Getting Closer - Took a while to get over it - report from 27/2/21 off JB

[GoingFishing]

Gday Raiders

There is some cracking summer water off Sydney at the moment, reading lots of reports and talking to alot of mates who are boating snapper, pearl perch, trag and kings on the reefs. Offshore tuna, spanish mac have been cought off Sydney and a few marlin. I hope everyone has been getting out there.

So........ ive been harboring a secret, and its taken me a while to "get over it".  But i think I'm ready to talk about it now. Sorry in advance but this will be a long report (plus questions plus vent plus plus).

As some may know i am on a personal mission to catch my first Marlin this year. What started off as a bucket list item has turned into more of.....say, a blinding obsession, a scratch that cannot be itched. Keeping very good tabs on say a dozen or so fishing pages on social media it became clear there was a hot bite happening off JB. Saturday the 27th Feb was the day and i found a crew of 2 more mates to join. There was a tournament happening that weekend so we left Sydney at the eye watering hour of 1am, arriving at Woollamia ramp at 4am expecting to find a crowd. Surprisingly there was no crowd so we slept an hour in the car and dropped the boat in at 5am.

I had reached out to local Dave Venn of JB lures on the Friday who is a top bloke and extremely helpful. I spent a good 20 minutes chatting about locations, gear, lure positions, live bait set up etc.  By the time i got off the phone i was very confident i had enough info to give us a good chance on the day.

The trip out through Currambene Creek was relatively harmless though there were some nervous moments where water depth approached 0.7m. The exit at Huskison was met with glassy conditions throughout JB. We fanged it to the bait grounds and had soon collected a few slimeys but we didnt need many. Conditions outside were just as good.

First stop The Banks.

Here we dropped down some live baits and like many of the other boats, waited for the Marlin to come to the reef. The number of boats at the banks was metaphorically and literally mind blowing. How anyone can fight a marlin with such a stupendous crowd of boats only 50m apart beggars belief. None the less we spent a good 2 hours here and did not see any else hook or come across any Marlin, though i did hear later in the day some small blacks had showed up at the Banks. There were a few bait schools floating around but certainly not plentiful, again, this could have changed later in the day.

We pulled the pin on live baiting at around 10am and fanged it to the shelf to an area called "The Kink". On arrival we saw a boat hooked up and fighting in the distance and another tracing one to the side of the boat. Instant adrenalin boost. In go the lures and the trolling commenced.

The Kink

An hour had passed zig zagging through some absolutely stunning water, we did find a few schools of bait and tried to stay ontop of them for as long as we can but would eventually lose them. I wanted a trial a method which suggested loosening the drag to less than "strike" then cranking the drag up after the lure had been taken. The logic here was that when the drag is tight the boat in its forward motion there is a risk of simply pulling the hook and lure back out of the marlins mouth. A looser drag is supposed to allow the marlin to turn and swim away, before suddenly having the hook set into the corner of the jaw. Not an exact science but it seemed to make sense and was worth a shot given i have had 5 marlin strikes in Jan/Feb with no hook up.

Around midday the first strike came on the Brad J in 8 inch, as the lure got taken i waited about 5-7 seconds and cranked the drag up into fighting drag ( doesnt sound long but when the drag is peeling off at top speed it seems like an eternity). About 30 seconds into the fight the marlin jumped and spat the lure. f%k. But ok, were in the right area. We continue trolling.

130pm comes the next strike, again on the Brad J. I wait 5-7 seconds, tighten the drag and crank the boat into forward gear. The line pops.

WHAT.....THE...F%K??? How?........

Guess what. Dumbo Sam didnt reset the drag after the earlier strike so i essentially tightened the drag from fighting drag to almost locked up. Lost the fish AND lost the lure ( which was on its maiden voyage). The next hour of trolling was good fun for the boys listening to me cursing myself.

Brad J gone - he was replaced with blue & pink JB Dingo and the trolling continued.

230pm - another strike - this time on the JB Dingo in Lumo. Set the drag, crank the boat into forward, clear the deck. The fight is on. This fish had a good run which was about 200m but we slowly worked him back to the boat. Not a big fish, probably 60-70kg. About 5m from the boat the fish went for a nice jump and spat the lure. Absolutely gutted. Still, it was good fun and got the blood pumping.

Its now 3pm and we are NACKERED. Surviving on 3 hours sleep and having been on the water for 10 hours, we were not looking forward to the 2.5 hour drive back to Sydney. None the less old mate Ralph made a joking suggestion to do "one more zig zag". The gamefishos version of "one last cast". We agreed we should do this.

The lures had been back in the water less than 3 minutes when to our absolute astonishment the JB Dingo Lumo got absolutely hammered again. This time we saw the fish come up behind the lure and we knew it was not a small fish. By the time we cleared the deck the fish had stripped at least 500m of line. We settled into the fight with what was a very acrobatic fish, a whole hour later we finally had the fish under the boat. To my horror the fish had somehow tail and belly wrapped itself twice and there was no leader left to grab. Not wanting to try and manhandle what i estimated was a nice 150-180kg fish using only the main line off the overhead we tried putting some distance between us and the fish and then trying to swim the marlin to the surface but everytime we got it close it simply dived. With no leader to grab we could not guide its head to the surface. This went on for a solid 20 minutes and i was stumped. How do i get this fish to the surface with no leader to grab? \

Everytime we got it under the boat it was as if we were pulling the fish up by its belly. After another 15 mins and multiple attempts to get the fish boatside the fish went for one last dive, under the boat and swam across the engine. I felt the line rubbing on the underside of the boat and a few seconds later pop. This was about 1 hour and 40m into the fight.

Collapse onto the floor of the boat in disbelief, 4 strikes, 2 fights, no tagged marlin. Forearms burning in pain.

Arrive at Woolamia ramp 6pm. The G2 Etec had burnt only 70 of the 140 litres in the tank off 13 hours of engine running time. Fantastic!

Lesson #1 - Increase the length of my lure leaders - but, will it change their swim action/? Especially for smaller lures say 8inch.

Lesson#2 - double and triple check the drag setting of every setup before starting trolling (duh)

Lesson#3 - Do some more reading on how to get the fish actually to the boat. What is the procedure? What other options did i have to get the fish up to the surface especially if its belly or tail wrapped.

The drive home was interesting with a feel of success but also failure. We had succeeded in finding, hooking the marlin. But had failed to bring it into the boat. 

If you have read this far into the report, thank you for reading and listening to my rant ! PS - heres a nice snappy we took mid fight.

Sam

 

 

 

 

 

[Mr Squidy]

Top report Sam, sounds like you are doing an awful lot right to have had so many shots at them in the one session. I'm sure your luck will change pretty soon and all of that pain will be well worth it. With all fishing, the more you have to work for it the more satisfying when it finally comes together.

 

Rich

[Aerialangler]

Thanks for the detailed experience mate

its always hard to get over 

sometimes little mistakes like will keep you awake at night for years to come ha ha 

you guys deserved a fish 

but everyone has their story 

you’ll get there for sure!! 

[Brendan Monks]

Sounds very unlucky, but good work in getting the strikes in the first place! 😁

I just tried sending you a PM but says I can't!?

[GoingFishing]

1 hour ago, Mr Squidy said:

Top report Sam, sounds like you are doing an awful lot right to have had so many shots at them in the one session. I'm sure your luck will change pretty soon and all of that pain will be well worth it. With all fishing, the more you have to work for it the more satisfying when it finally comes together.

 

Rich

Thanks Rich - i am confident that my lure selection, placement and action are doing the right thing. Just cant seem to get figure out how to get those pesky bas%rds into the boat! 

 

25 minutes ago, Aerialangler said:

Thanks for the detailed experience mate

its always hard to get over 

sometimes little mistakes like will keep you awake at night for years to come ha ha 

you guys deserved a fish 

but everyone has their story 

you’ll get there for sure!! 

We certainly felt that we deserved that fish ! But by the same token, i stand firm in my belief in that Marlin earned its freedom. That stripey was one stubborn donkey !

 

4 minutes ago, Brendan Monks said:

Sounds very unlucky, but good work in getting the strikes in the first place! 😁

I just tried sending you a PM but says I can't!?

Thanks Brendan ! I had used 100% of my messenger space. ive freed up some space now you can try again.

[Croydon]

What a great day you had and sounds like the homework is paying off.   For the past 6 or 7 years, I've worked on a local game fishing charter boat out of Batemans Bay.  The skipper is a top bloke, who has run charters for many, many years.  The day you described was great but fairly typical for lures.  We've found that around 70% of fish on lures, don't make it to the tag.  In the main, we'd pull lures until we find bait and then change tactics.  Most of the day is spent either skip baiting, slow trolling livies or switch baiting.  The hook up rate is better and most fish make it to the boat to be tagged.  

If a fish gets tail wrapped, it just becomes hard work and hopefully the fish doesn't die but it happens.  Sounds like you did the best you could in the circumstances.  Perhaps you could try running windon leaders, it makes controlling the fish at the boat a lot easier.  Best advice is take the hooks out of your lures and run them as teasers, when you get a fish in the spread switch it over to a livie and hang on.  Marlin are frustrating SOB's but bloody good fun.  Keep going, you will get one on the boat soon.  

Cheers Dave.......

   

[Rebel]

Great report and Story.

[Smobaby]

Great report that's marlin fishing. It will happen. More fuel more lures more time more money but a tonne af fun.

[PaddyT]

Couple of things Sam-get a decent harness -black magic - helps a lot-absolutely check your drag settings-THROUGH the rod-not off the reel. Fighting fish is simple, once they settle down follow the line with the boat -not the fish, they will track down current when they are tired to regain energy-GET THE BOAT in front of them, it will plane them up and keep pulling on one side of the fish if you can as it will throw them off kilter- so keep the angler (the least important person on the boat) on one side while you stay on the throttle-keep moving in front of the fish, if the last one you hooked was as big as you say you are probably lucky to stay connected as long as you did, a 150 kg plus fish is a very different beast to a stock standard 70 kg stripe or black which you should be able to get to the boat in under 30 minutes at the most on 15kg. Also wind ons are great-once they are on the reel you can apply an enourmous amount of pressure. One in three is a pretty good ratio on lures most days BTW

[Yowie]

Well, you certainly gave it a good crack, but, just missed out.

You now know that you are onto the right things, just a bit of fine tuning and you will be there, with a photo to bung on the forum.

[Scratchie]

Awesome report Sam! Persistence is the key! Just keep researching and getting out on the water. You’ll get one tagged real soon! 
 

cheers scratchie!!! 

[GoingFishing]

Thanks Fellas ! 

@PaddyT i do have a shimano harness and that is the one we used on the JB trip. The blackmagic ones do the same job i guess but more comfort. Almost 7 times the price though !  Appreciate the feedback champ. Ill look into the wind on leaders i think that is a great idea.

@Croydon Thanks for the tips, much appreciated. Again like the idea of wind on leaders. I have been looking into the idea of skip baiting but i get worried that it relies heavily on sighting the marlin, which you dont always have.

[Croydon]

Watching the spread is not as important with skip baits, but always a good idea.  I run a bit of drop back so the fish can turn and run with the bait.  Then increase drag to strike and fight the fish.... simple in theory haha...

Dave

[GordoRetired]

Great report. One thing I learned over 8 or 9 years of tournament fishing for marlin is that meticulous gear preparation is absolutely essential. We would always check drags before heading out, as someone else mention, off the rod tip, not the reel. Drags set at 1/3 line class. Hooks sharpened before lure hits water, get a decent hook file and make sure that they are pinpoint sharp. Leaders should be a minimum of 15 foot and heavy, 200lb or more, attached to another 15 foot of double line tied with a plat or some other knot you can wind on. Then when the fish strikes nail the engine and set the hook with a 1-200 yard run away from the fish. After that you must keep the line as tight as you can, then it's up to the Marlin gods to keep it attached.
Marlin fishing is a waiting game as it can be a very long way between fish. Once when we fished the Port Stephens Interclub, many years ago, we did not get our first hit till 1/2 way through day 4. By then all of us on the boat were getting very grumpy! ! !
On the positive side you sure seem to be raising fish so you should boat one soon. 🙂

Good luck.

Edited March 12, 2021 by GordoRetired

[quintrex52]

Great report 👌

[Pickles]

Great report Sam, thanks for sharing - sounds like a cracking day

[GoingFishing]

On 3/12/2021 at 3:24 PM, Croydon said:

Watching the spread is not as important with skip baits, but always a good idea.  I run a bit of drop back so the fish can turn and run with the bait.  Then increase drag to strike and fight the fish.... simple in theory haha...

Dave

Thanks Dave - so how do you know when to pitch the skip bait out if you havent sighted the Marlin? haha yes, everything is always easy....in theory

On 3/12/2021 at 3:49 PM, GordoRetired said:

Great report. One thing I learned over 8 or 9 years of tournament fishing for marlin is that meticulous gear preparation is absolutely essential. We would always check drags before heading out, as someone else mention, off the rod tip, not the reel. Drags set at 1/3 line class. Hooks sharpened before lure hits water, get a decent hook file and make sure that they are pinpoint sharp. Leaders should be a minimum of 15 foot and heavy, 200lb or more, attached to another 15 foot of double line tied with a plat or some other knot you can wind on. Then when the fish strikes nail the engine and set the hook with a 1-200 yard run away from the fish. After that you must keep the line as tight as you can, then it's up to the Marlin gods to keep it attached.
Marlin fishing is a waiting game as it can be a very long way between fish. Once when we fished the Port Stephens Interclub, many years ago, we did not get our first hit till 1/2 way through day 4. By then all of us on the boat were getting very grumpy! ! !
On the positive side you sure seem to be raising fish so you should boat one soon. 🙂

Good luck.

Thanks for the tips Gordo - all very useful. Im confident im heading the right direction. My biggest concern right now is perfecting the "tag" or "boating" procedure. ie - what to do with them once theyre at the boat.

On 3/14/2021 at 9:32 AM, quintrex52 said:

Great report 👌

 

15 hours ago, Pickles said:

Great report Sam, thanks for sharing - sounds like a cracking day

thanks fellas

[Fergofisher]

Great but frustrating report mate, well done on raising so many in a session - regardless of the reports out there - that's a solid effort. You were just quite unlucky with the fish wrapping itself up! 

Do you have outriggers at all? If yes, run 1/3 of breaking strain drag and hold on. Everyone is different but i have found the solid hook up rate is far better with a bit of drop back from the riggers. Once the fish hits, you don't need to do anything special the slight drop back in the line should give you a better chance of the fish turning then sticking it into it's boney head then just the fish hitting a lure straight from a rod. 

Without riggers, the boys above all have it spot on, if you can take the time to fill you're spread with teasers and sight see (maybe when you have a bit more sleep or coffee to keep you interested) it's a great way to pitch back a slimy.. 

From my experience, i would troll lures around until you can hopefully find some balls of bait. Bring all you're lures in and slow troll 2-3 slimys if you can 20m, 30m and 40m back across current works best but have had hok ups going into and with the current. Works even better if you have some flash strips, dredges etc 5 or so metres in from of the livebait to mimic the lone wolf behind the pack waiting to be taken. Lightest drag you can run without having line run off the reel and troll at 2 knots until you get a strike. 7-8/0's seems to be the honey spot for fish up to that 150kg mark. 

 

Keep at it man, you will get one and it will be up there with the best things you have done.. The feeling of boating a dream fish makes it so much better when you know how much time, effort and money has gone into the battle. 

 

If you're ever in need of someone to tag along and talk shit with - hit me up. 

[GoingFishing]

48 minutes ago, Fergofisher said:

Great but frustrating report mate, well done on raising so many in a session - regardless of the reports out there - that's a solid effort. You were just quite unlucky with the fish wrapping itself up! 

Do you have outriggers at all? If yes, run 1/3 of breaking strain drag and hold on. Everyone is different but i have found the solid hook up rate is far better with a bit of drop back from the riggers. Once the fish hits, you don't need to do anything special the slight drop back in the line should give you a better chance of the fish turning then sticking it into it's boney head then just the fish hitting a lure straight from a rod. 

Without riggers, the boys above all have it spot on, if you can take the time to fill you're spread with teasers and sight see (maybe when you have a bit more sleep or coffee to keep you interested) it's a great way to pitch back a slimy.. 

From my experience, i would troll lures around until you can hopefully find some balls of bait. Bring all you're lures in and slow troll 2-3 slimys if you can 20m, 30m and 40m back across current works best but have had hok ups going into and with the current. Works even better if you have some flash strips, dredges etc 5 or so metres in from of the livebait to mimic the lone wolf behind the pack waiting to be taken. Lightest drag you can run without having line run off the reel and troll at 2 knots until you get a strike. 7-8/0's seems to be the honey spot for fish up to that 150kg mark. 

 

Keep at it man, you will get one and it will be up there with the best things you have done.. The feeling of boating a dream fish makes it so much better when you know how much time, effort and money has gone into the battle. 

 

If you're ever in need of someone to tag along and talk shit with - hit me up. 

Thanks for the tips fergo. Im almost there - i like the idea of running the lures further back, but im worried they will be too far away from the wash. How far back are you suggesting i drop them?

[Croydon]

Skip baiting and switch baiting are two different things.  Skip baits  are dead baits, usually slimies or cowan young (big yakkas) tied behind a circle hook.  They are trolled off the riggers, similar to lures, but with a bit of drop back or slack line so the fish can run with the bait, have the reel in gear with enough drag to stop an over run.  The hook up rate is generally higher than with lures.  When you get a hit, let the fish run and then slowly up the drag to strike.  Hopefully you stay connected.  As you are trolling the baits, usually around 4 - 6 knts, it isn't so essential to be watching the spread, but it is a good idea.  As some times, the fish will look at the baits but hesitate.   This is a good time to drop a livie back and hopefully get a hook up.

Switchbaiting is basically pulling lures, dredges, teasers without hooks.  You need to keep a good eye on the spread and when a fish is raised, bring in the teasers while dropping back a live bait to the fish.  A large lure, with a belly flap of stripped tuna sewn in is a great teaser, and really gets the fish excited if they happen to grab the teaser.  All trial and error mate, but worth trying these options when you're out.  Good luck.............

Dave

[Fergofisher]

34 minutes ago, GoingFishing said:

Thanks for the tips fergo. Im almost there - i like the idea of running the lures further back, but im worried they will be too far away from the wash. How far back are you suggesting i drop them?

Depends on how many you have in the spread mate. If you have a witchdoctor, flippy floppy, bird or any other teasers out try and run them within 5m behind them. Start you're spread on the second pressure wave. Get up to 6.5-7knots and look back and you should see (pending how big you're boat is) multiple pressure waves. 

Bigger,darker lures in close and just have a lure on each pressure wave after that. Try and get them to sit at the bottom of the wave they will work & breathe better and stand out more. shotgun i run just past the wash at the back. If you have 5 rods, just work 1 lure per pressure wave starting at the second.

Have them in the wash as much as you can. You're boat is basically a big teaser think of it that way. you want you're lures in the zone as much as possible. It's also not just a set and forget style, check them occasionaly they are breathing properly and dont have any weed etc on them. 

[GordoRetired]

2 hours ago, GoingFishing said:

Thanks for the tips Gordo - all very useful. Im confident im heading the right direction. My biggest concern right now is perfecting the "tag" or "boating" procedure. ie - what to do with them once theyre at the boat.

thanks fellas

Certainly sounds like you are heading the right way with the number of fish you are raising. When you get it close, the time when a lot of fish are lost, it often pays to keep the boat moving forward and 'swim' the fish to the boat, winding the double right onto the reel so that the fish is swimming with the boat, then grab the leader and try not to rip the hook out of it's mouth when pulling it in the last few feet. Then either tag away or in with the gaffs.
You'll get one soon I am sure. 🙂