Cam Fishing -Lord Howe Island

by Olly Chardon

PART 1

Situated less than 2 hours flight North East of Sydney is the remote, but stunning, Lord Howe Island. A long standing fishing Mecca which seems to have lost favour with anglers in recent times the island offers plenty for the family offering superb hospitality, natural beauty and an endless array of fishing potential. Lord Howe's piscatorial reputation is one which has historically revolved around the Kingfish, Bluefish and the Double Headed Wrasse although recently other targets have come to the fore such as the Yellowfin tuna, Wahoo, Dolphinfish, Marlin and even Spearfish which can be encountered with varying degrees of regularity. During a recent visit I had my sights set on the Island's large and explosive Kingfish population that kept me busy on several deepwater encounters.

Having made numerous enquiries I decided on hiring the services of Jack Shick, the skipper and owner of Wave Rider. For a relatively modest fee I chartered the boat on my own and informed Jack of my wishes relating to Kingfish. As is always the case when I arrive in an unknown fishing destination I left all the decisions to the skipper who was well rehearsed on the necessary details that would put me on the fish. It was with great anticipation that I soon noticed our vessel heading straight for the 'legendary 'Balls Pyramid', and although we stopped short of the Pyramid itself we were nearly in its shadow when we started fishing.

Being predominantly a lure fisherman I accepted Jack suggested advice to fish the area with baits that we set about 10 meters from the bottom as we drifted over various drop-offs and mounts. The rig we used was one with which I was not familiar - but ever so effective. Starting at the business end was a 12/0 circle hook crimped onto 300lb leader. The 50cm leader was then covered in thick plastic tubing (to further protect the line and to make lifting fish aboard more comfortable). Above the tubing was a crimp to hold two 1/4lb bullet shaped weights (noses facing away from each other), with another crimp to prevent the weights from sliding up the line, and another meter or so of line to a crimped loop that was used to attach to the swivel.