Platypus news September 2009
IGFA World Record Wahoo on 4 kg Platypus Lo-Stretch™.
A new IGFA World Record claim for a 31.6kg (69.66lb) wahoo on 4kg Platypus Lo-Stretch ™ has been caught off Kadavu Island, Fiji by Tim Simpson – Editor of the specialist offshore gamefishing magazine BlueWater .
The fish was caught aboard Bite Me (a 31ft Deep Vee flybridge) at Matava Resort in Fiji with Capt Adrian Watt. Tim was fishing with acclaimed American angler, photographer and BlueWater contributor Bill Boyce. They were on a mission to attempt world records on the phenomenal light-tackle winter fishery in Fiji for enormous wahoo and sailfish. Both anglers were fishing exclusively with 4kg Platypus Lo-Stretch ™ while trolling the deep outer coral barrier reef around Kadavu Island. This is an area renowned for monster gamefish so to fish it with 4kg Platypus Lo-Stretch ™ would, to many fishermen, seem like suicide. But to these two experienced and dedicated light tackle anglers, it was just the type of challenge they love.
Tim eventually landed the fish after actively pursuing the record with special tackle and strategies for over 4 years. On many occasions the attempt was thwarted by atrocious weather conditions when the annual wahoo run hit Fiji – or worse, a delayed run of fish that meant they hadn’t arrived in Fiji at the time Tim headed there for the mission!
Often, other fish took the specially prepared and customized Halco Laser Pro 190 trolling minnows – which are phenomenally successful on these species. While waiting for the world record wahoo, the team landed a considerable number of Fijian national gamefishing records for other gamefish along the way.
Tim’s huge wahoo was part of the second triple strike aboard Bite Me that calm but overcast and rainy day. They were fishing over an offshore seamount, 30 miles from base, in 200-fathoms! As often happened, the first triple were all sliced off by fish crossing lines or through lines being bitten off by other wahoo in the pack. During the second pack attack, one of the triple was bitten free but the other two made it through the strike phase and so the long battle began...
Having two wahoo hooked up on 4kg Platypus Lo-Stretch ™ at once meant that both anglers had to fight the fish from a standing boat. This was far from helpful. Both fish stripped over 500m of the fragile and hair-thin 4kg Platypus Lo-Stretch ™ in opposite directions – often straight down!
After more than an hour, both fish were finally battled to the boat – but not before the extreme strain over hundreds of metres of line had blown-up Bill’s reel! He had to handline the exhausted fish – on 4kg line – the last 15m to the boat! That alone was testament to Bill’s skill and the toughness of the Platypus Lo-Stretch ™. Luckily, it was a mill-pond-calm day.
Bill’s wahoo was around 25kg while Tim’s weighed in at 31.6kg – which, once ratified by the International Game Fish Association, should smash the old 4kg world record of 25.71kg – which was caught off Bermuda 10 years ago!
