GoingFishing Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 (edited) Gday Raiders Sorry for the long report but as most will know your first marlin experience is one that needs a good venting. My original plan this weekend was to live bait the Botany Wide FAD for mahi, but after being tipped off by Scratchie (who always seems to know more about whats happening in Sydney than most of us Sydney folk) to the inshore run of Marlin i couldnt resist having a go. I didnt have the rolls royce of gear and similarly didnt have endless amounts of cash to buy new, so i had to make do with what i had with some improvements. I had two penn 330 gt2s and a penn spinfisher 9000 with 3 rods in the 10-15kg line class. I had all rods spooled with 40 pound mono which i had used for trolling mahi last year. I spent hours and hours during the week reading about gear, knots, terminal tackle,line setup, lure placement, trolling speed and everything to do with catching a marlin. I concluded the rods and reels i had would do the job if we didnt rush it, but the line needed replacement, namely i needed to get as much line on the reel as possible and for this reason my main line had to be braid. The tackle store then recommended i wack on 50m of mono on the end to give the line some "stretch" during the fight and i also put some backing on the reel because apparently braid can "slip" on O/H reels. With the funds i was willing to comit, i purchased 1000m of 50 pound braid, three skirted lures, one of which was the apparently famous for marlin... lumo, and the terminal tackle and hooks etc. The night before it took 4 hours to prep the gear, i must have retied each knot 3 or 4 times and wasted 10 crimps from paranoia, but at 1030 i was convinced it was all as good as i was going to get it. Morning started, trolled the cliffs for bonito and managed two with the view to try "switch bait" method and or bait for plan B. This didnt eventuate but the bonitos were kept for bait fillets so no loss. From the information we had the marlin were in shallow water so as soon as we hit the 70m line off coogee we dropped the lures in, i spent 5 minutes adjusting (probably unnecesarily) the lure placement and action of each lure. Finally i was confident the lures were where they were supposed to be. Mind you i dont have any outriggers so this made it harder as i didnt want tangles with braid main line that would have been a disaster. In all honesty, none of us including me actually expected to hook a marlin, let alone fight one, we set off excited but pessemistic. 2 hours later two of the boys almost asleep, making subtle suggestions to go to plan B (bottom bash), we were north east of the waverider off manly when my good friend ralph was driving the boat while i sat in the passenger seat watching the spread. As if in slow motion.......a black fin appeared and swam past two lures to smash the skirt lure in slimey pattern. The penn 330 screaming it was absolute chaos. CLEAR THE RODS, POSITION THE BOAT OMG THE MARLINS JUMPING WOW, DONT LET THE LINE GO SLACK, HOLY SHIT LISTEN TO THS REEL SCREAM OMG. Hands shaking from the adrenalin i wasnt even fighting the fish, i volunteered to keep the boat in position. 15 mins later the marlin spat the hook. Crushed. Nonetheless, we were now mega pumped. What was a feeling of pessemism now turned to adrenalin pumped excitement. Catching a marlin went from dream to real possibility. We continued trolling the area for another hour with no bites we moved east where the water cooled dramatically from 24.4 to 22 degrees so we headed back to shallow water. It was now 1pm. 4 hours since the first Marlin hookup and adrenalin levels now back to normal, i noticed we passed over a nice bait ball......no strike...then over another bait ball... no strike....three bait balls in close succession.. then the lumo gets absolutely nailed. The spinnfisher going off we brought in the other lines. This fish must have emptied 3 quarters of the line before it stopped. It was bigger and angrier than the first fish. What ensued was an epic battle with lots of acrobatics. 1 hour later, fish is buggered, we are even more buggered and its now about 6m from the boat. Thats when it dawned on me, i had done a shit tonne of reading on how to catch a marlin but stupidly didnt do any research on how to handle the fish. What appeared to be 3meters of marlin was infront of me, the size and scale and beauty of the fish was realised. What a magnificent beast, even more breath taking than i imagined. I then thought to myself.......Now wtf do we do? The plan was to release the big girl but before doing so we wanted a photo of course...and more importantly my brand new lure back !!! Leader in range ralph grabbed the leader, fish took a final lunge and we all panicked and she swum around the back and as murphies law promises, line on the prop.....fish gone. New lure with it. We continued trolling for anothrer hour then drove back to the ramp some 25km as lifeless zombies....no appetite, no smiles, no andrelin pumped screaming. Not even a proper photo of the fish. But two things were certain: 1. The seed for a new addiction was planted, sprouted and grown to maturity in a single day and 2. I will get one next time. I was (later) consoled by the fact that all the research had paid off, knots and tackle stayed connected and that we raised and fought two fish. So to finish this report, the nagging questions are, what is the best way to deal with a potentially angry 3 meter fish boatside? How do you get the hooks out and handle the fish safely? What can i do to minimise chance of losing the fish boatside. Thanks for reading. Sam Edited January 21, 2019 by GoingFishing 12 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsswordfisherman Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 That is a great report Sam and I admire your honesty. Nothing like the first marlin hunt and catch. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodsy1 Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 That was great reading your report going fishing, well done on your first marlin. Woodsy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rah Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Top report mate!!! Good luck with the next one! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0nn0 Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Great report Sam! Congrats on capturing your intended target (touching leader counts as a capture in marlin fishing doesn’t it?) All that work and prep really paid off! Cheers Jonno 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masterfisho7 Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Nice report Sam well done with your first Marlin mate hope many more to come 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berleyguts Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Great report! Nothing like a marlin to get the adrenalin pumping, I guess! I remember when one hit my Konahead near the Tubes in Jervis Bay back in the early 80s... it threw the lure on the 2nd jump... I was shaking all the way back to the ramp and all I could say for the next half hour was, “A bloody marlin!” 😂 With regards to removing the hooks boatside, a lot of guys cut the leader and leave the hook in, particularly when live baiting. For an expensive lure, I’ve seen a tool online that reaches down and slides the skirt up, so you can grab it and then cut the hook off but I also think it can be used to work the hook free. If your skirts run 2 hooks, you may be able to just cut off the bottom hook and save your lure. I’m hoping for my first marlin this season and, as I mostly fish solo, I think it’s going to be interesting! I may have to carefully work out my strategies! 🤔😂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickmarlin62 Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Always keep your boat moving...slowly trace fish towards boat dont try to muscle fish alongside as added pressure will make them turn usually under boat patience is best also sometimes extra pressure on trace can pull hook or pop trace better luck next time 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickmarlin62 Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Ps once tracing fish and alongside i usually try and grab beak with both hands fingers facing downward so fish cant jump toward u then mate can remove hooks...rick 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 A lot more excitement than bottom bashing. The big fish can get angry up too close, protecting your face from the beak is most important. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankS Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Excellent report and a big congratulations on your first Marlin. I lost 3 before I finally got one on board and it was a baby at 110lb , in those days it was quiet exceptable to keep them, I have caught 7 all up and that was enough for me . Haven't fished for them now for the past 12 years, and got one solo which was something that I never wanted to repeat. As Rick said keep the fish moving with the boat as you hold the fish firmly by the bill and a mate removes the hook and lure, the lure generally slides up the line a bit so is easy to get hold of. Now go and get another. Frank 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingie chaser Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Great read Sam, congrats on even getting it to the boat. Touched the leader, I call that caught! Were you using any teasers as well?? Id like to hear more about your tackle set up, sounds like you used crimps instead of knots, it that because of the leader size?? Also why did you decide to respool with braid instead of mono, was this due to the amount of line you would be limited to with the reels you had?? What was the rod you used? Sorry for so many questions, just interested. Im sure we will see more similar post in the near future, with a few chest slapping pics hopefully 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfishbig Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 As others have said keep the boat moving forward. There are a couple of gadgets called a snooter and de-hooker which make the releasing job safer and easier. They are available commercially or you can make them yourself like I did. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyT Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 48 minutes ago, rickmarlin62 said: Ps once tracing fish and alongside i usually try and grab beak with both hands fingers facing downward so fish cant jump toward u then mate can remove hooks...rick This- dont go neutral-ever- unless you are putting the gaffs in-striped marlin after a pronlonged fight are pretty docile at the side of the boat. I use windons so what i do is this, I get the angler to fight the boat from the starboard rear corner and keep cutting in front of the fish to plane it up to the boat- someone needs to be on the controls at all times. When the swivel hits the rod tip get the angler to step backwards and with a gloved hand grab the leader, take an open hand wrap (look it up or get a gamefisho to show you how) and drag it to the SIDE of the boat- not the back- if it goes beserk dump the leader wait for another chance.The angler should back the drag off once the leader is in hand as this helps prevent boatside breakoffs, grab the bill (use gloves) palms down - you might get a couple of whacks but usually not with stripes anyway.The boat should be rolling forward in idle at all times while you are doing this. Have fun its all a learning experience 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchie Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Yewwwwww! Giddy up Sam! I’m glad my intel proved fruitful. Find the bait, find the fish! If you’ve touched the leader, then that is your first marlin champ! You don’t need photos to prove anything. The excitement stays forever! Well done! As suggested by rick and paddyT, that’s some quality info right there!! The two keys tips are grab the bill fingers/palms down and make sure the angler has backed off the drag! Then, there’s nothing like being rag dolled by a 60plus kilo fish! Haha 🤣 I wish the water was the same up here! Fishing just got a whole lot more expensive ! Tight lines, cheers scratchie!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfishbig Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 A snooter device far safer than grabbing the bill by the hand. It keeps you away from the bill and hooks and you don't have to bend over the side. Likewise a de-hooker device. Two hook rigs are especially dangerous as while you are working on removing one hook you can have the other swinging around free. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fragmeister Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Great account of the experience Sam! Cheers Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolongeramember Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Hey that’s awesome. Was a good read as well. I am sure if you keep trying we will see pictures up here of you and one of these beasts very soon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish2relax Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Great read and well done champ. Once the bug bites it bites hard. Cheaper to have a drug habit though... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoingFishing Posted January 22, 2019 Author Share Posted January 22, 2019 Thanks to everyone for your comments feedback and advice. Alot of good pointers there ! It was a painful lesson learnt but a necessary one! Another question for those who have tangled often enough with a marlin, how do you know when a marlin is "buggered". The last 15-20 minutes of our fight was to and from the boat but say each run being no more than 40m or less. Reflecting i wonder if potentially it was ready around the 40min mark to be handled. How long does a marlin fight usually last? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoingFishing Posted January 22, 2019 Author Share Posted January 22, 2019 Ps......big shout out and thanks to Scratchie for the encouragement, tips and intel !!! A true champ Sorry Jeff i somehow stupisly forgot that on my original post. @Scratchie 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonD Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Great report, congrats on the beaky. Just one more comment to add with the handling, I find when they get close try to make sure the hook in the corner of the mouth is on the closest side of the fish to the boat. By doing that the fish will mostly pull away from the boat if it gets its second, third or fourth wind, it also makes handling and unhooking far easier. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyT Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 13 hours ago, GoingFishing said: Thanks to everyone for your comments feedback and advice. Alot of good pointers there ! It was a painful lesson learnt but a necessary one! Another question for those who have tangled often enough with a marlin, how do you know when a marlin is "buggered". The last 15-20 minutes of our fight was to and from the boat but say each run being no more than 40m or less. Reflecting i wonder if potentially it was ready around the 40min mark to be handled. How long does a marlin fight usually last? Stripes on 15 kg average fight on our boat is about 20-30 minutes, bigger fish up to an hour, on 24 anything between 10-20 minutes. On a game boat with a crew its usually a lot less. the other thing i will suggest is setting your drags with a set of scales- that way you will know exactly how much pressure you are putting on the fish, in the last stage they will try to cruise down current to rest, get ahead of them and plane them up to the boat- even if you drive 50 M in front of them and lose line doing it 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted March 18, 2019 Share Posted March 18, 2019 Belated Congratulations Sam !!! Awesome effort and report... so happy for you. I was fortunate enough to have an experienced gameboat deckee on mine when we hooked our first... ahhh the memories - still drinking beers over that one ! Now for the next one. Cheers Zoran 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
61 crusher Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Great report & account of your day, lures are always worth adjusting till your happy, front face of a wave occasionally grabbing air & leaving a bubble trail, the way you described the day it felt like I was onboard, great write up & congrats on the double hook up, shame about the lost lure, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve already got another lumo, with the way the currents & temp are looking off Sydney it could be a fishy weekend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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