Lakes Entrance Swordfishing
- scott__henning
- Rank: Premium Member
- Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2012 9:10 am
- Location: Traralgon
- Has liked: 1 time
- Likes received: 6 times
Lakes Entrance Swordfishing
Now that I'm finally awake again, I can write this report up:
With the weather window looking perfect for Saturday, we decided it was the time to have a crack at these swordfish.
We headed down Friday arvo and got everything prepared.
I was lucky enough to be taking the boss's boat, a 7m extreme, as the fuel capacity in my own wouldn't allow for a 250km+ round trip.
We perhaps got a little excited and ended up launching at 3am, and made our way out, with the offshore water glowing with krill or algae? Not sure what does it, cool to see though.
It was about a 2 hour run out to the canyon, and we had the first drop in 500m before first light.
Our first 3 drops all resulted in 10kg+ ling. I've never seen or caught long before, they are mighty ugly and slimy fish, but I'm told they taste great so I'm interested to find out.
With ling stealing out baits, we decided to make the run a further 35km south to the next canyon, where we got our first hookup on the electric reel. I've got no idea what we hooked, but after a 20 minute tussle it won its freedom, and we are left none the wiser.
Towards the end of the day, on our second last drop, i was bringing the bait back in to re-drop when about 200m from the surface it got smashed! 3 or 4 big bill whacks then it loaded up and started screeming off. Unfortunately the hooks pulled after only a few minutes, to our dismay.
Undettered, we hastily re rigged a new bait and sent it straight back down, where it was duly whacked again, this time knocking our well stitched squid right off the hooks.
That was our last brick, and with the time reading 6pm, we thought it best to start the 110km run back in after getting our first real chance of a sword.
As we passed the first set of rigs with 60km to go, the wind came up with a stiff 20knot northerly. This is where 7m of boat comes in handy, being able to punch our way back home at a reasonable 18-20knots in the dark in that ****, made for an interesting run in!
Back at the ramp at 9pm, we were well and truely buggered. Back in Traralgon, cleaned the boat and was in bed by 1am, which is why it's 11.30am now and I'm only just getting up haha.
An awesome day on the water with 18 hours fishing, can't wait to give it another crack!
With the weather window looking perfect for Saturday, we decided it was the time to have a crack at these swordfish.
We headed down Friday arvo and got everything prepared.
I was lucky enough to be taking the boss's boat, a 7m extreme, as the fuel capacity in my own wouldn't allow for a 250km+ round trip.
We perhaps got a little excited and ended up launching at 3am, and made our way out, with the offshore water glowing with krill or algae? Not sure what does it, cool to see though.
It was about a 2 hour run out to the canyon, and we had the first drop in 500m before first light.
Our first 3 drops all resulted in 10kg+ ling. I've never seen or caught long before, they are mighty ugly and slimy fish, but I'm told they taste great so I'm interested to find out.
With ling stealing out baits, we decided to make the run a further 35km south to the next canyon, where we got our first hookup on the electric reel. I've got no idea what we hooked, but after a 20 minute tussle it won its freedom, and we are left none the wiser.
Towards the end of the day, on our second last drop, i was bringing the bait back in to re-drop when about 200m from the surface it got smashed! 3 or 4 big bill whacks then it loaded up and started screeming off. Unfortunately the hooks pulled after only a few minutes, to our dismay.
Undettered, we hastily re rigged a new bait and sent it straight back down, where it was duly whacked again, this time knocking our well stitched squid right off the hooks.
That was our last brick, and with the time reading 6pm, we thought it best to start the 110km run back in after getting our first real chance of a sword.
As we passed the first set of rigs with 60km to go, the wind came up with a stiff 20knot northerly. This is where 7m of boat comes in handy, being able to punch our way back home at a reasonable 18-20knots in the dark in that ****, made for an interesting run in!
Back at the ramp at 9pm, we were well and truely buggered. Back in Traralgon, cleaned the boat and was in bed by 1am, which is why it's 11.30am now and I'm only just getting up haha.
An awesome day on the water with 18 hours fishing, can't wait to give it another crack!
Last edited by scott__henning on Sun May 01, 2016 5:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
- Rank: Gummy Shark
- Joined: Mon May 13, 2013 8:02 pm
- Has liked: 1 time
- Likes received: 7 times
Re: Lakes Entrance Swordfishing
Awesome work! Im sure we will be seeing pics of a sword soon. All in all, still a great days fishing! Those Ling are meant to be great.
Someone needs to work out some kind of electric downrigger system for getting baits down there, although I guess all the fishos will be adding to an artificial reef down there haha.
Someone needs to work out some kind of electric downrigger system for getting baits down there, although I guess all the fishos will be adding to an artificial reef down there haha.
-
- Bluefin
- Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2014 4:21 pm
- Has liked: 72 times
- Likes received: 976 times
Re: Lakes Entrance Swordfishing
Top report mate! I also heard those pink ling are meant to be tasty!
Hopefully you will land a nice swordie soon :thumbsup:
Hopefully you will land a nice swordie soon :thumbsup:
-
- Rank: Premium Member
- Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2012 8:56 pm
- Location: Rosebud.
- Has liked: 1 time
- Likes received: 46 times
Re: Lakes Entrance Swordfishing
Nice work as always Scott.
Wonder if those ling are similar to Atlantic ling..which are very good on the plate.
Wonder if those ling are similar to Atlantic ling..which are very good on the plate.
-
- Rank: Kingfish
- Joined: Sun Nov 11, 2012 7:42 pm
- Has liked: 26 times
- Likes received: 58 times
Re: Lakes Entrance Swordfishing
Nice report there
Its amazing how tired you get on the water even if it seems like yr not doing much.
Cheers bm
Its amazing how tired you get on the water even if it seems like yr not doing much.
Cheers bm
you gotta hav a crack even if yr just pissin in the wind
- Tackleberry
- Rank: Bream
- Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2016 11:40 pm
- Has liked: 301 times
- Likes received: 153 times
- re-tyred
- Moderator
- Joined: Tue Dec 27, 2011 5:54 am
- Location: Lakes Entrance
- Has liked: 375 times
- Likes received: 938 times
Re: Lakes Entrance Swordfishing
You wouldn't want to be out there today.
Ling are awesome eating fish. Filleting them is a challenge. Nearly have to nail their heads to a board they are so slippery. Fillet and skin them, one of the best white fleshed fish around.
Ling are awesome eating fish. Filleting them is a challenge. Nearly have to nail their heads to a board they are so slippery. Fillet and skin them, one of the best white fleshed fish around.
There's nothing . . . absolutely nothing . . . half so much worth doing as simply messing around in boats.
Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows (River Rat to Mole)
Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows (River Rat to Mole)
- scott__henning
- Rank: Premium Member
- Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2012 9:10 am
- Location: Traralgon
- Has liked: 1 time
- Likes received: 6 times
Re: Lakes Entrance Swordfishing
Nope. Must have been a different oneTackleberry wrote:did you fuel the boat up at the shell in bairnsdale on friday
- scott__henning
- Rank: Premium Member
- Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2012 9:10 am
- Location: Traralgon
- Has liked: 1 time
- Likes received: 6 times
Re: Lakes Entrance Swordfishing
Yeah they are a handful to clean, I did it on the bait board, the slime on em is super gross.re-tyred wrote:You wouldn't want to be out there today.
Ling are awesome eating fish. Filleting them is a challenge. Nearly have to nail their heads to a board they are so slippery. Fillet and skin them, one of the best white fleshed fish around.
Keen to see how they taste