 am

That's a good fish mate well done, they certainly love picking the smalleat rods lol

User avatar
davek
Moderator
Moderator
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2012 7:59 am
Location: nagambie
Has liked: 268 times
Likes received: 211 times

Re: Cold, windy and ... mulloway!

Post by davek » Mon May 02, 2016 5:17 am

Nice fish, :thumbsup: you're gunna need a bigger ruler, ;-) cheers davo
It's an exhilarating feeling catching a fish
But it's an even better feeling releasing them

CarlG
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2012 8:56 pm
Location: Rosebud.
Has liked: 1 time
Likes received: 46 times

Re: Cold, windy and ... mulloway!

Post by CarlG » Mon May 02, 2016 5:57 am

Ripper fish man..!
Have almost identical story without the happy ending lol..

Lightningx
Bluefin
Bluefin
Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2014 4:21 pm
Has liked: 72 times
Likes received: 976 times

Re: Cold, windy and ... mulloway!

Post by Lightningx » Mon May 02, 2016 7:24 am

Great report mate! That's an awesome fish. Well done :thumbsup:

DR.SPESH
Rank: King George Whiting
Rank: King George Whiting
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2016 5:44 pm
Location: Healesville

Re: Cold, windy and ... mulloway!

Post by DR.SPESH » Mon May 02, 2016 7:34 am

Gold

Post Reply

Return to “Mulloway Fishing”