Day 2
After the first day and being smashed up by some big fish and not landing any of the big fish there was a case of going back to the drawing board and re-setting up tackle, checking all the tackle and also to try and use a bit of a different approach. It was clear that we were going to battle to pull any of the big fish out drifing over the shallow 1-2m ledge in a heavy current where some of the big fish were patrolling so we decided to fish a bit deeper and off the back of the reef rather than the normal and traditional drift up current onto the structure. All of our plans were laid but this is normally the easy part!
For the second day I was on the boat with Evan. Evan has been a good friend and we always catch up in NY and have lunch and helps with transport so always good to catch up. Also this was Evans first time to this part of the World for a GT trip so we had a lot of discussions about techniques, scenarios, tackle etc, always fun talking out various parts of our fishing styles. Evan also fishes for a wide range of species and styles so some interesting ideas.
We woke up early and enjoyed sitting on our chairs having coffee watching the sunrise and watching the waves although small roll into our beach. After a quick breakie we boarded our boats and headed back out to the GT grounds. The current was again pushing early in the morning and we tried to put our well laid plan into effect but with not to much luck. We tried every type of drift all along the reef but not to many fish around. We ended up fishing the reef close to shore and I managed to pick up a nice Bohar Snapper and Coral Trout both on my all time favourite lure black and silver Gamma 160H. At least we had some fresh fish for lunch and after a very tough morning we headed back to the camp with our heads hung a bit low! GT fishing is definitely not easy and is a game of highs and lows. Just because we travel thousands of miles and spend tens of thousands of dollars does not mean we will catch fish on every cast. This is one of the reasons I love GT fishing is that you have to work hard and a lot of the time you have to keep changing plans and trying new ideas. The fish definitely don't now the effort we put in, they either there or not! But after a good swim, lunch and a bit of a relax and afternoon siesta we were ready for action.
A nice coral trout on a Gamma 160H
Lunch
Arriving back at the camp with Evan.
The camp always amazes me, perfect position and picture postcard perfect!
We headed back out in the afternoon and the current was now pulling and is the preferred current. We fished a couple of areas and then we started to put our plan in action from the previous night. We had tried fishing all over the reef and now we were trying in the back of the currents in deep water. I have been working a lot over the last few months with Hammerhead to get some new colours and also to get some bigger poppers. We had just received the first batch of the monster I-Cups 220gr poppers and this is the perfect lure for the deeper water. Hammerhead poppers don't tend to pop as much as most poppers but they push a lot of water like a marlin lure but they also rip through the water creating a low base type noise and this to me drives the fish bananas!
So I rigged up the second Carpenter Prototype rod which I had named the Grey Ghost which is a faster taper rod of the two and put on the big popper and we started to work the deeper water at the back of the current. There were also a lot of bluefin trevally up to 5kgs swimming in the swells on the surface and so I thought this would be perfect food for a big GT, so I had one of the blue poppers on and this did the trick. First fish was a Bohar snapper for the afternoon that hit the popper in deep water.
Bohar on an I-Cup
The currents was pulling nicely with the wind blowing in the opposite direction so it was quite a feat to stay standing in the back of the currents in the small boats and the captains had to continuously bail the boat with all the water we were taking onboard. They did this with a calm that made us think this was normal but did get quite hairy at stages with a few waves breaking into the boat!
We did a very long drift passed the reef and we were casting and talking when I caught sight of a big shadow coming up under my popper just before it disappeared behind a swell, I gave a few quick pops to get the lure through the swell and watched for some action but nothing and I thought I was just seeing things, but after a few more pops a huge fish came up from under the popper and smashed it into the air. My adrenalin by this time was through the roof but I managed to stay calm and I put my rod flat and retrieved my popper fast along the surface, I did not want to pop it as there was a lot of swell and current and I was worried that lure would jump and get snagged on the line or hooks.
This turned the fish into a raging madfish and the GT came at the lure like a steam train and smashed the lure in a spectacular display. I set the hook and the fish took off for the depths. But we were in water over 30ms deep so I let the fish take line off a tight drag and sat on the rod letting it do the work. After the first run the rod held the fish and I started working the fish back to the boat. Fishing from a dead boat is not always easy as the fish will at some stage end up directly under the boat or on the other side of the boat. This is one of the situations that I have seen a lot of rods break, but the Grey Ghost handled everything I could throw at it and pulled the fish back into line everytime.
Grey Ghost in action
Some interesting angles on the small boat for the rod!
After a couple of short runs near the boat which pulled the whole boat around a couple of times I had an awesome fish at the side of the boat which I landed. This is proper DIY, not only do you hook the fish, fight the fish, you also land your own fish! We loaded the fish and she was a big healthy mama. I measured the fish at 141cm, a good 50kg+ GT! A few pictures and she was released to terrorise the reef again. Very happy our plan had worked and we had our first big Socotra GT for the trip.
Big Socotra GT, 141 cm +-54kgs
We did a couple more drifts and now new there were some big GTs around but we had to work very hard to get the strikes. We did another few long drifts and then on one of the last drifts of the day, I put out a long cast with the wind and was working the lure back through the current and swell. A big GT came up behind my popper but the popper was jumping off the swell and getting airborne, I think this incensed the GT and it came after the popper like a bull dozer through the swell leaving a trail or white water and swirls, by this time I was shouting like a banshee and it was spectacular to watch the GT chase down the popper and smash it! A very easy hook up and we were back in action. We let the boat drift again and let the gear do the work. The fish did a few deep dives and took quite a bit of line on a tight drag. I think the fish was using the current to its advantage and was staying deep. At one stage the fish had me leaning on the gunnel with the fish on the far side of the boat, tough work and put the old muscle to the test. But finally I started to get the better of the fish and brought another great Socotra GT to the boat and landed it.
Happiness!
Having to use the gunnel for some leverage, the fish kept on doing under the boat, tough on the body!
Awesome sight in the clean water, a big silver shine!
A good 131cm GT in the boat. A really great afternoon with 2 good fish. We got a few pictures and released the fish. It was an end to a great day for me and I always enjoy when we manage to figure out the GTs and catch some decent fish, very satisfying!
Another great GT measuring 131cm about +-44kgs
We got back to camp and had a great meal of fresh fish, savory rice, Arabic bread and potato strew. Always hits the spot after a long days fishing with hundreds of casts been made with giant lures. So it was not long out of bed and we all fell into a deep and content sleep!
Day 3 to follow!
