Report from Scott Baker on Rush Hour Charters out of Port Macquarie with great fishing on Sunday out of PM. Scott tells me that he fished 2up with just himself and Damo Rafter on board.
With the good weather forecast and a 70kg yellowfin captured the day before (as well as the odd blue and stripes tagged) they decided to head to the shelf.
They got to the grounds around 8.00am and within 15 minutes of getting set up, were hooked up to an estimated 180kg blue. She was tagged and that set the tone for the morning, with a total of 4 marlin – 4 blues and a stripe all tagged before 1pm. 5-5-5 with the afternoon ahead! But while the afternoon bite was just as hot, they had trouble staying connected to the blues with only the two on board.
The afternoon session was a 5-5-0 all blues!
Scott says they ended up with some dolphin fish for the table as well including one going 20kg.
The final count for the marlin for the day was 10-10-5 (1 stripe and 4 blues). Regardless of the afternoon conversion rate, a sensational day on the water and one that Scott says he and Damo won’t forget for a long time!
Redcliffe Australia Day Comp
The annual Australia Day Billfish Comp hosted by Redcliffe Peninsula Game & Sportfish Club was held over the weekend and was taken out by the team on board Dave Morton’s Filthy. Mooloolaba GFC’s Jamie Behrens tells me they went 2 from 3 on light tackle black marlin with a couple of line class wahoo to hold on for the win.
There were only 3 black marlin tagged for the comp with others seen but 20+kts with 1.5- 2m swell made for some pretty ordinary conditions!
First Marlin for Sophie!
Paul Johnston report from Forster aboard Billfisher with Shane Crockett at the helm. Paul reports the fished the Seal Rocks area for a 1-1-1 black marlin for Sophie Johnston. Her first marlin and Paul says he was a very proud dad to be on the leader for his daughters first marlin. Well done Sophie! The first of many!
Bluewater Issue 129
Bluewater magazines latest issue hits the newstands next week (on sale Feb 8th with subscribers reciving very soon) and its another that us marlin tragics will be looking forward to with fishing features including:
Australia’s first official grander blue marlin
The race to find and catch Australia’s first officially weighed ‘grander’ blue marlin has been a drawn-out and torturous affair, punctuated with heart-stopping near misses and tragic tales of loss. Finally, on New Year’s Day 2018, a new chapter in Australia’s storied history has been written at the edge of the desert in Exmouth, Western Australia.
Also “How billfish feed and why you need dropback when using natural bait” by Peter B Wright, “The giants that slipped through the cracks”, big fish that miss out on the record books by Dr. Julian Pepperell and much more!
