Tuskfish Triumph

[Another Wazza]

I decided to brave the crowds last weekend and head out for a fish as it had been quite some time since I’ve been, the plan was to launch early and go in search of some Jew first up.

Having arrived at my chosen spot just before 5am I began sounding around, and not long after that it began to rain, cold, dark, and now wet I was beginning to question my life’s choices, I kept at it for a while but had no luck locating any fish so made my way to another spot in search of a squire or two, there wasn’t much going on there except for a jumbo size grinner that took a liking to my plastic, I kept at it but other than having the tails bitten off my plastics there wasn’t much happening there either.

With the day getting on I decided it was time for the main event, I headed off to another spot hoping to jag a Tuskie or 2.

Upon arriving I sent my first bait down and after about 20 minutes I was rewarded with a nice little Tuskie, he was probably in the 40-50cm range and wound up in the esky, I kept at it and eventually hooked another one, this fish was a little bit better than the first and after a brief tussle he grew considerably in size, knowing all to well what just happened I tried my best to at least get something back, I ended up winding in a head of nice sized fish, spewing!, fearing the tax man was conducting an audit I held off for a while before dropping down again, it seemed to work and I boated another nice little fish. Hoping the shark may have gone I kept at it and hooked up to a really nice fish, I wound this thing in like a man possessed whilst fearing the worst, with the fish less than 4 or 5 metres below the boat I watched what I think was a Bronzey burgle me in broad daylight, very disappointed, the profanities came out thick & fast.

Having regained my composure, and now down to my last bait, I decided to roll the dice with one more drop, my bait sat untouched for 15 or 20 minutes before I wound it in to check if it was still there, yep still there, so back down it went, I had to wait patiently before feeling a very subtle tap on my line, thinking it may have been a picker I waited, and waited until eventually I saw my line moving away, I went to set the hook and then the fish exploded with a huge run on an extremely tight drag, I’ve been here before I thought, I got smoked big time last time I targeted these fish and was just waiting to get busted off again, but this time I got lucky, very lucky, after an almighty fight it eventually came along side the boat, it was the fish I’ve been after for quite a long time.

Not bad at all, he wouldn’t quite fit in my net, official weight was 9.85kg, just a touch off a holy grail model but I couldn’t care less, I was super stoked it didn’t get sharked!

I reckon he was pretty unlucky, or I was very very lucky as I ended up hooking him in the face, you can still see the hook above his mouth.

It would’ve been a great haul if they all came in whole, but having now achieved a goal I set for myself awhile ago, I can finally give these guys a rest.

 

 

[Old Scaley]

Sensational @Another Wazza. Persistence pays off. 

[Kat]

All I can say is WOW!  What a beast of a fish.  Good work and you obviously have skill to land that monster.  Crab as bait?

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Awesome work Wazza, that’s a cracker tusky! 

[Another Wazza]

1 minute ago, Old Scaley said:

Sensational @Another Wazza. Persistence pays off. 

Thanks Steve, it’s proof that if you really want something bad enough, you just keep at it until it happens.

[Bretto77]

That's a proper lump to justify your perseverance. Well done

[Another Wazza]

3 minutes ago, Kat said:

All I can say is WOW!  What a beast of a fish.  Good work and you obviously have skill to land that monster.  Crab as bait?

Thanks Kat, not too sure about skill considering where I hooked him, Hahahaha, and yep, crab

[Kat]

3 minutes ago, Another Wazza said:

Thanks Kat, not too sure about skill considering where I hooked him, Hahahaha, and yep, crab

Did you collect the bait yourself?

[Junky]

Well done. Stonker fish. 

Would a been one hell of a fight. What gear did you use? 

 

Haven't seen one like that since back in the Redy Bay comp days at the pub. 

[ellicat]

1 minute ago, Kat said:

Did you collect the bait yourself?

No, he got me to run around the night before in the dark. Then didn't invite me along.

Haha. Maybe not.

The fish look better in big screen size, Wazza. You are the new tusky guru.

[Kat]

2 minutes ago, ellicat said:

No, he got me to run around the night before in the dark. Then didn't invite me along.

For a millionth of a second I thought you were serious lol

[Another Wazza]

6 minutes ago, Kat said:

Did you collect the bait yourself?

Yep, it requires a little bit of effort

[Another Wazza]

4 minutes ago, Junky said:

Well done. Stonker fish. 

Would a been one hell of a fight. What gear did you use? 

 

Haven't seen one like that since back in the Redy Bay comp days at the pub. 

Cheers Damo, I used the heaviest gear I own, a popping rod with a 14000 Stella, the drag wasn’t far off being locked, it still folded that rod in half and screamed off!

[Another Wazza]

7 minutes ago, ellicat said:

No, he got me to run around the night before in the dark. Then didn't invite me along.

Haha. Maybe not.

The fish look better in big screen size, Wazza. You are the new tusky guru.

Hahahaha, I did struggle a little to get enough bait, I ended up going twice in one day and still didn’t end up gathering that many.

And I doubt very much that fish gains me guru status, there’s a saying that a blind squirrel still finds the occasional acorn, I consider myself the blind squirrel, Hahahaha 

[ellicat]

1 minute ago, Another Wazza said:

there’s a saying that a blind squirrel still finds the occasional acorn, I consider myself the blind squirrel,

Your saying just backs up that you are the guru. hahaha

[Bretto77]

5 minutes ago, Another Wazza said:

Hahahaha, I did struggle a little to get enough bait, I ended up going twice in one day and still didn’t end up gathering that many.

And I doubt very much that fish gains me guru status, there’s a saying that a blind squirrel still finds the occasional acorn, I consider myself the blind squirrel, Hahahaha 

Well you did something right... From where I sit now it's like "Fwoahhh... Grasshopper!"... But "Blind squirrel" is also apt and most humble of you

[GregOug]

16 minutes ago, Another Wazza said:

Yep, it requires a little bit of effort

Hi @Another Wazza. What type of crabs did you use, if you don’t mind me asking. I know my father and uncle used to use ghost crabs for the big ones many years ago when I was very little and the bay still had stonker size Tuskies. Well done!

[Bretto77]

9 minutes ago, ellicat said:

That statement just backs up that you are the guru. hahaha

He smelled his way to the bait then the fish Brian...

[GregOug]

18 minutes ago, Another Wazza said:

Hahahaha, I did struggle a little to get enough bait, I ended up going twice in one day and still didn’t end up gathering that many.

And I doubt very much that fish gains me guru status, there’s a saying that a blind squirrel still finds the occasional acorn, I consider myself the blind squirrel, Hahahaha 

In my mind anyone that can find a spot that holds trophy Tuskies like that, present the right bait and then get even one into the boat is a guru in my books. 

[Another Wazza]

17 minutes ago, GregOug said:

Hi @Another Wazza. What type of crabs did you use, if you don’t mind me asking. I know my father and uncle used to use ghost crabs for the big ones many years ago when I was very little and the bay still had stonker size Tuskies. Well done!

Oh Greg, I’m not willing to reveal all..... Mum’s the word

[Another Wazza]

11 minutes ago, GregOug said:

In my mind anyone that can find a spot that holds trophy Tuskies like that, present the right bait and then get even one into the boat is a guru in my books. 

I didn’t even hook it properly Hahahaha, I was just in the right place, at the right time, and had a bit of luck. I can tell you though my quest to find these fish started ages ago, there has been many, many, outings without even getting a touch.

[Another Wazza]

22 minutes ago, Bretto77 said:

He smelled his way to the bait then the fish Brian...

I’m having visions of Stevie Wonder burning around the bay!, Hahahaha 

[Bretto77]

8 minutes ago, Another Wazza said:

I’m having visions of Stevie Wonder burning around the bay!, Hahahaha 

@ellicat there's another hint... He sings to procure as well...

[GregOug]

44 minutes ago, Another Wazza said:

Oh Greg, I’m not willing to reveal all..... Mum’s the word

Damn!

[Junky]

1 hour ago, Another Wazza said:

Cheers Damo, I used the heaviest gear I own, a popping rod with a 14000 Stella, the drag wasn’t far off being locked, it still folded that rod in half and screamed off!

I figured as much. You need some stopping power to turn those things around. 

 

I was actually expecting you to say a hand line, but a rod is much more heart pumpingly fun. 

 Congrats mate. 

[Junky]

1 hour ago, ellicat said:

Your saying just backs up that you are the guru. hahaha

Haha.

Showing off doing it with his eyes closed. 

[Doughnuts]

Great work, that is an absolute stonker of a fish. I've been chasing those brutes for the last few months, and yet I'm still only sitting in the mid 50's range with plenty of tears about the unstoppable freight trains.! Once again, great fish mate.

[Neil Stratford]

All Excellent fish , the big one is a cracker.

So many people , complain about the lack of fish in our waters  , they go out and soak pilchards, a bit of old squid or a frozen prawn and expect to catch quality fish . You’ve just posted a prime example of what can be achieved by doing it right.

Excellent fish and well done on capturing the target species.

Regards

Neil

[Another Wazza]

10 hours ago, Junky said:

I figured as much. You need some stopping power to turn those things around. 

 

I was actually expecting you to say a hand line, but a rod is much more heart pumpingly fun. 

 Congrats mate. 

Cheers mate, even with that gear I was just a passenger for the first 5 or 6 seconds, all I could do was brace for impact, luckily he didn’t get me on anything, hands down one of, if not the hardest fighting fish I’ve encountered.

[Another Wazza]

2 hours ago, Doughnuts said:

Great work, that is an absolute stonker of a fish. I've been chasing those brutes for the last few months, and yet I'm still only sitting in the mid 50's range with plenty of tears about the unstoppable freight trains.! Once again, great fish mate.

Cheers man, hard to describe just how much they can pull, losing good fish is all part & parcel of chasing them, but still, losing them doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.

[Another Wazza]

3 hours ago, Neil Stratford said:

Excellent fish and well done on capturing the target species.

Regards

Neil

Cheers Neil

[charlie.hans.fishing]

Woah! Nice tuskie!

[Rebel]

Well done.

Great fish.

[benno573]

Epic stuff mate.  awesome awesome fish.  shame about the sharks but good soup / stock bones i guess...?

that's a fish i also covet - one day... one day...

[Another Wazza]

Thanks @benno573 I gave both heads & 1 of the smaller fish to a mate on the way home, there was still a bit of meat left on one of them & I think he was going to chuck it on the bbq.

[kmcrosby78]

Cracking fish and session Wazza, particularly after the disappointing start. Shame the sharks got two of them but glad you got the big one in through some clever thinking/strategy. Nice work!!

[ubnt]

On 03/05/2023 at 9:03 PM, GregOug said:

Damn!

 

Sorry to highjack the topic, Just wondering if crab is used as bait, would you cut it or keep it alive, generally speaking?

Keen on catching some crab now.

[Another Wazza]

3 hours ago, ubnt said:

 

Sorry to highjack the topic, Just wondering if crab is used as bait, would you cut it or keep it alive, generally speaking?

Keen on catching some crab now.

Hey mate, both ways would probably work, but if your going to collect the bait yourself, you’d really want to look after them & keep them alive.

[Sylvathorn]

Awesome catch of tuskies, persistence pays off

 

[Another Wazza]

As a memento of that fish, the jaws were removed , and after a fair bit of cleaning & allowing them to dry, then a peroxide soak followed by more drying, then a whole lot of gluing all the pieces back together again, they are finally done