First bigTantabiddi marlin x2 - rookie mistakes! x2
Gday guys its pissn down with rain so thought i would put up a post about a trip i did recently. Took the wife and my voyager marquis that i have just fully refurbished and repowered with a pod extension and new 250hp 4st yammie. It was never a serious fishing trip, was more about taking the wifey away, teaching her how to drive a boat, me getting to know the boat myself, sightseeing and pulling a few lures around when possible. Went to denham first for 3 nights, i love shelter bay/steep point so took boat out there to show the mrs the place. Pulled a few deep divers around midday for an hour or so but no mackies biting, no problem just great to be there. Left denham to go to exxy for a week, dropped boat in at tantabiddi midday the next day, pulled a couple of soft grassys around in 60 - 100m for a few hours for nothing. Went out to the 250 -300m canyon area, put in the marlin skirts, trolled for about 3 hours, no strikes. I was a little surprised i didnt get a touch but it was a really dark overcast day and thought maybe thats why. A couple of days later, on a hot bright sunny and flat day we dropped boat in at tantabiddi again at midday. Out went the soft grassys in 50m of water and wife got a nice yellowfin tuna within about 15 minutes. Conditions were beautiful and flat so i decided to go out to 300 -350m, put out marlin skirts and troll south along the canyon line. About an hour later the tiagra 50 went off like i have never seen before. (lure was on long corner position). I had the tension set at about 5kg and watched at least a couple of hundred metres of line blast off the reel in the time it took me to pull in the other rod and teaser. The fish went long and deep and didnt show any sign of slowing down. I was worried about getting spooled so i lifted the drag lever to strike which i know is set at 8kg (1/3 of my 24kg main line) but it had no effect it just kept screaming off at the same speed. The wife has never driven a boat so chasing the fish with her driving was never an option. Line just kept peeling off so i upped the drag alot more, pulled rod out of holder and hung on. The fish slowed a bit, i felt violent head shakes then it took off just as fast as before. I pulled back , he let go and i fell backwards on my arse! coz i didnt expect it lucky i didnt hit my head. It all happened so quick and by now im shaking like a leaf with excitement while pulling my lure back in from hundreds of metres away. I presumed he spat the hook but when i looked at the lure BOTH stainless steel gamehooks had been bent at near on 45 degrees i couldnt believe it and wish i at least got a look at him before losing him. Out went the big skirts again, about 40minutes later i was looking at the lure to make sure it was swimmimng properly and not fouled by seaweed, right at that moment a BIG black marlin came in from the left side, grabbed the lure and jumped high up into the air. He landed, took off, drag screamed for maybe 5 seconds then gone!! just like that. Happened so quick i was still holding the wheel looking back at what just happened. When i checked the lure he had bent the botton gamehook like it was nothing. The lure is an 11inch (28cm) H2O PRO KATANA in lumo that i bought online from escapin tackle. That lure and those exact hooks landed a 60kg black marlin off steep point in 100m of water about 2 years ago (my brother caught it) and i got a nice sailfish off Helby bank in Exmouth with this lure and hooks. Because we had already caught decent fish on those hooks i thought it would be no problem using them off tantabiddi for big marlin and i guess that was my 2 rookie mistakes! (oh and also going marlin fishing with somebody who has never driven a boat ! ha ha) cheers guys, thanks for reading and i cant wait to do it again next year with stronger hooks .
Brody
Posts: 1021
Date Joined: 06/02/07
Bugger! I use Marutos for
Bugger! I use Marutos for 15-24kg, find them to be a good balance between being strong enough but not too thick. I file the barb down just a little and touch them up when needed so they are always really sharp, replace them as soon as they have lost any of the point.
scano
Posts: 1246
Date Joined: 31/05/07
Yep
What brody said is all good info. Also, after you have sharpened the point, black permanent marker on the point to prevent rust.
Chinbald
Posts: 315
Date Joined: 21/02/09
Big Fish
Awesome write up- bigger,stronger, smarter next year, we got smoked by 8 big fish at Gamex, once you see a big fish strike and run, it certainly becomes an addiction.
Faulkner Family
Posts: 17861
Date Joined: 11/03/08
Sounds like you had some fun
Sounds like you had some fun even tho you lost the stick face twice. All a learning experience. Definitely pays to teach the boss how to drive t he boat.
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
Swompa
Posts: 3783
Date Joined: 14/10/12
Looks like some big fish in
Looks like some big fish in play.
Good call in getting your wife comfortable behind the helm. My mrs is more qualified than me on boats and it always makes the show run a hell of a lot smoother.
Roughas
Posts: 53
Date Joined: 24/08/17
Hooks
Really good post mate. The Jobu hooks are pretty solid FYI. I'm not that experienced but at Exmouth there seems to be a big variation in fish size; maybe you're better off going for heavier gauge terminal gear.
The experts may reckon heavier hooks affect the action of the lure, or resist penetrating (depending on line class). I've spoken to deckies in Cairns who file the barbs down a bit as they reckon penetration is a bit better. I think you'll probably get a million different opinions on this one. I like your comment about excitement-if your hands aren't shaking afterwards there's something wrong!
davewillo
Posts: 2254
Date Joined: 08/09/16
Thanks mate that was a good
Thanks mate that was a good read. I've lost marlin other ways but I'll try to avoid straightened hooks!
PGFC member and lure tragic