At a ceremony in Cairns on Friday night the two Lauries - Laurie Woodbridge and Laurie Wright - were inducted into the Cairns Game Fishing Hall of Fame. The award recognizes their outstanding contribution to the fishery's success and prominence - and I would like to add my sincere congratulations to both. I'm told that it was a great evening and a great opportunity to catch up with some of the familiar names of the industry again. You can read about both Laurie's in the sport in the latest issue of BlueWater magazine.

Capt. Tim on Tradition told me there are still fish to catch at the spot out wide. They released another big fish at 900lbs Saturday and lost a smaller fish at the back of the boat. There are also (still) quite a few blues about with Capt. Tim telling Broadbill releasing one estimated at 600lb. Capt. Luke on KEKOA travelling a bit wider to Flora for a good night's sleep also releasing a smaller blue and losing another.

And some more Friday news: Groover also tells me that Sparrow's fish from Friday was weighed yesterday going 1014lbs at Yorkey's Knob. And John sent some more pictures through of son Jonathan's fish, Thursday at 500lb and Friday at 650lb - Friday's fish giving him a bit of a workout as the fish was hooked on the dorsal fin and wrapped up in the leader. Team Shaka used the satellite tag they have been saving all season releasing it in tired but otherwise excellent condition. Hopefully we get some interesting info from where she goes.

Capt. Luke and team KEKOA headed out wide to join the group of boats yesterday and it seems like there are still some good fish in residence on the spot as they hooked up and released a solid 850lb-er upon arrival. Capt. Tom on Ultimate Lady couldn't match his numbers from the day before and although they had the bite from a really nice fish, could not convert. They are in Port for a few days and back out tomorrow (with Lance on board it seems). According to Capt. Luke, some of the other boats got in on the action as well. Sparrow had another nice fish and Capt. Ross on Top Shot had a 700lb mako shark!

Capt. Tim sent me this picture of their nice fish from the day before on Tradition.

Meanwhile, it seems Capt. Jim did decide to get the lures out after all as Reel Chase approached Hervey Bay for the night sending me this great message - "one lure, one hour, one tag" (apparently being one of the smaller blacks that DG had told me the other day that have started moving into the Sunshine Coast waters.)

Another very welcome report from Capt. Tom on Ultimate Lady who says just when you think it is all over out here - it's fired again. Yesterday, out wide came to life again and while the tuna may have dried up, there was still the odd whale shark about and certainly a few marlin.

The Ultimate Lady team went an impressive 4 from 6 bites at 200, 250, 800 and 900lbs! And Tom also reported plenty of other bites as well as fish caught on the other boats (at last count 9 boats?) including another two for Sparrow on Square Bear (300 & 750lb). Tim on Tradition got a 900lb-er, Capt. Ross on Top Shot caught a small one and missed this big one, Capt Jared on Shaka releasing one at about 500lb as did team on Kanahoee.

Photo courtesy of Capt. Tom.

Capt. Tom sent me a note to update on the last couple of days on Ultimate Lady. On Wednesday the UL team went one from two (500lb) and as well as a bite from a blue and three blacks on Tuesday releasing one at 200lb.

I've also heard from Capt. Bill who has likewise been out there and out of phone range. Capt. Bill tells me they had great fishing with large yellowfin and big eye out wide but that he could not get amongst the marlin. But that all changed when trolling in, they had 3 bites and caught 1 at 500lbs - bringing Viking's tally for 2008 to 50 fish.

Capt. Tim on Tradition didn't add to yesterday's marlin tally but also had some fun and games with the whale shark and jigged 5 yellowfin tuna to 50lbs overnight. Speaking of the yellowfin's - Jason send me this picture of a nice one he got with Capt. Luke on KEKOA the other week.

Perhaps the fish are beginning to move back to the reef? I heard Capt. Laurie on Ningaloo also released one on his way back into the edge and Capt. Troy on the private boat Too Easy (original) had 4 bites on the way out.

Back on the Sunny Coast - David also told me that in addition to the blues out wide, a few little blacks have started showing up off Noosa and Mooloolaba in the last few days which will be good news for the 2008 Maritimo Billfish Bash that was supposed to go ahead this weekend but has now been postponed due to the weather!
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I am home now and so while the fishing reports may become a little less frequent over the next few weeks - especially as the fleet returns to home ports - but I will have plenty more photos and videos to share.

An early update this morning courtesy of Capt. Pete on Little Audrey who called me on the sat phone to give me the details, and then called back less than five minutes later after they had added another fish to their tally! I'm on the road today heading south.

From the group out wide, Tradition added a blue to the one already released by Top Shot and Moana III added a blue to their striped marlin release - last seen looking for a black (which should be the easy one considering where they are fishing) to complete the slam. Little Audrey released two from three to 350lb and missed the bigger fish in the 700lb range. They now join the list of boats heading south, trolling overnight to Myrmidon Reef which has been a hive of activity for the TGFC of late. I'm very interested to hear how they fare out there.

Speaking of south, more blue marlin news from down south to report. David Granville told me that Cabolito was christened Tuesday on its first day marlin fishing with two blues at the Cape (Moreton) at 350 and 400lb. The blue marlin reports just don't stop. As Ross says, I think there will be a few boat who'll be trolling the marlin lures all the way south this year!

So Little Rossi sounds like Little Audrey...!

Now that we've managed a telephone conversation without getting cut off, Capt. Jim has clarified for me that it was in fact Capt. Ross on Top Shot who hooked up on the big fish on dark at 6:30pm last night but I'm sorry to also report that after a couple of hours they lost the fish. But as a small consolation, he did catch a smaller blue marlin this morning. Capt. Bobby Jones on Fascination IV 'expressed' (the Express 48 - hee hee) into the area this morning, putting his baits in the water in the middle of the fleet and promptly hooked up (and released) a big one while all looked on. And Capt. Dan on Moana III also this morning released a 150lb striped marlin.

Yesterday, not much action on the bank as most boats moved out to the tuna congregation, some traveling through the night to get there. Capt. Jim has arrived in Townsville on his journey south but hopefully we'll still be hearing from the remaining fleet in Cairns with some updates.

We suffered through another gorgeous (flat) day on the water yesterday. Early in the day there was nary a breath of wind to be had and the humidity clung to you (and your sunglasses) on deck. You don't need a better reason to hit the water for a swim. I took this picture this morning (below left) at sunrise at Norman Reef of one of the dive boats that is tied up here with us. Judging by the water in this shot, I'd say we're in for another day of the same.

The return to calm has sparked some more talk on the radio about the spot out wide with the tuna aggregation. Square Bear ran past us on the edge at one stage on their way out there and at last report, had been rewarded with a bite out of a fish in the 900lb range but no hookup. On Reel Chase we didn't have to go that far. We got a nice bite on the big bait about 30 minutes after putting the baits went in the water at Spur Reef and Craig was onto his very first marlin (below right), a beauty at 700lb, which gave in after a short tussle and was released after some more good action was recorded with the TowCam and pole camera.

Sunrise at Norman Reef and Craig's 700lb-er on board Reel Chase Sunday.

Catching up on some news I missed previously, Mistress has been fishing the Yorkey's Knob tournament on the weekend and started out with an early fish Saturday to be in the running. There were a number of small boats out on the bank yesterday taking advantage of the glamourous weather to fish the comp. We saw a (very) small boat hook up near to us on a big (very - about 900lb) fish - on the bait rod - unfortunately I think I heard that he was spooled in a very short period of time. Another boat fishing the competition reported releasing one in the 900lb range.

John on Shaka also told me a story about Andrew Yeh (Yehah) on Outside Edge on the Bank Saturday. After a week without a fish, on their last day before heading home, at the death just before pulling the baits in, got the bite out of the big one releasing one over the mark - there is a god!

More greats news about blues at Coffs Harbour: I got a message from Steve fishing on Saturday who raised 6, got 5 bites and tagged two at 300 and 400lbs. It sounds like a hot spot right now! Wouldn't you like to be there..!

With a week of calm weather to come and the bite shutting down on the edge, most of the boats will be heading wide to the tuna aggregation and the sea mount and although reports will be hard to come by, the season may still end with a flurry of big fish!

UPDATE: Congrats to the team on Mistress who took out the Yorkey's Knob tournament on the weekend with First Fish, Campion Angler and Champion Boat!

I don't hear from Capt. Tom on the Ultimate Lady every day but when I do, it's usually worth it. Capt. Tom has been out amongst the tuna aggregations and reports on Saturday he raised 7, for 4 bites, releasing one at 750lb. I also heard from Capt. Bill on who has been pulling a few small fish in recent days with two from 4 yesterday to 400lbs and some nice yellowfin to 100lb and big wahoo and dolphin fish. And, Capt. Luke on KEKOA headed back out to the Bank for a small one.

We're back out today for my last trip of the season. Lets hope its a good one!

A few boats are still venturing out wide looking for the tuna and therefore marlin aggregations and the talk on the radio still sounded pretty positive. Haydon on Release released two at 300 and 600lbs and In A Meeting was getting the bites again as well. Moana also ventured out wide for a couple of big yellowfin and a marlin bite. We had a 500lb-er dive bomb into the spread with speed but took off again just as quick. Capt. Kim trolled up the inside of the green zone to Jenny Louise and raised two sailfish before ending up at the Light where they successfully released the bigger half of a double header (900lb), while the smaller fell off (400lb). At the Bank, Shaka released another for angler Matthew at 350lbs (photo of this one from John) and Little Audrey released another little guy and got a bite out of another. Up the Ribbons - we could hear all the way to Number 5 on channel 10 with the north-west winds - Capt. Bobby Jones on Fascination IV also released a small guy.

Several boats were in port last night catching up - no doubt some sore heads this morning!

Also word from Adam on Iona II heading home to Newcastle of some more good blue marlin fishing down south. Putting the lures in near Cape Byron having 5 bites, releasing two and losing another in the 500lb range in just a couple of hours fishing.

Further reports from TGFC members fishing south near Pith Reef having six bites from black marlin on Thursday in his trailer boats indicating that with the northerly winds and strong currents a large body of fish are holed up in that Palm passage basin.

Capt. Luke sent me some mobile phone video slo-mo of the fish on the leader the other day. It's great to watch even in this poor quality so I can't wait to edit the full quality version at the end of the season. You can take a look at the mini version here (--> kekoa_marlin.mp4 )

Information has been sketchy from the boats still out fishing the areas to the north and south of the Sea Mount - out of phone and internet range - but some reports filtering through here and there. On the Mount, Ultimate Lady released one at 500lbs and In A Meeting released another, a solid fish estimated at 950lb. To the south, Top Shot released a smaller fish early yesterday and had the bite from the big girl the day before and reported comfortable nights on the drift courtesy of the sea anchor. No reports through from there in the afternoon due to the lack of communications.

Further south again, Moana released one at 700lb from our spot the day before. We'll work it again today after another nice calm night on anchor at Noggin Reef, with both Capt. Dan and team Moana and Capt. Kim and team Flying Fish for company.

Working his spot again on the Flattery Plateau off Number 9 Ribbon Capt. Dean on Castille released two from three and unfortunately losing the battle with the bigger fish est. at 900lb+.

The long liners report good concentrations of marlin for 30 mile along the 147 degree east line. Unfortunately, 30 miles is a lot of ground to cover! Boats opting to head north, including Calypso, Mauna Kea, Ultimate Lady , Viking II, Gorilla searched without results (yet) excepting Mauna Kea who released a black on the way and Gorilla who reported blue marlin in the morning. By late afternoon when we lost radio contact, most had headed back to the original position - where Top Shot and Hard to Swallow had opted to stay and work it - or back to the reef like us for a good night's sleep.

On Reel Chase, we had a bite out of a small blue there before we headed back to the edge where we went one from two black marlin and I got some more great shots of the fish on the leader jumping at the back of the boat. The New Allure caught one about 700lb at Jenny Louise and New Moon fished the same area for just the one bite.

Capt. Dean Beech on Castille also released a 300lb-er at Flattery Plateau off Number 9 Ribbon Reef and had another bite and watched Hot Shot tussle with an estimated 800lb-er nearby before unfortunately breaking her off.

Well, the vicinity of the Sea Mount is definitely going off - if your name is Sparrow that is. We watched the Square Bear team catch 5 fish, including one blue and a black over the mark (left photo). Hard To Swallow also recording bites from big fish releasing at least one more as did The New Allure. The rest of the boats who joined the group Tuesday, mostly watching rather than experiencing, having to be content with some good size yellowfin tuna or an encounter with the whale shark. Mauna Kea had a bit of action on the way out to join the group, jumping off a blue and getting a bite from another.

On Wednesday morning the group had swelled but most headed north to another aggregation of marlin reported by the long liners, while we headed back to the edge for a good night's sleep.

Right photo is a (little grainy) still from video of Capt. Luke's monster from Monday.

On the Bank, Shaka ever consistent, released another two fish. Also had a report from Brett on Watchdog of their recent trip out from Port Douglas. They headed wide for an early 6:30am bite from a nice blue just in the 400lb range. The client was still a sleep so deckie Damon jumped in the chair and reeled it in! But he didn't miss out when an hour later they hooked a monster around the mark and was safely released her after an hours fight. Tuesday the team went wide again missing another good size black and another blue and later releasing another blue around 200. All up finished up with 6 from 11 - not a bad few days fishing!

Word from Capt. Luke on KEKOA on the sat phone last night is that the Sea Mount is going off. Four boats out there are all getting a piece of the action.

Capt. Brad Craft on the New Allure released two fish both he called over the mark. Basher on Hard to Swallow releasing one over the mark as well and Sparrow on Square Bear with 4 over the 700lb mark from 9 bites. Capt. Luke and team arrived early afternoon after jumping a smaller one off on the way and were hooked up to a monster within an hour. They fought the beast well into the dark for over 7 hours finally breaking the leader at 9pm. Heartbreaking stuff! Capt. Luke tells me they did get some good video of the fish early in the fight so hopefully we can share that soon.

Other reports just starting to filter in. I'll update as I get them in.

Capt. Dean on Castille travelled from Number 7 Ribbon Reef to Number 4 without coming across another boat but they also found a big fish releasing this 900lb-er for Mark.

We're going out for a look-see today and hoping we're not a day too late. No internet range out there though so if I get the chance I will try to get word through the comments section on the right.

Sorry to be so slow with the update but things have been busy back here in Cairns. We've been watching footage (Kim's fish) and stocking up again for another week on the water.

Sunday, we fished the bank for some better weather once again - which looks to continue through the week - but not as much action on the baits. Shaka found another of the little boys who are marking the spot for the big girls to come to. It was angler David's first marlin and John sent me another action pic (left). At Jenny, New Moon returned to the spot of their big fish the day before for another one at 600lb. KEKOA also added another one to their tally nearby.

Most of the boats fishing up north have now made their way to the Bank and with the weather looking glamour for at least the next few days, a few are also venturing out wide to the Sea Mount (and out of phone range..)

There was good news from Talina from fishing at Myrmidon on the weekend. They raised 6 and had bites out of 5 successfully releasing 300lb-er on 24kg standup before hooking another larger fish Saturday afternoon around the 500lb mark. Unfortunately after a 4 hour fight into darkness and being dragged out into the ocean they ended up busting him off. A great effort in a 6.4m tinnie no less!

They are coming back.

After a couple of days in town it was good to return to the Bank and actually find some fish. Capt. Jim nearly fell out of his tuna tower when a big black shape materialized behind the scaley before lunch. Unfortunately a big hit and miss was the result. But mid-afternoon we managed to catch another small one and raise another medium size. Other boats fishing the Bank reported a number of bites, Viking got another one, Mistress raised a 600 lb-er early, but pulled the hook and capitalized on a later 5pm bite when a nice black crashed the fresh scaley bait - and TowCam's John Faulkner caught the biggest black of his life, a nice 800 lb fish, in about 10 minutes.  John tells me that he didn't get any TowCam/Pole Cam footage because he was in the chair but I say he wasn't trying hard enough ;-) We got some more great footage yesterday ourselves (below).

Little Audrey fished wide for a 150lb blue and fished back into the bank to pull off a nice 750lb black still 50 miles to the east. Ultimate Lady fished the Ribbons - which seemed fairly quiet in both reports and releases compared to the south - for another little guy at 150lbs. At St. Crispins, Capt. Bat (Scott) had a number of bites including success on one about 750lb.

And, at Jenny Louise the big news - Capt. Luke and team KEKOA pulled some more little fish going two from three while nearby Capt. Kim on New Moon scored the big girl, possibly the catch of the year, for his day trip anglers.

Pulled into the boat, she went 1324lbs when weighed in port in the afternoon.

Congrats on an awesome fish!

Ultimate Lady made their way to Number 10 Ribbon Friday and found a few fish on the way.

The team raised a couple of fish early in the day - 300 and 700lb - with the water a little green with a couple of patches of blue about.

And later, they converted two bites - turning an ordinary day into a great day - for 120 and 900lbs.

We have been in port for a day off - back out again on Saturday morning - and so reports have been few since we are not out there. Overall it seems the fishing has slowed again over the full moon but it will hopefully improve again as we get away from it in the next few days.

Capt. Tom on Ultimate Lady took a trip out to the Sea Mount and caught a little guy on the way. Today they are heading north. Shaka tried a new tactic to change their luck Thursday by rigging up anglers Craig and Eben's lucky fishing gnome Grimble Crumble with a circle hook - but to no avail - read John's full story of Canadian luck here. On Number 5 Ribbon, Tradition also released a smaller black and reports a bit of fun bait fishing in the morning with a 90lb spanish mackerel. And all the way up on Number 10, the team on Castille are enjoying the good weather again and other spoils of the reef with a seafood feast behind No Name last night. The team plans to venture up to Day and Hicks Reefs today before heading into Lizard Island to climb Cook's Look tomorrow (This is the lookout that Capt. Cook climbed to on his voyage up the east coast of Australia in order to navigate his way through the reef).

On the bright side, the good weather that came through yesterday looks to continue through next week and so we can enjoy some more glamourous days on the water.

Photo: This what Lizard Island looks like on a nice weather day from the climb to Cook's Look.

After a days wait in trying conditions, we finally got Becky hooked up to her very first black marlin yesterday - a stubborn 200lb-er. Twice he went deep and twice she dug in and pulled him back up and by the end of the fight settled into a good rhythm in the chair. Darren deployed the TowCam pole camera and again we got some good footage around the back of the boat as well as the release. Shaka caught another little one nearby and Mistress had some more luck on the Ridge with a 400lb-er released and raising an 800lb-er up later that unfortunately missed the bait before fading away. On the Ribbons, Capt. Laurie also steered angler Henrick to his first marlin on board Ningaloo.

We have Becky and Baxter on board with us for a couple of days on their Honeymoon trip around Australia. And although we had a few look-sees and followers on our downsea (yes the weather is up yet again) troll, no solid bites. We trolled from Jenny Louise downsea past the Light. Today we'll fish the Bank again where there was a little action again Tuesday. Shaka sent me this picture of Craig's second marlin estimated at 400lbs. I'm thinking Reel Chase can at least claim a hand in this fish which came trucking at 100 miles an hour and swam straight past both the scad and the rainbow runner on the shotgun before piling onto the big bait. This big bait being one of two we traded with Capt. Jared for ice the other day. (John tells us both have resulted in marlin now!) Angler Craig had a serious fight on his hands but handled it well and the fish was tagged and released in great shape.

Fishing down Opal Ridge, Mistress has also had a good day going two for two on smaller fish bringing their total to three for three for the first two days of the trip. Good going guys!

Elsewhere, the reports are slow again. Capt. Luke on KEKOA headed in to Cooktown for changeover yesterday and told me he left things very quiet in the middle. Capt. Laurie on Ningaloo had the bites, but just couldn't keep the hooks in the fish.

Those reading at home will be happy to hear that Australia snuck from behind to take out the Agrichem AUS vs BRA Challenge that we had on board the two boats when the Aus team on Reel Chase released another overexcited (taking the big bait) 250lb-er for Paul with just a couple of hours left on the clock. There were celebrations over great food including the coral trout that the boys on New Moon had caught especially at Cafe China last night.

Also at the bank, Shaka released another first marlin for angler Craig in the suddenly freshening conditions. It was only Day one of the trip and so hopefully there are many more where that one came from.

Paul fights on board Reel Chase and Craig's marlin on board Shaka (photo from John)

At the top, KEKOA released another smaller one from 4 bites - all of smaller fish. Ningaloo also lost one in the same size bracket at the back of the boat. We're all still waiting for the big girls to show their faces again. Moana fished the Light for three bites including one from a bigger fish but I did not hear that the hooks stayed in any.

Sam sent me a couple of video links - this one and this other one being from the season he spent on board Assegai with Capt. Luke. Thanks Sam - I'll get those up on the video page soon.

Lastly a quick shout out to Jamie and Josh. We first met Jamie when he fished with us on board Reel Chase at Port Stephens in Feb 07 and he proved himself to be both a very capable and very enthusiastic fisherman (here he is with his lucky stripey). He is also a very capable and very enthusiastic videographer. Luke and I ran into Jamie and Josh again early this year when we went Murray cod fishing at Jimargie in northern NSW where they were putting the final touches on their gorge fishing DVD which has just been released. And so if you are into that type of fishing, when you're not marlin fishing of course, I encourage you to check it out.

On the bank, the two boats with all the action continued their run again Sunday. Tim on Reel Ripe releasing another two and Adam on Iona II with two as well to 450lbs - Iona II back into the anchorage nice and early to leave the rest of us in with a chance! The Australia boys fishing on New Moon got one back on the Brazilian boys with a real little one bait fishing - approx 20kgs. Of course the debate raged into the night as to whether a bait fishing marlin counts in their little comp. Regardless, the Brazilian boys still lead on countback. Today is our final day of the trip, so let's hope the fishing makes it a real competition!

Out at the Sea Mount, Capt. Dan on Moana spent a rocky night for some early action, missing two fish, including one when a wahoo ate the swivel mid-fight. On the way back in to Jenny Louise last night he had released two smaller fish. Broadbill had better luck on the way to the Sea Mount Saturday releasing two fish including an estimated 800lb-er.

Another great shot from Rhino on Iona (although the camera phone is getting a bit cloudy)
and the Brazilian and Aussie teams enjoy some sushi I prepared for them last night.

Up on the Ribbons, Capt. Biggles on the (old) Allure boated a fish that went 880lbs on 50lb. Capt. Dean on Castille told us about his trip out to Boganville including a double header of good sized yellowfins, and catching another blue marlin back on his way back into the edge. Capt. Luke on KEKOA is still enjoying the morning sportfishing with GT's on poppers and unfortunately losing an 80lb dog tooth that ate the popper right at the transom with the bite on video. The afternoon marlin fishing a bit slower but the team still releasing a 200lb-er and missing the bite of a much bigger fish.

On the tournament front, word is that the fish have shown up in good numbers for the Caterpillar Hot Current Game Fishing Tournament currently underway in Coffs Harbour - although days two and three were called off due to high wind and seas - with 51 boats and 212 anglers taking part and a number of blues and striped marlin released Saturday. Here's hoping the weather gives them a break for the final days.

On the Bank, up to 14 boats watched Capt. Timmy Ryan on Reel Ripe with envy as he backed down on three fish for the day - 800, 200 and 250lb - a very enviable day. With a few exceptions, the rest of us trolled around in circles chasing schools of skipjacks from one side of the bank to the other. Capt. Brad on The New Allure also released an estimated 800lb-er, Capt. Pete on Little Audrey released a 250lb-er and Sparticus was also spied backing down on a smaller fish.

Up at Number 10 reports are few but Capt. Luke on KEKOA released a 250lb-e from two bites.

In AUS vs BRA there was no change in the score Saturday and even the Brazilian Team's marlin dance couldn't have any influence.

Brazil shot to the lead on Day two of our AUS v BRA challenge with two fish on New Moon including this 500lb-er - I was able to get these shots from nearby.

As you can see the weather is still awesome although the fishing however is still a little patchy with few boats each day having a good day. At the Bank, Iona released another 350lb-er before heading in early to celebrate the last couple of days fishing. Tradition released one similar size in the same spot as well.

On the Ribbons the dirty water pushed the fishing out wide. Capt. Bill and team Viking topped off a mixed bag of spanish mackerel, red emperor and rosy jobfish sportfishing with a solid 950lb-er on the 4-5 mile off the reef on the second day of their trip. Capt. Luke and team KEKOA got stuck into the GT's popper fishing again in the morning but couldn't follow it up with the marlin fishing, also going wide to avoid the dirty water when a 700lb-er spat the bait back after a quick run.

The fifth test between Brazil and Australia has begun and first blood to Australia!

The top three sales reps for Australia and Brazil for Agrichem along with CEO and Chairman of the Board are meeting on the reef in a five day dual on Reel Chase and New Moon. And it should be a great week - they have certainly lucked out on the weather.

After a late start, we headed straight out from Cairns to fish the bottom of the Bank for one tag of a smaller fish from 4 bites - but I got some great photos in the fading light.

Fishing beside us on New Moon, Capt. Kim had yet to set the baits when they had the bite on the tuna but the hooks didn't stay. Also fishing nearby was the team on Little Audrey and Capt. Pete told me they also got a little guy on what must be said was another perfect weather day on the water. Up at Number 10, Capt. Laurie and team Ningaloo also released a 250lb-er on the late bite. At Escape Reef, team Tradition jumped off a 350lb-er at the back of the boat before keeping the hooks in another estimated at 300lbs on the 50lb pitch rod. And, I just received a late report and these great pictures from John of two fish on Shaka yesterday released for angler Phil also at the Bank with CP and then Ant on the leaders.

But again the day belonged to Capt. Adam on board Iona II who after a slow day Wednesday got the bite that counted on Thursday and released this one he put at over the mark!

Mobile phone shots of Iona's beauty yesterday at the bank.
The gaffs came out but in the end the team decided to release.

After a glamour day off Tuesday, Wednesday saw Ultimate Lady back on the bank with a first time angler whose previous biggest fish was a kawai (Australian samon) hooking up to an estimated 900lb-er. He was doing really well with the fish doing big jumps, boat in reverse and the boys on deck were just about to get hold of leader when...the harness broke!

After that happened he was (quite understandably!) not so keen on the heavy drag....and the team fought the fish for another 20 minutes before something gave and just ended up getting back the broken leader.

Capt. Tom sent me this great pic of the one that got away. Photo courtesy of NZ Fishing News.

At Irene, KEKOA spent the morning popper fishing and released plenty of GTs. Later they headed back out to where they had caught the blue the previous day off Lena and had a bite as soon as they got there but no hook up. They trolled around for a bit and went back over the same spot and had a double header but neither hooked although they did give some good footage on the TowCam. The team finished the day to head into Cooktown for changeover 0 for 4.

TowCam footage of two nice fish on KEKOA's baits at Lena Reef Wednesday.

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Footage of the bite (click on the link if the movie window does not appear in your browser): kekoa1.mp4
I'm not sure if this will work, but it's worth trying - here is some mobile phone footage from Capt. Luke's phone of the bite on TowCam. It's pretty good though tiny, but it will give you a hint of what is to come once all the high res footage is edited.
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At Number 10 Ribbon things were no different for team Ningaloo working the favourite spots and who caught several 20 kg yellowfin tuna at Heartbreak. It all looked good for black marlin fishing but only produced 2 late bites in the afternoon and unfortunately they could not managed to keep hooks in either of the fish.

The weather has finally come good. And although the fishing turned it on a little again yesterday, it still came second to the glorious weather.

On the Ribbons, word from Capt. Bill that team are still catching a fish a day, but nothing over 400lb for the last few days. The current is starting to race up there which should bring the fish in close. Capt. Bill also tells me that Capt. Brad on The New Allure got amongst two nice ones yesterday. At the top, Capt. Laurie and team Ningaloo is also still plugging away with two fish to 200lbs from three bites and relays that there are big fish being caught up there as well including one on Tuesday that Capt. Hayden boated after unfortunately losing a couple of bites to sharks - which went 1060lb.

Team Viking with another 400lb-er and Capt. Luke's blue marlin on the Pole Camera near the boat.

Down the bottom Ribbons, Capt. Luke and KEKOA went wide and had a couple of bites but caught a 400lb blue marlin after coming back in to the edge and switching back to baits from lures(!) No sign of the big tuna aggregations or the hordes of big blacks that go with them. On the Bank, Adam and team Iona worked his spot for solid 900lb-er (and another great photo from Rhino) and jumped another good fish off later.

Iona's 900lb-er at Linden Bank, pic from Rhino, & the mobile bomby of trevally on Pole Cam.

We fished from Jenny Louise to Euston Light for two fish at 200 and 600lbs. In the flat calm seas I spent much of the day in the tower with Capt. Jim and it was a pleasure to get some shots from above again. Nearby we saw Pirate hook up to two smaller fish later in the day and just before we were about to pull in the baits to run home a mobile bomby of trevally came up in our wake obviously being chased by something - perhaps a marlin or two - we put the TowCam Pole Camera in the water so I'll try to put up a picture of that once I have a chance later today. We wished we could stay out because it looked good, but alas, began the run back into Cairns. We'll be back out tomorrow.

Ray's 200lb-er and Peter's 600lb-er at the back of Reel Chase. Look at that calm ocean!

Barbara from the Cairns Bluewater GFC sent me an update from the Cummins tournament on the weekend. Although the weather wasn’t great (we noticed that too!) the fishing was pretty good with a small but enthusiastic fleet of 9 boats fishing mainly Linden Bank and Jenny Louise.

Ten black marlin and one sailfish (which didn’t count for the tourn) were tagged. Three marlin over 800lbs each were unforutnately lost by anglers on Mystique, Watchdog, and Hellraiser. Russell Gray on Watchdog was so exhausted from his three hour battle with a sounding big marlin that he surrendered the rod to the deckie as he physically could not hold on any longer (many boats were fishing stand up - more points than the chair). The deckie took 20 minutes with the drag locked up before he could break the 24kg line.

The champion boat was Mystique with three tags on stand-up, and their angler Terry Connolly was named champion angler. Watchdog from Port Douglas was runner-up boat with Mike Hallam runner-up angler. Congrats to all who took part!

I found some time to do some quick video editing yesterday so you can see some of the fabulous footage we are getting on board Reel Chase this year. It's a very crude edit with no sound. But you can see Danny's 650lb-er from all angles - the camera in the cockpit, Dave's camera on the flybridge and TowCam's pole camera both above and below water. All that is missing is the bite on TowCam but the fish doesn't always take the right bait;-) But we have other fish footage that includes the bite. Hopefully I'll have a chance to get to that soon.

View the video of Danny's 650lb black marlin here.

Back on the reporting front: We are back out today for a day trip and then back out extended again on Thursday. Yesterday reports were slim pickings. Iona II had some excitement in the morning raising a pack of sails while bait fishing behind Opal Reef and also reported (finally) big schools of tuna showing up - a mix of yellowfin and mackerel tuna - to go with the schools of striped tuna that have been regularly appearing especially over the last week. Putting in the time on his spot at the bottom of the bank, Adam and team raised and successfully released this conservatively estimated 750lb-er (left). And, in the middle Ribbon's, angler Dan put in the time after four bites earlier on to have the late bite stick releasing this 650lb-er on Ningaloo with Capt. Laurie (right).

Capt. Tom on Ultimate Lady reported a few fish seen and few bites from others on Opal Ridge.

In weekend Tournament News: Congratulations to TGFC's Talina, Todd and Anthony on board ELE who took out the Lucinda Game Fish Tournament. Although 13 boats fished the tournament, only 3 billfish were tagged and it came down to the wire. Back in Cairns, results for the BlueWater Tournament are sketchy (feel free to fill me in if you know) but Michelle from Wild Turkey did tell me that Denise fishing on board took out Champion Female with two marlin tagged.

Well Sunday certainly shaped up to be a better day (although the weather man is still lying - those flat calm seas have yet to eventuate!) but alas, no conversions. We marked fish all over the place and got the big bite but couldn't keep the hooks in. Fishing next to us on the Bank, Iona II reported a similar day - they got the bite out of a big fish, but pulled the hooks very soon after.

At Escape Reef, Capt. Luke and team on KEKOA got our photos for today (mobile phone shots so a bit grainy). Scotty's 45lb spanish mackerel and the bite on TowCam of the smaller fish they released. Julie, who is with Capt. Laurie and clients this week on board Ningaloo and mothership The Boss sent me their report of a bit more action Sunday with 4 bites. Unfortunately they only managed to keep the hooks in the last bite of the day - a firey 350lb black. One of the earlier bites was from a little fish, estimated at 120lb, so angler Dan dropped back a bait on the spinning rod and made the perfect switch. The little guy went ballistic about 15 metres from the transom but eventually released the bait and hook and swam off.

At Number 10, Capt. Dean on Castille reported some awesome popper fishing - releasing 15GT's over the 20kg mark. Marlin fishing sounds the same up that way, marking lots of fish but just the one bite and pulling the hook.

While the fleet at the bank were once again left scratching their heads (very patchy), a few who had ventured a little further up the reef found some action. Capt. Tim on Tradition had some timely relief from his dry spell with three fish - 200, 400 and 650lb - the last as he arrived at Escape. Likewise, The Phantom with three fish also at Escape, two rats and one decent size. At one stage the team were packed attacked by about 3-4 males getting the one solid bite. KEKOA also released a small guy after a late afternoon bite as they arrived there as well. Down closer to the bank, the tournament boats were pretty quiet on the radio however of our fleet, Viking added another 350lb-er to their tally and private boat Too Easy released two, one at each end of the scale.

I've been hearing reports of a good bite Saturday also up at Number 10 Ribbon, with Castille releasing one up that way but no details yet.

We had an experience yesterday that reminded Capt. Jim of seasons past when Capt. Luke worked the deck for him on Jac-Kel. That day, it was glass calm and they were trolling along with not much happening when Luke went to the transom and looked down to see the tail of a fish swimming underneath the boat, mesmerized by the propellers. They brought the scad in, but couldn't tempt him away from the propellers towing it at the transom. For a good five minutes this continued until they walked the scad up the side of the boat and fed it into the water from the bow. They got the bite and caught him.

The bite of our lettuce leaves fish.

So yesterday, I was making lunch and threw the outside lettuce leaves over the back. And suddenly a marlin that had been hiding under the boat, swimming merrily along, swirled on the lettuce leaves and as they floated back, brought his attention to our scad. Unfortunately, after a shotgun malfunction we lost him, but coming around again on our lettuce leaves mark, we had another bite. After a short but energetic fight, Jeff had released his very first marlin.

Jeff's first marlin, on board Reel Chase at Linden Bank.

Capt. Tom on Ultimate Lady, fishing next to us, tells me he sacrificed two lettuces for two marlin to 250lb. Mistress didn't need lettuce for their two little fish. Capt. Luke on KEKOA came across a nice fish tailing and managed to get a bait in front of it, releasing a feisty 800lb-er for Brendan. WatchDog had five bites and released one, also losing a big fish after two hours fight. And further south, Top Shot pulled the late bite out of the hat for a solid 900lb-er on their final day just minutes before running in. Also pulling out another late bite before the run into Cairns was team Viking with a 750lb-er right on knock off ending their 7 day charter with America clients Doug, Terry, and Ron with 11 fish including 5 over the 750 mark. There are a few more boats out here this weekend with a tournament on. Fishing the tournament is Wild Turkey with Greg back at the helm and having a pretty good day releasing three to 300lb.

Up on the Ribbons, Ningaloo converted their only bite of the day - which was well worth it and the right bite to get - at 950lbs. And Shaka managed a late bite at 6:20pm for angler Craig after a quiet few days releasing this 300lb-er (below left).

Shaka's releases a 300lb-er for angler Craig on the Ribbons
and John sent me this TowCam shot of Grinner's blue marlin on the Gold Coast.