Samson fish are like a freakishly large and strong version of our amberjack. Beyond being larger overall than our amberjack, they are also deeper bodied than our fish which provides them even more strength when they pull sideways. Their name refers to their strength and stamina, which Australians apparently regard as Biblical. The technique is similar to jigging for rockfish on the bay except that everything is several times as big. The jigs are close to 10 inches long. The rods are similar to what you use for tuna. The fish average 40-50 lbs. The reels hold several hundred yards of 50lb braid. The adrenaline rushes when you hook one, and if you catch more than one or two you feel it in your arms and shoulders for days. One of my stouter coworkers told me caught two on a recent trip and then had to lay down in the cabin for the rest of the trip. Now I know why.
On the hour and a half boat ride out to the fishing grounds we got to know the rest of the people on the boat for the day. There was a British guy who had taken a break from driving one of the iconic black cabs in London to tour Australia with his 10 year old son. There were two couples from Victoria, one of whom had recently caught a black marlin out of Cairns but had come to WA to fish for Samson fish after hearing how strong they are. Two others in their party hadn’t done much fishing before and later had to be restrained by the captain to avoid being pulled overboard by their fish. There was a chain smoking miner from Calgoorlie who had clearly done it all before, and jigged so violently that he frothed the water with his line. There was another American who works as a sales rep for one of the major offshore sportfishing yacht companies out of Atlantic City NJ. There was an Aussie teenager who I later realized I had met before at the local tackle shop. He had one of nicest custom rods I’ve ever seen, which he had made himself. Then there were the captain and mate. Between long drags from their pungent hand rolled cigarettes they told stories of week long trips to exotic but fairly close locations like the unsettled portions of the Abrohlos archipelago, and boatside encounters with dangerous bronze whaler sharks.
I’ve caught Yellowfin tuna on 20 lb spinning gear before and that was fun, but Samson fishing is more exciting than any tuna fishing I’ve done. There are many reasons to love Sambo jigging. You have the rod in your hand when the fish strikes so you feel every head shake and tail stroke from start to finish. They are aggressive, often hitting several times before being hooked. One of my Mom’s fish struck so violently that it bent the jig, which is about ½ inch thick and has a steel pin running its length. The initial run is blistering. The Samson fish we caught were about 200 ft deep so the initial run often came very close to spooling the reels. That makes drag adjustment and line management critically important, and makes the fish that much more challenging to catch. Needless to say my Mom and I had a blast. Between the two of us she caught the biggest one, a 44 pound fish. Mine were slightly smaller at around 40 pounds. The biggest fish on the boat was over 70 pounds, but the captain said he’s seen many bigger than that and the record is over 110 pounds. It’s primarily a catch-and-release fishery, but one of the approximately 30 that we caught didn’t make it so we kept that one. It provided enough meat for everyone to take home a good portion, and our portion fed all four of us that night. I never thought of amberjack as being particularly good to eat, but grilled Samson fish is delicious.
Sadly I just recently found out that I may have gotten in on the tail end of the Sambo fishery’s heyday. This year the fish got scarce just after our trip. More worrisome is the fact that lately the sharks have learned that hooked or just-released Sambos are vulnerable, and they are taking increasing numbers of these fish. Many of these fish are large pre-spawn females and the Australian captains pride themselves on taking a conservationist approach toward the fishery. It is critically important to these skippers to minimize mortality in this fishery, but increased mortality from shark attacks has prompted some captains to curtail their fishing activities. I’m thankful for having gotten to experience it, and can only hope that the fleet’s good stewardship is rewarded with many more years of good fishing.
1. My Mom with a nice fish.
2. The English kid with as much fish as he can handle.
3. Me with one of mine.
4. The >70 pound (32 kilo) fish; the biggest of the day.
5. The guy from New Jersey. The release apparatus is visible hanging off the left wall of the transom opening, level with the mate’s right hand.
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