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You don't really understand it until you've seen that first marlin come in all lit up, smash a lure and take off for the horizon while a reel protests at full noise - they are just choice fish to hook and catch!!! By the boat they are the most challenging fish to handle, it can all go pear shaped very quick. Sometimes they can be frustrating things to catch but when its on - its all on!
Ants who deckied with us in the Nationals summed things up perfectly after a crazy second day where we went 5-3-1 (that is raised-hooked-landed) on the marlin in one morning
"Marlin are the ultimate technical fish. Every single thing has to be perfect, from how the lure swims, to how the gear is rigged, what speed the boat is trolled out, how the fish is played, and ultimately how you handle it by the boat."
That might be Ants trying to subtely suggest we'd f****d up a couple of times that morning! Still, it was one we won't forget and we bagged a first for Mick!
We spend the large majority of the year targeting kingfish (and still love it!) so it is a nice challenge over summer to try and get a few marlin boatside during the brief window they are here in good numbers. Seeing someone bag their first ever marlin is just something else! It is one hell of a team sport as well, everyone has to chip in, and there have been several times this year where a complete newbie has had to stick their first tag shot or gaff shot into a marlin.
Our first for the season came on the old Stabi just before she was retired at the tail end of January. The Bonze Apache hooking our first for the season just two hours into our first dedicated marlin trip for the year, a first for Scot Phil Geddes, helped by regular Skirmantas, our first marlin for the season. It was nice to get one last one on the old girl!
The next week a crew on Sanity got a hell of a surprise when a stripey nabbed a live mackeral set for a kingfish and Tobes and Lee together with their crew managed to bag Sanity's first marlin. It doesn't get much better than playing a hard fighting fish like this on jigging gear, and the Stella 20000SW and JM400 was well up to the task. Marlin are a physically tough fish for the angler to tackle on conventional gear let alone for over an hour on jigging gear with 15kgs of drag and no harness! Once again a great team effort! Great to know that the Duel 120lb fluoro carbon is up to being near a marlin bill for that period of time!
Tobes and Leanne put together a great vid of the capture which you can check out on our Facebook page here
Then the new Senator arrived and proved she really can raise marlin big time, the new 250HP Yammie on the back seems to put out all the right noises and the wake behind the Senator is perfect for trolling with lots of clear water for the lures to run. The new outriggers from Ocean Blue Bases have a super crisp release.
But ultimately the magic weapon was the Bonze Apache. We caught seven marlin on it this season, the last five came from about 6 hours total trolling, mainly quick bursts before or after kingi fishing - an absolute weapon! Just goes to show what can happen when you find a bite sized lure that really works well on your boat.
Rigged with 200lb Berkley fluorocarbon leader and a 9/0 Mustad closed gape hook every hit has resulted in a solid hook up.
There were plenty of marlin moments I will remember for a long time.
The sweetest was the last morning of the Nationals. We'd had a couple of frustrating days prior where we couldn't buy a bite. The last morning though George, Mick and myself went out amped to the max we were going to catch a couple. We hadn't gone thirty minutes before we got pack attacked and Mick was into his second of the week. As I was backing down on the fish another lit up marlin came charging into the Yamaha to see what was going on, I nearly ran it over! With one in the boot the words were something like "right George, lets get you a Blue" knock me dead if we didn't have a Blue on within 10 minutes......crazy stuff.
We set the lures on the way to the kingi grounds the next day and birthday boy Mike was into a marlin on 15kg less than five minutes into trolling, a hungry stripey nailing the Apache lure again before we had the whole lure pattern set, new deckie Gus getting his first ever gaff shot into a marlin.
The toughest fight we had around the boat was Garry Johns first ever marlin. It really dug in and several times we had it on the leader dancing right around the boat - it was just an awesome spectacle and the boys went away buzzing. It finished an awesome trifecta for Gazza as he nailed some big kings and finished up with an 8kg+ snapper to boot.
Reflecting on the season, not only was it a buzz to see guys get their first marlin, I learnt a hell of a lot, and went away rapt with how the new boat performs gamefishing.
Now we just need to spend a bit more time chasing them next year....let us know if you're up for the challenge! Both boats are all set to play havoc with the marlin in 2012! |
Darren Cade releasing a healthy stripey from Epic
A nice Blue and a stripey in one morning for George Reed and Mick Johnson on Epic, days don't get much sweeter
Marlin from out of the blue - Tobes and Lee with Ryan and Scott and a marlin on the Stella and JM on Sanity
Skirmantas Saltis and Phil Geddes with Epic's first for the season
Mike Kellow stoked with his first marlin - on his birthday!
Garry Johns topped off a great weeks fishing on Epic with his first marlin, a solid fish in the early 100's which we tagged and released
Mick's first marlin about to be released on Epic in the Nationals |
