cruisecraft Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 (edited) Date:Sunday 9th March Time:6.30am Crew:Cruisecraft,Rabs,Splinters and Carey We launch the 20ft half cabin, powered by 4stroke 140HP Johnson(aka Suzuki), from Burraneer Bay with a crew of 4. At the mouth of the Port Hacking we are greeted by the first rays of the sun,a light breeze and smooth conditions, so I push the throttle down a bit further and we are cruising at 22knots for the next half hour... destination the Port Hacking FAD. Nearing the FAD we noticed another boat has beaten us to the FAD and as we get nearer, we are "impressed" by the eagerness of 2 of the 3 occupants of the other vessel.These 2 were having an early morning swim at the FAD, I think they were holding something elongated in their hands.We let them frolicked in wet suits and flippers whilst we got our livies ready. First drift pass the FAD, we throw the cut up pillies in but no dollies come up, only the ever hungry jackets come sniffing. No matter, we throw our yellowtail livies in for a swim.(The yellowtails were acquired the day before and kept alive in a wire cage hanging off a pontoon.) Thats all that happens, as the early morning swimmers may have put the dollies off breakfast.We do a second and a third pass and see some dollies hiding deep in the very clear and calm conditions. There was virtually no current and minimal breeze.Next pass we put on a couple of jelly bean size lead sinkers and send the yellowtails down about 80-100 feet and whammo we are on. We pull up 14 dollies, largest about 80cm over the next 40 mins or so. The swimmers left while the bite was on.Then a charter boat comes close to the FAD and trolls near the FAD and then does a slow circle back and pulls up close to us at the FAD. By now the dollies have gone off the chew . We hang around for another 45 mins or so and more boats arrive, probably up to 8 boats around the FAD. Someone on the charter hooks up a jacket(I think) and one of the earlier boats gets onto some dollies but the dolphinfish went off the bite after 8.30am. Now that we had the day's dinner taken care of the boys decided to target the next item on the agenda. We headed east for the shelf and put the 2X24kg outfit out and trolled a pakula sproket in the long corner and a Black Bart Hot Breakfast(did I get that right Rabs) in the short corner.The colour of the ocean is an incredible blue and it is a near dead calm.We remark to ourselves that the conditions are very fishable and as we finish the sentence the long corner goes ZZZZZZZZ....... and the pakula gets a run but it fails to hook up. We look back and there is a small stripe marlin eyeing the pakula.Splinters who is at wheel gives the throttle a bit of juice and this stirs the stripey and it hits the pakula again ZZZZZZZZZZ,........ but again it fails to hook up. It then swims off. We continued to troll east and there are heaps of bait fish in the water with sauries breaking the surface very often and the water temp is 24C. Not 20 mins, after the stripey miss, the long corner sings that beautiful note of ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.........This time we have a hook up, Rabs is on strike and he grabs the outfit whilst the rest of the crew gets into action.Line peels away at alarming knots from the 24kg Penn International and 300-400meters is stripped off within 30 secs. The short corner is brought in, Splinters maneuvers the boat to chase down the line and another of the crew grabs the lie detector(aka camera). Rabs battles the beast whilst the crew puts the gimble and harness on him.The team works as one. About 5-10 mins into the battle, the line starts to go towards the horizon and the camera is readied as Rabs winds furiously to take the slack out of the line lest the beast lands on the line during the acrobatics.Below is a picture of Rabs in battle fatigues and his marlin doing the acrobatics.It is a blue which we estimate to be 300lb. The battle rages for 40mins and Splinters suggest to me(camera man) that we get the telephoto lens onto the Canon 400D to get better close ups.He helps with the telephoto lens and then hops back to the helm, the marlin which was holding deep 40metres to starboard suddenly swim towards and under the boat very quickly and Rabs is yelling #@$*, alas the forward momentum of the boat, despite Splinters disengaging the gears, has the leg of the engine catching the 24kg low stretch platypus. Rabs is gutted. This was his cherry moment for marlin and it was a premature eja....tion(self imposed censorship here). We pull the line in and discover that it had broken off at the sampo swivel. The leader was 2 m, so hopefully it will not tail wrap the marlin.We gather ourselves and Rabs puts a new lure on, his hands are shaking from the adrenaline rush of the battle.He puts a hollowpoint Goblin on the long corner and we set the lures again.In the distance we see another trailer boat battling the mighty marlin.It jumps a several times and we are re enthused and hopeful again. I am on strike next, another marlin virgin.We wait, we troll, we remark again to ourselves how fishy the conditions are, and ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ the long corner goes off. Everyone again does their part. I pull the rod out as a second marlin, albeit smaller, leaps high into the air, I wind furiously remembering to spread the line evenly.The others bark orders to me, to keep my eye on the reel and to keep the line taut.The harness and gimble goes on, the battle begins.I strain and pull and pump whenever the marlin allows me to. Whenever I gain line, it turns away and pulls line out easily. Splinters drive the boat to head it off and I wind furiously to take the belly out of the line. The beast goes deep and stays there, it tries to swim away from the boat and peels line off, we drive and get ahead of it and wind line back. The battle rages for an hour then I see colour, I can see the hollowpoint goblin in its mouth .The water is so still and calm and I see it clearly. it is subdued. I see a magnificent fish. I see all its glory and colour. As it nears the boat,Splinters grabs the gloves and he and Rabs removes the lure, whilst Carey drives the boat at walking pace I go over and admire the fish, we swim it for a little while and waved it off the back of the boat. I feel elated and priviledged to have got so close to such a magnificent fish. 3 marlin raised, in under 2 hours, 2 hook ups and 1 boated, all less than 30 km off a city of 4 million under glorious skies and in a deep blue sea. What a wonderful day. Regards Kit ps we estimate my stripe marlin around 200lbs Edited March 21, 2008 by cruisecraft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jigholio Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Those pics are un-freakin-real. Jawdropper day, champagne memories...How privileged you must feel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROB44X Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Absolutely sensational boys. What a glorious day and what a buzz. Looks like you couldn't have asked for a nicer day. Well done to all the boys Great team effort. And thanks for the pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VA911 Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Great Stuff!!!!!! Great report and top camera work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmoshe Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Top report Kit and fantastic pics. Congrats on your first marlin....you must be still pinching yourself. What about the colours and flat seas....looks a lot like my swimming pool...not too many marlin in there though. Well done. Cheers, Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Pasha Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Hey Cruisecraft, nice fish mate, however it is not a blue. Definatley a striped marlin you got there, doesn't really make a difference since its your first. Well done, and nice to see it swim away Cheers, Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy0884 Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Hi Mate, Awesome pics, great fish...but that little critter you have there is a striped marlin, excellent fish though Here are some pics of a Blue marlin at the boat to compare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Kit, Photo's are great!! Although I was disappointed in losing a good fish, I more shattered having the blue take off with the lure. Fish can be replaced, but great lures/colour combos are hard to replace. I guess it is back to the on-line store on the WWW to find another one. PS : If anybody come across a marlin with a Pakula Sprocket still attached can you PM me. I will supply identification of the lure if needed. So, when are heading east again??? Cheers, Rabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Pasha Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Rabs, good luck finding another sprocket! All of the popular 'old style' Pakulas are getting pretty hard to find these days........... Can I have a guess, was it LUMO? If you cant find a pakula then you can just buy a zacatak. Exactly same lures, same lure maker of the pakulas, but now pakula has the dojo range, hence the split. Also, the Dojo sprockets are different to the old style, so be wary Cheers, Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markwi Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Great report and a great fish congratulations on your first Marlin I gurantee it wont be your last. I cant beleive those conditions, great effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouliis Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Loved the report/photo's Well done nice catch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big ben Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 (edited) well done kit i am realy stoked mate you deserve it, all the hard work you do on land . what a great fish what a great photo . to get a marlin on your own boat you must be blown away. well done mate ill have a beer for you tonight. cheers ben Edited March 11, 2008 by big pommie ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewhunter Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 A big on your first Marlin. Top report & piccies. As mentioned, it is a Striped Marlin, not a Blue. But hey, who cares ? It's a Marlin & a damn fine capture. Marlin in a millpond. It doesn't get much better than that. Well done. Cheers, Grant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisecraft Posted March 11, 2008 Author Share Posted March 11, 2008 (edited) Thanks everyone for the kind words. Daniel(Le Pasha) ,Sammy0884 and Grant(JewHunter), thanks for pointing out it is a stripe marlin, I have amended the report.Just can't get over the colour of that milpond and on the fish. Regards Kit ps pommy ben keep a day or two free over Easter, it looks fishy. Edited March 11, 2008 by cruisecraft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgey Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 What a top report, with superb photos. That fish is almost glowing its that bright! Amazing conditions and a brilliant result. Well done! Hodgey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy0884 Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Kit, you definately did the fish justice by getting a photo that good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matrix Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Congratulations Kit! Beautiful Fish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Well done Kit & Rabs on a fantastic day out fishing!! Terrific photos - the colour of that water is just amazing! Love the shot with the marlin by the boat. Shame about your fish ..... and lure ...... don't you just hate losing a lure that works???!! Cheers Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rizzo Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 well done boys shout out i cant believe the calmness of the sea it looked like glass so clean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefin Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Great fishing, but the photos are fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you. Howard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisecraft Posted March 12, 2008 Author Share Posted March 12, 2008 Well done mate. Absolutely sensational. And what makes it all the more impressive is the fact that you only had 2 rods out! Unbelievable. I know guys who troll 6 and 7 lures around all day and get nothing! Myself being one of them many a times! lol lol Hi Keeping Tabs(its Ant, ain't it) We didn't bring our full full arsenal that day because I have been busy with work and not had time to spool the 2 new TLD50 thats been sitting in their boxes since Xmas. I also left a spooled up TLD50 at home because we had too much gear for fishing dollies and could not carry much more gear.The 2 Penns were Rabs weapons. The fishing gods were looking after us that day, incredible seas, incredible conditions and unbelievable fishing. Regards Kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregL Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Awesome!! In tho's conditions I could take the Skeeter out there! Well done a a great capture Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Hey Cruisecraft, nice fish mate, however it is not a blue. Definatley a striped marlin you got there, doesn't really make a difference since its your first. Well done, and nice to see it swim away Cheers, Daniel Daniel, We called Kits fish for a juvenile blue as it was a fairly solid throught the body, the photo shows it has large shoulders and that width went right to the anal fins. Juvenile blue marlin still maintain body stripes and get less prominate as they grow. Most stripes are fairly narrow. My fish was a really solid blue and yes it was a sprocket lumo- not those washed out green colours you sometime get in the skirts hence my dissppointment. I think I can get some 12inch sprockets from the states. Love those 2 speed reels with stubborn fish. Cheers, Rabs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Le Pasha Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Daniel, We called Kits fish for a juvenile blue as it was a fairly solid throught the body, the photo shows it has large shoulders and that width went right to the anal fins. Juvenile blue marlin still maintain body stripes and get less prominate as they grow. Most stripes are fairly narrow. My fish was a really solid blue and yes it was a sprocket lumo- not those washed out green colours you sometime get in the skirts hence my dissppointment. I think I can get some 12inch sprockets from the states. Love those 2 speed reels with stubborn fish. Cheers, Rabs. Hey Rabs, I still call it for a stripe. I think the give away in your photo wichh indicates that it is definately a stripe is the high dorsal fin. You dont see blues with a dorsal fin that high. Another thing that on your fish that shows iits a stripe is the longer lower jaw, as opposed to a blue which would have a shorter lower jaw. I would call it for a 70-80kg stripe - but who really cares about weight when its your first, well done and congratulations You are right that juvenile blues and stripes are difficult to tell aparty sometimes, but that fish there is definately a stripe Cheers, Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 (edited) Well done there guys the are deffinetly out there, great photos ill need to teach my mate how to work the camera lol lol. Thanks Clifford Edited March 12, 2008 by no-regrets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now