The Kong was Released
 

Jim and Fred and I went out in the "Atlanta", the 26 foot fishing boat here looking for GT's on the fly. Fly fishing started out as a thinking man's way of communing with nature and outsmarting the fish at his own game. You must choose the right fly, the right fly line, the right place and time, and then you might have a chance to win the battle. Preparation beforehand was much more important than luck when fishing, although that did not hurt any. Fly fishing today is a bit different, and it seems God made GT's to let fly fishers know that there are some fish not meant to be caught this way. GT's don't eat flies carefully prepared beforehand. They don't allow you to sneak up on them. They know you are trying to catch them and when they are hooked up they will wrap your line around a coral head or rock. If one is hooked up the others swim right beside him and help him. They are exceedingly tough and smart. Basically they will hand you your hat when you hook them up.  That is the correct term for a civilized fly fisher.

Now fly rod strengths (called weights) are rated by number- 4, 5,and 6 being for fish under 10 pounds; 7, 8, and 9 for fish (usually) under 15 pounds; 10 and 11 for tougher or bigger fish and 12-15 for fish like Marlin- up to bigger than you. Newer and newer models are being made- they oughta test them here for 20 weight. Jim lost a blackjack ( a small trevally) and uku (green snapper, aka highway) on his 14 weight- and both fish were under 30 pounds. He was schooled- he held on and the line keep going out like the everyready bunny on nuclear overload. Fly fishing's heaviest "tippet" is 20 pounds, meaning the weakest link in the line will break if a twenty pound load were suspended from it. Fly rods of the higher numbers can push that ability to get near the 20 pound test drag (and higher) limit. So, let me start over.  Jim got schooled, got his hat handed to him, by two fish here about 30 pounds each on his heaviest rod and tippets.

I informed him previous to this as cordially as I could that now was the time to be humble with his new "heavy duty" 15 weight. Then I saw that some "Donkey Kongs" were around. Now Jim wanted to catch a big GT on the fly very much- and we did land a about a 15 pounder earlier, but even that was tough. (A trip to another atoll (Kure) where the fish were not as wary produced some very nice catches, but not here at Midway.) Then I threw a 10 pound wahoo head over the side and the first shark could not eat it, the second shark hesitated and then five GT's over 90 pounds came in and took over. The biggest shark was around 300 pounds and he left like a roach in a spotlight and the biggest GT ate the head like a rat on a cheeto. Jim put away his 15 weight- I didn't need to say anything now. GT's are much tougher than the sharks... and there was five over 90 pounds. When Jim and Fred saw how excited I had become over the size of these fish Jim put on the stand-up conventional gear.

Twice we threw the monster hunks of fish flesh over and the biggest GT ate it-- only to be hooked wrong and lost in the first several seconds. I was on edge a bit because I get three or four chances a year to catch such kongs, and now there was five commanding attention. I changed the hook set-up and then threw over the back half of a 15 pound tuna with a 12/0 stainless hook- usually reserved for marlin sized fish- and the GT's came and swirled- and ate. Jim hit the gunnel of the boat and stopped, the reel quivered and Fred looked at me- I said "FRED UNHOOK US FROM THE MOORING, NOW". I was excited, Jim was hanging on for dear life, and Fred looked like he was in a trance.  Fred snapped out of his trance quickly and dropped the mooring line. Jim, Fred and I had a kind of ballay going on. I drove the boat, spinning and jockeying; Fred cleared any obstacles and acting as crew; Jim pumped the rod, sweated, and did what he could to a fish that was having his way. Twice the fish went into the coral and the rod tip stuttered, but the leader and line held.

His fish came up and it was not the super Kong we had seen and hooked up twice previous- it was, sigh, only Kong- I guessed 100-110. Kong barely fit between the engines and had to lifted over the boats's transom - the back end. The world record for this line class is under 120 pounds- close enough to bring the fish in and check, and that's what we did. Understand that I decided last year that no fish would be killed while trying to get a world record if I could help it- and I could. I filled the fish hold with 15 buckets of sea water and put the fish in it. I put the "wash down" hose in it and let the over flow drain out the side (wash down is salt water).  I called in and asked to get the scale ready. The island had come together for 5 pound barred jack world records and now people teamed and steamed down to the marina to see this fish and help it live. Everyone pitched in and we put the fish in a monster cooler filled with salt water and a hose pumping salt water in the cooler and took him out only to weigh him. 104.7. 12 pound shy of a record. Okay.

Jim & Capt. Bamboo with "Kong"

William aka Captain Bamboo