This post was imported into WordPress from my old Black Marlin Fishing Blog website without any accompanying photos. If you’d like to see the original post, with the accompanying photographs, go to the original Black Marlin Fishing Blog site and navigate to the post using the archive navigation links on the right-hand-side.
Spear fishing is a form of fishing that is almost an art in itself. It requires a high degree of physical fitness, not to mention a good amount of courage. Spear fisherman have the option to select the size and species of fish they hunt, so it’s not a surprise that an elite few hunt for billfish as a target species adding to the challenge of the sport. Most of these avid ‘Spearos’ will only target one of each species preferring not to kill for no reason. Brett, besides being a relative of mine and Capt. Jim, is one of these elite athletes. Earlier in the week, Brett trailered his boat to Mooloolaba in search of his third and final marlin species for a Marlin Slam – a Black Marlin. And despite reports of fish in the area being hard to come by due to a decrease in the number of people fishing, he took the gamble on the fact that the marlin bite was good a couple of weeks prior. And it seems like it is still pretty good. On day one, after searching for less than an hour, Brett had the chance at his black, but a technical issue with his lines not cleared saw his chance fade back into the deep blue. That afternoon Brett was able to raise and get in the water with two separate Sailfish, deciding not to take the easy shot on both having already landed one in the past. The next day, was similar to the first although the Black did not hang around long enough for a shot. But once again, managed to raise Sailfish in the afternoon – a trend of Blacks in the morning and Sails in the afternoon continuing. It was day 3, when his spear found its mark, and he landed the 30kg Black after a short tussle. Brett was happy with the size of the fish, planning to put it on the BBQ – a nice way to celebrate the catch and what we all understand to be an Australian first – making him the first in Australia to catch all three species of Marlin. His other two fish were a 78kg Blue (pictured) which gave him a tough, over 1 hour fight in the water, and a 63kg Striped Marlin. Congratulations Brett! Take a look at the website for more great photos of other fish.Update 12 June 07: Brett continues to have a good winter on the water spearing this 21.9 Dolphin Fish for a potential Australian Spearfishing record off Port Macquarie. Congrats Brett!