I’m going to be out of phone range for the next few days and so look out for more marlin fishing updates from the Australian coast once I’m back.
PS – If you’re interested in why we’re traveling out of phone range, check out the latest issue of FishLife Magazine which has a fantastic article by David Granville (fab pics too) from his time with us on board last year!
See you on the flip side!
Thanks to David Granville for these excellent pics and report from the Sunshine Coast on the weekend. David reports that several boats fished the 18 mile grounds off Mooloolaba on Saturday, and while the fishing was far from red hot there were enough fish around to keep the fleet occupied. Of particular interest was that several tiny black marlin (sub 10kg) were caught which again gets people talking about another spawning ground besides the Great Barrier Reef.
Reel Capture tagged two of these baby blacks – 5 and 6kg respectively – as well as a sail. They also got a nice wahoo and a feed of pearl perch on the way home. Also fishing the 18 mile grounds Jamie Behrens on Reel Hunter got two blacks and sail fishing solo, Jubilado caught a black and a sail and Walk the Line also got a sail.
Quick catch up report from the Larva Lures boys who report that Chad off Addixion went 3-3-3 on blue marlin all on Larvas on Wednesday including a pending Queensland record for junior angler Jarrad Jones at 130kg on 37kg line – great fishing and congrats Jarrad!
Also, an addition to the Port Hacking Tournament report comes from Lee Rayner who tells me that they caught the heaviest marlin of the comp on board his boat LeeRoy for the Botany Bay GFC, which just happened to the the smallest boat in the fleet. The fish weighed in at 160kg on 37kg.
And over the in the west, OnStrike Charters Capt. Josh Bruynzeel is reporting that they have just successfully put the finishing touch (er…fish) on a royal slam for Brett Cannon and Chris “Kitt” Toomey with a black marlin a piece yesterday. Brett and Kitt have been travelling the world since leaving home to start their slam journey on March 24. Brett not only achieved his royal slam, he also caught all nine billfish species in what is believed to be a world record of 26 days! Along the journey (which has brought them to Australia twice) they have also be fishing with another Aussie skipper, our own Capt. Tim Richardson (Tradition) in the Dominican Republic on board the Ambush for blues and whites. Congratulations to Kitt and Brett and to all the crews that helped them along the way!
The 36th Viking Diesel & Electrics Port Hacking 100 was once again held over the weekend of 27th -28th April out of Port Hacking. This year’s event saw over 140 anglers competing on 40 vessels from multiple clubs up and down the NSW east coast. Day one turned on mirror like conditions with the T&R fleet heading wide targeting blue marlin and tuna. Local club boat The Outlaw, fought an estimated 180kg plus blue on 24kg for over an hour before unfortunately loosing the fish. In the Capture Division most notably, junior angler Sam Barning weighed a 282.2kg tiger shark on 10kg line off his dad’s boat (PHGFC President) Dark Horse (which is a pending Australian Record Claim – photo above). There were also a few other smaller captures of other sharks and a nice big eye tuna at 66.5kg along with various other T&R species including striped, black and blue marlin and yellowfin tuna.
Day two again saw the weather gods offering up near perfect conditions for what was becoming a closely fought battle in both divisions as multiple boats were within a stone’s throw of each other. Shellharbour vessel Outcast hooked a nice size mako after spotting it lurking in their slick, eventually the fish weighing in at a very respectful 327kg on 15kg. The weekend concluded with a Sunday night award presentation in front of 130 guests. By all reports to date the tournament was a fantastic success, so thank you to all competitors and sponsors, we look forward to seeing you all again in 2014.
Champion Boat T&R – Conflict, Jervis Bay GFC
Champion Boat Capture – Outcast, Shellharbour GFC
Champion Male Angler T&R – Lindsay Green, Jervis Bay GFC
Champion Male Angler Capture – Trevor Dowse, Shellharbour GFC
Champion Female Angler T&R – Robyn Kirby, Sydney GFC
Champion Female Angler Capture – Alex Durham, Sydney GFC
Champion Junior Angler T&R – Darcy Hannan, Port Hacking GFC
Champion Junior Angler Capture – Sam Barning, Port Hacking GFC
Champion Small Fry Angler – Jack Purkis, Sydney GFC
Ports Stephens
Jarahd sent me some pics from Akuma last weekend (above and below). It was a day for the juniors with the skipper’s 6 old daughter and Jarahd’s 9 year old niece on board. A great day, nobody got sick, smiles all round and a couple of marlin were enountered as an added bonus! Jarahd said they hooked a black around 50kg that threw the hooks a few feet from the tag pole, followed by another black around 90kg. Thanks Jarahd for the pics!
Departing Port Stephens to return to the Sunshine Coast with the family’s Lynchmob in the last couple of days, Conor tells me they managed to get a nice stripie around the 130kg mark NE of Coffs in 280m of water. The angler was Mark Bird and Conor says it was only the two on board which made it especially fun!
The Black Marlin Fishing Blog began in 2005 and is the brainchild of Kelly Dalling, daughter of well-known Australian skipper Jim Dalling.
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