Aerialangler Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 (edited) Hi Raiders Hope you are staying safe Back during my yearly trip to Hawksnest we had an unexpected but amazing day on 25-12-21 – sorry this tale is late Headed out through the Myall river to a beautiful morning - some people might have been opening presents on this day but I was looking for a gift from the sea I picked my bro up from Nelson bay wharf and we went to the livey grounds at cabbage tree to find them scarce So we decided to use what bait we had and go to some bottom fishing grounds off Broughton We started to get some mowies, and other reef species in about 40M of water but we were looking for some pearl perch which I had found a few days earlier We moved to a bit deeper water around 60 Meters I hooked a decent slimy mackerel so decided to put it out as a livie on my kingy rod – shimano saragosa- 3/0 circle hook and 50lb leader (Water temp was 24.9 and quite clear) Not having breakfast yet we thought the pies in the warm enough for a hearty meal As we got half way through our pies- the livey rod started to twitch a bit - we both called it for maybe a small shark was chomping on the bait I grab the rod and slowly put pressure on it A few more big shakes of the rod tip and then we saw some thrashing on the surface We saw a large tail and a lot of whitewater then it disappeared We still couldn’t make it out but then the reel began to scream - we thought yes it knows it’s hooked now Then we saw what we couldn’t believe at first - a black marlin jumps - My bro says “that’s not our fish is it?” I said “yes I think it is” ( the line was doing the tricky thing of pointing in one direction and the fish pops up somewhere else ) From that moment I said to myself - it will be nice to see this fish but there’s no way we will get it boat side on 50lb leader and a 3/0 circle hook With Broughton as the backdrop fighting this fish it was an awesome time But I was very nervous and had mixed feelings Mostly the fact that I thought it the line would break eventually, or the hook would dislodge After some more acrobatics we had it at the boat in about 30 mins- (reel drag backed off more than normal) Unfortunately my bro missed the first gaff shot - and then I thought it was all over as the fish took off under the boat After that, this fish didn’t want to come back to the boat - It circled deep and it was difficult to get it up again- With persistence and a lot of circle work in the boat we managed to have the fish close again in another 20 mins Taking no chances we both had gaffs in our hands ready this time It was definitely a moment of disbelief when the fish was in the boat I was exhausted but happy and my bro was too We looked at the half eaten pies still on the back of the boat after the fight and we just took a moment to reflect on how things happened so unexpectedly - the time now was 8:00am and we had a whole day of fishing planned. The 50lb leader was grazed up a bit and it appeared that when we got the fish into the boat the circle hook was just around the bill… Now…the pressure to catch a feed now was definitely off We covered and iced the fish - we wanted to keep the flesh in good condition for the table We were very grateful for this gift from the sea- ( by the way we feed many families and relatives fresh marlin and it didn’t disappoint) We managed to find a few bonus Pearlies after that and we called it a day at 10:30am Won’t forget that morning for a while and now I’m convinced to always put a livey out when I’m bottom fishing - but also be prepared for what might come along and eat it Tight lines raiders and get out fishing while you can! And thanks for reading Edited January 19, 2022 by Aerialangler reduce font size 15 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrxhoon1 Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 Good work on an egg beater, so close in, well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerialangler Posted January 19, 2022 Author Share Posted January 19, 2022 Yeh thanks mate was a very unexpected catch well done on your Sydney catch too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchie Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 Nice work Kent! Always pays to have a livey drifting out the back. You never know what will turn up. I heard of 3 caught that day until the water turned over from all the nor easterlies. Solid effort on that gear! Glad you had a good trip! cheers scratchie!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 Spectacular work Kent - magnificent photos. What a Christmas present. Sharing an experience like that is “Brother bonding”. thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 Great report and some top shots in there. You certainly lived up to your name Aerialangler with those photos of the acrobatics. cheers Zoran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Ct Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 Great black mate, and some nice additional pearlies. Good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlvbw Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 WOW. What a morning! Congrats mate. How did you process the marlin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoingFishing Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 Wow. Awesome stuff. Havent seen a "mixed bag" that consists of reef plus a beakie!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 Super report and Super photos. Well done you two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter0069 Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 Top effort boys some really great photos and that’s one Xmas day you guy’s will remember for a long time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenno64 Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 Great story and amazing pics. What a catch! Bet the dinner table stories were entertaining:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rev Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 Great story - well done! Love the photos that you took! the rev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerialangler Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 On 1/20/2022 at 8:13 AM, zmk1962 said: Great report and some top shots in there. You certainly lived up to your name Aerialangler with those photos of the acrobatics. cheers Zoran Ha ha thanks mate I actually chose that name when I joined fish raider because I was thinking about starting up some drone photography for fishing but never got around to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerialangler Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 On 1/20/2022 at 12:50 AM, Scratchie said: Nice work Kent! Always pays to have a livey drifting out the back. You never know what will turn up. I heard of 3 caught that day until the water turned over from all the nor easterlies. Solid effort on that gear! Glad you had a good trip! cheers scratchie!!! Thanks mate, see you out there one day - going up again July school holidays 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerialangler Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 On 1/20/2022 at 8:10 AM, Pickles said: Spectacular work Kent - magnificent photos. What a Christmas present. Sharing an experience like that is “Brother bonding”. thanks for sharing. Yeh thanks I don’t do Christmas but it’s a good day to go fishing And yeh was a good time spent with my older brother about 30 years ago we were both on board when my stepfather caught a striped marlin off St. Helens, TAS So it’s been a while between catching one together 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerialangler Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 On 1/20/2022 at 9:13 AM, dlvbw said: WOW. What a morning! Congrats mate. How did you process the marlin? Yeh we just filleted it down and cut into big pieces put on ice or in the fridge I’ve found with marlin you don’t want at all to use high heat other than a quick searing it will go tough if you overcook it gentle cooking is best but also I cut some up and battered and fried it and it was amazing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlvbw Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 14 hours ago, Aerialangler said: Yeh we just filleted it down and cut into big pieces put on ice or in the fridge I’ve found with marlin you don’t want at all to use high heat other than a quick searing it will go tough if you overcook it gentle cooking is best but also I cut some up and battered and fried it and it was amazing Nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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