BIG GT tagged at sunset on Bazaruto Island

BIG GT at sunset! by Captain Duarte Rato

With winds blowing well in excess of 25 knots we were grounded to the resort for 3 consecutive days. But, when one afternoon the wind eased off a tad we decided that a short trip to the GAP (AKA Kingfish Alley) was in order. We only left the lodge at 4 pm but within 30 minutes were over the reef ready to start plugging. Carl was going to use a sub surface bobara stick bait and his guest was going to through a big Rooster Popper. On the very first cast Carl hooked up to a fish that soon proved to be VERY powerful and strong. Using all the pressure that the 100 lbs braid we tried to move the fish away from the shallow reef to avoid being cut off but what gave in after about 20 minutes were the Viper XL hooks that simply bent straight! What a bummer, this fish felt it could have topped 40 kg´s and it had been a while since Carl landed a GT this big at Bazaruto. We did another 3 drifts and caught some smaller kingies on dropshot and the sun was on the horizon as we stopped for our last drift. Luck did struck twice and Carl hooked into another big fish and again fought it with the heaviest possible drag to pull him away from the bricks. This time everything held and after a 25 minute tussle we got the fish on the boat for a quick photograph and release. The fish measured 118 cm, which translates to a good 33 kilos….