srushton Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Went out from Sydney last Sunday. The water quality and temp in close were pretty terrible. However we managed finally to get some quality water and temp of 24.4 in about 130 fathoms. Over a period of about 20 minutes we were hit 4 times. Not sure if it was the same fish but this little fella was finally boatside. The happy fellow in the snaps is my mate Mr T. who managed his first marlin at last. T is for "trouble". I think it is a juvenile blue but I am not 100% on that as I have never seen one. We snipped it off at the boat. Didn't waste time with a tag as it looked as though it had snapped off most of its bill on the way in and we wanted to give it the best chance of giving a big thrill to someone else in the future. Let me tell you he was on fire as he took off. Suppose I would have been too in the cirecumstances. Photos attached. Sorry about the quality but they were grabbed off a video which my son took on his mobile. Resizing the photos is harder than landing the fish !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonshine Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Well done! Found the water too but no fish other than a striped tuna. What time of day did you hook up? Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srushton Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 Well done! Found the water too but no fish other than a striped tuna. What time of day did you hook up? Rick Rick It was about 2pm. Just as we hit the good water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Well done, nice fish....from looking at the photo's I would say what you have is a striped marlin - the photo's are not 100% ideal for the purpose of identification but the high dorsal fin is one of the indicators of a striped - there are many others others and yes juvenile blues show similar characteristics to striped marlin such as the highlighted band on the body. A clear photo of the head and shoulders would clearly ID the fish - the striped has a longer lower jaw and narrow shoulders compared to the blue. Regardless of what type the smile of your face tells the story. Regards, Rabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slasher Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 We got a big blue off Sydney on Sunday. Got it close to the boat a few times over a 2.5 hr period but never close enough to tag or release the lure. Well done on your first, it was my first one too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srushton Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 Well done, nice fish....from looking at the photo's I would say what you have is a striped marlin - the photo's are not 100% ideal for the purpose of identification but the high dorsal fin is one of the indicators of a striped - there are many others others and yes juvenile blues show similar characteristics to striped marlin such as the highlighted band on the body. A clear photo of the head and shoulders would clearly ID the fish - the striped has a longer lower jaw and narrow shoulders compared to the blue. Regardless of what type the smile of your face tells the story. Regards, Rabs Rabs You are probably right. I give up on this identification thing. Have to say though that we have caught stripes and blacks in the past and this one seemed to be different. An angry stripe can turn electric blue but you still see the stripes. This one was very blue, very angry but no stripes whatever. Looks like we will have to head out and meet him again for some proper photos. BTW not sure how others have been finding things this year but we have come across very little bait. That changed on Sunhday. Once we found some decent water there were lots of sauris and birds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smashed crab Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 looks like a short bill spearfish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gambit Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 (edited) Unless I am confused by the photos, what you caught was actually a Shortbilled Spearfish, and not a marlin at all. That explains the apparent lack of a bill and also the lack of stripes. Great sport on the right tackle, and great eating too! They average around 20-30kg weight around these parts. I have attached a photo of one from the net at random, which is far better than the photo of one we caught aboard Gale Force last season (and tagged). We also have a cast of one on the wall at Sydney GFC clubhouse. If you are ever down there at Watson's Bay try and pop in and have a look to compare with your fish. The bronze colouring on the cast fish and your fish in one photo is pretty much the same. Cheers, Bob. Edited February 14, 2012 by GAMBIT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodlox Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Shortbill spearfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srushton Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 Thanks Bob I reckon you are on the money. But now I am in deep Sh*t. The photo of the happy angler was not me but my mate Mr T who owns an Italian Restaurant in Balmain. He is a mad keen fisho after his first Marlin. He also wanted a feed. I thought he was being a dickhe*d. So I snipped it off at the boat. No tag. Nothing. The video records it all. Thought this little fella with the broken bill deserved another day. Brilliant! One of the things that blows me away fishing out wide is that there is always something new every time. Whether a pod of dolphins having some fun, a mother whale showing off her calf, a fat seal pinching fish, you just never know. Can't wait to tell him that he is still zeroes ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REEF MAGIC CHARTERS Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 (edited) Unless I am confused by the photos, what you caught was actually a Shortbilled Spearfish, and not a marlin at all. That explains the apparent lack of a bill and also the lack of stripes. Great sport on the right tackle, and great eating too! They average around 20-30kg weight around these parts. I have attached a photo of one from the net at random, which is far better than the photo of one we caught aboard Gale Force last season (and tagged). We also have a cast of one on the wall at Sydney GFC clubhouse. If you are ever down there at Watson's Bay try and pop in and have a look to compare with your fish. The bronze colouring on the cast fish and your fish in one photo is pretty much the same. Cheers, Bob. Spot on Bob! The lack of a prominant dorsal fin is the dead giveaway. Cheers Damo Edited February 14, 2012 by Reef Magic Charters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I think you caught a harder to come by fish there than a Marlin Well done cheers 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