Here is a report from Daz in Byron Bay, Australia.

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daz01

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Hi Totos.

I caught this 21kg AJ this morning. (Feb 2)

The fight lasted 20 minutes and one of my hooks broke, and the the jig was holding on by 1 other hook. It was a very strong fish and I was sweating so much that I could barely hold the rod.
We landed the fish a mile from where we hooked it.

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Jig was gawky 220gm.

We were free drifting in around 2 knots of current which seemed to be all the way to the bottom so staying vertical was was fairly easy. I also keep the engine running and can knock it in and out of reverse gear if I need to alter the position.

Once the Gawky found bottom I did 3 fast then 3 slow pitches then a slow long lift and fall.
I went to lift again and contact.

The fish felt the 2 bottom hooks in its jaw and swam straight to the seafloor.
I had no choice but to let the reel do the work as the fish felt very strong and heavy. I wondered if I had hooked a shark.

The next 15 minutes seemed like forever.
As the boat came down each swell, I could manage one wind on the 2000 HG, as it rose on the next swell I prayed that the hooks wouldn’t pull and the line wouldn’t break.
I watched the colour of my line and as soon as I had regained the yellow the fish took it straight back. Gain five, lose five, gain five, lose five for 8 or 9 times.

The water temp was 26.5 and the sun was hot and I was starting to tire.
The sweat on my hands making the rod very difficult to hold on to.
I looked back at my gps screen and noticed that we’d drifted a long way from the hookup position. The fish was swimming along the bottom with the current luckily. I was seriously beginning to wonder if my energy would outlast the fish when finally I got one wind into the next colour then another wind.

The fish shook it’s head but didn’t run. I noticed Id gained another 5 metres
and I started to smile, then another 5. I was winning. OK, only 17 more colours to go.
It would have taken another five minutes before we saw the fish 10 metres behind the boat. My friend slapped my back and offered his hand. It was a great moment and my biggest fish on the slow pitch games.

I managed to take a screen shot on my sonar just before my 1st drop showing fish holding
in the bottom 25 metres.

We tried to release the fish but the long battle had meant that we couldn’t revive it.
Many friends and neighbours have been gripping some delicious amberjack sushi.:)

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daz02

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G’day Daz! What a great catch! And a great write-up too!
I can feel all the excitements of fishing in the light tackle. This is the game!
Congratulations of your slow pitch record.

You are one of the first readers of my website, and I’m really happy that you’ve been enjoying this game so much.

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To answer your question, yes, you can get sashimi out of this size.
The most valued AJ by sushi chefs are about 3kg to 5kg sizes. It greatly depends on the season and the place too. The best AJ sashimi I’ve ever had was a 8kg.
When it grows over 10kg, the fascia becomes more obvious and tougher, and the taste loses certain delicacy. But still, good to eat. On the other hand, if you want to use heat, I think bigger fish is better because it has more fats and less easier to go tightened. Breaded is super.
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