Paddy454 Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 (edited) Hi Raiders, Headed out this morning solo ,planning on hitting the Botany wide FAD for dollies. Heard chatter on the radio of some action in close so trolled only 2 lures being on my own. 1 x XRap and 1 medium Scent Blazer skirt. I had only got about 3-4 Klms out in 65.5 fathoms (120mtrs) when the Scent Blazer went off. Next I see a Marlin tail dancing across the top of the water and it had good size ,I,m thinking I am in trouble here on my own but kept my cool and settled in. I kept the boat moving and slowly cranked up the drag after the initial run took 200+ meters. After getting line back then loosing more then back I had it at the boat and then realised how big it was, I,m guessing 9ft and 120kgs and boy was it lit up,looked amazing. Then it decided to take off again and this happened about 6-8 times over an hour. My left arm was starting to hurt before I managed to grab the harness from inside the cabin and then I was able to relax a bit even moving back to sit in the skippers chair have a drink and a smoke before loading up the drag again and getting it back to the boat. I managed to hold my phone in my right hand get some photos and videos but most were not good as the sun was shining on the screen . After an hour I thought how am I going to release this beauty?. I managed to get it alongside ,grab the leader,put the rod against the transom and with my long nose pliers remove the hook and it swam away nicely. I have seen videos,watched TV shows and read on here etc but nothing depicts Marlin like catching Your First and experiencing all the things you read,watched etc. The talk on the radio was of a lot of hook ups on Marlin around 70 kgs and a lot being dropped or spitting the hooks and also a some Dollies of good size. I have just scratched one more thing from my bucket list and it was high on that list. Cheers, Edited January 6, 2015 by Paddy454 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 U bloody beauty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The President Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 (edited) Congratulations Paddy dream day for you. Conditions were amazing yesterday which would of made your capture very enjoyable. We were out there too yesterday. After trolling wide of Browns and the shelf all the action was at 65 fathoms. We hooked up and dropped a fish, had a boat hook up next to us with many jumps and heard about six other fish throw the lures on different boats during the afternoon. Top stuff. Edited January 6, 2015 by The President Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brickman Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 big effort solo well done something you will remember for the rest off your life cheers gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boattart Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Nice work Paddy. I'm heading out this morning to try and get one for my son. Hope I have a story to tell tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolate Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Congrats on your first marlin, May there be many more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croydon Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Well done Paddy. I must have hooked and lost seven fish before I finally tagged one. To do it on your own, in your own boat is just bloody fantastic. That's one to remember. Cheers......... Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewie Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Awesome work! Seemed a lot of action out there yesterday. We missed out, but it will happen for me sooner or later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GH1952 Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Top effort solo must be something in the air with all the fishraiders going out solo catching marlin. Great fish and you will remember it for a long long time. Good luck on you future efforts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickybeak Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Well done Paddy Looks like a nice size black I bet your still buzzing Hard work solo I agree Stickybeak Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy454 Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 Thanks for the replies fella's. Still buzzing today and my left arm is sore lol. Will never forget the experience and keen to get back out. I,m really happy with my new boat Whittley Clearwater 2100 walkaround and seems to attract the fish- 3 from 4 outings catching. I was at Cronulla today for lunch and the ocean looked almost blue off the beach so hopefully the fishing is going to get even better. regards, Paddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NaClH2OK9 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Awesome work!!! What a stunning result going solo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skelly22 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Great to see a few other fishos also getting their first marlin! nicely done solo! What a buzz! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pomey_git Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Great read mate! Love the idea of a cheeky drink and a smoke mid fight, I bet your knees were shaking when you saw that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchie Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Congratulations paddy! A fantastic effort solo and your first, wow!!! Great write up and thanks for sharing! Cheers scratchie!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simda Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Super Catch, congratulations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy2014 Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Hi Raiders, Headed out this morning solo ,planning on hitting the Botany wide FAD for dollies. Heard chatter on the radio of some action in close so trolled only 2 lures being on my own. 1 x XRap and 1 medium Scent Blazer skirt. I had only got about 3-4 Klms out in 65.5 fathoms (120mtrs) when the Scent Blazer went off. Next I see a Marlin tail dancing across the top of the water and it had good size ,I,m thinking I am in trouble here on my own but kept my cool and settled in. I kept the boat moving and slowly cranked up the drag after the initial run took 200+ meters. After getting line back then loosing more then back I had it at the boat and then realised how big it was, I,m guessing 9ft and 120kgs and boy was it lit up,looked amazing. Then it decided to take off again and this happened about 6-8 times over an hour. My left arm was starting to hurt before I managed to grab the harness from inside the cabin and then I was able to relax a bit even moving back to sit in the skippers chair have a drink and a smoke before loading up the drag again and getting it back to the boat. I managed to hold my phone in my right hand get some photos and videos but most were not good as the sun was shining on the screen . After an hour I thought how am I going to release this beauty?. I managed to get it alongside ,grab the leader,put the rod against the transom and with my long nose pliers remove the hook and it swam away nicely. I have seen videos,watched TV shows and read on here etc but nothing depicts Marlin like catching Your First and experiencing all the things you read,watched etc. The talk on the radio was of a lot of hook ups on Marlin around 70 kgs and a lot being dropped or spitting the hooks and also a some Dollies of good size. I have just scratched one more thing from my bucket list and it was high on that list. Cheers, Amazing work and you even managed a pretty decent photo on your own, great stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy454 Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 Hi Raiders, Thanks for the many compliments ,much appreciated. I laid a measuring tape out today next to my boat to try get a more accurate measure of the marlin. I would re-estimate the fish at 7 1/2 ft not 9 ft but I,m still over the moon and buzzing. I have to admit I am only a novice at gamefishing but since buying my new boat am committed to being a regular and crossing other species off my list like yellow fin tuna,sbt and a decent size dollie having caught smaller ones before, I would also like to get on to a hoodie king having caught many rats and smaller keepers. I have learnt a lot from Fishraider and Your reports so thanks for that and keep it up. Tight lines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erroll Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Well done mate. That is a cracking result on your own. I lost one solo after about 15mins when down at JB and it still hurts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
issue Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 That is excellent. First marlin and on your own, what an effort. Nice healthy striped marlin and released unharmed. Good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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