Big Yellowfin capture ~ LAWOK LEPAS

There are times when, despite the bad omens, a day out on the briny ends up well.

This was certainly the case for the crew aboard Bully II, a 6.5-metre Ramco fishing out of the Far North’s Taupo Bay on January 31, Auckland’s Anniversary Day.

The boat already had a nice striped marlin to its credit this season, and the team of skipper Haden Foster and crew Dave Falconer and Clive Walden had plenty of time to plan their next gamefishing foray with Cyclone Wilma confining them to barracks.

But even the best-laid plans of mice and men can become rather shaky. The 10-knot variable forecast changed to 20-knot westerlies – not ideal, but not enough to discourage a keen crew.

The boat was therefore duly loaded and on the water prior to 6.00am, the aim being to work their way north from Taupo Bay in relatively calm conditions, before turning to have the breeze on the stern quarter and zig-zagging their way home.

When it came time to set the gear it was discovered the ‘Shotgun’ rod – a 24kg stand-up outfit – was still on shore, so a Shimano Stella 20,000 on a jig rod was deployed in its place. At the business end was a pink/yellow/white Ahi Pussy, the lure that had done the damage on the stripy earlier in the season.

The team had the advantage of having up-to-the minute sea surface temperature (SST) charts from Paul at Ocean SST, along with a couple of suggested co-ordinates the team might try.

As a result of Cyclone Wilma, which had battered the Far North, there was a great deal of debris in the water around the 200-metre line, keeping the crew occupied clearing the lures.

It was while Dave was unfouling the bungy line that the Stella began to sing, and quick as a flash he was onto it, placing the butt in the gimbal.

However, despite cranking up the drag and Bully II backing down (not an easy thing to do, given the sea state), the fish kept heading off at an alarming rate, until it finally slowed with just 50 metres of 37kg braid left on the spool.

Dave soon proved equal to the task though, and did a great job to get the fish within 30 metres of the boat within 20 minutes, with the help of a makeshift harness fashioned from a short piece of rope.

But despite anticipating a quick end to the tussle, it was not to be, as for the next 30 minutes Dave and the fish went toe to toe, neither giving quarter.

Ad Feedback Click here to find out more!

Finally Dave gained the ascendency though, and upon getting the fish to within 30 metres of the stern, he then made short work of the remaining line, bringing the trace and, eventually, a large dark shape into view.

The angler called the fish for a shark and, according to his crewmates, was “almost in tears”. But the mood soon changed to elation as the large yellow sickles of a monster yellowfin tuna became evident, producing whoops and hollers all round.

There was still the little matter of getting the yellowfin secured and into the boat before celebrations could begin, however. Aided by just a snapper gaff and a tail rope, the big tuna was eventually heaved over the side, enabling the celebrations to begin in earnest.

They had no idea how big the fish was initially, and all they hoped for was that it would go ‘over 50kg’.

Back at the Whangaroa weigh-station the yellowfin tipped the scales at 80.1kg, a true trophy fish, made all the more meritorious given the fact that these tuna are so few and far between in our waters these days.

So despite the odds being against them – the weather, forgetting the game gear, and not having a suitable gaff – the fishing gods smiled and they came through with the goods. -Grant Dixon