Another frustrating day aboard Reel Chase with another big fat zero. Likewise for Kekoa who are feeling it too. They are on the reef together tonight.

Total tags for the day = 35. Top Boat is Andiamo, a private boat from the Gold Coast who tagged 3. According to Capt. Jim, apparently 90+ % of the fish caught have been males, ie. under 300lb. Almost zip for large females which according to the scientists come via a different migration. Capt. Jim believes the males are moving North along the East Coast with a very strong SE Trades behind them while the females are yet to come in from the wider Pacific.

Hopefully it will happen soon as the difficulty factor in catching small fish on 130 lb heavey tackle is extremely frustrating!

No luck on board Reel Chase with another slow day at the top.

Picture of of Simon's fish today about to spit the bait.

Three bites but no tags. It's a pity because this one's a beauty and the picture is too.

The team are at Ruby Reef with Wild Turkey and New Moon tonight.

Kekoa is at #3 and unlucky too today losing one about 500lb on the leader but that was it.

Capt. Jim believes another 24 fish were tagged today with Diamond Girl on top with three for day two. He says that a lot of boats are now up in the Ribbon Reefs so heres hoping for good weather on Friday so they can all get back to Cairns.

I hope the weather calms down too, it's been wild and windy even here but it let up this afternoon.

Fingers crossed for you all!

Cairns 40th Anniversary sailpast: the line up of 60+ boats as they head out to the grounds on Day 1 of fishing.

A quick update on the first day's fishing from Capt. Jim. Reel Chase had a couple of bites and unfortunately lost one at cease fishing.

The first days stats for the 40th Anniversary Cairns Black Marlin Tournament are:

60 + boats competing. Day ended with 24 tags. The leading boat is Mauna Kea with 3 tags.

Heaviest fish estimated 950lb black marlin on Moana 3.

This picture is from the very busy F Dock prior to the sailpast.

Reports from the reef off Cairns on Day 1 are that a few fish have already been caught although the weather is pretty rough. I should have some pictures up from the sail past this morning by tomorrow. In the meantime, you can check out the program of the event here (Cairns Weekend Post September 23).

Fishing on board Reel Chase we have two father and child pairs with Griffo and Alex (our Junior Angler) and Simon and Ellie. Good luck guys!

Reel Chase is on the board just in time for the of the 40th Anniversary Cairns Black Marlin Tournament which starts tomorrow. Tagging a small 200 lb-er it's the biggest fish Angler Jim from Adelaide had ever seen let alone to catch!

From Capt. Jim: "Ran into Tim Dean on Calypso who caught 2 on Opal Ridge. He was with a floatilla of the last remaining boats including Viking 2, Allure and Castille on their way into Cairns from the Top End. We fished the Bank with about 15 other boats but after lunch most made the run back to Cairns to give themselves time for final Tournament preparation except for Seababy who joined us at Opal for the night. Good to hear Wood was back onboard for one more trip. Two Townsville privateers, Misbehaven and Princess C both caught Blacks at Jenny Louise on their way up to Cairns. The biggest fish reported during the day was caught on Tradition at Linden Bank, a nice 900lber.

"With about 63 boats registered for the Tournament it should be quite a party to remember tonight. It will be great to catch up with so many old faces, Capt Laurie has done a remarkable job in turning this dream into a reality. On a sad note, a wake was held at the Cock and Bull last night for Snudge who won’t be joining this season after being the legend he was for 30+ years. RIP old mate."

I asked Capt. Jim to stop sending me sashimi photos. Not because I don't love sashimi. But because I DO. (Hey, after almost 10 years in Japan, I love my Japanese dishes!) We did not catch this much when I was on the boat last year. Humph!

Photo of our Adelaide Anglers Ian and Jim's fish. Good going guys - save some for me.

But anyways, back to the fishing report. Unfortunately, aside from the sashimi catches, there is not too much marlin fishing to report. After a quick trip out of the water on Friday, Reel Chase was back out yesterday with new propellers. Saw 6 marlin and had one bite that fell off.

Kekoa and Tradition caught a fish each early in the day. All fishing Linden bank. Moana caught 1 from 3 at Jenny Louise shoal. Other news is of Sir Reel catching one 1200+!

Almost all the fleet are back in Cairns waiting the start of the 40th Anniversary Tournament. I'll be up there myself late next week but will miss all the fishing. Regardless should have some good photos to post then. Am also all confirmed to be on Reel Chase again in October and perhaps another stint up in November. Should be good - have been practicing my photo taking skills. And to get Griffo and Alex and team in the mood for the tournament, some shots from their time on board last year.

Capt. Jim reports just one bite from fishing yesterday but another 4 yellow fin. Sounds like some great Sashimi is being had on board Reel Chase. The team are in Cairns for the day today and back out tomorrow.

All seems quiet in this area (Wild Turkey reports the same from Linden Bank) but lots of boats arriving in the marina for the big tournament starting Tuesday. The excitement is building.

Kekoa has caught fish but is too far North for reliable communications - I hear that three were recorded for the day including one at least 600lbs.

A quiet day with a bit of bait fishing in the morning and venturing out to the edge after lunch. 2 small black marlin coming up - one bite but no hook up.

The first photo is of Chris and the teams' nibblies for tomorrow. The other is of Super Norm who free gaffed this trevally and slung it on the deck out at Flinders Reef. (That's what you get for swimming too close to the boat. Go Norm!)

Other reports include Tradition tagging 1 from 3 at Linden Bank and Kanahoe and Shaka fishing between the bank and Jenny Louise - seeing fish but no tags.

See you all tomorrow!

A sleepy group emerged this morning for the team photo for the start of the 2006 Cairns Season.

It hardly seems a year ago when we were doing this ourselves!

Cook Kirsty, Capt. Jim, Deckies Wade and Brad. I hear that they will smile if you warn them the photo is coming ;-)

Good luck guys.

Update on the day's fishing will be up for you by morning.

After some weather that went from bad to worse and then bad again, the team aboard Reel Chase were happy to arrive in the relative calm of Cairns today.

Not that the weather there is much to write home about.

But the good news is that with their arrival on the Marlin Marina, there is internet again! Firstly a picture of Norm's dogtooth tuna which is a beauty. Other good news is that plenty of bait for the season were caught and the team are looking at getting out again when the weather settles a little on Wednesday.

Quick report called in from Capt. Jim and the crew bait fishing at Flinders Reef. While scad fishing they have hooked up and tagged a double header of 45kg sailfish! Having almost been blown away with the strong winds out there (SE averaging above 20knots!) it's good to hear they are getting some action and a lot of good bait fishing in in preparation for the season. Hopefully some photos to follow when they are once again in internet range.

Meanwhile at other locales, results for the Port Hinchinbrook Tournament are also in. Congratulations to Utopia who finished on top with 5 fish tagged for the three day tournament edging out Sir Reel in the last 20 minutes (who finished on four). Heaviest other (game)fish caught were a 20+kg mackerel and 6kg barramundi from a field of 22 boats. After a slow start, Kekoa found the fish and hooked up on a double header shortly before cease-fishing on the final day to finish the tournament with two tagged.

Tournament album is up here .

Reel Chase has now set off to Cairns via Flinders Reef. More photos and updates on the start of the 2006 Giant Black Marlin season once they are back in internet range.

The presentation last night provided us with some great entertainment showing video footage taken on many of the boats throughout the duration of the tournament. For us, it was a great evening anyway with the team aboard Reel Chase taking out Champion Team, Champion Angler, Champion Skipper and Champion Deckie (us, Wade, Capt. Jim and Brad in that order) in the over 8m class. Reel Chase finished the tournament with 18 black marlin tagged.

I will get some more results to you when I have a chance as well as a photo album of pictures. But in the meantime I will leave you with this one. The first one is just for scale and is a photo I used the other day, but it's the same boat and the same team so it works well.

Besides the weather improving, what a difference! The first fish is typical of the juvenile black marlin that populate Cape Bowling Green at this time of year. The second, what a beauty! This 800lber (+) is one you'd more likely see a bit further north a little later in the season. Great fish Utopia team!

My lovely company has given me leave an extra day to go fishing again tomorrow. How lucky am I? But as I am doing a boat hop on Bowling Green I will be leaving the computer behind (it doesn't like swimming) which means alas, no blogging. I will try to update you on results via the comments section so keep your eyes out. Results I've heard from today are that approximately 40 billfish were tagged - a great day by all accounts.

Reel Chase has ended the day with six black marlin tagged.

The tournament was off to a wet and windy start with rain and wind that kept many of the smaller boats in Port. On board Reel Chase we braved the weather to head out to Cape Bowling Green arriving just on start of fishing to catch the first marlin of the tournament. We finished the day with two blacks tagged and had another very near miss.

Day 2 Results
Champion Team Day 2 - Castille with two tagged (from Reel Chase with two as well)
First Marlin Tagged - moi on Reel Chase
First Sailfish Tagged - on board Play Station (I 'think')
Heaviest Other Gamefish - 7.3 kg Cobia on Play Station

A total of 10 marlin and 3 sailfish for day 2 (which was actually the first day of fishing, just to keep things confusing). Other boats catching fish include Utopia, Wild Turkey and Kanahoee.

Apologies for the sketchy reports as the skeds were very hard to hear. Hopefully I will get some more updates today although I am not on board (doh work!). I will be back out again on Wednesday. Good luck team in my absence! ;-)

1. Ken's fish at the back of Reel Chase. 2. Utopia with a small black jumping at the back of the boat.

After some feirce betting on the Calcutta last night, Day 1 of the Townsville Gilbert Group Billfish Challenge is underway. Except that it's not. Day 1 cancelled due to strong winds. We got out of bed for the sailpast and that was it. How is this for some unseasonable Townsville weather including rain over night??? The wind came in about 6 last night and blasted us even in the relatively protected waters of Cleveland Bay.





Final shot is the newly launched O'Brien, the 47ft Kekoa. Looking good - very good.