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Wednesday 12^th August 2009, I had arranged with Adam Hughes (Thrawn from the Fishin Hub) to accompany me down to St Georges Basin for a days fishing, chasing mainly Flathead, Bream, Reds, Jews and some Tailor, but the later had been pretty scarce for this time of year and I hadn't really encountered any on my previous few trips.

We arrived down at the Basin View boat ramp around 6.30am and after a quick unhook of the boat strap and motor support Adam had me reversed and back in the water with the motor warming while he parked "Little Goldie". As soon as Adam was aboard we headed straight out to my normal spot in the middle just off Kangaroo Point.

The drift was from the WNW at around 8kts and we commenced flicking our soft plastics. I was using my normal 3" Riptide Mullet in Rootbeer, while Adam had on a 3" Squidgie Fish Black & Gold. I was on to a fish no sooner than my plastic had hit the bottom, it was a nice Dusky Flathead of 50cm, which was put into the esky for dinner that night (we had decided at the start of the day that we both needed to keep 4 nice flathead each for dinner, as normally I release everything I catch). I proceeded to quickly fill my quota, and then set about filling Adam's, as he was having difficulty in staying connected to a fish, after dropping a few "keepers". I suggested that he change his jighead to an Auspin like I was using, as they had a much finer gauge hook and where needle sharp, so as soon as he did his luck changed and he started to land a few fish.

After about 45 minutes we had 8 nice Dusky Flathead in the esky between 40cm - 50cm, so all other fish from that point where to be released. The drift changed a number of times over the next couple of hours from WNW - W - NW with an increase in strength up to 15kts and with a number of fish caught 7 released, which meant that I had to adjust our position to suit. Not long after I had re-positioned the boat for another drift I noticed a large school of baitfish on the sounder that where tight on the bottom in 30' of water and that there was a definite arch beside the school. I said to Adam that it could be a "Jew" and that I was going to change my plastic to a 4" Slam Minnow in Pumpkin, so I quickly did this and proceeded to get my out and down and start working it through the bait school.

Almost instantly I came up solid on a good fish, and at first I called it for a BIG flathead, as it was just giving me the normal head shakes with lots of weight, but then it decided to go for a run, and started to bang up and down like a jew, so I changed my call saying it was a "Jew" and not a flattie. It would surge off and have the occasional run, and as I was only using 2kg pre-test leader with my 6lb Sufix braid, I didn't want to put too much pressure on it, so I just slowly worked it up by "cupping" the spool of my little Pfluger Supreme and when it wanted to go I would let go of the spool and let it run. This went on for around 15 minutes until I finally had "colour". When we could see it as it came into our range of vision it most certainly looked for all money that it was a nice Jew as I had called it to be, but as it finally hit the surface, I couldn't believe my eyes and proclaimed loudly, "it's a f#@*en monster Tailor, get the net under it". Adam did a great job and smoothly and efficiently glided the net around it and quickly lifted it into the boat.

We both stood there for a few moments in amazement and in awe of such a great fish, and then I commented on how lucky I had been to of had such a perfect hook-up, with the jig & plastic firmly in the corner of its jaw. I asked Adam to help me measure it and to verify its length (76cm), then we weighed it and took a number of pics. It was at this point that I decided that I would keep it and not try to release it for 2 reasons, the first being that I was pretty sure it would be a new Australian Record and maybe a World Record and second was that it was totally stuffed and I didn't think it would survive, so it went straight into the large esky and under the ice.

Once home after a great day on the water, the weight was checked again and it was confirmed that the fish was 6.9kg, which was a great capture on 2kg leader under the "breakaway" rule. Had this fish been captured on full 2kg pre-test line it would have been a new World Record and would have eclipsed the old record by 3kg, but as braid was used it could not be recognised. So I had to be satisfied in my knowledge that it was a new Australian Record and in my own mind, a World Record, that will always remain as a great memory.

Tightlines

Ian (Big E)