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Bluewater Magazine Article - Page 2 of 4

STEVE'S DARK SECRET
Just before this trip came to fruition I had received a call from Steve
informing me that they were getting some monster kings to 35kg.
This started to get me excited, but when he added that he was
catching them all in the dark at the anchorage, I thought he might be
stark raving mad.

Kings don't bite at night, I told myself. But a week later I was
suddenly humbled by what I still didn't know about a species I
thought I understood. Steve had invited BlueWater to tag along on a
five-day liveaboard charter to the remote waters at the southern tip of
the Eyre Peninsula. He promised some unique and exciting fishing,
and after a start like that I certainly wasn't arguing.

There were six anglers on this trip: Mat, Scott, Roger, Graham and
Geoff from Adelaide as well as my old mate Ian Bowden from
Meridian Lures. Steve was there to guide us, while Andrew and Rolf
Czabayski ran the boat. Flying into Port Lincoln, which is famous for
its tuna farms, we piled a mountain of gear aboard the beautiful 57ft
Calypso Star and were soon on our way. Our destination was
Greenly Island, some 85 miles south-west of the peninsula.

DECENT EXPOSURE
Completely exposed, Greenly Island and the smaller Rocky Islet
suffer the full might of the Southern Ocean for most of the year.
During autumn the winds subside, giving adventurous fishos a small
window of opportunity to explore these unspoiled waters. The cold,
nutrient-rich currents in this part of the world are an extremely fertile
home to all types of seafood, from the southern bluefin tuna (SBT) to
massive kings and samsons as well as snapper and groper.

On our first afternoon we pulled up over a distinct reef to see if we
could find a samson or two. Rising up from 90m to within 40m of the
surface, it was certainly an impressive bit of structure made all the
more exciting by the big schools of pilchards that breezed about on
the surface. Eager to fish, the guys wasted little time, sending both
baits and jigs down into the depths. It took a bit of searching but we
eventually found the fish. One moment everyone was relaxing in the
afternoon sun, then seconds later they were struggling with rods
doubled over. The deck turned to instant bedlam as big samsons
charged about in all directions, forcing our team of intrepid anglers to
dance and weave around each other in an effort to stay attached. It
was quite comical to watch, and after all the smoke cleared three
massive samson fish lay on the deck. Ranging from 16-21kg they
were certainly impressive.

Wasting little time, Rolf quickly repositioned the boat for another
drift. This time only Roger scored and, after torturing his outfit, the
biggest samson - a 25kg beast - was hauled aboard. One final drift
earned us another smaller (only 18kg!) samson, which was
successfully released. The setting sun saw us powering off to the
anchorage, but not before Ian picked up a nice little SBT on the troll.