Striped Marlin C&R 1-Up

[fishmaniac]

It's been a while since my last post but thought I'd share this one.

I fished on sunday for marlin by myself. It was a late start due to having my mate's wedding the night before. I got some livebaits and headed out looking for bait.

I found some bait in some 24.8 degree water and worked it for a couple of hours with live baits before getting a take. Dodging another boat was difficult (as the marlin seemed to continue heading towards this boat on several occasions) while trying to maintain pressure and figure out exactly which way he was heading (due to the belly of the line in the water). Unfortunately I did not get to have a real good look at the fish when it was jumping as there were many things to be managed at the one time. Once clear of the other boat the fish started heading wider and went deep. It was a difficult 1 hour trying to plane the fish to the surface on spin gear with no harness.

Once I got him back up i was about 6-7km from where I had hooked up and the final 15 mintues was just as much of a mental battle as it was physically. By the time it was near the boat about 1hr and 45 minutes had passed and I was feeling fatigued from driving the boat, keeping balance in a fairly sloppy sea and fighting the fish.

I then leadered the fish with every last bit of grip and grabbed his bill, upon which time a new wave of adrenaline hit to control the fish as it shook its head a couple of times before settling down. Removed the hook, took some photos and released this great fish to fight another day. I would estimate the fish to be somewhere between 80-100kg. Taken on 80lb braid, 100lb shock leader, 200lb hook leader (6500 Catalina Spin Outfit).

I headed out the next day (monday) and was onto a smaller black briefly but the 100lb shock leader snapped. I think it was the result of a bit of a step in the drag and/or a crap batch of mono. Furious is an understatement as to how I felt at this point. Anyways, something to rectify and make sre it doesn't happen again - especially given the time, money and effort that can be spent in locating these fish.

It was a challenging and rewarding experience, finding, hooking, landing and releasing a Marlin on your own in a small side console. It has given me new appreciation to those others who have done this as well. However, in future I don't think I will grab the marlin by the bill if I am fishing 1-up. Upon reviewing the events if something went the wrong way you could find yourself in a lot of trouble. In no way I am I trying to have a go at others who do this on a more regular basis, but it is not a risk I think is worth taking in the future.

On a side note, there are millions of dolphin fish about (as everybody knows from the reports). Last weekend we hired a bigger boat and took the boys out chasing dollies for my mate's bucks party. They had an absolute ball (especially considering most had not caught anything other than a toad fish) which was great to see.

[Krispy !]

Nice marlin mate, are the dollies any good size?

[vo2c88]

A Solo Marlin, wouldn't imagine it to be easy. You've done well mate a capture to remain with you and your stories for a lifetime.Great work keep it up.

Vo2c88

[kiro]

Mate that's impressive! Well done I would hate for you to miss out on chasing Marlin cause your mates aren't available, so as a gesture of good will and having your best interests at heart, I will be willing to come out with you as support

Edited April 1, 2014 by kiro

[DaveTheBoy]

That's a sensational effort mate, so impressive!

[hookerbruce]

Congratulations that is a big effort especially on braid spin gear and alone.

Bruce

[Formosan]

Well done Andrew. I remember seeing the pics on your first Marlin a few years back. Now u r into them consistantly.

Awsome effort.

[chewie]

Nice fishing, and nice selfie!

so you got it on a weighted bait, sticking with the school of bait?

[fisherman666]

Awesome job there mate. You don't even look tired!

[Scratchie]

Great work mate! And to do it solo is a real challenge. Glad you mentioned the safety aspect. Gamefishing is not really a solo sport as there are too many variables!

Cheers scratchie!!!

[Basil D]

Great selfie but you look like you got lip stick on

[Dave G]

Great effort mate

[fishmaniac]

I would love to say I could find them consistently but that would be far from the truth. I am still a rookie at marlin fishing!!! Like anything it is a steep learning curve, but I've learnt a little bit more this season.

The dollies seemed to be in two sized schools that day. A school in the mid 70s and a school in the late 50s to early 60s. The bigger fish certainly wisened up quicker than the little tackers. The boys wanted to stay but after two crew fell sick and had been spewing for 1.5hrs we thought it was best to head in!

Yes, the marlin was caught on a live slimie which was fished around the bait I was marking.

Groper, glad to see you are paying attention to my looks , it was probably the contrast from the sunscreen plastering my face!

[Bracey]

Awesome solo effort. I bet the adrenaline instantly cleared any after affects from the night before.

Cheers, Bart

[Penguin]

Awesome effort there Andrew. Glad you got a good result.

cheers

[Scent Blazer Lures]

Unreal, well done and thanks for releasing it. We have always successfully released every marlin we caught including the first one. Way too nice of a fish to kill, let it live to fight another day.

congratulations!

[squidboy]

Great work Andrew. Congratulations on a great experience.

[Pongrass18ft]

Awsome fish and solo too,that would have been one insane adrenaline rush.

Chris.

[finin]

fishmaniac, congrats m8 your old man popped into the job the other day and told me all about it. To say he could of killed you is an understatement I couldnt stop laughing! Dont worry about the bill just swim them once they start to liven up let em go. Just be confident and always have a plan.