35kg Kingie, Solo off a Kayak - Adventureman Dan

[AdventureManDan]

On a cold stormy morning I decided to paddle out in a Viking ocean kayak. I was hoping to get some footage of the schools of Kingfish. But I ended up with much more.

I paddled out solo early one morning. A local storm was brewing on the horizon. I figured I had two hours max before I had to head back to shore. The water was a hazy 5m vis. I was in the water for an hour and a half, with not a single sign of a Kingie. But plenty of Kahawai and Koheru passing through. I knew it would only be a matter of time before a Kingie school came past.

Then out of the haze, all at once I was in the vortex of Kingies! More than I could count. I hit my camera and dive down. Pushing myself into the camera frame as I dove deeper into the vortex, I see a slightly larger Kingie than the rest. I incorrectly estimate it to be around 20kg. I take the shot, the breakaway system on my Riffe Euro 120cm goes off without a hitch. As I head for the surface I hold the float line, and feel a tug, and then a bigger tug, and then I was being dragged under, FAST! I loosen my hold on line and hit the surface. Instead of using a float, my spear is attached to the bow of the kayak(bigger than any other float!). So I jump up into the kayak with the line in hand and then the work begins! The kayak actually starts moving! Faster and faster! My only though was that some big shark had my little 20kg fish. I grab line and start pulling. I would get up 10m of line, and then it would get ripped through my hands! After ten minutes I finally get my fish to the surface, I lean it's massive head into the kayak and bring the whole body into the little boat. Immediately I wrap and lock my legs around the long body, and get a hand into it's strong gills. After a couple more minutes of working to get the fish under control on top of the kayak without flipping. And getting my hands crushed by it's powerful gills. Ouch! I put the knife into it's huge head and end the fight. After an extra hour long heavy paddle back to shore, it weighs in at 35kg and 142cm long to the fork! My new personal best fish and solo on a kayak! The best sashimi I have every had.

More videos and pictures to be posted on my Adventureman Dan facebook page.

[Marcus]

Stud fish! But that's yellow tail, right? Or do guys call them "Kingies" in New Zealand?

[AdventureManDan]

The proper name is Yellowtail Amberjack, but everyone calls it something else.

[cedric09]

Nice fish, thanks for sharing

[rambofishsniper]

awesome fish and story great shooting

[boz]

Yeah top fish & write up

[SJ_Spearo]

That is an awesome fish! Great work. Good thing you had a float system rigged up!

[Neptonic Systems]

Great fish!

[Mighty KC]

That's a great fish, and a great story.

Thanks for sharing,

KC