Batu Abah Bali, Feb 4th 2014 - magnificent monsters

[Mark Harris]

I have been striving for this at my local patch for many years.

So many thousands of casts and so many blank days.  This is the reason why we all fish for GTs I guess - a personal best for the local patch.



GEAR:

Carpenter MH80H
Stella 18000, Varivas Avani GT Max PE8
YGK Galis 170 lb shock leader, FG knot to braid
NT 2/0 swivel, Carpenter 350 lb split ring
Bigfoot 180 with Recorder 7/0 on belly, Kudako ringed 9/0 single on the tail.
Bigfoot 180 was worked very fast for this lure to keep it barely in the sub-surface and stop it sinking.

With no scales on board I don't want to join the weight guesstimation game that seems to go these days. Also, of all days, the custom brag which was designed for this exact moment was not on board!  I will say though that using a combination of old fashioned arm measurements etc, the fish was 140 cm + FL. More than the length though it was the girth of this fish which so impressed. Fatter and thicker than any other large GT I have ever seen in person. An incredibly impressive fish.

Something had definitely caused the larger GTs to come onto the reef shelf at Batu Abah yesterday as just 30 minutes before I landed this fish (on the same gear bar the lure which was a 240 mm BFP Swimbait). Normally this fish alone would have made for a red letter day!  It was somewhat eclipsed just 30 minutes later though:



My theory on this is that the larger GTs typically stay in the deep water (200 metres +) only 1 km offshore at this site and very occasionally they do come onto the shallow shelf for feeding. Yesterday there was a large number of very chunky 3-4 kg mackerel tuna in the shallows, and I do not think this was a coincidence.

The site is definitely on something of a roll. Two days ago a  Japanese group led by Fukui-san and guided by Adhek on his same boat, had 20+ GTs hits there (but generally smaller fish).

A 15 kg+ drag stand off on MH80H - pushing the rod as far as I dare



The site with massive waves yesterday - the big fish were both hooked in that white water



Also as a tackle note - the bigger fish either snapped or straightened the eye of a Ringed Kudako 9/0! The lure came back with the split ring and solid ring only.  Thankfully the 7/0 Recorder belly treble held.  Looking at a Kudako 9/0 is is hard to imagine this happening but the key weakness of this massive hook was exploited - the eye is NOT welded.

As ever at this site, truly huge thanks go to Adhek Amerta and his team.  This was as much his fish as it was mine.

[Will Wragg]

Congratulations Mark.
Particularly rewarding to get such a great fish on your own turf.
I'd settle for the smaller one any day.

[David Lumanauw]

Big fish, Mark 

[Tony Warnett]

Nice Work Mark very healthy looking GT.
Congrats on the PB for the local waters and on PE 8 well done.

[Jason Haack]

Congrats on a true monster. Well done.

[Wayne Brown]

What a day, what a fish. Congrats mark.

[Mark Harris]

Thanks guys... really appreciated .

I cannot tell you how much it means to land a fish of this size at my local patch. So many thousands of casts over the years; so many days completely blanking. It is all worth it 

[Luke Wyrsta]

Very solid 50 something fish Mark. Well done.

I'm loving the bottom photo - the of epitome of unique rocky head deep water environments of Indo.

[Mark Harris]

Thank you very much Luke - appreciated.

You mention the site.... it really is a remarkable place. So remarkable that Fukui-san said that he has never seen water quite like it.  The rocks you see in that picture are at the western edge of the narrowest point of the Lombok Strait - a main drain between the Pacific and Indian Oceans.  Massive rushes of water move through there.

When you couple that with the fact that there is a 100 metre wide reef shelf with 10-25 metre deep water, and only only 500 metres offshore the water is 250 metres deep.....

[Ryan Keith]

Superb fish, Mark!  Is that your biggest on the MH80H? Looks like you really tested the gear - pleased with its performance?

I also reckon large GTs in certain locations will spend a great deal of time in deep (200+ m) waters where topwater options are limited. I sure am glad they come inshore now and again! 

[Mark Harris]

Hi Ryan, it is probably the 3rd time I have pushed MH80H to what I believe is close to its limit.  Extremely pleased with the performance. This is as proper as a proper rod gets!

100% with you on deep water. There is a very good Hawaiian academic paper which says exactly that. Big GTs spend so much of their time in deep water and that's why the ideal GT fishing site is shallow reef or shelf with adjacent deep water.  Then you need the right combination of circumstances to bring them into the shallow water.

[Ryan Keith]

100% with you on deep water. There is a very good Hawaiian academic paper which says exactly that.

Aha! I knew I couldn't have come up with the theory on my lonesome. I remember the paper to which you refer. I recall thinking, at the time of reading, that they found such a high proportion of the population in deep water because the GTs had been overfished in the shallows (and, hence, become rare). In any case, the research does prove there's a number of GTs that live deep.

Good to hear the rod is performing for you. Methinks I'm honing in on the model that's best for me

[Andrew Smith]

Truly a massive fish and congratulations mark. I know how hard you have worked for that one!!!

I bet Adhek was extremely pleased!!! 

[David Lumanauw]

I also have read that Hawaii university paper where they put a transmitter to a big GT to follow its movement. They spend most time in 100m deep (50-150m), and dont move too far away, returning to the same path everyday. From the chart, they seldom go to top water or to shore.

[Mark Harris]

yes David, that's the one. I personally believe this behaviour is the norm in many places, especially with larger older GTs.  But that is only my belief.

Hopefully we will soon know more about this with the GT satellite tagging program by No Boundaries in Oman.  More research on this is certainly warranted!