# Fijian Torpedo



## mrwalker (Feb 23, 2009)

Hi All,
decided to go for a sail the other day, but as is often the case here the weather report caught me out. Twelve knots became twenty five so I had a bit of a battle to get home.
Probably about 500 meters from the launching site my lighter outfit screamed into action. I have never had a run like it, half the spool gone by the time I furled the sail and turned downwind in pursuit. My first thoughts were of Spanish Mackerel, and a good one. By the time I had regained some line, I could see the shape of the fish in the wave tops and thought Spanish again. Closer still I could see a very distinctive forked tail but no stripes. 
I am still coming to grips with landing good fish on the AI, the bloody outriggers do get in the way, even when folded in. Finally managed a tail grab and pulled this fella onboard.









Never caught one before but as a young teen I tried to catch them in Queenscliff lagoon in Sydney, this one was a lot bigger than those ones.
It was exactly a meter long and the local guys who keep an eye on my kayak and ski were happy to take it home.
The trolled lure was a Laser Pro mackerel pattern, 150mm.
Cheers, Dave.


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## mrwalker (Feb 23, 2009)

Sorry about that, I had to look it up to make sure but its a Giant Herring.


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

That thing is huge, how far are you from fukushima


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

WTF?
My first thought was elops(ladyfish) too but thats huge. Biggest Ive ever seen or heard of.


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## AJD (Jul 10, 2007)

Top fish Dave! A real notable capture.

On a completely unrelated topic - Have you done any fishing around Toberua island? I'm heading there in December for a couple of weeks.

Regards
Al


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

Beauty! I've only seen them around 50cm here but even at that size they have some serious go.


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## Guest (Nov 22, 2013)

Very nice


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## anselmo (Aug 26, 2008)

mrwalker said:


> I have never had a run like it, half the spool gone by the time I furled the sail and turned downwind in pursuit.


I'd well believe that

It's a fish of a lifetime
Good job


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## JKB1 (Jun 17, 2013)

Awesome GH!
I did catch several on fly in Queenscliff Lagoon. My biggest was 800mm and probably weighed 1/3 of yours.
They have to be one of the great all round right tackle sport fish ever. Big aerial displays. Blistering speed and long runs. Dogged "down and dirty" action at the end, never giving up.
It's a crying shame the golf course destroyed the giant herring, mega jacks and the other weirdo fish in the lagoon..............


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## mrwalker (Feb 23, 2009)

Thanks for the responses fellas, I still have a smile on my face after three days. My fishing fortunes have been pretty grim of late so I hope this is a turning point, fingers crossed. 
Matt I am pretty slack in the trip reports but hopefully that will be changing. 
Al, I haven't done any fishing over that side, but I am sure there would be fish around there.
Gatesy, I reckon he easily took seventy meters in the first run, after that the runs were considerably shorter but he didn't give up in a hurry.
JKB1, Queenscliff lagoon was a pretty special place wasn't it. I did my first lure fishing there in the late sixties!
Cheers, Dave.


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## whoohoo (Feb 3, 2006)

Well done - great catch! I'd say definately Giant Herring. Here's a picture of one I caught at Waddy Point Fraser Island a few years ago. They go really hard but unfortunately are not good to eat. It's a real bag of bones.


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## Junglefisher (Jun 2, 2008)

Very nice fish.
Good to hear from you.


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## Cuda (Sep 18, 2006)

Well done.
Now let's see you catch something really special like a Dogtooth


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## mrwalker (Feb 23, 2009)

Thanks all. Okay Cuda, tips on dogtooth from a kayak? Cheers, Dave.


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