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Jacob Warner
10.36KG
ID#: BIG FLATHEAD |
Wednesday night, January 2001, I was fishing in my boat, drifting back and forth around the bar entrance at Tweed Heads.
I was using a number of baits including; live prawns, live and dead herring, and plain old W.A pilchards. I kept on getting hits every time I passed over a certain spot of my drift. I had numerous shots at setting the hook. The only problem was, the fish was only touching the dead herring, making it hard to penetrate though their tough skin. The next bait I lost, I decide to put on a pilchard, because they have softer bodies, which would make it easier to set the hook.
As I approached the spot, I felt one huge tug. I allowed the fish to swallow the bait. I pulled back on my new 'Reel em in; 6ft baitcaster rod, equipped with the HBC 1540 baitcaster reel, I had just brought, to set the hook.
A half an hour later I got a glimpse of the fish that had taken me from one side of the river to the other. It was huge Flathead. I had a small gaff in the boat, so I stuck the gaff into the side of the Flathead's head and heaved it into the boat.
I took the Flathead to the fishing charter boat I work on, to weigh it. It weighed in at 10.36kg. I was told that this was an enormous effort to get the fish in, considering I was only using 8lb line and no leader.
I didn't think to go and show the local tackle shop, but later found out I should have, because the current Australian Record flathead only weighed in at 9.44kg. It was caught in 1982, in Ballina
I now only have a couple of photos to show of my flathead, which should have been the new Australian Record.
Jacob Warner
15yr old, Tweed Heads resident
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