BMFB: Weekly Sked April 26 (Updated)

Although the forecast for wind, rain and rough conditions did not put a dampener on Mooloolaba GFC’s 20th Anniversary Billfish Bonanza on the weekend, the fish were for the most part MIA with only two billfish tagged over the two days fishing. The local bite has been pretty good with both black marlin and sails being caught in close to Mooloolaba so hopefully that will turn around again after the bad weather has blown through (hopefully by the weekend). Liberty III released the first billfish of the comp, an estimated 90kg blue marlin to angler Troy Tinslay, which was enough to give them the Champion Boat over 7m award. And local MGFC boat Kokomo tagged a sailfish of around 40kg on 8kg for owner Ken Summeril being the only other billfish. More opportunities were missed on the billfish and Bev Fennel fishing on Aquasition caught a pending QLD and Australian record mahi mahi at 14kg on 8kg line. Thanks to MGFC President Nathan Douglas for the report and congrats to all for another great event!
Newsletter subscribers will already know that Capt. Ken Brown on Megumi went two from three blue marlin off the Cape on Good Friday. Ken says one of the fish was about 380lb, a first marlin for his 81 year old angler Graham Cochrane who has dreamed of catching a marlin for years! The other, 400lb for Greg Platt. Capt. Ken says they also hooked up on an animal fish late this afternoon that he put at 800lb plus. It tore off the line and did one jump before the hook pulled.
On the Gold Coast GCGFC club boats fishing on Good Friday who also had a good run on the blue marlin. The boys on board Larva sent me this link of underwater footage from their estimated 400lb blue with Sea Pace and Adios also releasing blues.
Issue 85 of BlueWater Magazine goes on Sale on May 4 next week while subscribers should be receiving their copies very soon.
In this issue, Capt. Peter Bristow gives insight into how to catch a grander blue marlin while WA’s Rowely Shoals surprises editor Tim Simpson with the sailfish and other large billfish on offer.

And Iceman’s Capt. Bob Jones’ is interviewed in this issue’s ‘They Call The Shots’.
Not too many reports from down South although Ange Stama tells me that he and his brother Peter Stamos fished Ulladulla on the shelf at 35’28” for 2-2-1. Ange says the marlin were feeding with the seals which was an awesome sight and also tells me that Nathan Kearnes on Enticer had all the luck going 6-4-3 on lures fishing the same bait ball – live baiting wasn’t an option with no less than 50 seals on the bait ball as well.
@BroomeFC is also reporting that the sails have moved in to off Barred Creek in numbers and “eating bait about 1 inch in size. Convincing then to take a hook is hard! There were pods of them feeding on the surface everywhere. We put the teasers away and just went pitching into the bait balls.”