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.

Much of the fleet is now gathered in Watson’s Bay at Lizard Island this morning as we await the sailpast and Day 1 of the Shell Cove Lizard Island Black Marlin Classic. For many boats it was a direct trip to the island, no fishing but for the few who fished the top end there were still some fish around. KEKOA stuck there hooks in two and Calypso also released one in the 600lb range.For Shaka, it’s been a while, but the wait was worth it. Fishing from Number 5 Ribbon Reef at around 1pm the big girl – around 950lb – (and her smaller companion) turned up. She grabbed the big bait and took off, only to drop it after a short run. Smart work by Andy on the handline saw her back again, and this time she didn’t mess around. With the circle hook planted firmly in the corner of her jaw, she set off for the horizon with Capt. Jared in hot pursuit. After a great fight they had her to the boat within 20 minutes, tagged, released and off to fight another day. Photo a still from the video by Ant.Stay tuned for updates from the tournament today.