Catch of the day [Fishing]
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Not my story to tell, but it’s been a fun trip to date! Battles won, lost, and stories made in the process.
There is a sense of wonder on when the next fish will bite, how big it may be, and what that may mean…
I have caught a few to date and have been happy with my results! Our boat captain caught one fish of 97kg yesterday in a battle that lasted 40ish minutes.
Here’s a picture of him during that event:
…and here’s one of me in my own battle:
…the real story is about the event of last year when @Giles hooked onto a fish of a lifetime and lost it. He hooked into 3 of those class fish today. I’ll let him tell the story and maybe share a picture or two.
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In 2025, on the last day, I was fishing with Dennis, when a fish, the power of which I have never encountered before, took all my line off the spool of the reel, all I could see was a few turns of line and the knot attaching the line to the spool. I upped the drag and managed to regain some line, I almost relaxed, then all went dead, the fish had bitten through my 130lb leader. I was gutted.
So it’s 2026 and I have thought long and hard about that fish in the intervening 12 months, and how I could improve my chances of landing a fish like that if I was lucky enough that it ever happened again. I upped my physique, I upped my mental resolve, and I upped my tackle game (I have almost everything anyway, so that was very hard
).Our preferred mode of fishing is casting top water lures at busting Tuna, who are chasing flying fish. That is real hunting. It is tiring, extremely demanding, requiring a lot of skill, the ability to cope with disappointment when you screw up, and of course some luck. There were very few flying fish showing all week, so top water casting was basically pointless. So, we went out with the locals at 04:00-05:00 caught live bait and then went and bait fished for the Tuna in the dark and up through the tide.
Day 5 and I fish with a new addition to our group, Julien, a lawyer from France, who has done a lot of fishing, but nothing like this. I have caught one fish of about 30kgs, and it is truly looking like It could be the worst week I have had in Morocco.
About 06:00 Julien’s rod starts screaming, he hooks what seems like nothing special, play it for about 15 minutes, and then he taps out, exhausted. I take the rod and realise it is a very large fish, it basically only moves on its terms, taking line off the reel and resisting me gaining any line. But I hold on, and with the help from the captain pushing upwards on the rod, as I pull it upwards too, we do steadily gain line, After about 10 minutes it is directly below the boat, maybe 50 meters deep. I put max pressure on the fish and our 150lb braid snaps. I am annoyed, I thought I was definitely going to get last years loss out of my system.
Oh well. Onward and upwards. About 10:00, my reel starts stripping out line like I never seen before. I put my fighting belt on and engage. I increase the drag quite a bit, and it keeps of taking line. We actually have to start chasing the fish to a) ensure I don’t run out of line and b) allow me to regain line. These clips are of us chasing the fish at full speed (probably not much more than 10 knots in the local under powered fishing boat), but the fish is still taking line (which means it is going faster than us).
After about 15 minutes, I believe we will get this fish, but am knackered so give the tap to Julien - next 2 clips…
After 10 minutes or so Julien is well in control, then all of a sudden all goes limp.
Wind in. The top image is what the hook should look like, the bottom one is what we reeled in. Yep, one of the best, strongest big game hooks in the business had failed. Now I am getting annoyed, but I am in absolute awe of what we have seen, and what we may have seen if we had got the fish to the boat.
Back to it…..
My rod screams again, I ask Julien to increase the reel drag and take initial control (knowing full well, this fish was so powerful that I would be tag teaming with Julien, and possibly even the captain), whilst I get my belt on etc. The captain and mate are at the back of the boat landing a 40ish KG fish they had hooked on a handline, so we could not chase the fish that was screaming towards the horizon, nor were either of them in a position to proffer advice. Julien ups the drag a tad too much, but that makes no difference to the fish, I ask him to back the drag off so he can take the rod out of the rod holder and place it in my fighting belt. He touches the drag knob and recoils, it is too hot to handle. Which is our final downfall, the fish decides to do another deep run, the drag will not give (having temporarily seized, as internal stuff is hot and unhappy). The rod does 180 degrees, that is the tip is pointing to the water and the butt is pointing to the sky. It explodes - butt section bust in 2, large ring hanging on for dear life, line break, fish fucks off.
This meant to be full to the rim.....
This is supposed to be attached in 2 places....
This is not meant to be broke.....
Possibly the most exciting days fishing in my life. I saw none of the big 3. The captain confidently guessing at over 100kg (220lbs) each. But fuck, what a day.
Need to go back next year and up my game again….
"OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011
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Excuse my ignorance, but that seems like a small boat for such big fish and waters...or is that typical?
Sounds like one of the most memorable fishing trips despite getting skunked on the big 3.
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They are boats the locals have fished with forever, albeit now with engines (way underpowered, but engines nonetheless)...We fish with the villagers, they way they fish.
It is daunting sometimes being in the middle of the Gibraltar straits in a big current.
@goosehd has some pics of the conditions, I think.
Here are the boats:
@wjw said in Catch of the day [Fishing]:
Sounds like one of the most memorable fishing trips despite getting skunked on the big 3.
And yes, 3 incredible experiences in one day. Will never forget.....
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…there are points of the day when you are in a trough of water that is over your head for what seems like minutes on end. Even if you could stand, you would not be able to see over the wave’s crests.
Daunting is very apt…sometimes you question your sanity.
But to be honest, it is an experience of a lifetime. The locals treat us as family. We catch fish which supports the village through their sale. The kids are there when the boats come in to help take the tuna to the scales and cold rooms. The men who can’t fish any more help bring the boats back to the beach. The fishermen all gather to see what’s caught and to compare notes.
There is a sense of community here that makes you want to come back. Even though last year was my first trip, when they saw me this year the greeted me like a long lost relative.
I appreciate what they do and how they live. I’m happy that I can share in a small part of that experience.
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To be honest, the entire fishing experience takes you out of your comfort zone. The days can be long, the conditions are shite, your body aches from the day before, and the lack of sleep builds throughout the week. By the end of the trip, you almost look forward to taking a day to rest.
When you leave, you miss it and want to go back…
The people involved (locals and friends) make it special…
I look forward to another trip and to settle a score or two…we are already discussing what needs to be done for next year. Those larger tuna need to watch out as we are coming prepared…
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Sounds like a great trip. I love an adventure like that.
I still have two major lost fish that still haunt me.
A big Nile Perch on Lake Victoria. Battled it for over an hour late in the day. I hooked it trolling on a jointed Depth Raider lure. Lost it due to the lure breaking in half at the joint.
Another Nile Perch a year later on Lake Nasser. Again hooked it trolling late in the day. I battled it for ages but may have got a little impatient as it was getting dark, gave it a little too much and straightened the 3X Mustad treble hook.
Both were probably 200 to 300lbs. Fishing on both lakes is not what it used to be due to commercial fishing and all the big ones gone which is a shame.
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@Giles In 30 years of fishing it is rare to see the butt section break in 2 like that, must have been mind blowing to watch!!
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It was like a bomb going off 2 feet from my head. I had put my belt on, sat down, feet up on the gunwale and was having the rod handed to me...The line and the ring bust at the same time, and the reel had seized for good measure, so I had burning clutch plate fumes wafting around too We got it rotating again, but there is a flat spot in the drag mechanism, so that needs to go in for a rebuild too.
I have been speaking to my friend in Ripple Fisher Japan. I asked if I could buy just a butt section. He said yes they could make one for me, but asked me to tell him what happened. His response....
"Are there any cracks, splintering, or delamination visible on the surface of the blank?
As for the visible damage, it seems that the foot of the bottom guide has pulled out from the wrapping. Considering that enough force was applied to pull the guide foot out, I believe the rod must have been subjected to a considerable amount of stress.
If you plan to continue using this rod for bluefin tuna casting, please be very careful when using it.
Based on the situation you described, the rod was likely subjected to an extremely high and sudden load, with the top edge of the rod holder acting as a fulcrum. This is quite different from the load normally applied to a rod during a fight.
For this reason, even if there is no visible damage to the blank, we cannot say with 100% certainty that there is no internal damage. There is a possibility that the carbon fibers may have sustained damage internally or that there may be other damage that cannot be detected from the outside.
Please keep this in mind and take extra care if you continue using the rod."
I also showed him a vid of me playing a fish earlier in the day, his response:
"I watched the video, and honestly, I can't even imagine standing up and casting on a boat like that! Haha.
I can't believe you're casting in those conditions. That's really impressive."So that made mw feel a little better....
