Caught this spanish (approx 27kgs) on a live bait off Hervey Bay yesterday, took some pictures and then released him. Put another bait in an caught another straight away about 18kgs.
Caught this spanish (approx 27kgs) on a live bait off Hervey Bay yesterday, took some pictures and then released him. Put another bait in an caught another straight away about 18kgs.
Horse buddy - nice work!
Nice work buddy! Check it for ciquitera. How long did it go? I hate it when i do not get a chance to weigh my fish due to filletting it at the ramp. Length is next best thing but some macks are heaps thicker than others.
27kgs might even be a bit generous.... nice fish.
Got to love those big spanish crocs...well done.
Life is short fish hard!!!
21,6 Sea Fox WA Pro ....
What do you think the chances are that either of them survived for long after you released them?Originally Posted by rainbowrascal
Caught this spanish (approx 27kgs) on a live bait off Hervey Bay yesterday, took some pictures and then released him. Put another bait in an caught another straight away about 18kgs.
Mate that is an absolute beast!
Did you use a wire trace?
Brilliant fish.
Cuzza
Jono,
what are you getting at? I am sure Bill Sawynok or the NSW Fisheries Game Fish Tagging Program could give you some info on recapture percentrages.
Jono at least I released it and it has a chance of survival, some of the fish caught and kept on this site and fishntales leaves a lot to be desired, no wonder catches are dwindling with mentalties that are near to raping and pilaging.
Spanish Mackrel are one of the hardiest fish i believe, so unless you had a Shark sitting under your boat waiting for its next meal i would say chances are very high for survival. nice catch also thats a cracker of a spanish, would have looked great in the esky tho, however once eaten i think you may have GLOWED.
Cheers Matty
Top fish Rainbow!!!!
as a comparison this one was 33.5kg weighed on cerified scales..... also caught in Hervey bay. He is now hanging on my wall as he would not release after the fight.....
Cheers Lochie
Great fish!! Well done and top marks to you for letting a fish like that go.
I have been told that Harvey Bay would be one of the worst places in QLD for ciguatera in Spanish Mackerel. You would be a brave person to eat a fish that big from that area. Not sure on this and someone may be able to set me straight, was or is there a rule about keeping Spanish Mackerel in Harvey Bay?
Like I said great fish and I hope to land one that big myself one day!
Regards
Dwane
I wasn't really getting at anything - personally, I have not got to the stage of releasing Spaniards, so I have no actual observations of how they go, and I was keen to find out. EG - do they swim off strongly? do you need to swim them beside the boat for a while? I do dream of having a great morning where I release a few...
I have released plenty of spotties in the past. I do prefer to be on the cautious side by releasing them beside the boat (where possible). They swim off very strongly. With ones I've kept, I have noticed they have often lost lots of their tiny scales, e.g. from the line rubbing on them during the battle. I don't know how that affects longer term survival, but it probably doesn't help.
I don't think there's much info on recaptures of tagged Spaniards, but that could be for lots of different reasons i.e. it isn't necessarily an indication of poor survival. I did find some info on Bill's recfishingresearch web page:
http://www.recfishingresearch.org/re...h_survival.asp
cheers.
Jono.
No harm done Jono, I have fished for years for spanish and I have caught many hundreds of them. Wherever I fish in QLD on any given trip I always put out a bait for them as you just never know. This particular fish took the bait on my wire trace and put up several long runs of 150m as well as going deep for awhile before I gently coaxed him to the boat. He was out the water for about 2 mins and then returned, I just let him go off into the depths I did not swim him. Hopefully he is there for someone else to catch tomorrow.
Bloody fantastic catch rainbow rascal. I have not been chasing them for too long but have been involved in catching one at 27kg and they are a very impressive fish when they get 20+. I only hope to be as complacient as you on releasing them one day. Ben
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