# SA - New way to set the drag



## Drewboy

Got a few moments to consider a new technique for snapper fishing? Read on.

Everything was set for a promising session on Adelaide's metro coast for a 4 hour twilight foray.
OldDood, Solatree and I had arranged a get-together near Glenelg, however, I got on to the water a little earlier and setup 50 metres from a boat quietly anchored.
Whilst waiting for my fishing buddies to arrive, I cast and retrieved soft plastics to no avail for 30 minutes. About the only highlight here was snagging a fairly nice rod and reel on the bottom. Interestingly, it didn't look too old at all.
The boat owner called out..."Aaah that's my mates rod.... he dropped that the other night....he'll he here in a minute. You can give it to him then." 
A bit presumptuous, but I figured if it would be easy to tell if these guys were bullshitting anyway.
When he arrived, the said owner was incredibly relieved to find that I had found his rod and it was a pleasure to hand it to him.

Shortly thereafter the boys arrived and the three of us sat patiently as the sun set, however, the promised coincidence of ideal conditions was challenged by a distinct absence of any fish activity at all.

As the conditions grew chillier I decided to take Solatree's lead and don some warmer head-neck gear.
Till this moment, for 2 hours I had been juggling 2 rods between a Ram mount rod holder in front of me and a Ram tube beside me. Both rods leashed and drags backed off.
A swap of rods in holders meant one of the rods was momentarily unleashed.
Naturally, this was to be the occasion when the opportunity for nature to teach me a lesson was timed immaculately.
In my experience, significant sudden events seem to happen before ones eyes in "SlowMo".
Not this one.
Bang....and in a flash of blue and black, I watched as my Saltist 4500 and Nitro Viper buckled down and shot forward out of the unclipped rod holder. It was gone with a minimal splash and was out of sight within 2 seconds.
"Idiot!" was the word that was being repeated in my mind over and over, along with..."but, what was that on the other end of the line?!!"
Quickly I hauled anchor and started trawling the area with my weighted soft plastic, thinking all along, "how did that happen... the drag was set so light and the line was nylon, so tip wrap wasn't the cause". With the tide truly running by now, this was proving an impotent exercise. I guess you just have to put it down to.... the fish must have been big and it simply bolted.

As I was returning to where I started, I decided to change my other rig to match the lost line's allure. So a single unweighted hook with half a pilchard was cast .
Within moments that reel went off (drag very carefully set) and 10 minutes later I had a 68cm Snapper in the net.
So far ...Fish-one ...Humans-one.
Nice fish but very expensive.

For the next hour and a half in the dark and with a strong current I battled with a new drag problem.
My anchor would not grab the bottom.
Every time I came up next to Mark(OldDood), it just rumbled along steadily, letting me get further away as the tide increased.
Three circuits later and still no luck getting it to hold.
Then Mark cracked onto a nice fish himself and he was smiling.
After this I just kept at it whilst the anchor just kept dragging.
Is there no end to this?.... I even let out an extra extension line of 10 meters.

Then It happened.
As I was lifting the rope for about the sixth time, I snagged something, but with the weight of my anchor and chain I didn't realise what was even there, until in the darkness, the anchor was on the kayak along with my Saltist/Nitro combo attached! :shock:   
Some people on a yacht, returning from a sunset cruise probably wondered what the hell caused the noise of joy that guy on his kayak made out in the darkness. 
As you would imagine, I was over the moon, whilst at the same time, stunned with disbelief.

Mark called out casually that the fish might still be on the line.
That hadn't occurred to me, due mainly to the fact that I was still dealing with my first sense of elation...I had just recovered $500 worth of rod and reel.
Right....now down to business, after untangling the anchor rope from the rod, it was time to see what's there.
Noticing the spool was pretty empty, I started winding and discovering weight that still had some life in it. This gave me a fresh surge of anticipation.
A heavier fish than the first was on and hopefully the ground the rod had been dragged over for the last 90 minutes hadn't compromised the line.
As it came to the surface, this Snapper was still feisty, albeit I'm sure, a little jaded.

That night I went to bed and drifted happily off to sleep with 2 main thoughts.
Always leash your rod, no matter what... and never complain about your anchor dragging.









79 cm.Note the weed clogged on the bail arm where the line would have been stripping off the reel whilst on the bottom.


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## sbd

Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. One in a million, too good to be Drew!


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## garyp

I'll be the first one to say it "go buy a lottery ticket!"

Great read. Anks


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## kraaken

That's an awesome story Drew  Last time I had a rod and reel go overboard, I went over with it as the back of my kayak flipped up in unusual surf at New Haven and the paddle blade snapped on my neck, causing one of workmates the following day to ask what my missus had done to me! Took me an hour of wading in chest deep water and breaking waves to find my outfit....never did find my keys though.....  You guys are really getting into some nice snapper out there, keep it up!


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## suehobieadventure

Excellent story Drew. I can't believe your luck ! Bad and then good. Truly Amazing.


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## andybear

Goats and Monkeys!

Thats so .......I can't think of a long word that means lucky.......Ummmm....very very lucky!

What a fantastic trip...nice fish too, well done.

cheers andybear


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## malhal

Thats a fair size anchor to drag constantly.

Cheers Mal


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## solatree

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: 
Drew - I'm still shaking my head in disbelief ! Bloody amazing - and, what's more, a great couple of Snapper   
Catching two rods and two snapper on the same trip ! :lol: :lol: And they say fisherman tell tall stories - well we know you're tall - but that's a real story


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## Ranger

You're sh*ttin me??? :shock:

As I recently heard..............."I recon you've been kissed on the dick by a leprechaun!" :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## fisher

*F A N T A S T I C* - and I thought that spot only worked with the first rain after summer! Great story - well done drew.


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## Guest

Thats Awesome, well done Drew.


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## Slam

If you didn't believe in karma I guess you will now. By giving that dude his rod back you got yours back too (with a bonus).
Nice work mate and great fish.


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## OldDood

Ranger said:


> You're sh*ttin me??? :shock:
> 
> As I recently heard..............."I recon you've been kissed on the dick by a leprechaun!" :lol: :lol: :lol:


If it wasn't for one small detail I would say that Drew is stretching the truth, but I witnessed the whole saga from start to finish :shock: 
That is exactly what happened with no poetic license or exageration for artistic affect. :lol:

Ranger is absolutely correct, Drew has been seen having unnatural relations with the wee folk. :lol: 
That is the weirdest nights fishing I have ever seen. 300 years ago they would have burnt him at the stake for such sorcery. :lol:


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## paulthetaffy

I love stories like this - un-frickin-believable!! love it 

Paul


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## kanganoe

I know you have had this problem for a couple of years but there is help available for premature anchor dragulators.Ring now for 1 metre of decent chain and don,t forget to let out two and a half water depths of line . Excellent fishing by the way.


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## OldDood

kanganoe said:


> I know you have had this problem for a couple of years but there is help available for premature anchor dragulators.Ring now for 1 metre of decent chain and don,t forget to let out two and a half water depths of line . Excellent fishing by the way.


Hi Kanganoe,
I know this is a personal subject, but I am suspecting that Drew's premature dragulation problem may have been caused by a snapper being attached to his tackle.(Anchor). :lol: :lol:


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## Drewboy

kanganoe said:


> I know you have had this problem for a couple of years but there is help available for premature anchor dragulators.Ring now for 1 metre of decent chain and don,t forget to let out two and a half water depths of line . Excellent fishing by the way.


Well Russell, 
You were the one who originally put me onto the significance of 1 metre chain lengths 18 months ago in Boxing Bay on KI.
And yes, since then I have benefited from your good advice and used that system weekly.
Maybe now I should use it with the anchor. ;-)


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## AJD

What a great read. Congrats on fish and the rod recovery! What a story.


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## Dodge

Drew well done on the nice red, and good one in recovering the tackle mate.


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## suehobieadventure

Russel you also fixed my anchor problem Thanks for that if it ever drags again I will know to check for a large Snapper. Drew I have relayed this story to some of the guys at work who already think yak fisho's are nuts :shock: Great story though.


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## jacksonjackson

Speechless. I am without speech.

I read a lot of fishing stories - a LOT - and that is by far the coolest tale of fishy karma I have ever read. Brilliant.


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## pescado

Trip report comp....sewn up!

Awesome stuff drew and what a snap, nice ;-)


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## pescado

double post woops


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## Ado

A brilliant read. Great trust in the universe rewarded handsomely. I'm with Chris, that a trip report comp entry for sure.


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## sandyfreckle

Great read mate.
Even if you only hooked a 20cm Leatherjacket on the und of your water-logged rod it'd be the story of the year.
You obviously did something good in the recent times to have fate on your side like it was.
Fantastic stuff.
Cheers.


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## sunshiner

Almost unbelievable, but it's got that unmistakeable touch of authenticity. Great report DB. Fantastic snapper (x2) also. You've got some top fish down there. So glad you had your camera with you. Thanks

Kev


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## phil79

As ford fairlane would say
"UN........BELIEVABLE"!!!!! ;-)


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## Samboman

Amazing!!! great stuff guys, can't wait to get a snapper from my yak! 8) 8)

*****


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## Drewboy

I've gotta say... such warm fuzzies are another reason I appreciate contributing to this forum. Thanks guys.

And on the topic of losing a rod, I know what it is like from a previous experience to lose one. Luckily, after a snorkeling sortie the next day, It was retrieved after a 2 hour search. 
Boy, was I stoked to have it back.
So I know just why the owner of the first rod I brought up was justified in getting his rod back.
And then there's the gift of giving.


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## NoelMc

.....and, Ms washed the boat, cleaned the fish, cooked it to perfection whilst he watched tv & .......
Ok I believe you.


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## Wrassemagnet

What a great read, one of the best ever trip reports IMHO.

I'm gobsmacked.

Great stuff.


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## Mustang

Enough said...................... YOU ARE A FREAK !!!!! Well done
Can you come up here and help me find my T Curve I lost Ha Ha

Brett


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## Milky

Hey buddie there must be some Irish in you! Ive heard of co-incideces but to pull a fish as well.

I hope your luck didnt run out once you got home ;-)


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## Drewboy

Milky said:


> Hey buddie there must be some Irish in you! Ive heard of co-incideces but to pull a fish as well.
> 
> I hope your luck didnt run out once you got home ;-)


From potential lost rod and reel to the other side of the ledger, yes Adrian, it was an added pleasure to come home that night.


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## Yakwannabe

Great Story - I have found plenty of old gear - but never stuff I have lost myself!!


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## eagle4031

unbelievable - great day in the end
well done drew


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## Melbit

If you find at least two rods each time you go out, you wouldn't have to work anymore! Brilliant!


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## yaktopia

What a great narrative...put that one up for a fishing mag or releae it as a children's fable!! Top fish and nice rod'n'reel too!!!


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## fomoco26

what a ripper of a story. It was a nice healthy fish too. good job


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## beneel

Wow, that is deadset amazing, a great read.


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## nugget66

hey Drew bloody magnificent story mate , ihad to keep wiping tears out of my eyes . Good fish too . Keep Fishin Mate Nugget


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