Light line enough to land heavy fish
SOMETIMES all you need to catch a whopper is a tiny hook and a bit of patience.
Angler Lyall Nash had been casting his line without success from his boat off Carey’s Bay for a couple of hours on Saturday morning.
He then felt a tug, but the fish did not come to the surface like a regular salmon.
‘‘I thought it was another barracouta.’’
When he was able to reel the fish closer, he realised its size and eased up slightly. Knowing how lightweight his gear was, he instead let the monster catch wear itself out.
Using a small hook, a light line and an ‘‘Elio’s special’’ lure bought in South Dunedin, he managed to tug it close enough to net and take aboard.
The next step was to cut it up and give fillets to neighbours and friends while it was fresh.
At 8kg (18 pounds), it was at least 1.2kg bigger then his best catch last year.
Mr Nash wanted to show anglers there were still salmon in the harbour.
‘‘There have not been many fish caught, but there’s the odd big one. I want to promote the salmon and where you get them from and how light a line you can use.’’
He also encouraged people to enter the Otago Salmon Anglers competition in midMarch.
Last year the competition was cancelled after Port Otago did not allow anglers access to its wharves, citing safety reasons.
This year, onshore fishing can be done only from an area in Wharf St.