Last night, 26 boats gathered (well a couple were MIA, but there are 26 boats fishing) for the briefing of the 26th Annual Lizard Island Black Marlin Classic. We enjoyed some spectacular food put on for us by the Lizard Island Lodge, and had a chance to catch up on who’s been doing what.
I made a bee-line to catch up with Capt. Troy Dallman off Cool Runnings who we’d last seen hooked up to a big one on Number 10 Ribbon as we passed. Troy confirmed that they caught the fish after a good fight and put it right up there at the magic number for angler Chris Pearce. I’m expecting photos soon so stay tuned.
Capt. Darren “Biggles” Haydon has also had a great last couple of days. On Friday, on Calypso, they released two fish including one right up there. On Saturday, they had only the one, but it was another nice big fish. Great action screenshot above!
Biggs has Bob Rich Jr. on board for the tournament this week. Bob fish with Capt. Tim Dean on the Calypso in 2011 and received his certificate last night for induction into the Lizard Island GFC 1000lb Tag & Release Club for his grander with Timmy last year.
Also inducted last night by tournament sponsor, Mr. Peter Teakle, was Ken Klein (Daniel’s dad – don’t you love it when I do this Ken?) for his 1050lb fish on Little Audrey last year. Capt. Corey Hard’s Askari is not fishing the comp, but his 2011 grander angler Mitchell Liddall was also inducted. Corey caught two small fish yesterday.
Also not fishing the comp, but on fire regardless, Capt. Chris “Sharky” Miles on Kanahoee with an awesome day releasing another three fish yesterday at 700, 500 and 200lbs!
Capt. Brad Craft on Castille III caught a small one on Number 10 Ribbon on his way to the Rock yesterday for the tournament, and then promptly got bitten by a snake on his way to the briefing last night. He’s okay!! (As Brad tells me, well he woke up alright ;-))
For LIVE TOURNAMENT UPDATES, please follow my twitter feed. I will be calling all the fish that I hear on the skeds and otherwise. You don’t need to have a twitter account to see the updates. I will also update on the blog daily recaps as per usual.
Tonic Eyewear – Win a pair of sunglasses!
Win yourself a pair of Tonic Eyewear Model Rush with High Contrast Copper Bronze Photochromic Polarised Glass lens which comes complete with the new detachable cord system .
Be the first to correctly guess the total number of fish tagged for the 2012 Lizard Island Black Marlin Classic (official results) to win. Failing a correct guess, the closest will be the winner! Entries open with the start of fishing today, and end at cease fishing on Day 5 (Thursday) which is at 17:30 EST. You can enter by emailing me your guess, or making your guess on the competition post on the Black Marlin Fishing Blog facebook page. One entry per person. Like Tonic Eyewear on facebook or visit the website for more information about the range.
Tonic is the pinnacle in polarised eyewear for the modern day angler and brings you amazing clarity in vision for on-water use. State of the art technology and innovations include the Tonic Quick Detach cord system and Quad-Colour integrated lenses. You wont find a better glasses anywhere!
