Sam's first experience Sambo jigging was last season, during our transition from QLD to WA. Unfortunately, her first experience wasn't too pleasant. The sharks were consistently taking fish & I didn't bring my own gear so Sam had to struggle using a 6 foot glass jig rod & old heavily used Spheros.

On Friday, I suggested to Sam that we should head out with Craig (Saltwater Charters) due to recent quality catches in the previous weeks. Sam's first response was excitement followed by... Oh, I haven't done much exercise lately.

I spoke with Craig on Friday afternoon & he indicated that he had a small group booked on Sunday. Our initial plans were to head out on Saturday, but prior commitments prevented us. The weather on Sunday looked fairly ordinary & this was certainly confirmed this morning on our trip out.

The seas were quite sloppy & the wind was howling. Fortunately, being ex. boat owners, both of us don't suffer from seasickness - it really takes something quite wild to make us feel uncomfortable. Although, there were plenty of people in our group that suffered most of the trip. We arrived watching most of them gorge their mouths with junk food. Obviously, a recipe for seasickness.

After the lengthy trip out to the grounds, I handed her one of the outfits & told her to prepare. She rejected the offer & forced me to take the first drop - just to give her an indication of what pain she is about to endure. First fish I landed was mid 30's - a very good start to the day.

Sam slipped on some gloves & I secured a gimbal belt around her waist. She dropped the 470g jig & waited for it to reach the bottom. The wind was quite strong all day which resulted in our jigs being fairly far from the boat by the time they reached the ocean floor. Moments later, Sam flicked the bail arm over & began a 'leisurely' mechanical style jigging technique. It didn’t take her long to hook up & we both started listening to some high pitch squealing from the saltiga.

I was asked to ’back the drag off’ a few moments later, only because she didn’t want to go for a swim.

We soon realized that a long battle was at hand. Every pump & wind resulted in a burst of energy from the Sambo. We took 2 meters - it would take 4.

After 10 minutes of ’so called, agony’, Sam insisted I take over for a moment so she could relax her little muscles. I took control of the fight & started to get the Sambo towards the surface. Back to Sam it went & she proceeded to pump & wind for another 10 minutes. Sam continued to ask ’what does red, blue & green mean’. I replied mentioning how many meters she had to go. Finally, the fish bellied to the surface. Everyone on the boat cheered in excitement. It was simply a ’HUGE’ Sambo.

Craig & the deckie scrambled to lift it in the boat. We all agreed 50kg. An experience for Sam she would never forget.

I kept explaining to Sam just how many die hard jiggers try for the 50kg club each year, & she soon appreciated her achievement.

A few photos later, the release weight was used to send her on her way.

The fish measured 5’3” (160cm) (exact length of the Valley Hill jig rod).

We continued the day catching fish after fish. Sam spent most of her time ensuring the fish were cared for when they were on the deck. Later in the day, we had a team effort catch - Sam jigging for the hook up & leaving me with the tiring process of fighting the fish.

It was a simply an amazing day & Sam can’t wait to get out there again. I, on the other hand, am still hyper jealous that will need to listen to this story for the rest of my lift.

Jigging with the ‘better half’… She got fish of the day without a doubt.