call to the billfish brigade

[damons33]

pakula sold the lure company! john zac(tailored marine accessories) owns pakula lures, so, what you say is kinda outta date... unless you buy the cd-rom i guess....
they don't call him peter paculiar for nothing- what do you expect from a frikken dress maker for christ sakes ! lol......

i haven't got that vibe from pete ...but i haven't had any direct bussiness dealings with him- but i know that sometimes people who screw up in bussiness blame others for their problems! on the other hand there is alot to be said about the kinda people that exist on the gold coast! lol.......

- if they are the best lure around why wouldn't you use them?
remember this phill -sour grapes make shit wine!
life is short mate don't waste your petrol driving down dead ends.
i'm sure bob will look after you .....bloods thicker then water at the end of the day!......is there any cliche' i haven't used?lol.....
damon

[Outsider]

Wessel,

A great post that sums up the spirit of the thing - take what you've got and get out there! I think it's very easy to over complicate things or take on advice that really only becomes relevant when your catching 150-200kg+ fish consistantly.

Sure it's nice to have big gold reels and rollered rods - but we can't all afford them - at least not to start with. If I have problems with my TLDs, then I might move up to Sealines or Tiagras as I pop them - but if I don't need to why would I? Same with the rods - I didn't buy crap ones (I even got a T-curve on e-Bay ) but I couldn't justify the expense of 5 $600 rods.

I just want to get out there and get into it - I'll make it up as I go along just like I always do. I'm sure I'll spend alot of time pissing myself laughing with my mates and crapping on about the monumental bustoffs etc etc

But damn it'll be sweet when it all comes together and I'm looking down at that beak in my hand just before I let him go and he glides away from the boat....

[Mortalkombat]

Pete Pukula has helped many novices including myself to catch a bill fish,the web site he runs answers many of the questions you need to know when chasing Marlin The Cd is a mine of info and again helps unlock many questions you may have when are starting out on the great billfish journey. Pete gave a great talk last night which was free to anyone wishing to come! Why do us Aussies love to knock tall poppies! This forum is about guys who love fishing helping each other not assasinating peoples charactor.
Nick

[Mortalkombat]

I would never denegrate the tld series but the difference between them and the Tiagra is incredible, it has to with the drag system. All i would say is if you can see you way to buying one do it. We dont get that many opertunities to get onto a billy so i want to make every hookup count and to release them so my grand kids may also be able to catch one of the most maginicent creatures in the ocean.

[Mortalkombat]

Before joining the spgsfc I was one of the guys who trolled using high speed lures which work really well but I would get busted up 2 out of every three fish hooked. I would brag about the monster which got away” it must have been huge for such a monumental bust up”. HA HA what a turkey I was!
I would troll at 10 knots plus get bounced, bashed, wet, sore, and very poor, because I kept replacing lost lures.
Since starting to troll at 6.5 knots using Plastic lures my hook up/ capture rate has improved out of site I have not lost a single lure at hookup.{which was unheard off} I use far less fuel and have caught far bigger fish. But I have started using better quality gear reels, rods, line, swivels, knots, hooks, the whole system because I LEARNT from guys who were constantly catching big fish, thankfully there are guys who are willing to share knowledge and let you know how to vastly improve you success or lack of it. I just want to see other guys catch their first Billy and now know how easy it can be!
By the way I tried to catch a bill fish for about 7 years on and off, I snagged one at 1770 in 1995 but now look back and think what missed opportunities if only I had sort good advice I would now have many more billies under my belt.
” The truth is out there”
Nick

[flattymattyb]

I know I certianly don't feel "used and abused" by peter I know I got alot more out of him last night than he got outta me being there.

Outsider thats it Ireckon i've got alot more chance being out there trolling than sitting at home saving until I can afford 5 identical rigs alothough I must say I was worried alll morning on sunday that if I got a shot it would be on the star drag penn, murphy's law and all but like you said it make for a laugh, a few days later

Cheers
Matty

[Reefmaster]

Gee what a sledge this post has turned into
There's always someone who dislikes another thats life i suspose but i too attended Peters talk last night and he certainly did not take advantage of my wallet(free) and i thought he was a pleasure to listen too and better still i learn't something from a guy who is respected as one of the best in the world.
Cheers Greg

[Mortalkombat]

Matty and Greg cheers we all want to learn to better fishermen and hopefully better people this is what this is all about sharing learning having fun and catching a few fish
Nick

[wessel]

We chase fish off the east coast of Oman in a place called Sur. Looking at a map of the Middle East, that piece of land the furthest east on the Arabian Peninsula is where we are at.

Regarding the bust offs -
All our reels are set at 10 kg drag whilst trolling. It is a bit disheartening when something strikes, goes deep, takes all your line on a full drag setting with you just trying to hold on and not loose the rod and then snap the line at the spool after it has all run out on you.

I have a lot of respect for any person with the guts to even contemplate going out trolling using only 10kg setups. I have even more respect for any person that can land a line class fish using that setup. Small or big marlin, doesnt matter. They are not a very forgiving species and they have a nack at finding the weak spot in any setup -

Best of luck to all. Got to run, the pub has been open for an hour and it has been a long day and they sell bacon burgers

Wessel

[Mortalkombat]

Wessel if a bill fish goes deep there is a SIMPLE way to get it up drive off it down current and like magic it will come to the surface IT WORKS never let more than 45 degrees of angle get on your line. You should have over 600 m of line on your reel so dont worry if you lose some you will get it back as soon as he hits the surface.
Ps another thing i learned from PP!
Nick

[damons33]

haha' wessel, egg n bacon roll with a xxxx!
when you say deep how deep is the bottom? and how much line are you holding on your reel?

[jeffo]

what nick says is the key to fighting a billfish IMO.. although in saying that i fought a 15kg black for 2 hours on 6kg a few weeks ago!! he jumped when the hooks et then went deep. we drove off him at least 10 times but he just wouldnt come up.. we pursisted and after the 2 hours he finally came to the surface. had a to swim him for a while once leadered but he swam away ok

[Mortalkombat]

Jeffo what was the drag set at and did you check it after the fight?

[wessel]

In these parts it gets deep very quickly. A kilometer offshore can see you in 600 meters plus water. Some of these underwater canyons drop out at two kilometers underneath you and then you are barely 5 kilometers from shore.
All our reels hold 400 - 450 meters of line.
I dont even want to think what a 40 kilo yellowfin tuna will do with a 6 kilo setup. Now that will be fun to watch.

Had a mate fartassing around with a spinning rod loaded with 80 pound braided line the one day. The line alone cost more than the rod and reel together. We were live bating for some seriously big tuna while he entertained himself with barracuda that came to investigate the boat. Needless to say, the reel started screeming and we had to assist by chasing the fish with the boat before he gets spooled. Eventually he was able to turn the tuna and have a go at it. Put the boat in neutral, grabbed a corona and made ourselves comfortable while we watch this. A solid fight for 80 minutes which saw him unable to lift his left arm for three days afterwards. The tuna was a personal best for him weighing in at 29kg.

Regards

Wessel

[fishy_phil]

gday damon

im just sayin that on principal i will not use a pakula lure because the bloke ripped off plenty of the better gamefisherman around sydney not mentioning names, in the making of his original line of lures...he took all the profits, recognition and gave none to the people that designed them...the only reason that he got a foot in the door is because he had the equipment to make them...the gameboat operators that he made them for got his business goin then he says to em piss off i dont need you anymore...
and you say he sold the company...i knew that he did and i still will not touch a lure with his name on it. n y would i the lures that me and the old man made used to catch fish as good if not better than pakulas...there has been many tournaments won using them...broken bay, bermi, port stevens, hell what we were making joe yee got wind of and had a chat to my dad...most of what i have are based on some original joe yee designs with some slight but effective modifications angle of the face, frontal profile... also no other lure manufacturer makes lures that 'light-up' like the ones we do...no-one knows how.
the biggest marlin taken on one of my dads that was weighed in went over 950lb...so there is no arguement, they do work. so do the pakulas but each to his own. hell id rather use a lure i had a hand in making than use a store bought lure anyway, more satisfaction.
cheers
phil