njsconst Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 (edited) Sorry to tease...but I got back from my trip to Hawaii on Friday night. As planned I went game fishing while over there, and yes I hooked that trophy fish. It was hooked at 10am on a trolled 8 inch skirted lure. It shook its head out of the water twice then went deep. 12 minutes later it was along side the boat with the gaff in its side and the deck hand smacking it on the head with a baseball bat. The fish did not perform like a typical marlin, it did not even jump once. Even the skipper and deckie were really suprised at its lack of fight! At 10:15am the fish was on the floor of the boat being iced down. In Hawaii to my suprise (or disgust) there is no such thing as tag & release. All fish hooked are captured and sold at the local market to supplement the running costs of the boat. The fish weighed 155lbs and would get between $3- $5 US at the local fish market. So my fish made the skipper about $620 US..... not bad hey! During the day we had 4 marlin strikes but my fish was the only one landed. It was a awesome day and great boat. As you can see by the pics the water colour is a beautiful blue and a warm 25.C Edited October 7, 2007 by njsconst Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmoshe Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 Well done on your first marlin capture. That's one to check off the list eh? Pity about the local rules taking away your right to release but I suppose if that's it..then that's it. If you now have the urge to chase them here...at least you have the choice. Nice water colour...so blue. Cheers, Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dani!o Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 Sorry to tease...but I got back from my trip to Hawaii on Friday night. As planned I went game fishing while over there, and yes I hooked that trophy fish. It was hooked at 10am on a trolled 8 inch skirted lure. It shook its head out of the water twice then went deep. 12 minutes later it was along side the boat with the gaff in its side and the deck hand smacking it on the head with a baseball bat. The fish did not perform like a typical marlin, it did not even jump once. Even the skipper and deckie were really suprised at its lack of fight! At 10:15am the fish was on the floor of the boat being iced down. In Hawaii to my suprise (or disgust) there is no such thing as tag & release. All fish hooked are captured and sold at the local market to supplement the running costs of the boat. The fish weighed 155lbs and would get between $3- $5 US at the local fish market. So my fish made the skipper about $620 US..... not bad hey! During the day we had 4 marlin strikes but my fish was the only one landed. It was a awesome day and great boat. As you can see by the pics the water colour is a beautiful blue and a warm 25.C hey dude looks like heaps of fun!!! from what you say though, so what the skipper took your fish and sold it at the local market and sold it??? damn... i would want a fibreglass trophy and onto 'fragile' luggage on the way back!!! and that no release rule is pretty stupid... i mean, hawaii would be the last place on earth you can still fish like that eh, but if they never release it wont last for much longer.... ha dude, i reckon it was because the deck hand had the baseball bat... thats why you didnt have the choice... if you had the baseball bat, im sure that fish would have a nice tag and be swimming down to maroubra for me to catch right now eh... good stuff mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanger Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 Nice work mate!!!! I hope to pop my marlin cherry this year and hopefully with a release...... I dont mind keeping a few fish as long as they arent indangered or low on numbers and the dont get left in the freezer for months, they get eaten fresh and not wasted. Did you put your hand out for half of the profits or a free charter??????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Pasha Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 njsconst, I dont know where you were fishing, but in Kona waters (the Big Island) they definately tag and release now, and some boats are only T&R. Where did you get they only captured, sounds a little strange. Here have a look at this. Although some boats still practice capture, they most likely also tag spome fish. Also by having a look at the graph on that link, the T&R percentage of fish is constantly on the rise year by year. The first year is 1995 and so on. http://www.charterdesk.com/stats.html#2003 Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gretsch Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 Check out that water!!! Couldn't get any more blue eh!! Nice fish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njsconst Posted October 8, 2007 Author Share Posted October 8, 2007 (edited) njsconst, I dont know where you were fishing, but in Kona waters (the Big Island) they definately tag and release now, and some boats are only T&R. Where did you get they only captured, sounds a little strange. Here have a look at this. Although some boats still practice capture, they most likely also tag spome fish. Also by having a look at the graph on that link, the T&R percentage of fish is constantly on the rise year by year. The first year is 1995 and so on. http://www.charterdesk.com/stats.html#2003 Daniel Daniel, let me clarify that issue. I did not mean that there is no T&R in Hawaii, just that the company I went with don't practice it. I know that T&R is alive and growing on all the Islands of Hawaii. I did see an number of tag poles onboard the boat when I was out however they were a bit dusty!!!! I was fishing out of Kewalo Basin - Oahu. The charter company I went with run four other Game boats and they all capture their fish to supplement the running costs of the boats. This in turn keeps the charter cost per head down for blokes like you and me. Who am I to question the skipper of a boat about releasing the fish. I am sure that if I started telling Ross Hunter how to run his business he would quickly put me in my place. I look at it.... that I am a guest on his boat in a different country. I have to respect their way of life and culture. If they choose to capture the fish over T&R then I will not loose any sleep, I respect their decision. I am a huge supporter of T&R. Nathan. Edited October 8, 2007 by njsconst Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 Congrats Paul on your fine capture Was it a Blue or a Black ??? Cheers Stewy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njsconst Posted October 8, 2007 Author Share Posted October 8, 2007 Congrats Paul on your fine capture Was it a Blue or a Black ??? Cheers Stewy Stewy, it was a blue. I was told that black marlin are very rare in their waters. But blues and striped are prolific. Nathan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 Stewy, it was a blue. I was told that black marlin are very rare in their waters. But blues and striped are prolific. Nathan. Well done Nath,I hope we can get a few hits when we are up at Port Stephens,would love to tangle with one again. Cheers Stewy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 Well done, Nathan! Top catch! You were so lucky it was your turn when it got hooked! I bet that was the highlight of your trip! Back when I went out from Kona, most of the boats kept & sold the fish - but as we only caught 2 skipjack/bonito, they sashimied one & gave us the other! Did you go snorkelling off the beaches? The fish are almost tame & you can feed them with bread (I used the bonito carcass) & had a feeding frenzy happening! Frozen peas are very popular with the fish, too! Cheers Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Pasha Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 Hey Nath, forgot to congratulate you on your first, well done mate, nice fish! I think the best boats are those that give the angler the choice of whether to capture or tag and release. Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Dan Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 well done mate, i hope i can get into some of that in Thailand next month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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