Following up from the Broome Billfish Classic which also finished over the week, the 2011 Dampier Classic wound up on Monday.  Steve tells me that the weather was glorious for them this year as well with great conditions for both the billfishing and capture sections. 

The bait balls have been present out wide of the ships for a while so the fishing was expected to be good – and it was!

126 black marlin and 12 sailfish were tagged over the four days.  Interestingly sailfish numbers were down considerably (see my table below – since Moose liked the one yesterday so much, I thought I’d do another

Five smallfry anglers (10 years and under), as well as four junior anglers successfully tagged marlin during the competition, with all the fish being a first billfish for the smallfry anglers. The Wench won the with 13 black marlin tags.

There were also some exceptional shark captures including a 265kg tiger shark caught on 6Kg line class – which is a pending world record (and would break the existing record by more than a 100kg) and a 27kg tiger shark caught on 1kg line, another pending world record!

Thanks to hosting club King Bay Game Fishing Club’s President Steve Tatham for the report!

Below is the number of marlin/sailfish for the past few years.

Steve reports that in the week since the tournament the weather has vastly improved and the fishing is firing once again. On the weekend, 5 knot winds and 28 degree temperatures greeted the 20 plus boats on the water.

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Firstly on a serious note for Australian Voters: there is a plethora of information available to you to make smart election decisions this August 21. Like here, here and here.  We cannot make the mistake of believing others will take care of this most important issue!

• Capt Daniel McCarthy would like all fishos in Cairns to show their support for the launch of Dr. Mike Mansfield (Australian Fishing & Lifestyle Party) Senate campaign launch at 10am at the Pacific Hotel this Friday, August 6.  Questions? Contact Daniel on 0413 054 031.
• Capt. Tim Dean would like to make all aware that there is a meeting planned on August 14 at the Newcastle and Port Stephens Gamefish Club at 11am to discuss concerns and show support for those who will support us. Feel free to contact Tim on 041 1111476 for any further information.

Secondly, welcome to a new month — another little bit closer to start fishing!!

• TGFC President Anthony Florence has heard reports that a few sailfish and marlin have been caught at Cape Bowling Green now so hopefully more reports will start to trickle in. The Mike Carney Toyota Billfish Challenge (Sep 3-8) tournament brochure is now available online so check it out here or via the tournament calendar.
• The Dampier Classic wrapped up yesterday and so we’re expecting a report soon.  I’ve heard they’ve experienced similar to what was reported in Broome that there have been more marlin caught but not as many sails.

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