It was a calm autumn morning, the first weekend of May, up early to get to spot x to try finish the season with a stunner. Blasting out the cut we head north with low expectations – it’s late season, our big snapper spot had stopped producing the weekend before with only spiny fishy dogs. Nevertheless, we continue, knowing that if there’s a chance of a big fish, it’s there.
After 45 minutes of cruising on a mostly flat sea, we arrive. Dropping our baits down, it isn’t long before we get some action. After a decent fight, a solid 55cm kahawai is hauled from the depths. Given the luck of our previous trip, we knock it on the head, bleed it, and put it on ice. After rebaiting my hooks, I drop the line back down ready for something bigger, and after a few seconds my rod bends over closely followed by Mum’s then Dad’s. As we bring them up, the fish have the brilliant idea to tangle all around the other line and the burley. After untangling the cheeky kahawai and chucking them back, we noticed something out the back of the boat.
A 7-8 foot mako shark cruises past the outboard, hungry for a feed. Two rods go off again; Mum’s then mine. As I tighten the drag to bring up what I think is another kahawai, I notice the line keeps going out. I apply a little more drag, nodifference, this isn’t just some keen kahawai. After two minutes this fish still hasn’t stopped, I fear I might have hooked the mako. However, after it’s taken 30 meters of line, I get some back – whatever this is it isn’t the mako. After the others finish dealing with their fish, they come over to me expecting mine to be at the boat ready to land. “You almost there?” Dad asks. “Almost back to where I started,” I replied.
I’m in a race now, me vs the mako, the winner getting this trophy fish. After another couple minutes this fish still hadn’t given up. I wonder if this isn’t a snapper, as the pressure normally makes them fight-less after they get far enough from the bottom. As the fight nears the end the fish makes one last dash under the boat, I plunge the tip of my rod into the water, I can feel the braid rubbing against the chine and vee of the boat, and it’s heading right to the burley rope!
After manoeuvring myself around the boat, Dad manages to net the fish. “It’s a big one” he says as he lifts it into the boat. I realize what I’ve got – my first 20lb snapper. As I stand back in happiness, I look beside the boat. The beat mako shark cruises past, close but no cigar.
